Matthew 18:11-20: Saving that which is lost

“If he finds [the lost sheep], he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.”
                   Jesus in Matthew 18:13

"In 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed; perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. I did not see then what is now the most shining and obvious thing: the divine humility which will accept a convert on even such terms."
                   C.S. Lewis from his autobiography, Surprised by Joy.


"Christ allows His money to be taken from Him, but never His sheep."
                     Pasquier Quesnel, French theologian who died in 1719

These verses are a continuation of the passionate message Jesus is giving on the value of His little ones and His desire that none wander.   It is reasonable to believe that as Jesus is speaking, He is in Peter’s house in Capernaum (Matthew 17:24).

This passage begins with a questionable verse with a beautiful message:  For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost (v. 11).   The oldest and most reliable copies of Matthew’s gospel do not contain this verse.  But since it is nearly identical to Luke 19:10, we can be confident in the Scriptural truth of verse11 even though the verse itself may be in doubt as an original part of Matthew’s gospel.   However, this does not cast doubt on the reliability of either Matthew’s gospel or the New Testament.

There are over 5000 Greek manuscripts containing all or portions of the New Testament (Norman Geisler, Christian Apologetics, p. 307).  These manuscripts can be cross-referenced and double checked against each other so the New Testament we have is extremely reliable.  No other work of antiquity can even come close to this kind of manuscript authority.

Jesus says in v. 14: “It is the will of our Father who is in heaven that none of these little ones perish”.   And Jesus uses the parable of a shepherd who leaves his ninety-nine sheep to find the lost one as a way of illustrating the heart of His Father.  Imagine!  When other religions teach of a distant God and the extreme requirements needed to get His approval, our God comes in search of us!  And He searches for us not when we have been good or real religious but when we are a straying sheep wandering the mountain side!

And when our brother does sin, Jesus gives specific instructions for bringing that brother back (v.15-17).   First, approach him privately.   If he does not listen, then take two or three witnesses.  If this fails, then involve the local church body.  The goal is never to humiliate but always to restore.  We are to be the earthly expression of the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep (John 10:11).

Galatians 6:1-2 reminds us that we are to restore a sinning brother “with a spirit of gentleness, looking to yourself so that you too will not be tempted.  We are to bear one another’s burdens and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”  It is easy to become smugly self-righteous or even passively indifferent in these circumstances.  By the same token, it is unacceptable to say that we are “too loving” to confront a sinning brother.   We are to have the same humility and broken heart that the Lord has for His little ones.  

The Lord has put a high value on bringing His lost sheep back into the fold.  It naturally follows that He has given into the hands of His church great resources to rescue His little ones from wandering.  The authority that was given to Peter in Matthew 17:19 is now given to His disciples and His church:  “Whatever you bind [and loose] on earth shall have been bound [and loosened] in heaven” (v. 18).

Jesus says, “if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father” (v. 19)  This verse is often used as a “blank check” to justify a kind of Christian magic in some circles.  That is not the point of this promise.    Jesus also promises to be in our “midst” as we act as His body to reclaim one of His lost little ones.  Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us (Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:15).

But it is often difficult to get directly involved with a wayward believer; it is easier to avoid these tough situations.   That is why the Lord is promising us that when two or more agree on a certain course of action in reclaiming a wandering brother, that He will be in their midst; they will not be alone in their efforts to bring back His stumbling ones.

His little ones may be the boisterous atheist, the prodigal, the stranger you pass every day, the Chinese field worker, the shop keeper in Turkey, or the bus driver in Buenos Aires.  Are we ready to venture out into the mountains in search of His lost ones?   As His hands, His feet, His body, we should be prepared to go to great lengths to be sure that not one of His little ones perish.  Whether it is a lost soul or a wandering child, the hounds of heaven will find that little one and the Lord will safely bring His own back into the fold.

Pray for that wandering brother, sister, child, spouse, neighbor or friend.  Pray for the Christ-less nation on the other side of the world.    Know that His heart desires reconciliation even more than we do.  Don’t be afraid to pour out your heart and shed tears on behalf of His little ones.  Your brokenness is a reflection of His brokenness.  What an awesome God we serve!