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Matthew 18:15-20: Gaining Back a Brother

 “If he has listens to you, you have gained a brother.” Jesus in Matthew 18:15

“It is no exaggeration to say that this [Matthew chapter 18] is the single greatest discourse our Lord ever gave on life among the redeemed people in His church. Sadly, because it has been largely misinterpreted, its profound riches often have been lost.”  John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Matthew 16-23)  

“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.  You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:17-18)

Our Lord is passionate about his followers; his church was “obtained by his own blood,” (Acts 20:28).  He expects us to not despise any within his church (v. 10). But life is messy.  Even in his church, we hurt others and sin against one another.   Our Lord, fully aware of this, gives us steps for correction if your brother sins against you (v. 15).    

It must be emphasized that the goal is forgiveness and restoration. Our Lord pursues and brings back the lost sheep; he doesn’t shoot his wounded or let the enemy steal them away.   However, there is great danger when confronting a brother.  Part of it appeals to our fleshly desires for pride, gossip and even retribution.   That is why Paul in his letter to the Galatians gave these instructions: “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.  Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted,” (Galatians 6:1-2).

Our first step is to go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.  If he listens to you, you have gained a brother (v. 15).   I have been confronted several times because, honestly, I tend to talk before I think.  And I have the utmost respect for those several men who have come to talk to me in private about this.    They have earned my trust and, I hope, my repentance.  I would be disappointed to learn that I had sinned yet no one talked to me about it. 

Jesus continued, “But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.   If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church,” (vv. 16-17a).   Notice the three-step progression before any hint of discipline or punishment is required.  Every attempt is made at reconciliation, not expulsion. But some hearts remain hard, even after being confronted as instructed in God’s Word.

Therefore if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector (v. 17b).   A sinning brother is like “a little leaven (which) leavens the whole lump,” (Galatians 5:9). And a brother who unrepentantly abuses his freedom in Christ, will cause others to stumble and should be treated as an outsider by the church. 

Church discipline is a difficult but necessary task.   But our Lord has equipped us to do the job.  The same promise he gave to Peter in 16:19, he then gave to his church: “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven,” (v. 18).   As the body of believers acts in a “spirit of gentleness” (Galatians 6:1), they will also act with the full authority of the heavenly Godhead behind them. 

Likewise, Jesus added, “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them,” (vv. 19-20).    Unfortunately these two verses are frequently misused (albeit innocently) by some Christians who apply these verses as some sort of magic formula that manipulates God into giving you whatever you want.  But if accurately examined, these verses continue the themes of two promises: 1) the authority to act and 2) God is always with us.  This second promise runs throughout Matthew’s gospel from 1:23 (“God is with us”) to 28:20 (“I am with you always to the end of the age.”)

Wolves in sheep’s clothing will infiltrate the church (see Acts 20:28-30). Today where Christianity is growing rapidly, like the global south, Africa, and China, this problem is especially acute.    Most pastors have little theological training and their flocks are easily preyed upon by “ravenous wolves” disguised “in sheep’s clothing” (7:15).    And the Christian west, even though rich in resources and training, unfortunately is not immune to these ravenous wolves.  Within our churches we must continually examine ourselves, our teaching and our flocks.  For Jesus is protective of his little ones.

Matthew 18:10-14: The God Who Pursues

“See to it that you do not despise one of these little ones.”  Jesus in Matthew 18:10

This is a mosaic in the Mausoleum of Galla Placida in Ravenna, Italy.  This mosaic dates back to 425 AD.  Notice the refined Christology in this mosaic.  This is not an ordinary shepherd; this shepherd is ordained in royal robes with a luminating halo.  No doubt that this shepherd is depicted as the Good Shepherd. 

"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. 

“I fled Him, down the nights and down the days; I fled Him, down the arches of the years; I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways of my own mind and in the mist of tears… All which thy child's mistake fancies as lost, I have stored for thee at home.  Rise, clasp My hand, and come." (Francis Thompson, “Hound of Heaven,” first and last lines)

These verses continue Jesus’ passionate teaching, which is spread out across  all of chapter 18.  The grand theme of this chapter can be found here in the first part of verse 10.   Jesus instructs, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones,” (v. 10).  The phrase these little ones is a reference to any and all throughout the ages who follow him.  

“For I tell you” calls attention to what is to follow and may be synonymous with “here is why” or “let me explain.”   “That In heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.”  Most scholars point out that this does not teach that each person has one appointed guardian angel.   However, other verses teach that angels minster and serve “those who are to inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14; see also Psalm 91:11).   The angels who serve his followers also gaze upon the very face of the Father.   May we not make them stumble or allow them to wander.  This is the first reason of two mentioned in this passage why we should not despise any of our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

In the ESV translation, the verse count skips verse 11.  The oldest and most reliable manuscripts of Matthew’s gospel do not contain this verse. It may not be authentic but the message is still true and beautiful:  For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.  Since it is nearly identical to Luke 19:10, we can be confident in the truth of verse 11. 

Jesus continues on the theme of why it is vital that we do not despise one of these little ones (v. 10).   Here is the second reason: “What do you think?  If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?  And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety nine that never went astray,” (vv. 12-13).

This parable illustrates why Jesus has captured my heart.  Our God is a pursuing God. In other religions God Is distant and indifferent.  In those faiths man strives to become like God. In Christianity God intently and humbly becomes a man. He paid the sin penalty in His body that we all owe and that is demanded by divine justice.   “No greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends,” (John 15:13).

In Luke 15:1-7 the same parable is used but for a different purpose.    In Luke’s gospel, the lost sheep are those outside of the family of Christ, those who are truly lost.  While here in Matthew 18, the lost sheep are those among his little ones who have wandered.   Together these two uses of the same parable paint a beautiful picture of the heart of God; our Lord pursues all men of all nations at all times with the same vigor and passion. “It is the will of our Father who is in heaven that none of these little ones perish,” (v. 14).  This glorious truth is both a call to worship and a call to missions!

A modern parable goes like this:  A man falls into a pit and cannot get out.   Someone wanders up to the edge of the pit, peers down at the man and says, “This must be God’s will.  If you pray real hard and do good works, maybe you can get out.” He turns and walks away.  Another man approaches, looks down on the helpless man and declares, “You must have done something really bad; now you must die and work it off in your next life.”  He also turns and leaves.

Another man, different from the others, approaches the pit.  “Do you want to get out?” he calls down.   “Of course,” is the weak reply.   The man lowers a ladder, climbs into the pit and rescues the dying man.  The strong man rejoices over the one he has saved!  While others walk away, the Good Shepherd “lays down his life for the sheep,” (John 10:11).

Matthew 18:8-9 Cut It Off and Throw It Away

“And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.”  Jesus in Matthew 18:8

“(The) Son is exalted when we cherish him above all things, especially when ‘all things’ are about to be snatched from us, including our life on earth,” (John Piper, Filling up the Afflictions of Christ, p. 82).  

"This man at the back of the knave started tearing at his face and I realized he was gouging out his eyes…I carried on celebrating Mass but a lot of people had left because they were so shocked.” (Father Lorenzo Tanganelli, speaking of a man who took these verses literally near Pisa, Italy; www.nbcnewyork.com October 3, 2011)

As Jesus teaches in Matthew chapter 18 about the seriousness of sin, he turns the focus to the individual in these two verses.   Not only should we not be a stumbling block to others, we should separate ourselves from those things and activities that cause us to sin.    Jesus said, “And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.  It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.  And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.  It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire” (v. 8-9).  

A similar teaching in Matthew’s gospel appears in 5:29-30.   It is important to note that preceding those verses is the teaching that the heart, not the action, is the root of sin (see 5:21-22; 27-28; see also Mark 7:21-22). Additionally, if we did pluck out our eye then “the church would be,” according to Bryant Wright our pastor in Atlanta, “full of one-eyed sinners.”  Nowhere in Scripture does the early church literally model cutting off a hand or tearing out an eye.  It is incorrect to isolate Jesus’ words here and conclude that sin is only skin-deep.

But these verses about cutting off hands and poking out eyes are a part of Holy Scripture.  Therefore we must pursue their meaning since “All Scripture is inspired by God…” (2 Timothy 3:16).  Their meaning is found when one realizes Jesus frequently used hyperbole, employing exaggerations and even impossibilities, in order to stress a teaching point (i.e., “moving mountains” in 17:20 or a camel going through “the eye of a needle” in 19:24). 

Our lives on earth are temporary yet our relationship with Jesus will last forever.  What are the idols in our lives that keep us from living with an eternal perspective or finding our deepest joy in Christ?  Let’s identify them and sever them.  Those idols can take many forms for us today.  They may be materialistic, political or lifestyle pursuits that become a greater passion to us than Christ and His kingdom.  I have heard recently about a pastor who told his congregation to delete their facebook accounts because the rekindling of old romantic relationships via facebook was destroying marriages within his church.    “If facebook causes you to sin…”

What about TV or the internet?  Food or sports?  Money, sex and power?  Do we create boundaries in our lives to protect us from “the sin which so easily entangles us” (Hebrews 12:1, NASB)?   I installed accountability software on our family computers because I know all to well the lure of dark places.   I want our family’s joy and treasure to be in the Lord.  Therefore I want to cut away any stumbling block that may hinder my family or me.

Stephen Arteburn in his excellent book, Every Man’s Battle, says there are three “gates” that we must guard in our pursuit of purity.  We must guard our eye gate (what we see), our mind gate (what we think), and our heart gate (what we adore).  These are valuable tools for me as I am confronted daily by the world’s temptations. 

Even though this passage uses hyperbole, there is one part of this passage that is not a hyperbole:  eternal fire.  The Greek word for hell is gehenna, which in turn comes from the Hebrew for “Valley of Hinnon” a ravine used for garbage that was continually burning, located just outside Jerusalem. Therefore some argue that Jesus is merely referencing a trash dump and not a literally place of eternal judgment.   Yet the theme of the eternal fire of hell is found throughout Scripture. (See Isaiah 66:24, Mark 9:43, 48; Matthew 3:12, 25:46; Revelation 20:10, 14-15).

The point of this passage is that sin has severe consequences.  These consequences are so dire that a loving God humbled himself and paid the price for our sin in his body.  Yet those who have rejected God’s provision will justly be thrown into the hell of fire. May we not forsake our Lord’s teaching and may we treasure him above all treasures.  May we cut away any branch that fails to lead us to a deeper knowledge of our greatest joy, our Lord! 

Matthew 18:7: Sin and the Ultimate Stumbling Block

“Woe to the world for temptations to sin!” Jesus in Matthew 18:7

“My tour is a religious experience!  I'm teaching people to worship themselves."  (Lady Gaga; interviewed May 13, 2011) 

 “I had motives for not wanting the world to have a meaning…Those who detect no meaning in the world generally do so because, for one reason or another, it suits their books that the world should be meaningless,” (Aldous Huxley quoted by Ravi Zacharias in his book, Can Man Live Without God? p. 30)

After being asked by His disciples, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (v. 1), Jesus gives a passionate message stretching over all of chapter 18 about how His children should treat and take care of one another.  Jesus said, “Woe to the world for temptations to sin!” (v.7).  Woe means here “how greatly one will suffer!”  The Greek word for temptations to sin is skandalon, which the NASB translates “stumbling block.”  Sin is not some medieval antiquated religious term.  Our Lord attaches very dire consequences to sin and gives provocative exhortations to avoid sin.  He uses terms such as drowning and eternal fire as a way to emphasize just how serious stumbling blocks are.

And ultimately, in the greatest act of love, justice, mercy and power that our universe has ever seen, Jesus offers himself as the sacrifice for our sin.  While “fools mock at sin,” Proverbs 14:9 (NASB), our Lord took sin very seriously.  In order to remedy its effects on man and creation, he emptied himself of all his divinity in order to make payment for our sin. 

Romans 14:13 teaches us to never “put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.”   We are free to eat and drink whatever we want but if that freedom causes one of his little ones to stumble, then we are “no longer walking in love,” (Romans 14:15).  James also warns us against causing others to stumble because of the words we say (see James 3:1-12).    May we not destroy with our food (or drink or words) “the one for whom Christ died,” (Romans 14:15).

Jesus continues, “For it is necessary that temptations come,” (v. 7).  This is a difficult statement.  Why is it necessary that temptations come?  It seems it would be easier to walk with God in a world where there were no stumbling blocks, no temptations to sin.   But what seems right to man may not be right in God’s eyes.  Scripture says that part of the process of becoming more Christ-like is to confront sin in the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Consider Romans 5:3-5: “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”  James 1:2-4 teaches, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”  Jesus teaches in a parable that to root up the evil weeds would actually damage the good wheat, (see 13:29).

Temptations will come; it is inevitable.  But woe to the one by whom temptation comes!  (v. 7) Woe to the one who has quenched the Spirit’s work and has hardened himself to sin and been given over to it (Romans 1:28).  He may gloat in the idea that he has thwarted God.   But this is not true!  God, in his holiness and sovereignty will now use him, even as an instrument of evil, to strengthen his saints and accomplish his plans.   No man will turn aside God.

From Joseph’s brothers to Pharaoh to the chief priests and Judas to Satan’s minions at Armageddon, God will ultimately use for his glory those whose intent is to put stumbling blocks before man. “It is he (God) who sits above the circle of the earth…who brings princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness,” (Isaiah 40:22-23).

It is not just the meandering rock stars or the rulers of earth who can make his little ones stumble.  We too must embrace these warnings for ourselves.  Let us be careful what we say, what we drink, what we post on social media, what we wear or the kind of persona we try to present to others.   Yes, we have freedom in Christ, but are we encouraging others in their walks with God through our everyday lives?  These are hard lessons to learn. 

Lets also remember that Jesus Christ is the ultimate stumbling block for those who refuse his invitation.   For the redeemed, Christ is our fortress, our shield and our strong tower (see Psalm 18:2).   Yet the Cornerstone of our faith has become “the stone that the builders have rejected,” (Psalm 118:22).    May we find our rock and refuge in Christ! 

Matthew 18:5-6 Jesus’ Passion for His Little Ones

“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,” Jesus in Matthew 18:5

"We’re not going to let a child in our county be without a mom or dad for a night, without someone who will care for them and love on them,”  (David Platt, author of Radical, explaining his church’s efforts to cover the entire need for foster families in Shelby county Alabama where the church is located; www.thealabamabaptist.org in a post dated November 19, 2009) 

One of the great movements within Christianity that I have seen is a renewed emphasis on adoption and foster parenting.   My good friend Gary Gaddini, a pastor in Redwood City, California, and his wife Anne recently adopted a little girl from the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Gary explained to me the spiritual significance of adoption and how it reflects the work of God in a Christian’s life: we were lost, without a home, dwelling in darkness.  Yet God chose us, gave us a new identity and adopted us into his family.  

Adoption is a beautiful act of mercy that is also a picture of a spiritual reality.  Additionally adoption is living in light of Jesus’ words in verse 5: “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.”  However there is still a broader meaning to this verse.  Jesus is describing what humility, mentioned in the previous verse (v. 4), looks like.   He is speaking of our need to receive in his name those who have humbled themselves like a child.   Receiving one such child is receiving Christ himself.   

This is not about salvation but it is about how we treat those loved by Christ.  Jesus affectionately uses words for those within his church that imply family as well as words that imply he personally identifies with them.    For example, Christ equates the phrase “little ones” with “disciple.” (10:42).   And again he says, “as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me,” (25:40; see also 25:45).

Contrastingly, Jesus says, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea,” (v. 6).    A millstone is a large circular stone that was used to grind grain.   Some were so big that a donkey was needed to rotate the millstone. Millstones were so vital to the lives of those during Bible times that one of the Mosaic laws said “no one shall take a …millstone in pledge, for that would be taking a life in pledge,” (Deuteronomy 24:6). 

My wife EB with a millstone in the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, 2011

Jesus uses near superlative language to construct a metaphor (i.e., great millstone, better…to be drowned, depth of the sea) to communicate the seriousness of causing his little ones to stumble.  D. A. Carson, in his commentary on Matthew, says this metaphor is “the horror of judgment sharpened.”

Our Lord is so passionate for his flock that he lays down his life for his sheep (see John 10:11).    It would do us well to heed the instruction of our Lord as he explains throughout chapter 18 how his sheep should treat one another. We are to love, care, forgive, pursue, nurture and protect each other as well as we must put aside our power plays and egos.  The seriousness of Jesus’ words here should make us tremble.

I fear for those who have used peer pressure, fame, authority, influence and other platforms to destroy the faith of his children.   Dr. William Dembski, a college professor well-known for his work in Intelligent Design, in a 2008 interview warns of unbelieving college biology professors whose intent is to use “biology, especially evolutionary biology, as an ideological weapon to destroy faith in God.”

Yet I must also examine myself.  When have I said a careless word that causes one of these little ones who believe in him to stumble?  When have I acted in a haughty way that enticed a young believer away from the path of God?  For I too am now guilty of causing one of his little ones to sin.   Yet praise God for the gospel of grace.   His forgiveness is available to all who want it and it is greater than all our sin.  

Matthew 18:4: Greatest in the Kingdom

“Whoever humbles himself like this child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven,” Jesus in Matthew 18:4

“…for me it is success and drivenness and it is productivity and it is victory that drives me constantly. I – that’s my own little idol and it works well in a church because no one would ever yell at you for being a Christian who produces results.”  (Words from a 2006 sermon from the pastor of a church once known as “the fastest growing church in America.”  To his credit, the pastor has since stepped away from this attitude)

“The cause of Christ is greatly dependent on the self-forgetting souls who are satisfied to occupy a small sphere in an obscure place, free from self-seeking ambition.”  (John MacArthur, Commentary on Matthew 8-15)

Jesus is in Capernaum (see 16:24) on his way to Jerusalem (see 16:21) mindful that there he will be given over to evil men.   His disciples cannot quite fathom all this, at least not yet.   They are more concerned about other things (i.e., themselves) and ask Jesus, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (v. 1) Instead of lining the disciples up from greatest to least, Jesus does something totally unexpected. He puts a child “in the midst of them” (v. 3).

Jesus says, “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven,” (v. 4).  This statement is counter-cultural!  It is hard-wired into our fallen natures to be self-sufficient, prideful and to strive to be number one.   Yes, there is a place for excellence in our world today.   But that is not what Jesus is teaching about here.   Also, this is a dangerous topic for me to teach on.  The moment one props himself up as a teacher on humility, he just may have disqualified himself from being humble.   Yet as we walk through Matthew’s gospel together, let’s try to grasp what our Lord is teaching, knowing all of us need grace everyday in our walks with God.

Jesus tells a parable in Luke’s gospel contrasting two men who went to the temple to pray.  The first, a Pharisee who thanked God he was not like all the other losers around him.  Then to further the distance even more between him and the low-lifes, the Pharisee rattled off his list of religious deeds.   But the second man would not even lift his eyes to heaven and cried out, “God be merciful to me, a sinner!” Jesus condemns the first man and says,  “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled but the one who humbles himself will be exalted,” (Luke 18:14). 

While on a trip to Africa we heard a story from one the clinics that Christian friends of ours operated.  A woman failed to birth a son for her Muslim husband and birthed a handicapped daughter instead.  He divorced her on the spot and left her alone to care for their daughter.   Shame and failure should not be tolerated is the lesson here. 

And as Americans we too struggle with our pride.  In the American church we value achievement and growth over child-like faith.   Too many pastors are more like celebrities and CEOs, than shepherds and servants; our churches are more like enterprises and businesses than flocks and families.  Can one find a Christian book where praise for the author and a list of his achievements are not printed on the dust jacket or back cover?

As I type this it is a hot summer afternoon.   I can hear the sounds of children playing at a nearby swimming pool.   I hear laughter, splashing and rapid conversation.   For me this is an audio picture of how Jesus spoke of humility.   Our God loves us not because we work hard or produce more.  God loves us simply because he chooses to love us.   Warts and all.   Sin and all.   And he wants us to rest in that love.   This is difficult to learn, as it was for the disciples, because we all want to prove our worth and call attention to our successes.  

The greatest in the kingdom of heaven will not be those who are famous on earth.   Fame and humility rarely mix.  Those greatest in the kingdom of heaven will likely be those we have never heard of; missionaries and pastors who labored faithfully yet anonymously, those who endured great trials yet constantly put their hope in God in spite of their difficult circumstances.    Or simply those who enjoyed life, not because everything was perfect but because, like a child, they rested, played and worshiped in the continual presence of their heavenly Father.

Matthew 18:1-3: Becoming Like Children

“Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven,” Jesus in Matthew 18:3

The upshot of it all is, then, this: that the Kingdom of God is not taken—acquired—laid hold of; it is just "received." It comes to men, men do not come to it. And when it comes to men, they merely "receive" it, "as"—"like"— "a little child." That is to say, they bring nothing to it and have nothing to recommend them to it except their helplessness. They depend wholly on the King.  (Benjamin Warfield, 'Conferences' in the Oratory of Princeton Seminary, p. 79)
 

In 1962, Swiss theologian Karl Barth was lecturing at Princeton Theological Seminary. According to church lore, he was asked to summarize the theological meaning of the millions of words in his book Church Dogmatics. Barth thought for a moment and said: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” 

The lesson of the past several chapters has been learning to walk by faith in Jesus.  This theme continues in chapter 18.    These lessons here in the heart of Matthew’s gospel parallel the believer’s journey with Christ.  First, our journey with Christ begins when we come to know him for who he truly is.  Peter proclaimed to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” (16:16).  Second, through testing we learn to trust him, as the disciples went through various trials that strengthened their faith in Christ (16:21-17:27).  

Third, as we learn to trust him, we also learn to love one another as Christ has loved us.  This is the theme of chapter 18.   The commandment to love your neighbor as yourself is second only to the Greatest Commandment: loving (i.e., learning to trust) God with all our heart, soul and mind (22:37-39).  

Mark included a few verses in his parallel narrative that serve as a prequel to this passage.  While in Capernaum and likely at Peter’s house, Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you discussing on your way here?”  (Mark 9:33)  At first there is only silence “for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest,” (Mark 9:34).    At this point Matthew picks up the story with a chronological time stamp: “At that time,” (v. 1).  Although we don’t know the amount of time, we do know that the disciples’ question in verse 1 comes quickly after the end of chapter 17. 

“The disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”  The question seems preposterous.  But wait.  Jesus does seem to show favorites.   Peter was directly praised (16:18) and only three disciples went with Jesus up the mountain while the rest failed an exorcism.  Even though Jesus spoke of our need to deny ourselves and take up our cross (see 16:24), this does not happen naturally, as the disciples’ question illustrates. 

The male ego breaks easily and constantly needs to be stroked.  As a male, I understand why the disciples asked about who is the greatest.  When my ego is bruised, I often compare myself to others and I want to know where I fit in the pecking order.  Jesus, aware of our fragile egos, uses an object lesson to answer the disciples’ question. And as usual, he totally turns upside-down the expectations of his disciples and breaks the world’s paradigms.

And calling to him a child (perhaps Peter’s child) he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven,” (vv.2-3).   There is no room for the boisterousness of human achievement, or as John calls it, “the boastful pride of life,” (1 John 2:16, NASB). 

Recently the mayor of a large city in America proclaimed, “When I get to heaven I’m not stopping to be interviewed. I am heading straight in. I have earned my place in heaven.”   As alien and prideful as this may sound, it is not uncommon for people to believe that “I’m not such a bad guy; God will surely let me in.”   But Jesus calls us to turn and repent from that attitude.  He wants us to trust as a child, not boast about ourselves.

Matthew 17:24-27; For Me and For Yourself

This 1427 painting by Tommaso Cassai Masaccio called "Tribute Money" moves from right to left.    On the right we see Peter confronted by the tax collector, then Jesus speaking with Peter and the disciples.  Finally on the extreme left we see Peter fishing.  

“However, so that we do not offend them … take the first fish that comes up…” Jesus to Peter in Matthew 17:27 

“Although my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.” (John Newton, 1725-1807, former slave trader who came to Christ and wrote the hymn, “Amazing Grace.”) 

Jesus is leading his disciples to Jerusalem (see 16:21).  And when they came to Capernaum (v. 24), they likely stop at Peter’s house (see Mark 1:21, 29).  The collectors of the half-shekel tax  (v. 24) confront Peter outside his home. (Is it mere coincidence that Matthew the tax-collector is the only one of the four gospel writers to include this story?)  

These tax-collectors are not the dreaded ones who work on behalf of the occupying Romans.  Rather, these Jewish tax-collectors are gathering the annual two-drachma tax, the equivalency of two days’ wages, as specified in Exodus 30:11-16.  This is a “happy tax,” a tax that the Jews are glad to pay since it helps to maintain the temple.

These tax-collectors were neither friends of Rome nor friends of Jesus.  They try to trap Peter.   They went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” (v. 24).  If the answer is no, then the unbelieving Jews can accuse Jesus of breaking the Law of Moses.  If the answer is yes, then that would discredit Jesus’ claim of divinity: Why would God pay a tax?   Peter’s answer was succinct; he said, “Yes.” (v. 25).  Then Jesus took over from that point.

And when he (Peter) came into the house, Jesus, omnisciently aware of what just happened, spoke to him first (v. 25). Perhaps Peter was shaken up by the confrontation outside his home.   Jesus says, “What do you think, Simon?  From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax?  From their sons or from others?”  And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free.”  (vv. 25-26).  Jesus has affirmed Peter’s status as a son of the King.  This status is true not just for Peter but for all believers at all times.   Because of this truth we can call God “Father.” (See Galatians 4:6-7, Romans 8:15-16).   What a glorious blessing of the reconciliation our Lord brings to us!

But Jesus is not finished. “However, not to give offense to them…”  (v. 27) Our freedom is not a cloak by which we cover ourselves from the responsibilities of the world around us.  Jesus will pay the tax even though he was free not to; in this situation not to give offense was more important to Jesus than exerting his rights.  At other times, Jesus did offend the Jews (see 15:12, Luke 11:45-46). But he loved the temple (John 2:17) and he did not come to abolish the Law (5:12).  Therefore, not to give offense was more important to Jesus than proving wrong these tax collectors.

And in providing for the tax, Jesus didn’t just pull a shekel from His pocket and flip it to Peter.  Rather, Jesus makes Peter go the long way and fish for the shekel!  Why?   Scripture does not give us direct insight into Jesus’ reasoning at this moment but there is a principle of faith found in the New Testament that is consistent with this story.   Peter’s faith was likely weak at this time after a series of rebukes (Matthew 16:23, 17:5, 17:17; 17:24).  

Therefore, Jesus wanted to nurture Peter and to strengthen his faith. So Jesus instructs Peter to “go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel.  Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself,” (v. 27). Weak faith becomes stronger as it is exercised.  Peter heard the loving, affirming and provisional words of Jesus, particularly the phrase, “for me and for yourself.”  To obey Jesus, Peter had to exercise his faith and take Jesus at his word; consequently, he will once again find Jesus faithful.

In this passage we see the tough yet tender love of Jesus for Peter.  John Piper in his biography on John Newton refers to the “tough roots of his habitual tenderness.”  This attribute in Newton was carved into his life the same way it was carved into Peter:  In spite of the rebukes, Jesus continually nurtured and loved Peter.   Our Lord will not hesitate to discipline us as a loving father disciplines his son (see Hebrews 12:7).  Yet he will always affirm and love us.

We are all lumpy cracked chunks of rock upon which the Master Carver is at work.   May we not groan and complain at the hammering and digging of the mallet and chisel.  Instead may we rejoice that the Master is shaping us into his image.  And he will not stop till he has lovingly brought “it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

Matthew 17:22-23: Delivered but not Distressed

“The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” Jesus in Matthew 17:22

“Jesus is… no pale-faced altar boy with his hair parted in the middle, speaking softly, avoiding confrontation, who at last gets himself killed because he has no way out….He is the Lord of hosts, the captain of angel armies.  And when Christ returns, he is at the head of a dreadful company, mounted on a white horse, with a double-edged sword, his robe dipped in blood.”  (John Eldridge, Wild at Heart, p. 29) 

Down from the mountain where Jesus was transfigured, which was witnessed by Peter, James and John (v. 1),  Jesus and his disciples are coming back together and gathering in Galilee (v. 22).   The incident with the demon-possessed boy and Jesus’ words about faith are both fresh in the disciples’ minds.   With that as the context, Jesus reminds the disciples again of what he told them in 16:21.  Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men…” (v. 22).

Jesus is the fulfillment of the long-awaited Son of Man as prophesied in Daniel 7:13 and fully realized in Revelation chapters 14 and 19.  (See devotion on 24:30 “Son of Man Cometh”).  We have the benefit of looking back and seeing this fulfillment clearly. But the disciples, in the midst of it all, were still trying to sort it out. They were still expecting Jesus to be a political messiah. Even at his ascension the disciples asked if it was then that the kingdom of Israel was to be restored (see Acts 1:6).  Here in 17:22-23 they did not understand Christ was to be first the suffering Messiah, delivered into the hands of men (v 22).   

That Almighty God would allow this seems unfathomable!   But by the Holy Spirit, we learn it is the Master’s plan that he be delivered into the hands of men and that they will kill him (v. 23).  His death, burial and resurrection bring about maximum glory for the Father, reconciling man and restoring creation.   John MacArthur says in his commentary, “Jesus was neither helpless nor passive about going to the cross.” In fact, he was “walking ahead” of his disciples on the road to Jerusalem (Mark 10:32).

Jesus also said he will be raised on the third day (v. 23).  But as MacArthur points out in his commentary, the disciples had no category for this.  Like Martha at Lazarus’ tomb, the disciples may have thought Jesus was speaking figuratively of the “resurrection on the last day,” (John 11:24).

Luke adds that “they did not understanding this saying and it was concealed from them so that they might not perceive it.  And they were afraid to ask him about this saying,” (Luke 9:45).  Only after the resurrection had “he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” that said how “Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,” (Luke 24:45-46).  It should be no wonder that the disciples could not fully grasp what Jesus is talking about and that they were greatly distressed (v. 23). 

There is a wildness to our Lord that cannot be contained, fully understood tamed or packaged.    Man cannot grasp the full plan of infinite God.   In our world today, airplanes full of people crash into buildings or just disappear.   Innocents suffer and die as one nation invades another nation while good nations do nothing.   I have friends who have had parents, spouses, even children, die recently.

But the final chapter has not been written. “We shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).  Death will be swallowed up and “he will wipe away every tear from (our) eyes,” (Revelation 21:4). For now, may we trust and obey, knowing that the path to the empty tomb must first go through Jerusalem, into the hands of evil men, onto the cross and sealed into the grave.   

Still, he walks ahead; he is our forerunner to Jerusalem where he will “destroy the one who has the power of death” (Hebrews 2:14).   Just as he is about to be delivered into the hands of men, he will “deliver all those who through the fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery,” (Hebrews 2:15).