Matthew 18

The Gospel of Matthew contains five discourses, or extended collections of Jesus' teaching. This chapter is the fourth of them. Because it addresses how the community of disciples ought to live, it is commonly called the "Community Discourse." It continues from the Capernaum scene at the end of Matthew 17 and concludes with the words "when Jesus had finished these sayings" in Matthew 19:1.

Outline

• Verses 1–5 The disciples ask who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus sets a little child in their midst and answers that whoever humbles himself is the greatest.
• Verses 6–9 Jesus warns against causing one of the little ones who believe to stumble, that is, to fall away from faith. He says that a hand, foot, or eye that causes one to sin should be cut off or plucked out and cast away.
• Verses 10–14 Jesus warns against despising the little ones and tells the parable of a man with a hundred sheep who seeks the one that has gone astray.
• Verses 15–20 Jesus sets out the steps for admonishing a brother who sins: first privately between the two of them, then with two or three witnesses, and finally by telling it to the church. There follow promises concerning the authority to bind and loose, the agreement of two in prayer, and the gathering of two or three.
• Verses 21–35 When Peter asks how many times he must forgive, Jesus answers, "Until seventy times seven." He then tells the parable of a servant who was forgiven a debt of ten thousand talents yet threw a fellow servant who owed him a hundred denarii into prison.

Key Verses

• Matthew 18:3 "Except ye be converted, and become as little children" — presents lowliness, not status, as the standard of the kingdom of heaven.
• Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" — widely quoted as a promise of Christ's presence even in small gatherings.
• Matthew 18:22 "Until seventy times seven" — speaks of forgiveness without numerical limit.

People and Places

• Jesus and the disciples
• Peter — asks how many times he must forgive.
• A little child — the child Jesus set among the disciples as an example.
• No location is named within the chapter itself. From the context of the preceding chapter, the setting is understood to be Capernaum.

Points for Reflection

• The Parable of the Lost Sheep in verses 10–14 also appears in Luke 15. Luke presents it as a story of seeking lost sinners, while Matthew presents it as a story of seeking a little one who has gone astray within the community.
• Verse 11 is absent from many of the oldest manuscripts, so translations such as the Korean Revised Version mark it "(omitted)." Some manuscripts and the King James Version include a sentence similar to Luke 19:10.
• "Their angels" in verse 10 is often cited as a basis for the concept of guardian angels. The Catholic Church teaches the existence of guardian angels, while interpretations vary within Protestantism.
• The authority to bind and loose in verse 18 is connected to the words given to Peter in Matthew 16:19. The Catholic Church links 16:19 to papal authority. Protestants generally understand this authority as one entrusted to the church and exercised through the preaching of the Word and church discipline.
• Verses 15–17 serve in many denominations as the biblical basis for disciplinary procedure. Presbyterians hold that this task belongs to a governing body such as the session. Baptists and Congregational churches tend to understand it as carried out by the whole congregation.
• Verses 23–35 make up the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. Since one talent is commonly reckoned at six thousand denarii, the difference between the two debts is enormous.
• The Greek expression in verse 22 can be read either as seventy-seven times or as 490 times. Some read it in contrast to Lamech's "seventy and sevenfold" (Genesis 4:24).

In the Korean Church

• Verse 20 is frequently quoted in cell group worship and small group meetings. Verse 19 is often used to encourage believers to gather for united prayer.
• The Parable of the Lost Sheep is frequently used in Sunday school lessons and sermons.