Gospel Notes by Michael Whelan SM
“If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. 16 If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you: whatever the misdemeanour, the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain the charge. 17 But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community;1 and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a gentile or a tax collector.2
18 ‘In truth I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.3
19 ‘In truth I tell you once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three meet in my name, I am there among them.’” (Matthew 18:15-20 – NJB).
1. The ekklesia, i.e. the qahal or gathering of the brethren.
2. Outcasts with whom the pious Jew could not communicate, see 5:46u and 9:10e. Compare the excommunication of 1 Co 5:11
3. One of the powers conferred on Peter, 16:19, is here conferred also on the community.
Introductory notes
General
There is a similar text in Luke: “Be on your guard! If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive. And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive” (17:3-4).
See also something similar in John: “Those whose sins you forgive etc” (20:23).
Reconciliation is a crucial part of human existence. It becomes a very concrete and immediate issue in community life. Matthew’s audience would also have been aware of the instruction of the Torah: “You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:17-18). And, as to the process, there are some laws that apply. For example: “A single witness shall not suffice to convict a person of any crime or wrongdoing in connection with any offense that may be committed. Only on the evidence of two or three witnesses shall a charge be sustained” (Deuteronomy 19:15).
Specific
point out: The Greek verb is elegxon and it is generally translated as “expose”, “reprove” or “convict”. The Jerusalem Bible translates it as “have it out with him”. The whole thrust of this interaction seems to be towards an honest and transparent interaction: “We are in this together, and we need to sort it out together”. Refer again to the Leviticus text cited above: “You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove (the Greek verb elegxon is used in the Septuagint) your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself . . .”
take one or two others along with you: If the first step fails, then move to the second step. This seems to be based on Deuteronomy 19:15 cited above.
tell it to the church: “Although Gk. ekklēsía became a distinctively Christian word, it has both a Greek and an OT history. In the Greek world it was used of a public assembly summoned by a herald (< ek, “out,” and kaleín, “to call”; cf. Acts 19:32, 39f). In the LXX it was used for the Heb. qāhāl, which denotes the congregation or people of Israel, especially as gathered before the Lord (cf. Acts 7:38). It is of interest that behind the NT term stand both Greek democracy and Hebrew theocracy, the two being brought together in a theocratic democracy or democratic theocracy.
“In the teaching of Jesus Himself there is little mention of the Church. The only two references in the Gospels are both in Matthew (16:18: “On this rock I will build my church,” and 18:17: “Tell it to the church”). In the second of these the reference might be to the Jewish synagogue, though the general context of Mt. 18 seems to suggest the emergent Christian community. Apart from the critical questions raised by some scholars, these verses give rise to many problems. For example, do they denote the intention of Jesus to found a Church? If so, or even if He only foresees its creation, what is the relation of this Church to the older congregation of the Lord? Is the new to continue the old, to supersede it, or to be quite different and perhaps parallel? Again, what is the relationship between the Church and the kingdom of God or of heaven which is the main theme of the teaching of Jesus? Are the two completely different? Are they synonymous? Or is the Church as the present sphere of Christ’s rule a provisional or partial form of the kingdom?
“These questions are easier to ask than to answer, and it is probably in terms of a qualified comprehensiveness that true solutions are to be sought. Thus, the Church of Jesus is a new body, yet there is a continuity of fulfillment in relation to the OT congregation. Again, the kingdom is quite evidently not the Church, for we could hardly proclaim the Church as the first apostles proclaimed the kingdom (Acts 8:12). On the other hand, we certainly cannot say that the Church is an alternative after the rejection of the kingdom. To the extent that the Church is a fellowship of those who have accepted the kingdom, submitted to its rule, and become its heirs, we may rather believe that it is a creation and instrument and therefore a form and manifestation of the kingdom prior to its final establishment in glory” (G W Bromiley, “Church” in G. W. Bromiley (Ed.), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Vol. 1), Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988, 693).
It is interesting to note that “the Qumran community had a similar threefold procedure: ‘let him rebuke him on the very same day lest he incur guilt because of him. And furthermore, let no man accuse his companion before the Congregation without having first admonished him in the presence of witnesses” (Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992, 468).
let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector: This suggests that the ekklesia had to face some difficult decisions in a very tough environment. Daniel Harrington writes: “The expression presupposes a largely Jewish-Christian milieu (see Matt 5:46–47; 6:7) in which such people are looked down upon. Nevertheless, earlier in the Gospel such persons have shown great faith in Jesus (8:1–11; 9:9–13; 11:19; 15:21–28). The sentence sounds like a decree of excommunication. For shunning erring Christians, see 1 Cor 5:1–5; 2 Thess 3:6–15; 2 John 10” (Daniel Harrington, op cit, 269). It is worth noting the phrase, “be to you”. It is not “be to the church”.
whatever you bind …. loose: “The power to bind and loose, previously bestowed on Peter in 16:19, is now given to all the disciples at large. Taken in context with 18:15–17, that power would seem to concern either the imposing (and lifting) of decrees of excommunication or the forgiving (and not forgiving) of sins” (Daniel J Harrington, op cit, 269)..
Earthy facts
In today’s Gospel – Matthew 18:15-20 – we have the second of two occasions in which Matthew refers to the community of disciples with the Greek word, ekklēsia. This word was used in wider society at that time to designate a gathering of the people to make a decision. However, the word is also found in the Septuagint – the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible – to describe a gathering for worship. It is in this second sense that Matthew uses the word twice. It is therefore translated, not as “gathering” but as “church.” In 16:18 Jesus tells Peter that he is “the rock on which I will build my ekklēsia.” Jesus clearly has in mind the universal reality of “the Church.” In today’s text, he clearly has in mind the local reality of “the Church” – “a church” rather than “the Church.”
If our conversations about “Church” stay at that universal level – at the level of the abstract – we will inevitably become disconnected from the earthy facts of human existence that will always be found when we consider “Church” in its local manifestations – at the level of the concrete. Those earthy facts of human existence carry with them the ever-present need for reconciliation. One particularly significant earthy fact is that all of us all the time are in need of reconciliation – with God, ourselves, other human beings and creation.
Recall that moment when we first encounter the idea of ekklēsia in Matthew. There are three revelations there. Firstly, Jesus is revealed as the Messiah – see 16:13-20. Secondly, it is revealed that the Messiah’s mission to bring about the kingdom involves going up to Jerusalem where he will suffer, die and rise from the dead – 16:21-23. Thirdly, it is revealed that discipleship involves participation in this Messianic mission – 16:24-28. Ekklēsia is central to that mission.
There are at least two major facts implied in this. Firstly, being ekklēsia does not mean an evasion but an embracing of our humanity with all its earthy facts. Specifically, our need for reconciliation will be a primary ingredient of our life as a community of disciples. Secondly, the source of that reconciliation is not us but him. Jesus, the ultimate source of reconciliation for the world, is present through us, active in us, in each moment, everywhere. Therefore, we do all we can to let him have his way. We endeavour to do and say nothing that would become an obstacle to him carrying out his mission of reconciliation. We are instruments of his reconciliation.
Being ekklēsia calls us to be ever-alert to ways we might become instruments of reconciliation wherever we are. Listen for and face honestly your own need for reconciliation. Pay particular attention to any inclinations to judge others. Consider what qualities make for good family life, a good workplace environment, a good neigbourhood culture, harmony in any human organizations anywhere.