Tonight’s passage is Matthew chapter 18. It begins, “At that time…” Let’s quickly recap chapter 17 so we remember what time we’re talking about. At the beginning of chapter 17, Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain and was transfigured before them. Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus and spoke with Him about His upcoming departure. Peter offered to build three shelters for them, and his offer was interrupted by God’s voice declaring Jesus to be “my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” The disciples fell down, terrified. Jesus touched them, comforted them and told them to get up and not be afraid. When they got up, there was no one there but Jesus. As they came down the mountain, Jesus told them not to tell what happened until after his resurrection. Then they have a little discussion about Elijah and how he “comes and will restore all things” and how he “has already come, and they did not recognize him” and the disciples understood Jesus was talking about John the Baptist, who came in the spirit and power of Elijah. They arrived at the crowd and a man came and knelt before Jesus and asked Him to heal his son, saying the disciples couldn’t heal the boy. Jesus rebuked the demon, and when the disciples asked why they couldn’t drive the demon out, Jesus explained because of their little faith and, according to Mark 9:29, this kind of demon only comes out with prayer and fasting. When they came to Galilee, Jesus said He would be delivered into the hands of men, they would kill Him, and on the third day, He would be raised to life. They were filled with grief. Then Jesus instructs Peter to go catch a fish to claim the coin in its mouth to pay His and Peter’s temple tax.
Alright, all caught up.
Tonight, we are going to see in Scripture that believers are called to follow Jesus’ example of seeking the lost and
forgiving from the heart. We have
two divisions:
1. Jesus came to seek and save the lost(Matthew
18:1-14; Luke 19:10)
2. Jesus teaches: forgive seventy-seven times(Matthew
18:15-35)
When have you experienced something that wasn’t what
it seemed to be on the surface? A book
or a movie that got rave reviews – but you just couldn’t get into. A new restaurant that turned out to be so
much more than what you expected? A
blind date that turned out good or not?
Are you discovering – like I’m discovering – that nothing in God’s
economy is what it seems? We’re going to
see that right now.
Read Matthew 18:1-5.
Jesus brings a child into their midst as an answer to their
question about who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. What???
Children were unimportant in that culture. Jesus even says the child’s position is
“lowly.” But He also says that the one
who “takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my
name welcomes me.”
Do you seek recognition?
Or do you seek the lowly position that no one notices? Do you welcome those who are considered
“lowly” in Jesus’ name? Or do you ignore
them? Turn away from them? Pretend they don’t exist? Do you smile at the homeless beggar and say
“hello” even if you have nothing to give them but that smile, that kind word
and your prayer? Do you thank the
audio-visual tech at your church for serving even if they didn’t keep the
Powerpoint slides in proper time with the music or your pastor’s sermon?
What does “lowly” really mean?
It means “humble.” Maybe the
version of the Bible you read doesn’t use the word “lowly” at all. Another version of the Scriptures I looked at
records 18:4 like this: “whoever then humbles himself like this child, this one
is the greater in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
The Greek for “humble” in this case is “tatteinoo.” It comes from the verb “tatteinos,” meaning
“to make humble, to humble (in the passive), to be humble.” The Greek Bible app I have says “A strictly
literal rendering of ‘he who humbles himself’ could be misunderstood as ‘he who
despises himself.’ But that is not the
case. I have a favorite quote by C.S.
Lewis: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of
yourself less.”
How do you need to change to become like a little child? What worldly thinking do you need to turn
your back on to obey Jesus in this?
Where are you thinking less of yourself as a result of taking the
enemy’s bait? Those are areas of defeat
that you need to align your thinking with God’s. What does God think about you? Who are you in Christ? You are blessed. You are chosen. You are accepted. You are adopted. You are redeemed. You are forgiven. And that’s just according to Ephesians 1:3-7. Do a study for yourself. Who does God say you are? On the flip side of that coin, where do you
need to think of yourself less? Who can
you put first this week? Jesus? Your spouse?
Your kids? Your parents? God’s economy.
Read Matthew 18:6-14. You
will notice that Matthew 18:11 is missing or blank. Your Bible may have a footnote around verse
10 like my Bible does. It states that
some manuscripts include the words of Luke 19:10 at the place where Matthew
18:11 should appear. So I read the Luke
verse there.
Jesus has some intense words for how serious it is to cause
someone else to stumble. Your
translation may say “cause to sin.”
Jesus says it’s better to have a millstone tied around your neck and be
drowned in the depths of the sea than to cause someone else to stumble. Oh, boy, I don’t want to cause anyone to
stumble. I need to pray for those who
entice me to sin – as well-meaning as they may be. I think, sometimes, we are so consumed with
the good we do – or should do, that we fail to consider the harm we are doing.
Last chapter, Jesus gave up His rights as the owner of the temple
to pay the tax. What “rights” might you
give up this week to keep someone else from stumbling? What might you NOT say? What tell-tale body language (like an eye
roll) might you curb with Spirit-led self-control to keep someone else from
sinning?
Jesus also says, “if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble,
cut it off and throw it away…And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it
out and throw it away…” What??? Let’s go straight to the Greek for clarification
on this one. The Greek word is ekkopson,
and it means “to cut in such a way as to cause complete separation.” We need to cut off our access to the things
that tempt us to sin. Our sin doesn’t
only affect us. Our sin affects every
person we touch. Have you ever had a
stranger put you in a mood because of their mood and how they dealt with
you? We do the same to others. Our sin affects our attitude. It affects our words. Our actions.
Our facial expressions. Body language. Do you struggle with food? Don’t keep cookies in the house. Stumble over “adult entertainment?” Put “parental controls” on your TV or
computer. Have a problem with
gossip? Avoid those “friends” who
encourage you to tell them the latest scoop.
God’s economy.
Jesus tells a parable in verses 12-14 that illustrates His own
mission specified in Mt 18:11 – or rather Lk 19:10: “the Son of Man came to
seek and save the lost.” The parable is about
a man who owns 100 sheep. One sheep
wanders off. He says that looking for
the one is so important that the man will leave the 99 sheep to find the one
that wanders. And when he finds it, he
will rejoice. Rescuing just one from sin
is so important! Have you ever heard it
said that, if you were the only person to ever walk the earth, Jesus would’ve
died JUST FOR YOU? That’s how personal
the cross is.
If you don’t have that personal relationship with Jesus… If you’ve never invited Him to come and be
Lord of your life… Come talk to me… I
would love to introduce you.
Principle: Believers
seek the lost to introduce them to Jesus so they might be saved.
Are you following in Jesus’ footsteps to seek the lost and
introduce them to Jesus, the Savior?
How will you pursue the lost around you so you can make the
gospel and Jesus known to them?
Who has God placed in your path to hear what you know about
Jesus? Write their names down. Make an
appointment to have lunch with them and share the Gospel.
Have you shared your personal testimony with anyone lately?
Can people see Jesus just by observing you? I pray they can.
II.
Jesus
teaches: forgive seventy-seven times(Matthew 18:15-35)
Read Matthew 18:15-20.
Here, Jesus gives us a 3-step plan to restore a brother or
sister in Christ who has sinned against you.
This is important. The Greek word
for “brother or sister” is adelphos, meaning a “fellow disciple.” So this plan is for addressing issues within
the church. Ready? Step 1
– point out their fault between the two of you. Avoid the temptation to talk about the
situation with everyone BUT that person.
Or is that just me that’s tempted to do that? If you need advice on what to say, ask Jesus
in prayer. Your brother or sister may
listen to you at this point and you will have won them over. Hurray!
If not, here’s Step 2 – take
one or two others with you so “every matter may be established by the testimony
of two or three witnesses.” (Deut 19:15) Again, if they listen at this point,
YES!!! If not, we move on with Step 3 – take it to the church. The Greek, ekklesia, refers to a congregation
of Christians, implying interacting membership.
So, if the members standing together doesn’t make this individual
listen, we are to treat them as a pagan or a tax collector.
I wonder how Matthew felt writing that line. I imagine the hint of a smile that leads
those observing you to think you have a secret.
He did. He had a joy that cannot
be expressed that this tax collector had been forgiven and called by the King
of the Universe to tell His story so we could know Him. Ooh, I have chills. Let’s keep moving.
Verses 18-20 say, “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Also, “if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” These verses may seem out of place, but they are actually declaring that the church is given authority in Jesus’ name to deal with the unrepentant disciple as a pagan or tax collector and also to restore the repentant disciple into fellowship. I thought that was fascinating. There is actually an example of putting someone out of the fellowship of the church in the Bible. Check out 1 Corinthians 5:1-13. And, praise Jesus, that person did eventually repent, and Paul instructs the church to restore him to fellowship in 2 Corinthians 2:5-11.
Let’s keep reading for another thought – and a challenge to
all of us – regarding forgiveness.
Read Matthew 18:21-22.
Peter speaks up again, asking about how many times he must
forgive. Not only that, he asks if seven
times is enough. He probably thought he
was being generous. It seems like a
generous number. Sometimes I have a
tough time forgiving the first offense.
A second offense is pushing it.
Shouldn’t the offender have learned from the first time? But a third?
And a fourth? A fifth? Sixth?
Seventh? How can anyone forgive
seven times??? Right? Anyone else feel this way? Well, Jesus has some gentle conviction for
us. No, seven times is not the
limit. The New International Version of
the Bible says 77 times. And there’s a
footnote that states “seventy times seven.”
Whoa! Can you imagine? Anyone good at math? How much is 70x7? A LOT!
490! Can you imagine keeping a
record of that many offenses? Are
you keeping a record of that many offenses?
Are you keeping a record of any offenses?
Read Matthew 18:23-35.
We have been forgiven so much by Jesus! Because of that, we cannot be too generous in
our forgiveness of others. In this
parable, a servant owed his master 10,000 bags of gold. I cannot comprehend owing 10,000 bags of
gold. According to the footnote in my
Bible, this referred to 10,000 talents.
A talent was a Greek monetary unit with a fluctuating value, but one
talent was worth about 20 years’ worth of a day laborer’s wages. Did you think there would be so much math in
this lesson? It is Matthew. As a tax collector, he was probably pretty
good with numbers! So 10,000 talents is
worth 200,000 years’ worth of wages for a day laborer! That is some serious debt! The king ordered this servant, his wife and
children be sold to repay the debt. But
the servant fell to his knees and begged the king to be patient and he would pay
it all back! How? It would take 200,000 years for him to earn
that money as a day laborer. This was
impossible! The king took pity on the
servant and forgave the debt! An
impossible debt. Let that sink in for a
minute.
The servant then went out and found another servant who owed
him a hundred silver coins. My footnotes
say this is a hundred denarii. One
denarius was the usual daily wage of a day laborer. So, we’re talking about 100 days’ wages. The servant grabbed the debtor who owed him
the hundred coins and began to choke him, demanding he pay the debt. The debtor fell to his knees and begged, “Be
patient with me, and I will pay it back.”
Sound familiar? Almost the exact
same scenario! The servant refused and
had him thrown in prison until he could pay.
Other servants saw what happened and told the king. The king called the servant back in and said,
“I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow
servant just as I had on you?” The king
handed the servant over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay back
all he owed. 200,000 years’ worth.
Jesus ends this parable with a warning: “This is how my
heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister
from your heart.” You have been forgiven
a great debt! If you hold anything against
your brother or sister, you are proving yourself to belong to someone other
than Jesus, so His payment for your sins will not be recognized. Just like the one who sins against another
disciple – adelphos – and will not listen to the one they sinned against, two
or three witnesses, and the church. That
person will be put out. But restoration
is possible. God wants restoration and
reconciliation. If it’s you who’s
wandered, Jesus is out looking for you! Just
like that sheep. Turn back to Him and chase
Him until He catches you.
Principle: Jesus set
the example of forgiveness for believers by forgiving all our sins.
What needs to happen in your heart for you to forgive
yourself or someone else from whom you’ve been withholding forgiveness?
What is keeping you from forgiving yourself? Someone else?
Go to God right now and ask Him to reveal it to you so you can confess
and be restored to Him and others.
Who do you need to forgive?
Don’t delay. Do it now.
If you pay attention to nothing else, please pay
attention to this: Sin separates us
from God! The price is blood. Jesus paid that price for you and for
me. You cannot pay the debt
yourself. Not in 200,000 years. The King has forgiven you. Please don’t leave here without accepting
that forgiveness.
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