Do you have a favorite passage of scripture, or favorite book of the Bible?
I actually have several favorites in scripture. But my favorite gospel account of Yeshua’s life as a man on earth is Matthew. I think maybe it is because, Matthew and I have similar story telling styles. The other reason, I love the way that Matthew shares so much of Yeshua’s teachings. One of my favorite teachings of Yeshua is Matthew chapter 18.
Now, I know that when Matthew wrote down this teaching, he didn’t put chapter and verses in, but in this instance, I think the division was well placed. It certainly appears that the whole chapter, Matthew 18, is indeed once teaching. If I were to title this lesson that Yeshua teaches here, I would call it, “How to get along with others.” Because it is exactly the point of the whole chapter.
I am going to go through the chapter and point out, what I believe are the steps and tools to successfully relating to others, especially those who offend us.
Let’s begin:
Matthew 18: 1-5
1.Be humble and honor others above yourself. Be childlike.
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
Matthew 18:6-9
2. Do whatever it takes to not be offensive.
6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.”
Matthew 18:10-14
3. Don’t despise the lost? You were once lost too.
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. 11 For the Son of man has come to save that which was lost.12 What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.”
Matthew 18:15-17
4. Go quickly to a brother you see sinning, or who has sinned against you in private and tell him to repent.
5. If he doesn’t repent take one or two witnesses to speak to him again in love.
6. If he still doesn’t repent then take it to the church and let the church handle him.
7. If he still doesn’t repent treat him as you would an unbeliever.
15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
Matthew 18:18-20
8. Commit offenders and sinners to prayer. Trust Yehovah to heal and restore relationships.
18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
Matthew 18:21-35
9. Forgive others over and over and over again, even if they don’t deserve it, because our Heavenly Father forgives us even though we don’t deserve it.
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[g]
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold[h] was brought to him.25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.[i] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
The point of this teaching from Yeshua is simple, we must be humble. We must honor others above ourselves. We must be willing to do the hard things in life, to have the hard conversations. We must look first at ourselves and deal with our own offenses, sin, and failures.
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