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-These are not rules for personal relationships-marriage, family,
etc.-but rules that ensure stability and health in congregational
life. Verses 6-14 seem to address the concern for “seekers” or
marginal adherents-those in danger of falling off and away from
the Christian flock. Verses 15-20 now move in much more dangerous
territory -those who are guilty of serious sin and yet resist
repentance. [1]
NIB-
Matthew’s community orientation and our individualistic
one come into sharp conflict. Matthew offers a solution to
something we hardly perceive as a problem, since we are inclined
to see our sin as a matter between ourselves and God, or, at
most, between ourselves and the person who has wronged us. That
it is a matter of the Christian congregation to which we belong,
and may damage its life, comes as a surprise to both us and
them, if they are as individualistic as we are. Whatever we
think of the solution Matthew offers, we might first ponder the
nature of the Christian life it presupposes. A doctrine of the
church as the people of God is here presupposed. To be Christian
is to be bound together in community; to pray is to say “our
Father,” even in the privacy of our own room (Matt. 6:6, 9).
[2]
 What
things did you and your siblings argue about? [3]
- What does this passage say about the importance of counsel
through others? Of accountability to a trusted few?
- How does this teaching compare with what Jesus said about
offenses in the Sermon on the mount-about not judging others
(Matthew 7:3-5)?
 A
homily on this passage is posted on DPS for this Sunday: “What
Jesus Taught About Forgiveness, Part I.”
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[1] New Interpreter’s Bible VIII (Nashville:
Abingdon Press, 1995), page 378.
[2] New Interpreter’s Bible VIII (Nashville: Abingdon Press,
1995), page 380.
[3] Adapted from Serendipity Bible (Zondervan,
rpt. 1998), page 1354.
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