A Deeper Look at Matthew:  An End-Times Bible Study
Copyright 2012
 
 
Matthew 18
 
            This chapter begins with the disciples coming to Jesus and asking Him, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
            So, Jesus calls a little child unto Him and sets him in front of them, saying, "Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
            He also says to them that whosoever receives a little child like Him in His name, receives Him.  Furthermore, He says, "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."
            Why does Jesus say we need to be humble as a little child to go to heaven?  Well, that's just it, we need to be humble.  One of the synonyms of "humble" is meek, which means submissive or - to take this one step further - they are poor in spirit.  Jesus says in Matthew 5:3 - "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  Young children are unpretentious and teachable but that changes when they grow older and become arrogant, rebellious and pretentious.  Choo Thomas, in her bestseller book, Heaven is so Real, says that all children that die before the age of seven go to heaven.  Why is this?  Well, this is what some refer to as the age of innocence versus the age of accountability.  Young children are not spiritually mature enough to be held responsible for their actions.  However, upon reaching the age of seven, God begins holding them responsible for the decisions they make.  (I have read from different sources, however, that say the age of accountability is younger than seven in "Christian" nations because they learn about the way of salvation and Christian living at an age earlier than seven.  However, in "non-Christian" nations the age of accountability begins at a later age than seven because they are simply not taught or even know about Jesus until a later age;  it depends on the age at which the child learns the difference between right and wrong and good versus bad.  For example, if a child knows that it is right to obey parents but chooses not to, that children will be held responsible for their sin and is danger of hellfire).
            Jesus says in 18:6 that whoever offends one of these little ones who believe in Him, it would be better if "a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."  This reminds me of watching a four year old Kaitlyn Maher on America's Got Talent in 2008.  This child sung "Somewhere Out There" and after she was done, the three judges totally manipulated the poor girl to the point where she got tired of even talking to them.  Jesus spoke to these very kinds of people in Matthew 18:6.
            Jesus says in the next verse:  "Woe unto the world because of offences!  For it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!"  This verse is very similar to Matthew 26:24, which says woe to the man by which the Son of man is betrayed.  What needs to be understood, here, is that bad things will happen in the world but woe to those people to whom is given the responsibility of  committing those bad acts, like betraying the Christ.
            Jesus emphasizes how important it is to not sin in 18:8-9.  We know from Romans 6:23 that the wages of sin is death.  Sin will send you straight to hell, unless you repent and accept Jesus as the Lord and Savior of your life.  Jesus says to cut off the part of your body that causes you sin.  If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; if your eye causes you to lust or commit another sin, pluck it out, Jesus says.
            In Matthew 18:10, Jesus tells the people not to despise the little children, for, in heaven, their angels do always behold the face of God the Father.  That is, these children are so pure and so innocent that their angels are able to look upon the face of God.  Remember from Exodus 33:20, that the LORD told His servant Moses, "Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live."
            Jesus tells the people in 18:11 that He has come to seek and save that which was lost.  He then goes on to tell a short story about a man with a hundred sheep.  He makes the point that, if one of these sheep goes astray, he will leave the ninety-nine behind and seek out that one lost sheep.  And, should he find it, he will rejoice more over that one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.  Jesus says, in the same way, that it is not the will of God the Father that one of the little ones perish.
            In the following verses, 18:15-17, Jesus says that if your brother trespasses (sins) against  you, tell him his fault between you and him alone and if he hears you, you have gained your brother.  However, if he will not hear you, take one or two people with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses, everything will be established.  (Remember from Deuteronomy 19:15, where it says one witness is not enough for a man to condemn his brother for a sin, but only at the mouth of two or three witnesses shall a "matter be established)."  Finally, if your brother will still not listen, tell it to the church and if he even rejects the church, Jesus says to let him be as a "heathen man and a publican."
            Why did Jesus say "let him be as a...publican" in 18:17?  Why not "Pharisee" or "lawyer?"  Were the publicans (tax collectors) the most despised members of society at that time?  Were they the most evil, even worse than the religious leaders?  Maybe Jesus did not mean anything by it, but then again, maybe He did.
            Jesus repeats what He said in Matthew 16:19 again in Matthew 18:18 - which says what you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and what you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  We need to exercise the spiritual authority we have as the people of Jesus.
            Matthew 18:19-20 says that whenever we are gathered in a group of two and we make a request to God, anything we desire shall be granted to us by God the Father.  Also, Jesus says, whenever two or three of us are gathered in His name, there He is in the midst of us.
            Peter asks Jesus, in 18:21, how often he should forgive a brother that sins against him.  He asks Jesus, "Up to seven times?"  Jesus tells him not seven times - but up to seventy times seven.  We need to forgive our neighbors an unlimited amount, no matter how much they sin against us.  And it is very important that we forgive our neighbor right away, whenever they commit an infraction against us.  Never let unforgiveness fester within you, as it will lead to bitterness and resentment against the person that has sinned against you.  We, all, must take out our garbage right away by forgiving our neighbor for every sin they commit against us.
            Jesus tells a story about the importance of forgiving others from the heart at the end of Matthew 18.  The story goes like this - there is a certain king who calls his servants unto him to take account of them; (this may mean he wants to see what they owe to the king.)  There is this one servant who owes him ten thousand talents.  (In Jesus' day gold and silver was the money of choice, not phony un-backed paper money).  Well, this one servant owes the king ten thousand talents.  Let's say it is of less valuable silver.  (A talent of silver was 30 kilograms.  So, ten thousand talents was 300,000 kilograms of silver, worth about $318 million.)  Owing this much money, the king demands the servant be sold along with his family until such time as he repays the king.  So, the servant gets down and worships the king, begging him for mercy.  The king is moved with compassion and forgives the man of his debt.
            So the man who is forgiven leaves and finds one of his own servants who owes him a hundred pennies.  Apparently, this man is very wicked and takes his servant by the throat and demands he repay the hundred pennies.  The servant gets down and begs for mercy, saying he will repay the hundred pennies.  But, the man has no mercy on the man and throws the man in prison till the debt is repaid.
            Well, the king hears what this wicked man did to his own servant.  Even though he was forgiven of the $318 million, he had no mercy on a man who owed him 100 pennies.  The king, full of wrath, calls the evil man unto him and tells him he should have forgiven the man of the debt owed to him just as the king forgave him of his debt.  The king takes the man and hands him over to be tortured until his debt is paid back to the king.  Jesus ends the story, saying that God the Father will do the same to us if we do not forgive our brother from our heart.