Jesus Hands Out The Kingdom Employee Job Description (Part 2)

Matthew Series | Matthew 18:15-35 | Pastor Duane Smets

This week is an exegetical sermon on Matthew 18:15-35 where we hear Jesus continue to respond to the question of how to have a place with him and be great in his kingdom. In response Jesus gives five job qualifications of what is required by his employees. This week looks at the last two: community unity, and limitless forgiveness. This sermon was originally preached on August 29th, 2010 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.

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The Resolved Church
Pastor Duane Smets
August 29th, 2010

“Jesus Hands Out The Kingdom Employee Job Description” – Part 2
I. Childlike Dependence: Great Humility Required (v1-6)
II. Death Of Ambition: Drastic Measures Required (v7-9)
III. Missional Mindset: Shepherd’s Heart Required (v10-14)
IV. Community Unity: Loving Confrontation Required (v15-20)
V. Limitless Forgiveness: Gospel Identity Required (v.21-35)

Introduction

So we’re hanging with Jesus today. We’re in Matthew 18 again and we’re hitting up the second half of the chapter. For those of you who were not here last week and for those who were, let me remind us real quick what’s going on.

It’s been a couple years since the disciples have been hanging with Jesus. They’ve heard him talk a bunch about his “kingdom” that’s supposed to happen, where Jesus is the king and makes everything better. And they’re seemingly really starting to believe that it’s actually going to happen…Jesus being the king and his kingdom taking over in the land.

That prompts a question. “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Chapter 18 starts off with this question. They want to know how they can get the good jobs in the kingdom when it all goes down and the powers and authorities of the land are taken over. It’s sort of like they were looking for the inside track, wanting some inside information in order to be in the know ahead of time…like a stock tip or a friend deal for a good job or who to pick for their fantasy football league.

They’re seeing great opportunity. This is their chance to not be at the bottom rung of society anymore and be one of the little people. This is their chance to make it big and be one of the great ones who is respected and powerful…to have the good life.

Jesus responds in a very interesting way. He actually never condemns their desire to be great but completely redefines greatness by essentially handing a job application form out to them with five main character traits and requirements for those who are great in Jesus’ kingdom. We went through the first three last Sunday.

First was “Childlike Dependence” with great humility required. Jesus said the great ones in his kingdom don’t have any sufficiency in themselves but depend on him for everything just like a child does with their parents. To act like that when you’re an adult is not easy, it takes great humility.

Second was “Death of Ambition” where drastic measures are required to make sure that sin and selfish gain doesn’t sneak in and corrupt Jesus’ people. Being great in Jesus’ kingdom takes a lot of hard heart work and battling against sinful desires in us and pressures outside of us.

Third was “Missional Mindset” where having a shepherd’s heart like God the Father is required. There are both those on the outside who need to be brought into Jesus’ great kingdom and there are those on the inside who tend to wander away from dependence on Jesus because of sin which creeps in.

That took us all the way through up to verse 14. The other two things Jesus says are necessary for greatness in his kingdom are in the second half of chapter 18. We just didn’t have enough time to do all five of them in one 45 minute sermon. But really the whole chapter all goes together and is one conversation or teaching. You’ll see that in a minute.

So let’s read the second half of the chapter, pray over it and then get into it. (Read text & pray)

IV. Community Unity: Loving Confrontation Required (v15-20)

Alright, so the fourth thing Jesus brings up which is an expectation and requirement for those in his great kingdom is that when they see one of their own blowing it, they don’t just let it slide but actually lovingly go to the person and work it out with them. So I’ve called this fourth thing, “Community Unity: Loving Confrontation Required.”

This is actually a passage in the Bible which either gets notoriously ignored or notoriously abused. Often times it’s referred to as the passage where Jesus talks about “church discipline” on how you handle difficult matters in the church. Basically it’s a passage about confrontation.

When it comes to confrontation most everyone falls within two groups. Either you hate confrontation and so you avoid it at all costs…it just makes you tense and nervous and you’re like “get me outta here!”

Or you kind of enjoy it and don’t mind telling people what you think and you don’t mind being in tense situations…you’re like “you know what you’re problem is!”

Sociologists call it fight or flight and usually we’re prone to one or the other. And, we’re usually prone to sin in both directions…either by not going to a person when we really need to or always going around trying to correct others and rarely doing it out of love and genuine concern.

One of the many reasons I love the Bible is that it has given us a perfect instruction manual for life if we would just follow it and know it. And one of the many reasons I love Jesus is because he knows and understands how the human heart works so well and he gets how it effects our relationships with one another and leaves us these instructions for how to deal with difficult stuff.

So what I want to do is simply walk us through Jesus’ words here. And just to tell you I think this is a hugely important passage for us as a church. This is something we need to get a handle on.

Albert Mohler, theologian and current president of Southern Seminary has said that not knowing and exercising “church discipline (as it is described here) is perhaps the most visible failure of the contemporary church.”

Some of you may have heard of Mark Dever. He’s a pastor and author back east who has written a very helpful book titled “Nine Marks of a Healthy Church.” Mark seven is church discipline. He writes, “Neglecting corrective discipline can be deadly for a church. No one likes the prospects of going under the knife. But sometimes it is the knife which saves your life.” Churches must practice church discipline in order to show true love for one another, in order to realize the seriousness of sin, and in order to healthy grow in holiness as we worship a holy God.

I tell you more in a minute but in 13 years I’ve been a pastor now, I think this is one of the most important things the groups of believers who call themselves a church are called to do. So, so, so, so many problems would be avoided and handled so much better if we really knew and practiced what Jesus lays out here for us. So I pray, that God, by his Spirit, especially helps us today…that the teaching of God’s Word on this subject would land in you and become one of the key things you know and believe about what it means to be a Christian and be a part of a church.

A. Motive: Family-like Care (v10-15)

Okay, enough set up. I’ve broken it down into three main pieces here to help us hopefully see the full orb of what Jesus gives us here. First it begins with the motive. What is the reason or cause for why we would ever go confront someone about something? Notice a few things with me.

The first thing is to see that verse 15 does not happen out of a vacuum. One of the most important things you can learn about how to read the Bible and read it rightly is context. Context, context, context. That’s what comes before and after the words you read. Unless you are reading the book of Proverbs, context is hugely, extremely important for every other book of the Bible. That’s why I’m always telling us what’s going on in the book, before and after every passage that we ever study.

So what’s the context here? The immediate context from the paragraph right before verse 15 was all about the missional mind and heart of God the Father toward his “little ones” who like a shepherd goes out in search of his sheep when they stray away. So we’ve already got family language. A dad and his kids. And he loves and cares for his kids and when they go off and do stupid stuff that could end up getting them hurt, he goes after them like a shepherd goes after sheep who could get eaten by a wolf if they were all by themselves up on a mountainside.

Then notice a second thing with me. What is the third word in verse 15? “Brother.” Now, it doesn’t mean just dudes, it’s a general word for siblings, so we could even say “brother” or “sister” here if we wanted to. So we’ve got family language here…father, children, brother. Jesus kingdom, like most ancient royal rulerships, is a family affair. And this is what the Bible calls us to when calls us to be a part of a church is to be a good loving family with one another.

But what’s significant about that? It implies relationship. One of the main ways people abuse and misread this passage is they think it means the Bible gives you right here to just go out and correct anyone you think is wrong or off about anything. But this is in-house business. Within the church and not only that, but likely specific relationships between people in the church, like discipleship relationship and community groups. Actually just a few chapter back Jesus physically pointed to his disciples and told his biological mom that they were his brothers and sisters.

You see the motive which bring about the need to confront someone is supposed to be genuine concern because you have really grown to love someone and care for their life and don’t want to see something bad happen to them. We could even go so far as to say that because of your relationship with them, you have already earned some right to speak into their life.

Realizing that also means that if you really do love and care for something that you will not just keep silent. It’s been said that the “opposite of love is not correction but indifference.” For some of you who are so passive, you’re not really loving your Christian brothers and sisters if you see an area of concern in their life and you don’t go talk to them about it.

B. Method: Four Steps

Okay, so how do you go about doing this, what’s it look like. Maybe I should give you some examples. If you’re wondering about what sort of thing you might need to go talk to someone. Well, coupled with just being sensitive about someone’s heart and life, it’s anything that the Bible clearly says is sin. In Jesus’ kingdom, we live under his rule and reign and his Bible gives us the laws of his land.

Some examples. Drunkenness. A number of times I have had to talk to dudes about getting drunk or high on illegal drugs or recreationally using prescription drugs. Dating people who don’t love Jesus. Being a bad steward of God’s money. Pornography addictions. Sex outside of marriage. Dudes not working. Married couples not trying to have kids. Skipping out on church. Lying. Stealing. Cheating on taxes. Church members suing one another.

You name it man, I’ve had a conversation with someone about it. And I’m not even one of those people who likes confronting. I hate it. It’s not fun. But like with my daughter I can’t just sit by and let her run out into the street where cars are rushing by. It’s not loving of me to her to just sit by and be silent.

So what do you do? What are the steps?

1. First Meeting – Go to the person one on one to try and restore them. (v15)

First step, first meeting. You go meet with the person one on one alone and try to restore them. It’s about restoration. That’s always the goal. Here’s what Galatians 6:1-2 says, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

Way too often going to the person one on one alone is the last thing a person does rather than the first. Here’s how it usually goes. And I’ve been guilty of this for sure. You see or hear about someone and you’re genuinely concerned…but what do you do, you go start talking to other people about them asking them what they think when you haven’t even gone directly to them yourself yet. The Bible calls that gossip, which is a sin too that ought to be confronted.

So many times people will come to me about some issue they are having with someone in the church and always my first question is, “Well, did you go talk to them first?” If they say no, I’m like, “Why are you talking to me then? I’m still two more steps down the road! It’s not time for pastor involvement yet…that’s step 3.”

You’d be surprised how many things can easily get resolved if you just go sit down with a person one on one and talk it out. If you go to someone in love, as Ephesians 4:15 says, “Speaking the truth in love.” Often you will gain your brother or sister and see them restored.

We need to do this with one another. Everyone needs to gets confronted and everyone needs to be confronting. It’s not fun but it’s what it means to really love and care for one another. Ron confronted me about some stuff just two elders meetings ago. I didn’t like it and I didn’t want to hear it. But he said, “Duane, I’m just telling you this because I love you.” It’s kind of like a flu shot, it stings a bit but it helps you.

2. Second Meeting – Go to the person with others to try and restore them. (v16)

If you go to a person one on one and they still don’t listen. Then it’s time to bring some other people in. Having a third and/or fourth party can help not only to arbitrate but sometimes people just are listening to each other or if you’re the one being confronted, you might think the person’s crazy and they might be. But if two or three other people say and see the same thing, then it’s pretty likely you’ve got something you need to deal with.

Still the goal is restoration, not conviction. Don’t misread Jesus’ words here when he says for every charge to be established “by the evidence of two or three witnesses.” I know our minds automatically jump to a courtroom when we hear those words and we imagine someone on trial who we’re trying throw into prison. That’s not what’s going on here. Verse 17 begins, “If he refuses to listen to them…” So the goal is still for the person to listen, which is repentance and restoration.

3. Third Meeting – Church pastors go to the person to try and restore them. (v17a)

The third meeting is when the pastors get involved. If still, after a small group of Christian brothers and sisters from the church sit down with a person about some sin and they still don’t listen then you’re to go get the pastors. When Jesus says here go tell it to the church it’s implying the church authorities or leaders, the pastors (we’re already in the context of church in addressing “brothers” and in the second part of this verse he distinguishes those who are outside the church).

You go get the pastors because sometimes pastors can get through to people when others can’t. Pastors are not only an authority but if they’re good pastors they’re usually trained in these things and especially gifted and equipped by God to deal with the difficult messes people get themselves into.

4. Fourth Meeting – The person is asked to leave the church for refusing restoration. (v17b)

If the pastor(s) sit down with the person and they are still obstinate and hard and don’t want help and won’t work with you and even try and change…then church discipline and restoration fails and it is sad and heartbreaking. It’s then that you let them be as a “Gentile and a tax collector” which is a way of saying, then you treat them as though they are on the outside, no longer a part of and welcome to be part of the church. Gentiles were seen as evil pagans and tax collectors were traitors.

Sometimes when people hear about church discipline they always think about this last step, but if you reach this last step it’s because you’ve tried everything else and it’s all failed and you’re brokenhearted over it. Every time I’ve had to do it’s been with a lot of tears.

It happens, it’s a real reality of church life. Even in the Bible, in 1 Corinthians 5, you can go read about the story of a dude in the church who wouldn’t stop having sex with his mom and they had to kick him out. If ongoing unrepentant sin is not dealt with in the church, it will spread like a virus and Jesus’ bride will be dirtied and his leaders weak and corrupt.

Not long ago we had a dude who came from one of our sister Acts 29 churches. Turns out he was under church discipline there for sexual immorality, sleeping around with multiple girls in the church. He showed up here. I met with him. Turned out he was unrepentant and didn’t want to make it right. So I looked him in the eye and told him that by his own confession he was a moral wolf and that according to Acts 20 it was my job to protect the flock from him. I told him that if he wanted to repent, be restored and be in fellowship here, we’d welcome him with loving and open arms but if he so much as looked at one of our girls in a way I didn’t like we’d come and tell him to get out. We love our women too much for that. I haven’t seen him since.

C. Means: Prayerful Authority (v18-20)

So those are the steps. Out of a motive of love and genuine care you confront someone. Step one, you go to the person one on one. Step two, you bring some other people with you. Step three, then you go get a pastor. Then step four, if they still don’t listen, you expel them until they want to be restored.

Now there is a danger and often overlooked and terribly misread addendum Jesus adds to this protocol. And that’s the means of prayerful authority or leadership described in verses 18-20 (re-read). Let me explain.

Binding and loosing is an agricultural analogy which developed into a popular idiom in reference to the authority of the law, or the Torah. Basically they would take bundles of grain and bind them with a rope wrapped around them or they would untie the rope and let the grain be used. Whenever that happened, either binding or loosing it was because someone had the authority and made the decision to do so. Just two chapters ago, Jesus told Peter he was giving him an authoritative job to do and he referenced this same thing binding and loosing.

Here, after the first three steps loving confrontation fail, then the fourth step is taken by the whole church under the directive of the church authorities…the person will be bind-ed or loosed. But to make sure it’s not just treated mechanically Jesus adds this addendum about prayer.

Time is taking place between these meetings and all along, seeking the Father and asking him for wisdom, discernment, grace, repentance…all those things, a lot of prayer ought to be taking place. So here’s what Jesus says, if you follow the procedure, the directives I’ve given you, and you’re praying all the way along…then you can be sure that what you did was right and was exactly what I would do, so you can put my name on it.

The whole phrase is actually a slight variation of a tractate in the Jewish Talmud, which said “If two sit together and the words of the Law are spoken between them, the Divine Presence rests between them (Abbot 3:2).” Which is amazing because Jesus not only is making a reference to his deity by naming himself as the “Divine Presence” but is also in this putting his very person and words on part with the Bible or the Law. His name and presence carries that kind of authority.

This verse, verse 20 has been so grossly abused and manipulated. I’ve heard so many times people praying and they say something to the effect of, “Jesus you said, if two are three are gathered in your name, you’re among them and will grant their request, so we ask you to do this.” And I just cringe because Jesus is talking church discipline, not some trick to get him to answer your prayer.

Plus, if Jesus is actually God, he is everywhere present, you don’t need another person for him to be present. I mean, if you needed two, does that mean Jesus doesn’t hear my prayer if I’m just praying by myself? No! So please just do me a favor and don’t pray that way. That prayer is meant for asking God to bless an authoritative church decision that’s been made to kick someone out of the church.

So let me pull this together and then we’ll hit our last point for today. Do you have someone you need to go talk to and confront in love? But you’ve just been too passive, or passive aggressive about it? Or on the other end for some others of you…have you been looking down on others, being overly critical, confronting people but it really hasn’t been done out of a spirit of genuine love and care? Or maybe someone has confronted you and you’re not listening? Or maybe there’s something you need to be confronted about?

May God help give us the courage to confront when needed and to do it the right way.

V. Limitless Forgiveness: Gospel Identity Required (v.21-35)

Okay our last qualification and requirement Jesus gives for those of his great kingdom is “Limitless Forgiveness” where Jesus brings things full circle and calls us to be changed by the gospel and to live out of that identity. Jesus began his speech by talking about needing a new identity, the one of a child’s status and dependence. Now Jesus also calls us to live out of a forgiven identity.

Peter is the first to speak up in response right after Jesus has spoken about loving confrontation. Peter hears what Jesus says and it’s almost like you can hear the wheels turning in Peter’s head trying to figure out what the implications are to Jesus’ teaching on it. Peter realizes that the whole scheme of loving confrontation and going after the sheep is going to require a lot of forgiveness.

You see, often the times we have to go lovingly confront someone is when they have personally hurt or offended us. Peter realizes this and so verse 21-22 say, “Then (he) came up and said to (Jesus) ‘Lord, how often will my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ But Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.” And then Jesus tells a story to illustrate the point.

There’s a couple interesting things going on here. One pop Jewish law, said you only had to forgive 3 times and then the forth you didn’t have to forgive. So Peter thinks he’s going to be styling with Jesus by doubling the required amount. In response Jesus decides to take that amount and multiply it by seventy. Jesus is essentially saying, you forgive limitlessly. You don’t ever stop. He didn’t mean if someone wrongs you 490 times on the 491st time you can give ‘em the finger.

And this is exactly what Jesus’ story is about. Basically you’ve got a guy who owes the equivalent over a billion dollars, that’s how much 10,000 talents would be. So he begs and pleads his master for mercy who grants it to him. Then that guy goes out and finds a dude whom he lent 100 denarii (one denarrii would be a days wage, so basically about three months worth of work, compared to his lifetime of an unpayable debt…but he beats him, doesn’t forgive his debt and instead has him thrown in jail for it.

Jesus points out the hypocrisy and wickedness of the man and makes this key statement in verse 35, which pulls the whole parable together and states its point, “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, If you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Jesus’ point is that, through him we have been forgiven of an unpayable debt to the Father and it ought to make us forgiving to others who hurt and wrong us. Forgiven people ought to be forgiving people no matter what it takes. Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Our identity has to become one where we see ourselves through the lens of the gospel. The truth is by nature we have not seen ourselves as with the humble status of a child, but been self-confident, success driven creatures of ambition who get caught up into all kinds of sin and have wandered away from God. Yet God has seen fit to lovingly confront us about it and through Jesus and he has welcomed by paying all the debt of wrath and justice we deserve for our sin with his blood.

It’s amazing how easy it is to hold and harbor bitterness and unforgiveness toward people who hurt us. And yet God has not held it against us when our crimes toward him have been far more treacherous than the ones done to us. Do you have someone you need to forgive? Someone you’ve been holding something against? Do you see yourself as a sinner who has a big debt you owe to God? Do you see what Jesus did in paying that debt for you in your place by dying on the cross?

Only having that kind of identity, a gospel identity can free us from the pain and the hurt we so easily harbor. Only having a gospel identity like that can we receive loving correction from our brothers and sisters because we know we are just sinners saved by forgiving grace whom God is changing and transforming.

Conclusion

Let’s conclude. Today’s sermon really is all about restoration and forgiveness. The whole point of church discipline is restoration. In Hebrews 12:6 the Bible says the Lord disciplines those he loves like a parent does with their child. We have all sinned and erred and fallen short of God’s glory.

The gospel both confronts us of our sinfulness and then restores us through the forgiving work of the cross applied to our hearts. It’s such good news. Let’s pray.