SCRIPTURE: MATTHEW 18
THE GREATEST IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (vs. 1-10)
The disciples asked Jesus: “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Jesus called a little child and had him stand among them. Then he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (vs. 1-6)
SERIOUSNESS OF SIN : (vs. 7-9)
- Woe to the man that causes people to sin.
- If your hand or foot causes you to sin, 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.
- If your eye causes you to sin, 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.’
THE PARABLE OF THE LOST SHEEP (vs. 10-14)
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? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.
A BROTHER WHO SINS AGAINST YOU (vs. 15-19)
Guidelines when a brother sins against you:
- Go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. (v. 15)
- If he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. (v. 16)
- If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. (v. 17a)
- If he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. (v. 17b)
Other teachings of Jesus: (v. 18-20)
- “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever your loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (v. 18)
- “If two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” (v. 20)
THE PARABLE OF THE UNMERCIFUL SERVANT (VS. 21-35)
Peter asked Jesus: “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (vs. 21-22)
A king wanted to settle accounts with his servants. He called on a man who owed him ten thousand talents. Since he was unable t o pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. The servant begged the master to have mercy to him and give him more time because he will pay back everything. The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him and demanded him to pay back what he owe. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him to be patient and he will pay back later. But he refused and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.
When the other servants saw what had happened, they told their master everything that had happened. Then the master called the servant in and told him: “I canceled all your debts because you begged me. Why don’t you have mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” (v. 32-33). In anger, his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay back all he owed.
This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” (v. 35)
THOUGHTS:
The Greatest in the kingdom of Heaven is someone who is humble and sincere like a child. We are to be childlike, not childish.
Jesus warned the disciples not to cause anyone to stumble in their faith and lead them to sin. Therefore, we must give importance to spiritual education and protect the young ones. We must remove stumbling blocks that cause us to sin. To maintain harmonious Christian Fellowship, we must speak the truth in love. Let humility and honesty bind together to produce harmony.
Just as a shepherd is concerned about one lost sheep, so God is concerned about every human being he has created. Let example of your words, in deeds and kindness influence them to come to believe in Christ.
The rabbis taught that people should forgive those who offend them 3 times. But when Peter asked Jesus how many times should one forgive another. His replied was: Seventy times seven times. That means we should always forgive without keeping track of how many times. We have to forgive others because Jesus has forgiven us. An unforgiving spirit puts us in prison spiritually and emotionally. It is not worth to carry on grudge and harm our well-being.