Kingdom Priorities (Matthew 18:7-35)

In the previous passage Jesus had informed his disciples that the distinguishing mark of the members of his kingdom is humility. It is not the only mark, however, and in the next few sections he highlights other features that will be found in his followers. No doubt, the ones he identified were unexpected by the disciples because they do not fit in with the priorities one would have in setting up an earthly kingdom. He was teaching them that his kingdom is concerned with spiritual issues and he focuses on the matters of rejecting temptation, valuing other members, responding to sin, and expressing forgiveness.

Resistance

The first mark that Jesus mentions is resistance of temptation. Temptations are inevitable and usually they are caused by what other people say or do. Jesus possibly focussed on a person’s hand and foot because the use of them is how we participate in wrong activities. We join hands with those who are doing wrong or we walk alongside those who are engaged in wrong activities. Also, we look at things that we should not. Our eyes can lead us to express covetousness, for example.

Obviously, Jesus used a very graphic illustration here when he likened temptations to limbs that should be amputated and eyes that should be removed. He is not here asking us to obey him in a literal sense, because he knew that self-mutilation was not a remedy, although he is asking us to think about what such a physical action would look like in a person. But it must be stressed that cutting of one’s limbs does not help in the battle with temptation and sin.

Why is resistance of temptation so important? One answer to that question is that other people will see what the priorities of his disciples are. In normal circumstances it would be difficult not to observe that a person had only one arm or one foot when before he had two of each, or only one eye when before he had two eyes. This illustration tells us that a follower of Jesus will be clearly known as a person who flees from temptation or who ensures that there is nothing in his life that finds the temptation attractive.

Another answer is that how we respond to temptation reveals whether or not we are genuine disciples. This is seen in the reference Jesus makes to hell. In his illustration, keeping an arm, a foot or an eye is the same as enjoying temptations that come along. The end of such a person, says Jesus, is hell, the place of punishment. He does not mean that only part of the person will be punished. After all, in the illustration, if the offending arm, foot or eye is still attached to the person, then it will be so when they are flung into hell.

Three qualifications can be given. First, Jesus does not mean an occasional fall to temptation, but to a lifestyle that delights in it. When we fall, we should repent of what we did and ask for mercy. If we don’t, we will become hardened and eventually not care about mercy. Second, Jesus makes it very clear that it is the disciple’s responsibility to ensure that he does not take hold of, or go towards, and does not look at things that will lead him into sin. Third, avoiding falling into temptation is usually very costly for the disciple (even as losing a limb would be), but such avoidance is part of the price he has to pay in order to be a credible follower of Jesus.

Estimation

Referring to paying a price leads us to think about the next mark of a true disciple that Jesus mentions here. It looks as if by ‘little ones’ he means his disciples and not the children that may have been still around as he spoke. We can see that Jesus used this parable more than once – he also used it as one of the trilogy of lost sheep, lost coin and lost son – and used it with different emphases each time. One reason for using it would be that his listeners would find it easy to grasp.

The point that Jesus makes here is that members of his kingdom should have a regard of other members. Why should we esteem other believers? Jesus gives two reasons. First, the angels who are connected to believers always look at the Father in heaven waiting to be sent on a mission. It is difficult to work out from this passage whether all the angels serve all the people of God or whether specific angels are connected to particular believers. We can deduce that Jesus here is not speaking about guardian angels. The point that Jesus is stressing is that angels are always ready to be sent on a mission by the Father to help each of his people in their needs. If we want to put it this way, there is something odd in falling out with a person whom the angels are ready to help at any time.

The second reason is that the owner of the sheep rejoices over the recovery of the one lost sheep. In this use of the parable, Jesus does not say that it was the shepherd who went to look for the lost sheep. Instead, it was the owner who went and searched for it. The parable does not mean that the owner is indifferent towards the other sheep that he has – he leaves them where they are meant to be, feeding on the mountain slopes, perhaps with shepherds looking after them. The point of the story is that the owner did all that he could to find the sheep that belonged to him and he did not ask someone else to go and find it.

Jesus says here that the owner of the sheep is a picture of the heavenly Father. The difference between the owner and God the Father is that the owner had only one lost sheep whereas all the Father’s sheep were lost and had to be found. Like the owner, God the Father will do what is necessary in order for his lost sheep to be found. What did he do? He arranged for his own Son to come into the world in order to pay the penalty they deserved when he went to the cross and he arranged for the Holy Spirit to work in their lives to bring them to himself. And he did this for an innumerable number of lost sheep.

Like the owner who rejoiced greatly when he found his lost sheep, there is joy in the presence of God when each of his lost sheep are found. The Saviour indicates here that there is no joy like the joy of salvation, even in heaven, the place of joy. God the Father is absolutely delighted and glad when a lost sinner is found. Jesus stresses that God the Father will ensure that all of his people will be saved. And since he is so delighted at their rescue, so should we.

Deliberate sinning

The obvious feature of the kingdom on earth is that it is composed of sinners, which means that there will be times when they will sin against one another. Of course, it is important to observe that Jesus here is not giving a process to follow if there happens to be a disagreement between two of his people. There may be nothing wrong with Christians having different opinions about something. Sometimes, when it is a disagreement, they could both be wrong or they could both have valid viewpoints.

Instead, Jesus is referring to what to do when a person sins against another believer. Perhaps he has told a lie and slandered the other disciple. Jesus gives his disciples the process to follow when that occurs. When a person is sinned against, his first response should not be to tell another person, and that other person should refuse to listen until the wronged person speaks to the offender first about it. After all, the offender may not have realised he did wrong, and even if he did know, a loving rebuke can lead to repentance. When that happens, that is the end of the matter. Most church problems would have been sorted out if this method had been followed.

What if the offender does not listen? Then the wronged person should take one or two believers and together speak to the offender about the sin that he has committed. The expectation is that he will listen and repent. And if he does not listen to them, ask the church as a whole to deal with it, and the person is disciplined.

Jesus states that this process will be approved off in the courts of heaven and the Father will bring about the decision that the church decided on. This is what makes church courts very serious, because they are gathered in the name of Jesus. It is interesting how often this statement about the presence of Jesus is taken out of its context and used, for example, to mean definite answers to prayer.

Ongoing forgiveness

Peter had been listening to what Jesus said about disciples sinning against one another. He wanted to know how often the process of restoration should be engaged in with a disciple who offended repeatedly and presumably said he was sorry. Probably, Peter was being generous when he suggested seven times as the upper limit and he must have been astonished when Jesus basically said that he was to forgive the erring disciple as often as he offended.

Peter had obviously realised that forgiveness was a mark of the kingdom. But he had not realised how extensive the forgiveness should be. So Jesus told a story to illustrate the point. In the story, we learn than a powerful king forgave a servant a great debt, but then the forgiven servant refused to forgive a minor offence committed against him by another servant. Friends of the second servant told the king about it and he imprisoned the first servant. What do we learn from this story?

First, Jesus is not speaking about the forgiveness that is connected to justification because that status cannot be changed by the sins a believer commits after his conversion. If we mix it up with justification, we will miss the point that Jesus is teaching. 

Second, Jesus is speaking about a situation that may arise within his kingdom, so he is not speaking about situations that happen in the world when someone wrongs another person. 

Third, Jesus teaches that the willingness to forgive reveals whether or not a person has a changed heart, that he now is marked by love. 

Fourth, Jesus teaches that the failure to forgive an offending disciple is an indication that the individual is on the way to a lost eternity – after all, no one expresses forgiveness there. 

Fifth, when we see a person refusing to forgive another disciple, we should tell God about it, but do so with great sadness. 

Sixth, forgiveness is an expression of brotherly love and affection because it comes from the heart. The important point, in answer to Peter’s question, is that forgiveness is an ongoing attitude of a genuine disciple.

Very different

What would have been the response of the disciples when they heard Jesus on this occasion? Surely, they would have deduced that the kingdom of Jesus was very different from all other kingdoms. Unlike those who belong to the kingdoms of this world, the members of the kingdom of Jesus do all they can to resist temptation, they recognise the worth of every sheep the Father has rescued, they realise that toleration of sin cannot be allowed, and they rejoice when they can forgive one another. In fact, we could regard those four goals as the manifesto of his kingdom. And when they are practised, we see what a beautiful kingdom it is.