Matthew 16:15-20

Do open your Bible to Matthew chapter 16, which is on page 823.

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

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And verses 15 to 20, but the whole chapter in lots of ways.

There's no introduction, I've got three points.

And my two points are, we need to love the church as Jesus does.

We need to see the church as Jesus does.

And number three, we need to treat the church as Jesus does.

So first of all, we need to love the church as Jesus does.

Look at verse 15.

That's the kind of language it uses.

How does it begin?

It begins, if your brother.

If we translated if your brother or sister in that way.

If your brother, so that church is a family.

It is a family of believers, of brothers and sisters, and mothers and fathers, who are brought together in this great assembly.

In other words, what Jesus is saying is, if you want to live as a Christian, that the business of the Christian life is not isolated individualism.

It's not about doing church on your own.

It's not about you being able to listen to a sermon online so you can save a bit of time on Sundays.

It's about people.

It's about knowing God with others.

It's not about you getting along in your Christian life on your own.

It's about a community.

And you can see, and I want to try and show you, that this is the big idea of the chapter.

So look at verse 2.

Jesus calls him to bring a little child and put him in the middle of them.

And he speaks about the presence of God and the community life of the people of God.

He says these people, they belong here.

They have relationships within the church.

And he illustrates that.

He illustrates from this child what it means to be inside the kingdom of God

but what it means to be outside the kingdom of God, the church.

And so he puts this child in the middle of his disciples.

And it's one of the number of occasions when Jesus did this in his day.

And it well indicates the culture.

And so at that point, in this point of history, children had no status, no rank, no rights.

They were to be seen and not heard.

Or maybe even not seen and not heard.

They didn't factor in.

Children were disposable.

Children were even dispensable.

You can read horrific accounts in Roman history.

And so here is Jesus teaching his name.

That children are not dispensable to Christ's church.

Children are part of the fellowship of the people of God.

That's why we love them being in here.

Even when there's a little bit of background noise.

Occasionally.

Children are part of the fellowship of God.

And this little one, he represents, doesn't he?

Actually, all Christians.

In fact, he says, adult believers, grown-ups,

so-called men and women are to become like this little child.

They're to become like this little child,

both in their utter dependence upon the Lord Jesus,

and I think what Jesus is teaching here

is exactly what Peter is teaching at Pentecost.

That the membership of his church is made up of believers and their children.

And the presence of children in the fellowship of the church

is to be a constant reminder of what Jesus is doing.

A constant reminder to us, in a sense,

that spiritually we should never grow up.

We should never grow up beyond that state.

We never get beyond the status of a child.

We should all be as unselfconscious and trusting as little children.

As absolutely dependent on God and his grace.

You see, there is no place in the church

for people asserting their rights.

For people pushing others around.

Always rubbishing others.

For people claiming priority.

We are to be humble like little children.

Unselfconscious.

Standing there in the midst of the disciples.

And so let the children, as we gather Sunday by Sunday,

be a constant reminder of Jesus' words.

And this childlike faith is to be a feature of the whole life of the believer.

It's not just you've got to humble yourself in order to get into the Christian life.

No.

The whole of the Christian life is about humbling yourself before,

under the mighty hand of God.

And if it's a Samsonite, there is nothing more terrifying

than to cause one of these little ones to sin.

There's no doubt, is there, that people will sin.

Temptations will come upon everybody, whatever age you are,

or whatever stage you're at in your life.

But what Jesus says is,

Woe to the one by whom the temptation comes.

And you make sure that though people are being tempted and falling into sin,

you're not the cause of that.

You're not the one who's tripping them out.

You're not the one who is leading them into sinful behaviour,

because that is a terrifying thing to do.

And then in verses 10 to 14,

he says,

Don't despise the little children,

both physically and spiritually.

Verse 10,

See that you don't despise one of these little ones.

Jesus is teaching us to need to follow people.

Whatever their age, he illustrates it.

He illustrates it from what the Father does.

What does the Father do?

Well, when one of these little ones goes astray,

one of his believing ones goes astray,

the Father leaves everything,

and he goes out to look for his lost sheep.

Because he is the shepherd,

and he cares for,

and he loves his people,

his sheep,

his church.

And Jesus is saying to us,

You and I should love the church

the way the Father does.

And the way that the Son does.

And again, this picks up, doesn't it,

a language or a thread

that runs right the way through the Bible?

That God is the shepherd of his people.

And to Psalm 100,

We are the sheep of his pasture.

Psalm 23,

The Lord is my shepherd.

Psalm 40,

Tends his flock like a shepherd.

He gathers the lambs to his heart,

and he carries them close.

So whether you're a young lamb,

or an old sheep,

the Lord is the shepherd of Israel.

Matthew 2,

you see it.

He will shepherd his people Israel.

The Lord Jesus says,

I am the good shepherd

who lays down his life for the sheep.

And all this language

is pointing you and I

to value Jesus' people.

So I ask you,

do you love the church?

Do you love Jesus' people?

How do I love them?

Not by setting myself over them

as if I'm superior.

Not by comparing myself to others

as if they were kind of my Lord.

Or they were the ones

that I was meant to be following.

I love others not by injuring

or abusing

or leading them into sin.

Whether that's theological error

or morally wrong.

I love others not by ignoring them

or showing a blind eye

to those who've gone astray.

But rather,

like the good shepherd,

I do what he does.

And so I have to love the church

and I have to give myself for it.

And that takes commitment,

doesn't it?

And that takes effort.

And that takes making it a priority.

Secondly,

I need to see the church

the way that Jesus

sees the church.

Can we come again to verse 15?

If your brother

sins against you.

So if your brother or sister

and that is somebody

who goes to the same church family

as you do,

if they sin against you,

Jesus is presuming,

isn't he,

that in his church

it will be marked

this side of heaven,

this side of glory

by sin and by weakness.

And so Jesus does not expect

the perfect church

to those who do.

Martin Luther had a saying,

he said,

the face of the church

is the face of a sinner.

The Western Confession of Faith

and our Confession of Faith

says the purest of churches,

the best of churches

under heaven

are subject to both

mixture and error.

And some are so degenerated

to become as no churches

of Christ

but synagogues of Satan.

Churches are not perfect.

And again,

that's been a theme

in Matthew's Gospel.

There are weeds

as well as wheat.

There are goats

as well as sheep.

There are some

in the church

who are wolves

in sheep's clothing.

The church is not perfect.

And some of the problems

that we have

with churches

and some of the problems

we have

with other Christians

is that we are

practical perfectionists.

And sometimes

it's just that

we've not looked in the mirror

and see how imperfect we are.

We see the imperfections

of everyone else,

don't we?

And so you go to Revelation

and the last book

of the Bible,

chapter 2 and chapter 3

and we are given

an overview of the church.

A perfect picture

of the church.

It's a complete picture

of the church.

It's a seven-fold picture.

It's a picture

of completeness

of what Jesus sees

in his church.

And there it is.

And you read

those seven churches

and you find out

that the five

of the seven churches

were seriously

screwed up.

And two of the seven

are going right down

the road

where Jesus said

I'm tempted

just to extinguish

the light of you,

the stuff you want.

Altogether,

you've got so bad.

And we need to see

the church

the way that Jesus does

a sinful congregation.

There is coming

a day,

and it's going to be

a wonderful day

when the Lord Jesus Christ

comes again

and he will present

his church

without spot

or wrinkle

or any such thing.

But today,

as I look around,

there are a fair few

wrinkles out there

and a fair few spots.

And IPC is an

ace and imperfect church.

And so is every true church.

And so the first thing

that strikes you

in verse 15

is if your brother

sins.

He's not suggesting

that that is impossible.

He's suggesting

that this will happen.

It will happen.

There's two ways

of reading this verse.

Whether he's speaking

generally,

whether he's saying

if your brother sins

in his tenth period,

or if your brother

sins in his tenth period,

it means you.

And we need to know

what's going to happen.

So it's illustrated

in this chapter.

Again, look at

verse 1.

The chapter has got

two questions.

And this illustration

of a kind of

simple message.

There's a verse 1.

The disciples ask,

who is the greatest

in the kingdom of heaven?

And that is not

a statement about

Christology.

That is not a statement

where they're expecting

Jesus to speak

about himself.

They are expecting

him to say,

well,

of course,

you are John

or you are Jesus.

And the disciples,

they are the ones

that are jockeying

for position

and place

and prestige.

In other words,

that's what church

is like.

Sinful people,

fallen people.

And these are the

apostles.

Top guys.

And that's the way

they were in that

stage of their lives.

And so often

in the church,

you'll find people

that have not been

able to make much

of an impression

in their day-to-day

vocation,

in their work,

but in church,

they throw their

weight about.

And they've got

power in their hands

and it goes to

their heads

and they become

insufferable.

And they become

overbearing.

Or there are other

people and they're

influential in their

day-jobs and they

walk in and they

think they can be

influential in the

church as well.

But that's not the

way it's meant to be,

is it?

In other words,

it doesn't really

matter if you're

doing well or not

doing so well in

your day-job.

That's not what

makes for status

or position.

position in the

church.

Jesus is at

pains to point

that out,

doesn't he?

That in his

kingdom,

the usual values

of the world

don't apply in

the church.

And so nobody

acts as if they

own the place.

We're all to be

humble children.

Look at the

second question,

verse 21.

Peter has a

question,

he comes up and

he says to him,

Lord, how often

should my brother

sin against me

and I forgive him

as many as

seven times?

And I think

Peter is feeling

pretty good about

himself in

verse 21.

He's feeling

pretty spiritual.

And the religious

teachers of the

day, the Pharisees

and the teachers

of the law,

lay in rules about

how often you

were to forgive.

And they

talk that if

somebody sinned

against you,

just to be

gracious and

merciful, you

could forgive

them after three

times.

Three strikes

and you're out.

Which is Peter.

And Peter says

what the Pharisees

say three times,

but I guess,

Jesus, you like

the number seven,

it's a perfect

number, a complete

number.

But Peter isn't

getting it, is he?

Because he doesn't

understand the grace

of the Lord Jesus

yet.

There are different

values.

No, Jesus says,

you keep going.

Can you see verse 22?

I do not say to you

seven times, but

77 times.

Seven times seven.

To infinity and

beyond you forgive.

There's no end

to forgiveness that

you want to show

one another.

Within the body

of Christ.

And so, within

the body of Christ,

within the church,

be sure of this.

Your brother or

your sister will

sin against you.

Let me say what

that sinning against

you is.

It is minor

irritation.

Or annoying

behaviour.

Or petty

complaints.

sinning against you

is not things that

you just don't

like.

I've gone to write

a list at this

point.

Of the various

things that I think

folk get upset

about.

That aren't

sinful and then I

realised I'd

probably get fired

for it.

He's not thinking

about things that

we elevate to

really, really

important, but the

Bible doesn't

elevate them.

The Bible tells

you what sin is,

doesn't it?

We don't make

up what sins

are.

And lots and

lots of things

that people get

upset about in

church are like,

are not sinful.

But note the

realism of Jesus.

Can you see it?

He says your

brother will

sin against you.

That is, he'll

actually do

something, whether

that is he'll

teach you something

wrong, or teach

you a wrong

practice, or he'll

do something to

injure you in

some way, or

despise you in

some way.

Love the church

as Jesus does.

See the church

as Jesus does,

and thirdly, treat

the church as

Jesus does.

What does God

do when his

followers go

astray?

Look at the

context.

The whole chapter

hangs together.

The previous

parable is so

important.

What does God

do?

He goes out

looking for

his children.

There's a really

deliberate

connection

between each

of the stories

in this chapter.

And how does

God go out

looking for

lost sheep?

The Father

goes out

looking for

them.

Your Father

in heaven, he

doesn't will

that any of

these little

ones should

perish.

If your

brother sins

against you,

see the

connection?

How does

the Father

go looking for

the sinning

one?

How does

the Father

find lost

sheep?

When in

this context,

it is the

family.

Jesus uses

the power

of the

lost sheep

in two

different ways.

I think he

uses it

differently in

Luke 15

than he does

in Matthew

18.

In Luke 15,

it's about

reaching the

outsider.

But here,

it is most

definitely about

reaching the

insider.

Note the

use of little

ones in

verse 10.

How does

he find the

little one

that is lost?

how does

God go

after his

wayward

children?

Can you

see it?

Verse 15,

you go.

You go,

sir.

That's a

very, very

important thing

to understand.

That God

uses us as

his people to

reach out to

offenders.

God

exercises the

rule of

the church

and the

care of

his church

through his

people.

So the

people he

has sent

into your

life, you

are responsible

for.

People you

know you

are responsible

for in the

body of

Christ.

And so in

Galatians,

it says if

someone is

caught in a

sin, you

are spiritual

should restore

him gently.

In 5,

if one of

you should

wander from

the truth,

someone should

bring him

back from

remember this,

whoever should

turn a

sinner from

the errors

of his

ways will

save him

from death

and cover

up a

multitude of

sins.

So you

go, you.

How am I

to go?

I'm not

going to go

heresy

hunting.

I'm not

going to go

prying into

people's

lives.

I'm not

going to

setting them

up for a

fall.

people.

But I

am to

deal with

what comes

up in

my

relationships

with

them.

And if

my brother

sins against

me, I

am to

go.

I am

not to

sit down

and

sulk.

I am

not to

look the

other way.

I'm not

to become

passive-aggressive.

I'm not to

take four

months off

church.

Or four

weeks.

I'm not to

go home and

complain.

I'm not to

speak to my

friends and give

off about it.

I'm not to

bury my

head in

sand.

I'm not to

say someone

should be

doing something

about this.

Where are the

elders in

this place?

No, if

your brother

sins against

you, you

go and

tell them.

You don't

send them a

letter.

You don't

send them an

email.

You don't

send them a

text.

You go to

them, person

to person.

You are

to go in

a childlike,

humble,

believing,

Christian

way.

And you

have to

go with

what?

You have

to go with

the heart

of God

looking for

the restoration

of the

lost.

Restoring

them.

And you

have to

go to

them willing

to forgive

to infinity.

A forgiving

heart.

That's how

you're wanting

to go.

Taking the

initiative to

tell him or

her a

fault and

remembering

that you

are a

sinner and

you tell

them very

gently your

fault.

That by the

way is

fulfilling,

isn't it?

Leviticus 17

verse 19.

That verse

says, do not

hate your

brother in

your heart.

Repeat your

brother frankly

so that you

will not share

in his guilt.

how do I

hate my

brother or

sister?

I hate my

brother or

sister if I

see him or

her in sin

and I do

nothing.

I hate my

brother or

sister if I

don't take

responsibility

for them.

Well I can

help them by

speaking to

them.

So I go to

them one to

one in one

in a private

conversation and

I allow real

dialogue.

In terms of

normal life,

private sin is

dealt with

privately between

people.

And what is

the goal?

The goal is

there in

verse 15,

is that he

listens to

you.

If he

listens to

you, you

gave your

brother, you

want him to

hear.

And that

may well mean

you've got to

listen as well.

But listening

is what you

want.

So that you

can restore

him or her

again.

And supposing

you go

gently and

you get

round to

the subject.

And supposing

they don't

listen.

Well the

next step

kicks in.

You take

two or

three witnesses.

And so

witnesses are

taken at one

level to

avoid false

accusations and

frivolous

allegations.

And there

are two or

three because

the law of

Moses tells

us that

that's what

makes a

thing official

or formal.

And the

point of two

or three

witnesses is

in verse

16 is that

every charge

may be

established

literally

made to

stand.

And so

you go

with your

witnesses

unless

suppose they

refuse to

be reconciled.

When you're

taken to the

church,

particularly

the elders,

the judges

of the

congregation

were appointed

to act

as judge

in these

matters.

Peter is

speaking to

the disciples

and he

says if

they don't

listen to

the

church,

we'll

treat

them like

a

gentile

or a

tax

collector.

Here's the

ultimate

sacrifice,

which is not

to neek

at them,

not to

destroy their

reputation

publicly,

but it is

to treat

them as

their

behavior,

not as

a brother

or sister.

It is to

exclude them

from communion

and if there's

still no

repentance,

it is to

say we have

to treat you

as somebody

who is not

following the

Lord Jesus.

We have

to treat

you like

you're

acting.

You're

treating them

as their

behavior.

It's the

ultimate

sanction of

the church.

And some

of you hear

this and you

think,

good grief,

this is

terrifying.

What on

earth is

going on?

My faith

is my

business.

Isn't it

all about

Jesus and

me?

What has

the church

got to do

with me

and my

Christian

behavior?

And the

answer,

of course,

is the

church has

got everything

to do with

it.

Because you

are brought

into the

church and

you are

part of

it and

you are

one of

the people

of God.

And you

are a

man,

just like

that child

is among

the disciples,

you belong

there.

And it's

because Jesus

has given

authority to

the church.

Notice the

language in

verse 18.

I say to

you,

whatever you

bind on

earth shall

be bound

in heaven,

and whatever

you loose

on earth shall

be loosed

in heaven.

The binding

and the

loosing,

we've seen

it before,

it was given

to Peter,

wasn't it,

chapter 16.

And Peter

was given

the authority

to say who

was in and

wasn't in

the church.

And you

see him

exercising that

responsibility on

the day of

Pentecost when

he gets up and

he preaches

the gospel.

And he

said,

Jesus Christ

is the

only way of

salvation,

and so if

you believe in

him you will

be saved,

and if you

don't believe

in him you

will be

excreted and

damned.

And he

sets out

who is

in and

who isn't.

And the

promise he

says is for

you and

your children

and for

all who

are far

off.

And so

here Jesus

repeats it

to the

apostles.

Whatever you

bind on

earth will

be found

in heaven.

And later

on in

John's

gospel he

repeats it

again.

He says you

have the

authority to

forgive sins.

What is this

teaching us?

It's teaching you

and I that

the church

is the

earthly

instrument for

Christ's

heavenly

rule.

That Christ

has appointed

his church

on earth,

especially the

officers of

his church,

to be the

shepherds of

his people.

To administer

his rule in

the hearts of

his people.

And believers

when they

join the

church they

take vows

together to

submit to

his authority.

The authority

of the church.

And to those

who have been

committed to

exercise authority

within it,

the church

has the

authority to

bind and

to loose.

So whenever

we preach

the gospel,

whenever we

say believe

on the

Lord Jesus

and you

will be

saved,

we are

echoing

Jesus'

words.

We are

re-echoing

them.

Re-speaking

them.

And whenever

the church

is sitting

judicially

and it has

to deal

with a

case of

discipline,

it is

acting on

Jesus'

behalf.

And if

you are a

humble,

believing

Christian,

like this

little child

of Matthew

18,

you will

submit to

your brothers

and sisters.

The promise

of Sarah

in verses

19 and 20

is that again

I say to

you,

if two of

you agree

on earth

about anything

they ask,

it will be

done for

them by

my Father

in heaven.

For where

two or

three are

gathered in

my name,

there I

am among

them.

It's not a

general principle.

We love to

quote that

in general,

don't we?

The Bible

is a lot

of general

promises,

but this

isn't one,

it's not

actually about

prayer at

all.

The phrase

of agreeing

is actually

a legal

term.

It's in

the context

of if you

agree on

a judicial

matter,

any matter

of this

importance,

if you

agree as

the church

of God

like this,

you can

be sure

that you're

agreeing with

my Father

who is in

heaven.

Whenever

you gather

like this

as a church

to deal

with these

kind of

difficulties,

whenever

you're

together

in this

way,

seeking

the unity

of the

church,

and trying

to restore

a brother

or sister,

be sure

of this

from the

end of

the age,

that whenever

you gather

in my

name,

there I'll

be.

Let me

sum up,

and then I'm

going to

sum up

again.

We all

sin as

people of

God.

And we

must know

that our

sin is

going to

impact

people's

lives to

a greater

or less

a degree.

And so

you and

I must

keep short

accounts

to people.

We must

remember how

our actions

and our

choices

and our

words

impact

other

people.

They do.

And ask

yourself the

question,

will my

actions,

will my

words,

will I

air what

I think

of that

person,

or the

leadership

of the

church,

what

effect

will that

have on

the men

and the

women,

and particularly

the boys

and girls

that are

hearing it

in the

family of

God,

because we

are all

responsible

for one

another.

We prepare

to serve

the church

in this

way.

There's

nothing here

about saving

yourself,

is there?

It is all

about being

like your

father who

is in

heaven,

and like

the Lord

Jesus who

goes out

looking for

lost ones

so that

they may

be restored.

And that

is the

goal in

all of

this,

that we

would live

happily

together in

the fellowship

of God's

church.

You might

have been a

Christian a

long time,

you might

have been

in church

here for

a long

time.

Some of

us have

been in

church

leadership

for a

long

time.

And I

think you

will be

aware,

if you

have been

in

leadership

for any

length of

time,

that this

instruction of

the Lord

Jesus is

more complicated

than at

first it

appears.

And I

want to

finish here.

What sins

is the

Lord talking

about?

What sins

are we to

confront our

brother and

sister about?

After all,

you and I

are sinning

all the time.

We sin by

things we

do,

don't we?

And we

sin by

things that

we shouldn't

do.

There's a

world of

sinning in

the Christian

life.

And so

in the

Christian

church,

there are

times when

the New

Testament

tells us

to patiently

endure and

not to

confront.

Paul tells

us that

there were

sins of

thought and

of life

in his

churches that

he closed

his eyes

to and

he patiently

with reflective

attention

all with

them.

He was

patient.

There was

a good

bit of

his own

sinning that

as far

as we

know was

never made

a point of

confronting

with

believers.

When does

the sin

reach the

point that

we need

to confront

it?

And there

are judgments

that are to

be made

with the

Christian

conscience.

And then

the question

comes this,

are all

situations

meant to be

handled like

this?

if you

are to

read

accounts of

church

discipline

and church

courts

or in

cases of

church

discipline

as I

have to

sometimes

this is

what I

found

that over

and over

again

the

offender

uses this

line,

uses this

excuse.

It's almost

a mantra.

I was with

someone this

week that

said to me

they didn't

follow Matthew

18.

And Matthew

18 is

often a

technicality

and a

loophole.

And many

through the

years have

used,

they didn't

follow Matthew

18 as

a mantra

to escape

punishment.

They get

off on a

technicality.

You didn't

use Matthew

18.

And I

think we

have to admit

this,

but it's

seen that

this isn't

as straightforward

as sometimes

it's

played out.

If you

just applied

Matthew

18 it would

all be

okay.

It's more

complicated

than that.

But the

fact is

this,

I think

by understanding

the context

of the

chapter we

see that

Jesus is

not dealing

here with

case law.

He's not

giving up an

ABC setup.

He is

talking about

helping his

little ones.

He's talking

about recovering

those of his

sheep who've

gone astray,

like one sheep

in the flock of

hundreds.

He's not

a lawyer

here laying

down procedures

so that

everyone gets

the same

treatment.

He's certainly

not enlisting

you as a

disciple to

become an

informer on

your other

disciples.

He is a

shepherd wanting

to make sure

that his

sheep learn

to care for

one another,

like he cares

for them.

Sheep go

astray,

and what is

the best way

to find them

and bring them

back to safety?

That's Jesus'

concern here.

And the best

way is

the gentlest

way,

the least

embarrassing

way,

the way

most considerate

of another

person's

feelings,

the way

that makes

it easiest

for a

Christian

who's

stumbled

to get

back on

his feet.

And so

if your

brother or

sister sins

against you,

go.

Go and

tell them

their fault,

but do it

with the

heart of

the Father.

On the

heart of

the Son,

let's pray.

Amen.