Pursue Your Brother and Sister

Please open up your Bibles to Matthew chapter 18.

Matthew 18 · chapter mention

If you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand.

We'd love to give you a copy of it that you can use while you're here and take home with you.

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Sean,

and I'm one of the pastors of Trinity Cambridge Church,

and it's my great joy and privilege to preach God's Word to you.

This morning, we've been going through the Gospel of Matthew

for over a year.

Now, in chapter 18, verses 10 to 20,

let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Heavenly Father, Your Word is living and active.

So, Lord, I ask that Your Word would pierce through the division of bone and marrow,

that we would be cut to the heart by Your Word,

Your message would be convicted and comforted,

that we would be reminded

that as we remember Your love shown to us in Christ,

that You would dwell more and more richly and fully by Your Holy Spirit in us,

that we too might become Christ-like

in seeking out lost sheep,

pursuing one another in the body of Christ.

Lord, expand our vision for the church,

grow and deepen our love for the church,

all for Your glory, God.

Lord, in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Please stand, if you are able,

so that we can honor God together as we read from His Word.

Matthew 18, 10 to 20.

See that you do not despise one of these little ones,

for I tell you that in heaven

their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

What do you think?

If a man has a hundred sheep

and one of them has gone astray,

does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains

and go in search of the one that went astray?

And if he finds it,

truly, I say to you,

he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine

that never went astray.

So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven

that one of these little ones should perish.

If your brother sins against you,

go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.

If he listens to you,

you have gained your brother.

But if he does not listen,

take one or two others along with you

that every charge may be established

by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

If he refuses to listen to them,

tell it to the church.

And if he refuses to listen even to the church,

let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Truly, I say to you,

whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,

and whatever you lose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

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 am I among them.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Please be seated.

I don't mean any offense to people from the south here,

but a popular stereotype about the deep south

is that down there,

everyone knows everyone's business.

In the worst case,

this is because of gossips and busybodies

who meddle in other people's affairs,

but in the best case,

it's because of a strong sense of communal responsibility

and neighborliness.

In contrast,

a popular stereotype about New England

is that up here,

the prevailing attitude is,

it's none of my business.

There's a strong sense of individual autonomy

and expression of personalities

and personal boundaries,

and people are encouraged to mind their own business.

There's a biblical precedent for this idea

of, oh, it's none of my business.

Proverbs 25, 16, 17 says this,

if you have found honey,

eat only enough for you,

lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.

Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house,

lest he have his fill of you and hate you.

Note the parallel between fill of honey

and fill of you, right?

The idea is be considerate of your neighbor.

Don't presume upon your neighbor's hospitality.

Allow for some space.

Even if your neighbor really likes you,

there's such a thing as having too much

of something that is good,

like eating too much honey and vomiting.

Just as you can have a fill of honey,

you can have a fill of yourself.

They can have a fill of you.

And this is what the English proverb,

good fences make good neighbors, means.

It doesn't mean that you shouldn't be a friendly neighbor,

but it means that you should respect

your neighbor's personal space.

There's also Proverbs 26, 17,

whoever meddles in a quarrel, not his own,

is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.

If it's not your fight, don't meddle in it.

Don't insert yourself into it,

because like a passing dog,

just passing by casually,

and if you grab it by the ear,

it will surely turn on you and try to bite you.

So there is some biblical precedence.

I don't want to just dismiss it altogether,

that kind of attitude, mind your own business.

There's some truth to the idea of working hard

and keeping your head down

and minding your own affairs

that is good and godly.

With that said,

that attitude, none of my business,

is not always a commendable attitude.

Sometimes it's none of my business

is not an expression of humility

toward your neighbor.

It's not an expression of consideration

of your neighbors.

Rather, sometimes it's an expression

of selfish individualism, apathy,

and lack of concern for our neighbors

that must be overcome.

That's the point of our passage this morning.

When it comes to relationships within the church,

the family of God,

we ought to care for one another

and be accountable to one another.

When a brother or sister in Christ

is sinning and not repenting,

when they are straying from the path of God

and from the truth of God,

it is our responsibility

to pursue our straying brother or sister.

That's the main point of this passage.

The parable of the lost sheep

in verses 10 to 14

tell us about the preciousness

of the one little one.

And verses 15 to 20

then tell us about the pursuit

of that one little one.

Jesus says in verse 10,

See that you do not despise

one of these little ones.

For I tell you that in heaven

their angels always see the face

of my Father who is in heaven.

Jesus mentions the little ones

twice in our passage.

He's continuing the theme

of the previous passage

at the beginning of this chapter.

Jesus said in verses 5 to 6,

Whoever receives one such child

in my name receives me.

But whoever causes one of these little ones

who believe in me to sin,

it will be better for him

to have a great millstone

fastened around his neck

and to be drowned

in the depth of the sea.

Despising the little ones

is the opposite

of receiving those little ones.

Those who despise the little ones

are likely to cause

those little ones to sin

because they don't really care

about what happens to them.

They're little ones.

They're not important.

So who cares?

To despise the little ones

is to disdain and scorn them,

to treat them with contempt.

Paul exhorts Timothy

in 1 Timothy 4.12,

Let no one despise you

for your youth.

That's the same word.

But set the believers

an example in speech,

in conduct,

in love,

in faith,

in purity.

Paul is telling Timothy,

Timothy,

because you're a young buck,

people might disrespect

and disdain you.

But instead of confirming

their suspicions

of immaturity

and youthful ignorance

and inexperience,

set an example for them

in godly speech

and godly conduct.

These little ones

that Jesus mentions

do not refer to literal children,

but to all those

who have become like children.

Jesus said that in verse 3,

those who have humbled themselves

like a child

in order to enter

the kingdom of heaven.

What that means

is those who have

benounced their self-sufficiency

and have acknowledged

their dependence

on the provision

of God the Father.

It's those who have

despaired

of their self-righteousness

and cling

to Jesus Christ alone

and His salvation,

His atonement,

His righteousness

alone for salvation.

Those who have

forsaken

worldly status

and glory

and now seek

heavenly status

and the glory

that comes from God.

In other words,

the little ones

are the Christians

and this is confirmed

by what Jesus said

earlier in chapter 10,

verse 42,

and whoever gives

one of these little ones

even a cup of cold water

because he is a disciple,

truly I say to you,

he will by no means

lose his reward.

The little ones

are the disciples

of Jesus Christ,

those who believe in Him

and follow Him

and Jesus warns,

see that you do not despise

one of these little ones.

This warning is necessary

because little ones

are easy to despise.

They don't have status,

power.

They don't have a seat

at the table.

They're easy to bully around

and push around.

They are unintimidating

and unthreatening.

People pay attention to

and fawn after

the great ones of society.

They ignore the little ones.

Little ones are the ones

whom God claims

as His dependents.

Those who are poor

but depend on God's wealth.

Those who are weak

but depend on God's power.

Those who are sinful

but depend on God's mercy.

But this world

is not impressed

by such people.

This world doesn't take

such people seriously.

But Jesus commands us

to take them

very, very seriously.

So much so,

He says that

if you cause

one of these little ones

who believe in me

to sin,

Jesus says,

it'll be better

for you to have

a massive millstone

tied around your neck

and drowned

in the depths of the sea.

Why so serious?

Jesus says in verse 10,

for I tell you

that in heaven

their angels

always see

the face of my Father

who is in heaven.

Seeing the face

of God the Father

in heaven

is the language

of the royal court.

Not anyone

gets admitted

into the king's presence.

Queen Esther,

if you remember

from the book of Esther,

tremble

to enter into

King Ahasuerus'

royal court

even though she's

the queen.

She said anyone

who enters his court

unsummoned

is executed

unless he

extends a special

pardon

and mercy.

So it's not a small thing

to have access

to the king

and yet Jesus says

the angels

of these little ones

not once in a while

but always

sees the face

of God

the Father

in heaven.

We see the hints

of this idea

of angels

representing

and guarding

the people of God

throughout the Bible.

Hebrews 1.14

describes the angels

as ministering spirits

sent out to serve

for the sake

of those

who are to

inherit salvation.

In other words,

the little ones

are the ones

that are served

by these angels.

They exist.

They're serving spirits

that exist to serve

the little ones of God,

the children of God.

Psalm 91,

9-12

promises divine protection

for those who

make the Lord God

their refuge.

And it says

that the Lord

will command

his angels

concerning you

to guard you

in all your ways.

On their hands

they will bear you up

lest you strike

your foot

against the stone.

This is where

the idea

of a guardian angel

comes from.

At the end of his life,

Jacob speaks

of the angel

who has delivered him

from all of the evils

in his life.

In Genesis 48,

Genesis 48:16

verse 16.

In Daniel chapter 3

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

when Daniel's

three friends,

Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abednego

are thrown

into a fiery furnace

because of their

refusal to worship

this idolatrous

golden statue

of Nebuchadnezzar,

the emperor

sees that

there's a fourth person

in the fiery furnace

and it's an angel

who's protecting them

so that not a hair

on their head

is singed.

In Revelation 2-3

we see that

every local church

has an angelic

representative

in heaven

in the very throne room

of God.

So,

it says in

Revelation 2-3

that every angel,

even the churches

like Sardis

and Laodicea

that have nothing

to commend them

that according

to Jesus himself,

the church in Sardis

is about to die.

It's a dying church.

Churches that,

local churches

that have nothing

to commend them

yet they still

have a lampstand

that's burning

before the presence

of God

and have an angelic

representative

that is before

the very face

of God.

These precious children,

these churches

of Christ,

though flawed

and plagued

by sins they may be,

have 24-7 access

to God the Father.

They're literally

before the Father's face

always.

Do you know that

that is how

you are loved,

beloved children

of God?

That's,

you are the,

you are the apple

of God's eye.

He keeps you

as the apple

of his eye.

He hides you

in the shadow

of his wings,

it says in Psalm 17,

Psalms 17:8

verse 8.

And this is why

Jesus says

we should not despise

one of these little ones.

they are the very heirs

of the kingdom

of heaven.

And to drive home

this point further,

he uses this parable

of the lost sheep

in verses 12 to 13.

What do you think?

If a man has

a hundred sheep

and one of them

has gone astray,

does he not leave

the ninety-nine

on the mountains

and go in search

of the one

that went astray?

And if he finds it,

truly I say to you,

he rejoices over it

more than over

the ninety-nine

that never went astray.

A shepherd

will take his flock

around and feed them

on the pastures

and lead them

to the waters

and usually at night

when it's time

to turn in,

he will count his sheep

to make sure

that they are all present.

And he's counting

his sheep

as he's in the habit

of doing

and he's got

ninety-seven,

ninety-eight,

ninety-nine.

Okay, I must have

missed one.

Okay, you start over.

That's a lot

of sheep to count.

Ninety-seven,

ninety-eight,

ninety-nine.

It's not a mistake.

Something's not right.

And then his mind

and his heart

begin to race

and then his feet

follow soon thereafter

and now he is

running across the pastures

trying to find

the lost sheep.

And as I mentioned

to you when I preached

on Matthew chapter nine

some months ago

that sheep

are famously

helpless

without shepherds.

Right?

They don't have

a good sense of direction.

They're not like

cats and dogs

that can find

their way back home.

When they get lost

they're actually lost.

They're defenseless.

They don't have claws.

They don't have sharp teeth.

They can't fight back

if wolves attack them.

They're not very fast.

They get easily spooked

and they run

headlong into danger

or even off a cliff

sometimes

because they just

don't have much sense.

And so the shepherd

as he's thinking

about this missing sheep

all of these things

are on his mind.

As the image

of this helplessly

bleeding sheep

lost somewhere

scared and vulnerable

fills his mind

he quickens his pace

and he continues

to search

and he says

in verse 12

that he leaves

the 99

on the mountains

and then he goes

and searches

for the one

that went astray.

Think about that

for one moment.

It doesn't say

that the shepherd

puts the 99 sheep

safely inside

the sheepfold

and then he goes out

to search

for that one sheep.

It says that he leaves

the 99

on the mountains

and goes in search

of the one

that went astray.

The math

doesn't make sense.

That's because

this is not

a picture

of a calm

calculated

methodical rescue.

it's a picture

of an urgent

desperate search.

It's a picture

of a consuming

love

and the desperate

predicament

of that one

wandering sheep

takes precedence

because that one

has gone astray

while the 99

have not.

And Jesus says

God the Father's

heart

is like

that shepherd's

who leaves

the 99

in search

of the one.

Notice how many

times the word

one is repeated

in chapter 18.

Verse 5

Whoever receives

one such child

in my name

receives me.

But whoever

causes one

of these little ones

who believe

in me to sin

it will be better

for him to have

a great millstone

fastened around

his neck

and to be drowned

in the depths

of the sea.

Verse 10

See that you

do not despise

one of these

little ones.

Verse 12

If a man

has a hundred sheep

and one of them

has gone astray

does he not

leave the 99

on the mountains

and go in search

of the one

that went astray.

Verse 14

So it is not

the will of my

Father who is in

heaven

that one

of these little

ones should perish.

This is Jesus'

point.

God's love

God loves

his one

wandering sheep

as if it were

the only sheep

there to love.

And his love

compels him

to pursue.

Beloved

that's how

God loves

you.

Verse 13

says

And if he

finds it

truly I say

to you

he rejoices

over it

more than

over the

99

that never

went astray.

Don't feel

bad if you

feel like

you're the

99.

It's

not because

the one

sheep

is more

valuable

than the

99.

Can you

imagine

what the

99

sheep

would have

felt

if the

shepherd

after

realizing

that he's

the one

sheep

had gone

wandering

he says

oh

just

one

sheep

got

99

more

cut

my

losses

what do you

think the

sheep would

think

ouch

well I

better never

wander

off

he sure

will never

come after

me

no

they

realized

they

realized

that

they

are

not

actually

that

valuable

to the

shepherd

the

shepherd's

consuming

passion

to recover

that one

lost

sheep

elevates

the value

of every

sheep

it shows

his value

for every

sheep

in that

sheep

fold

that's

how

you

would

search

for

me

if I

ever

got

lost

and

that's

what

you

should

feel

when you

read

this

passage

if

you

are

familiar

with

the

longer

more

famous

version

of

this

parable

in

Luke

Luke 15:1–7

chapter

15

verses

1

to

7

you

may

have

automatically

assumed

that

the

wandering

sheep

represents

unbelievers

those who

are not

yet

Christians

in

Luke

15

this

is

the

case

there

Jesus

tells

the

parable

to

the

Pharisees

and

the

scribes

who

are

grumbling

and

complaining

at

the

fact

that

Jesus

befriends

sinners

and tax

collectors

and eats

with

them

and

through

the

parable

Jesus

teaches

these

legalistic

Pharisees

that

it's

not

the

healthy

who

need

the

doctor

it's

the

sick

that

he

has

come

to

seek

and

save

the

lost

however

in

Matthew

18

the

audience

is not

the

Pharisees

and

the

scribes

the

audience

is

the

disciples

of

Jesus

and

Jesus

tells

this

parable

in

the

context

of

how

we

ought

to

relate

to

one

another

as

people

of

God

as

members

of

the

body

of

Christ

should

we

be

measuring

ourselves

against

one

another

and

wondering

who

is

the

greatest

among

us

that's

what

sparked

all

of

this

teaching

no

Jesus

says

that's

not

the

way

we

should

be

instead

we

should

become

like

little

children

so

notice

the

flow

of

this

passage

before

the

parable

of

the

lost

sheep

Jesus

says

you

should

cut

off

the

things

that

cause

you

to

sin

if

your

right

crippled

and

for

you

to

be

excluded

shut

out

from

the

kingdom

of

God

whole

bodied

and

able

bodied

and

then

he

tells

the

parable

of

the

lost

sheep

and

then

after

that

he

goes

into

talking

about

how

we

ought

to

address

erring

believers

Christians

professing

believers

who

sin

how

should

you

address

them

so

this

parable

is

not

about

unbelievers

in the

context

of

Matthew

it's

about

how

we

ought

to

pursue

our

brothers

and

sisters

who

sin

and

when

you

sin

brothers

and

sisters

God's

posture

toward

you

is

not

that

defective

wandering

sheep

has

always

made

my

day

long

and

difficult

good

riddance

that

is

not

God's

heart

verse

14

so

it

is

not

the

will

of

my

father

who

is

in

heaven

that

one

of

these

little

!

ones

should

perish

it

is

not

his

will

that's

not

his

heart

he

runs

after

each

lost

sheep

so

let

his

unrelenting

love

draw

you

back

if

that's

what

you

are

doing

right

now

if

you're

in

sin

and

you

are

not

a

nameless

sheep

among

a multitude

of

sheep

God

says

in

Isaiah

45

3

to

4

I

the

Lord

God

of

Israel

call

you

by

name

for

the

sake

of

my

servant

Jacob

and

Israel

my

chosen

I

call

you

by

your

name

I

name

you

God

doesn't

merely

save

you

all

in

the

plural

as

a

collective

whole

he

saves

each

wandering

!

sheep

individually

God's

love

is not

love

that is

offered

generally

for

everyone

only

and

not

especially

for

but

especially

for

no

one

his

love

is not

something

that is

offered

generally

for

everyone

but

especially

for

no

one

no

his

love

is

offered

it's

a

shepherd's

love

it's

the

father's

love

his

love

for

each

and

every

child

of

his

he

loves

as if

there's

only

one

there's

if

there

were

only

one

to

love

he

knows

you

and

loves

you

and

calls

you

by

name

and

your

angel

is

always

before

his

face

in

the

heavenly

court

he's

always

watching

over

you

when

it

comes

to

things

like

money

and

you

earn

some

and

you

spend

some

and

you

lose

some

and

if

your

investment

portfolio

doesn't

perform

one

year

you

cut

your

losses

and

you

move

on

but

we

don't

think

you

can't

!

think

!

about

!

people

you

can't

think

like

that

when

it

comes

to

God's

precious

children

a

little

over

a

year

ago

I

read

an

article

in

the

New

York

Times

about

a

father

in

South

Korea

who

had

become

a

tragic

national

symbol

of

unwavering

parental

devotion

his

17

year

old

daughter

had

gone

missing

in

1999

and

for

the

next

25

years

he

never

stopped

looking

for

her

by

2017

he

had

driven

about

half

a

million

miles

distributed

3

million

leaflets

!

and

hung

2,500

banners

throughout

the country

that

say

please

help

me

find

my

daughter

he

said

his

one

wish

was

to

hold

her

hand

one

day

and

in

an

interview

in

2013

he

said

I've

never

spent

a

day

without

thinking

about

my

daughter

I

don't

think

anybody

can

live

comfortably

after

losing

a

child

while

hanging

his

banners

up

he

fell

several

times

suffering

a

herniated

disc

and

a

severe

brain

injury

and

he

continued

to

search

for

his

daughter

and

during

while

he

was

continuing

to

do

this

his

wife

passed

away

and

he

continued

to

search

for

his

daughter

and

he

did

this

until

he

died

in

2024

for

25

years

why

would

a

man

do

that

no

other

man

would

do

that

it's

because

he's

the

father

it's

because

it's

his

daughter

you

have

to

take

someone

else's

children

seriously

that's

what

he's

saying

this

is

the

father's

son

or

daughter

that

you're

going

after

I

don't

know

what

your

politics

are

your

opinions

of

what

President

George

W.

Bush's

decision

to

invade

Iraq

in

2003

might

have

been

sorry

I'm

not

going

to

talk

about

that

but

I

appreciated

how

after

that

he

honored

George

W.

Bush

honored

the lives

of the

fallen

soldiers

in the

aftermath

those

soldiers

weren't

just

numbers

to

him

we

got

plenty

plenty

of

young

men

he

knew

that

they

were

real

people

with

real

families

he

met

with

over

1,100

relatives

of more

than

300

dead

service

members

generally

in

private

often

without

media

presence

he

wasn't

doing

it

for

show

and

then

his

press

secretary

Dana

Perino

once

recalled

a

time

when

he

was

meeting

with

the

mother

of

a

dying

soldier

who

berated

Bush

and

yelled

at

him

saying

why

is

my

son

the

one

that's

lying

down

on

that

hospital

bed

and

not

yours

and

apparently

Bush

just

listened

to it

all

took

it

all

in

shared

in

her

suffering

and

grief

and

then

as

they

were

leaving

after

that

visit

Bush

turned

to

his

press

secretary

with

tears

in his

eyes

and said

that

mama

sure

was

mad

at

me

and

I

don't

blame

her

a

bit

and

then

after

his

time

in

office

he

painted

a

collection

of

60

full

color

oil

portraits

and

a

four

panel

mural

honoring

the

veterans

post

9-11

veterans

entitled

Portraits

of Courage

a

commander

in chief's

tribute

to

America's

warriors

why

is it

my

son

that's

on

that

hospital

bed

and not

yours

it's

someone's

child

someone's

son

and when

it comes

to our

relationship

with God

our

situation

is exactly

the

reverse

we're

the

ones

who

sinned

we're

the

ones

who

deserve

to

perish

we're

the

ones

who

deserve

eternal

damnation

and

hell

and

why

is it

God's

son

that's

on

the

cross

why

is it

his

son

that's

on