Preacher: Tabitha Hartman Rudy

Date: September 10, 2023

Scripture: Matthew 18:15-22, Matthew 5:21-24

Audio for this sermon can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oTKPqeUyMN3cAtACzaXKIR_IAROV6Sdd/view?usp=drive_link

Ah, conflict!  Our favorite thing to talk about in the church!  Not really, right?  Conflict, sin, inappropriate behavior…. None of it is easy to address or discuss, and yet we’re human – we’re bound to mess up from time to time, and say or do hurtful things….things that hurt others and even ourselves.

As Jesus’ ministry, at least according to Matthew, starts focusing on Jerusalem and his crucifixion, what he preaches and teaches on also starts to change.  Chapter 18 focuses on community – specifically living in a community shaped by Jesus.  In the first part of the chapter, Jesus proclaims that caring for one another means that you won’t cause them to stumble.  Now he turns to another concern: What should happen when a member of the community sins? 

Richard Gardner, in his commentary on the gospel of Matthew, points out that Jesus’ message here could refer to one person’s actions against another, or just any sin.  He writes, “It was likely, moreover, to cover any and all kinds of inappropriate behavior, not merely wrongs committed against a brother or sister.”

We know sin is not absent from the faith community.  Sin is the reason why forgiveness is necessary, which Jesus also addresses here.  Sin can be all sorts of things, but I have often heard it described as brokenness or anything that separates us from God.  That’s not Jesus’ concern here – he’s not trying to define sin.  Instead, his concern is how the faith community should respond when sin is evident. 

He lays out three steps – which are mostly based in Jewish tradition, but with the typical Jesus twist.

So, a person in the church sins…perhaps it affects others, perhaps not.  Step one is for another member of the faith community to go to the sinner and confront them.  One on one.  Privately.  Not in the town square.  Not with a court order in hand.  None of that stuff which was normal in society….  But member to member. 

At that point, the person who has sinned has some choices….right?  They can accept that they messed up, apologize, repent…. Or they can dig their heals in and deny the accusation.  If they go the first route, the community is made whole again.  If not, then we move to step 2.

Now, lest we think that this all happens without much thought, what Jesus says later tells us that these accusations can’t be made lightly.  Verses 18-20 say:

¹⁸ Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹ Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

The language that Jesus uses here of binding and loosening on earth and in heaven is also found elsewhere in Matthew when he names Peter as the cornerstone of the church….  In other words, the church not only has the authority to hold people accountable, but has that authority because Jesus passed it on to the church.  He also says here that when what is asked for is agreed upon by the church, or even just a couple of members, God will listen.  According to Gardner, Jesus is referring to prayer.  The church, in dealing with sin, must do so prayerfully.  While that isn’t mentioned until after the last step, we can assume Jesus also wants prayer to be part of the whole process.

Now, on to the second step…  In this step, witnesses are involved.  This was often the standard for being able to prove something in court, but Jesus isn’t worried about court here….at least not in the way that the instruction from Deuteronomy 19 intended.  By going again to the brother or sister, but taking a couple of others with you, the hope is to make a stronger appeal – not to build a case against the person. 

Again, at this point the sinner has options.  See the sin for what it was and repent and be restored to the community, or deny the sin.  And, again, if the person denies, we move to step 3

Now, step 3 is probably the one that makes us all a bit uncomfortable.  Jesus said, “If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church…”  Tell it to the church.  In Brethren history, this played out in different ways, but 100 or so years ago, it was customary for deacons to make visits prior to Love Feast and if grievances were present between members, these verses were followed…and if amends couldn’t be made, Love Feast didn’t happen.  Folks who were accused of sinning were often brought before the church during council to answer for their actions.  And just as Jesus says next… “…and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector…” if a member refused to repent and hear the church’s admonition, they were set aside from the fellowship.  They couldn’t participate as a full member of the church unless they repented.  This is still the practice in the Old Order community which is quite sizeable where I’m located.  

But….let me be clear – the purpose here is not at all to just cast people out of the church… or excommunicate them, as others say.  The purpose is to not seek separation, but rather restoration – even reconciliation, and this work should not be taken lightly, but be done after much prayer. 

Gardner explains the separation is the last resort of the community….  If the person who has sinned will not acknowledge the sin and repent, the church must then change how they relate to that person.  Isolation from the sinner is not the goal, Gardner writes.  Instead, what this final step means is that “the community will no longer relate to the person as a fellow disciple, but as someone of the world who has yet to be discipled.”

Let’s sit with this for a moment. 

I’ve often wondered why we Christians are so quick to say the Bible needs to be followed word for word, but skim over teachings like this.  I mean…Jesus is clear and concise here.  Jesus assumes a community of faith in which the members will take seriously their discipleship.  He also assumes a community in which each member is on equal footing….  Each member can be confronted on their sin, and no one person has more authority than any other to do the hard work of going to that member who has sinned.  Jesus also assumes that sin will be taken seriously and not just overlooked. 

Are we leery of Jesus’ teachings here because we don’t like conflict and confronting others, or is it really because we don’t want others coming to us and pointing out our sin? 

Up to this point in what Jesus has said, nothing drastically parts ways with Jewish tradition…. But then we have these verses about forgiveness.  In Genesis 4, Lamech promises to avenge his enemies seventy-sevenfold….  Here, when asked about forgiving those who sin, Jesus flips what Lamech once proclaimed on its head.  Forgive those who sin seventy-sevenfold!  In other words, don’t keep count.  In effect, Jesus calls the church to embody unlimited forgiveness.

This has sometimes led to abusive situations….  Obviously Jesus is not asking the church to overlook behavior that is sinful….If we take the forgiving verses out of context, as many have, that might be the conclusion we come to.  But when those follow his teachings about not causing others to stumble, confronting people on their sin and even separating them from the church if need be?  Forgiveness does not at all mean letting a person’s sin harm the body indefinitely. 

Another aspect of what Jesus gets at here – but not so directly – is more apparent in an earlier section of Matthew.  Hear these words from Matthew 5:21-24:

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder,’ and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister,^[a] you will be liable to judgment, and if you insult^[b] a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council, and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell^[c] of fire. ²³ So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.

Fascinating, right?  In these verses, Jesus confronts the laws which have governed the Jewish community for years and years.  You need not do something as drastic and evil as kill someone to face judgement, Jesus basically says.  Holding anger against another in the faith community is grounds enough for judgement by God.  In fact, he says, don’t even waste your time offering your gifts and attending all of those religious rituals.  If a fellow believer has something against you, leave your gift at the altar and go make it right.  Then go and finish the ritual. 

In a way, this completes what Jesus says later…or maybe what he says later completes what we read here.  Those who are truly faithful to God are not just to be the confronters….those who go to others when they have sinned; but they are also to acknowledge when relationships are broken – when others have something against them personally.  In other words, since brokenness works both ways and affects everyone, so should the work of reconciliation and restoration.  The body is not fully restored when just one side forgives the other, but true wholeness comes when both the sinner and those sinned against follow Jesus’ teachings.

Y’all, this ain’t easy work.  But Jesus never taught that being his disciple would be easy work.  Right? 

If the church is to truly embody Christ’s teachings, be an authentic Christian community focused on helping build the kingdom of God here on earth, we can’t expect things to be easy.  Relationships aren’t easy.  Naming and maintaining boundaries aren’t easy.  Loving one another is not easy.  And facing our sin as well as the sin of others is not easy. 

Okay, so now it’s confession time.  I actually preached this sermon at my last call before I left pastoring to be a stay at home mom.  I will admit that I approached the text with our Brethren history in mind – the stuff I mentioned before.  I approach this text with that history in mind thinking that Brethren know how to act out this scripture when dealing with conflict.  But, if I’m truly being honest with myself – many of us don’t know this historical interpretation and practice, nor are we the churches or even the denomination we were 100 years ago. 

So, what should we do?  Perhaps the first thing is to simply sit with this scripture and think about actually doing what Jesus has asked those around him to do.  Maybe we start with what that looks like within our own households…our closest relationships.  Can we imagine ourselves being so vulnerable with those who we say we love and are loved by the most?  And then, maybe we think beyond our households and consider our closest friends…  And eventually we consider what this looks like within our faith communities. 

It’s a bit scary to think about…  And, yet, I’d like to believe that Jesus knew what he was talking about – that acting in a reconciling way aimed at restoring any brokenness – unlike the ways of the world – could help bring heaven to earth. 

May we all strive to heed Jesus’ teachings…. To not cherry pick the ones that are easier for us to accept, but to prayerfully embody Christ in all that we do.

Amen.