In Part 1, we looked at what Jesus said in Matthew 5 about seeking reconciliation with someone you have offended BEFORE you present an offering at the Temple. Of course, Jesus was speaking to Jews under the Mosaic law, but the principles still apply. No true restoration without reconciliation. No reconciliation without confession and repentance.
But what about when the offender doesn't seek reconciliation first? Did Jesus say anything about that. He definitely did! That is what we will look at here in Part 2.
Matthew 18: 1 - 17 NAS95
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."
"Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!"
“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell."
"See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
“What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray."
“So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish."
"If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.
“But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. 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."
Now, Jesus is talking to His disciples. The directions He gives here applied not only to them, but to us as well, because we also consider ourselves to be His followers.
I have heard of the final verses being used against the victims of fallen ministers, saying they should have privately confronted their offender and not come out publicly. However, many of the victims were children at the time of the offense, and they experienced trauma that would effect even an adult. They had to grow and heal, often with help, until they had the strength to face their offender.
In the case of ministers, they have built reputations that enable them to continue in their ministry activities. If they admit to harming anyone, they will lose their reputations, their positions, their influence, their money. So, most of them refuse to admit anything until they have been backed into a corner. Some times, even if they admit to some wrongdoing, their associates and followers will call for their restoration. And some have been restored to ministry activities, but they continue their abuse.
Obviously, this should not be. But some people cannot or refuse to see the obvious. Thus, I am examining from a Biblical standpoint what the restoration process should be.
How does this passage relate to the restoration of fallen ministers? Let's go step by step through the context.
First, the disciples ask which one of them is the greatest in the Kingdom. To understand this question, we must consider the first century century Jewish culture. Rabbis would not just teach the people in general, they would gather disciples to follow them full time so each rabbi would train that group of disciples to become rabbis too. With this in mind, we can see how each one of Jesus' disciples would wonder about how valuable he would be in the ministry. In other words, who would be their leader?
But Jesus had to show them their need for humility and who really is important in His Father's eyes. So, he takes a child and places him in the middle of their group. The wording in the Greek indicates this boy was young, but able to stand on his own. He could have been a toddler, but I believe he was older than that, one able able to converse with adults on a very basic level. I think he was at least 5, but no more than 12. Jesus uses him as an example of humility.
Think about that for a moment. These were grown men, who had careers, families, houses, and more, that they had left behind to follow Jesus for several years. They too had preached, cast out demons, and ministered healing. Peter, James, and John had seen the Transfiguration. Now, Jesus compared them to a child??? If they had not known that Jesus loved them, they would have felt that He had insulted them.
But they knew. They continued to listen, because they knew Jesus would teach them more about the Kingdom that they needed to know.
Jesus goes on to say that children need to be protected from offenses - both from being offended and from being made to offend. Then He continues, but talks about sheep. However, He is still talking about the Kingdom. Sheep and children are quite similar. When Jesus talked about the one sheep that strayed, the one the shepherd would leave the rest of the flock to go look for and rejoice over when found, He was still talking about who was great in the Kingdom. He equated an offended child to a straying sheep. Both need to be sought out and restored.
Then Jesus says something that sounds harsh. If part of your body causes you to sin, to offend, CUT IT OFF! Is Jesus promoting self-mutilation? Of course not! How could someone who healed people, including those with missing body parts, recommend removal of those parts? What was He really saying? He was talking about the desires of our bodies. We should not let them control us if they cause us to offend. He just used extreme language to show how much we need to do this.
Then, He talks about offenders. Notice His words. "If your brother sins,..." Not, "If your brother sins against you." As long as you know someone has sinned, you should go confront them, and not just to recover them for the Body of Christ, but so that others will not be offended against or to offend.
How should we approach the offenders? In humility before God and love for the offender, remembering that you are doing this for their sake as well for the offended and the entire Body of Christ.
So, to sum up this passage: No one in the Body of Christ is more important than anyone else. We are often to eager too believe otherwise, and we need to stop that. Consider the teachings of Jesus and James about avoiding partiality, and Paul's teaching about the Body of Christ.
Part 2 of Restoring Fallen Ministers is a fallback for when Part 1 does not happen. It is the confrontation in love and humility.
Part 3 to come...
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