“If the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a
one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” St. Matthew 18:17
There is very little direct teaching in the Gospels about the
church and its life. What there is, though, is found in Jesus’ discussion with
his disciples in the central chapters of Saint Matthew’s Gospel, from which
this evening’s lesson is taking. These
chapters have come to take on a kind of special importance, especially among
Christians who try to base everything the church does on a literal
interpretation of the Bible.
For example, this three step process that Jesus describes for
dealing with a member of the church who sins against another has been treated
by some as judicial proceeding. First, confront the person with the sin. Then
bring some witnesses. Then present the person for judgment before the entire
congregation. One commentator[1]
compared it to reading someone his Miranda rights—did you “Matthew 18 him?” one
Christian might ask another in talking about how an inter-church controversy
unfolded.
