Matthew 18:1 Why did the disciples come to Jesus and ask who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?
In another place in the Gospels, the disciples are arguing about which of them was the greatest, the second in command after Jesus. People typically have a desire to advance their career - minor leagues to the majors, employee to manager, associate to partner. Some of the disciples were probably thinking that Jesus was going to be a Messiah like David, drive out the Romans, and establish a kingdom here on earth. Jesus was giving them warning that this was not what his kingdom would be like. Selfishness and pride are not assets in God's kingdom, but humility and faith are. The very last verse of chapter 19 seems to answer this question - scroll to the bottom of this blog to see the answer!
Matthew 18:6 What is a millstone? What does this verse mean?
In this passage, Jesus is saying that he cares about all people, including children, and that those who are in charge of children should really take care of them. A millstone is a huge rock that was set on top of another rock. The rocks would grind wheat into flour so that they could bake bread. Having a heavy rock tied to someone's neck and thrown into the sea would be a fancy, but undesirable, way for someone to die.
Matthew 18:7 What does this mean, and why does he use the word 'woe'?
Bad things happen. Jesus knows that we will live in a sinful world until the end of time, but it is terrible. Jesus said it is even worse for a person to give up trying to be good and just let bad things happen. An unfortunate example would be Judas. Jesus had to be crucified, but it is terrible that it had to happen as a result of one of his own disciples betraying him. The word 'woe' is a word of emotion, not meaning. It is similar to saying 'wow' but in a painful way.
Matthew 18:8-9 Why are these verses so gory and weird? Why does God want us to gouge our eyes out? Is this a metaphor?
Jesus is talking about the seriousness of sin. Several years ago there was a man who was rock climbing by himself and his hand got trapped by a boulder. After a long time of trying to figure out what to do, he decided to cut his hand off. It was a hard decision, but it saved his life; he lost part of his body, but it was better than dying. Jesus is saying the same thing about sin - it is that serious. If someone uses their hands to sin and go against God's will, it would literally be better for them to not have a hand than to go to hell. For those of us who want to keep our body parts, it would be good for us to do whatever we can do to keep from sinning and to live as part of God's kingdom.
Matthew 18:13 Why is a man happier about his one lost sheep instead of his ninety-nine sheep? What is this parable about?
At St. John this past year there was a family who grew up worshiping the gods of the Hindu religion, but they became baptized and members of our church. The week that this happened there were hundreds of families who attended church as long time members, but there was more excitement about this family because they were on the road to hell, but now part of God's family. This is what the parable means - God is excited about finding the one lost sheep or lost person (even though He loves the people who already follow Him very much!).
Matthew 18:14 What does Jesus mean by humbling yourself like a child?
That is a great question. Many people have wrestled with this question, and there is not a simple answer. One idea is that children need to trust their parents for food, a home, protection, and many other things. God wants us to trust him in this way. Children are not innocent or without sin, but they do have strong faith that their parents will care for them.
Matthew 18:17 If a man doesn't listen to the church, why would he be treated like a pagan or tax collector?
The Church (the body of believers all over the world, not just the building) is a precious group of people. In a sinful world, the Church is a safe place to be where God's kingdom is present. It is not okay to let this sacred place be corrupted by the evil things that happen among people who don't believe in God, so if someone is not willing to be part of this community of believers, they should be removed. For the sake of the congregation, it is better that evil things do not become part of the way of life for the members of the Church. However, anyone who is outside the Church is someone we should love and help and care for and try to encourage them to be part of the Church. Treating them like a pagan or tax collector means that you treat them as people whom Jesus loves, people who need our love and help, even though they are not part of our community.
Matthew 18:18 What does God mean when he says that whatever is bound on earth will be bound in heaven?
The idea of 'binding' or being 'bound' in this passage is about sins not being forgiven. If someone stole from another person and was sorry about it, that person should be forgiven. However, if the person stole and did not feel sorry and instead said, "I'm glad I stole that and I would do it again." the person should not be forgiven - it wouldn't do any good. Instead, such a person needs to know that they are in a dangerous situation with such an attitude of rebellion against God's kingdom. If someone believed they were completely healthy, they would find no reason to go to a doctor, even if their body was dying of cancer. In the same way, if people do not think they are sinful, there is no reason to say that their sins are forgiven. Instead, they are rejecting God's gift of grace and the Holy Spirit, and in danger of being separated from God for eternity in hell.
Matthew 18:18 What does loosed mean?
On the other hand, if someone is sorry for their sins, they need to know that God loves them and forgives them. Someone who is sorry needs to hear the Gospel of God's love - telling them about God's Law and wrath would be wrong. Someone who is not sorry needs to know about God's Law and wrath - giving them the Gospel of forgiveness would be pointless. What a privilege that we are able to reassure each other that God loves us and forgives us when we ask!
Matthew 18:20 What is the meaning of God being where two or three are gathered?
Going to church is a common place to be with other Christians, but what is required for a church? Do you need to have pews and an alter? Does a church need a pastor or people leading music? While all of those things are great, a church should really be about God and his people meeting together, and in this passage Jesus is saying that a church can be really big, but it can even exist where two or three people meet in Jesus' name to be part of God's kingdom here on earth.
Matthew 18:22 Why did Jesus say to forgive 77 times?
If someone lied to you more than once, you might be able to remember if they have lied two times, five times, and maybe even seven times. Peter was wondering if this should be the maximum - that after you have forgiven someone seven times you can stop forgiving them. When Jesus responds with such a high number, it is basically telling Peter (and us) to forgive a person as many times and you need to. If you are keeping track of seventy lies, your are too worried about sins and not concerned enough with God's kingdom. Also, by using the number 'seven' which is a symbolic number, Jesus has an additional message; seven is a number for completeness, so we should forgive someone completely.
Matthew 18:23 Why did Jesus like to tell parables to get his point across instead of just saying what he wanted to say?
There are at least two good reasons that Jesus spoke in parables. One reason is that speaking in parables can be really helpful to explain hard things. Understanding God's invisible kingdom of believers can be a challenging things, but when He tells us that the kingdom is like a mustard seed, or like a shepherd that looks for one sheep we are able to have a little better idea of what he is speaking about. Jesus is telling a story about things that people understand to help them learn more about things that they do not understand. If I told you that joy is like a rock and happiness is like a bubble, you might understand the difference a little better since you know about rocks and bubbles; joy is more of a long-term feeling while happiness might only last for a few seconds. The second reason is that Jesus did not just want to be a fad, just a local pop star. Some of the things that Jesus said were hard. Jesus explained these hard things to those who were really committed to him (his disciples).
Matthew 18:30 Why didn't the servant have pity on the other servant when the king had pity on him?
That is exactly the question that Jesus wanted people to ask after hearing the story! If the servant had been forgiven thousands or millions of dollars, why wouldn't he forgive someone else a few dollars? Then Jesus wants us to think about our own grudges. You may be really upset that someone was mean to you, but if God forgives every single sin of yours, why wouldn't you forgive someone their few sins that they have done to you?
Matthew 19:3 Why did the Pharisees test Jesus so many times?
The Pharisees made two mistakes in this area; they didn't think that Jesus was God and they thought themselves to be very smart. Since they were convinced that they were right and Jesus was a fake, all they needed to do was have Jesus make a mistake in front of all his followers, and people would not want to be around him anymore. By asking him challenging questions, they figured they would be able to force him to make a mistake, but they were wrong.
Matthew 19:4-6 Is divorce a sin?
When we use the word 'sin' we usually refer to something wrong that we do. Stealing is a sin. Lying is a sin. The word 'sin' in the original language literally means to 'miss the target' as if someone is shooting a bow and arrow and misses hitting the bulls-eye. Doing something wrong would be a miss, but so would not doing something that you should do. It is a sin to not help a friend. It is a sin to not listen to your parents. God's desire for people is that they would get married and stay committed to each other in this relationship; divorce is not following this design. While divorce is something that God does not intend for people, it is a sin that he is able to forgive just like any other sin.
Matthew 19:8 Why does Jesus say that Moses permitted divorce because the people's hearts were hard?
In the Old Testament some married people came to Moses and complained about their spouse, so Moses allowed some people to be divorced. The logic was probably that they were going to do less harm separated than together. God never intended for people to get divorced; marriage is a life-long commitment, so it is something to go into with a great deal of care. My dad told me that marriage is the most important decision you will ever make; you can change colleges, jobs, houses, and lots of other things, but marriage is one decision you can't change. God never wanted people to get divorced, but Jesus is saying that because some people were unwilling to work together on their marriage (their hearts were hard), Moses allowed them to get a divorce.
Matthew 19:8 Back then were you able to have more than one wife? If not, did any followers of Christ have more than one wife?
We have record that Jacob and David and some others had more than one wife, but God's design was an "Adam and Eve" relationship for marriage: one man and one woman. We do not have evidence that any disciple had more than one wife, or that it was ever encouraged for good Biblical reasons. It seems that it would be best that a man have only one wife.
Matthew 19:9 Why do many Christians still get divorces even though Jesus says it is adultery, except for unfaithfulness?
Divorce would be considered a sin, just like many other sins. Jesus says that we shouldn't lie, but some Christians still do that. Jesus says that we shouldn't steal, but some Christians still steal. Jesus says that we shouldn't get divorced, but some Christians still get divorced. The problem is that people are selfish. Even when they know the right thing to do, they will often still choose what makes them happy rather than what God would have them do. It is a lot of work to be married and work through differences and a divorce sometimes looks like an easy way out of a difficult situation, but God would rather have people honor the marriage vows that they took and work through the difficulties.
Matthew 19:9 What is adultery? Does dating different people count as adultery?
The way that adultery is described in the Torah (Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5) would be having sex with someone to whom you are not married. For people who are married, it would be with anyone except their husband or their wife. For someone who is single, it would be with anyone. God wanted the intimacy of sex to be shared within a committed and loving relationship. Later in Matthew 5, Jesus expands adultery to even lustful thoughts about someone who is not your husband or wife. Going on a date with someone would probably not be adultery, but it is important to protect the gift that you are for the future relationship you will have. Some people have described 'dating' as giving a little piece of yourself to the person that you date. As you continue to grow in your relationships with people of the opposite sex, it is good to keep as much of yourself as possible for your future husband or wife. They will appreciate this gift, and so will you.
Matthew 19:12 What is a eunuch?
A eunuch was typically a male servant without genitalia who served in a royal palace. Often kings and other officials would want to be careful so that their queen and princesses would not be taken advantage of or raped, so some male servants would be forced to have their boy parts removed. In this way, they could not rape the women. Also, without the internal parts, their bodies would not produce the hormones that cause strong sexual desires.
Matthew 19:13 Why did the disciples rebuke and get mad at the people who brought children to Jesus?
The disciples probably thought Jesus needed to focus on the important work of teaching adults and working with them. Children were not very important during Jesus' time, so it would be a waste of time for Jesus to spend time with them. Jesus shows that he cares for everyone, that everyone is important no matter what the world things about them.
Matthew 19:18-19 Why did Jesus only want the disciples to follow those six commandments and not the rest?
Jesus would want people to follow all God's commandments. We usually think of the ten commandments, but Jewish people feel that all 613 commandments found in the Torah are important. In this situation, Jesus probably realized that the young man was not really wanting to follow God - the young man just wanted to look good in front of the other people. Jesus was probably just giving examples of laws, not saying these were the only laws that need to be followed.
Matthew 19:20 How did the rich young man keep all of the commandments?
The truth is that he had not kept all the commandments. The first commandment is to have no other gods. When Jesus later told the man to give away all his money, the man refused to do this because money had become a god for this person, the most important thing in his life. God should be the most important thing in our life.
Matthew 19:20 Why did the rich man say he never sinned?
The man said that he never sinned because he thought he was a really good person. In reality, no one is perfect, even this guy. 1 John 1 says that if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. It doesn't say that we deceive others - we are just lying to ourselves! Other people can see we're not perfect, even if we say we are. That chapter continues with, "But if we confess our sins, God is faith and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us." It is good to be honest with God.
Matthew 19:22 Why can't the man just sell his wealth? Why did money blind him from God?
The man felt that his wealth was too important. It probably was even part of his identity - "I am the rich guy, the guy with a huge house, expensive clothes, a fancy car, and a house on the beach." Could you imagine giving all those things away so that you have nothing? Well, he could not, so he chose to walk away sad instead of following Jesus.
Matthew 19:22 Why would Jesus make a man walk away sad just because he had great wealth?
Jesus would not make a person walk away from him, but he would allow a person to walk away sad. God did not make robots who have to do whatever he says. We have the ability to listen to God or to be selfish and do what we want to do, instead. Jesus would want everyone, including this rich young man, to follow him, but he will not force them.
Matthew 19:24 How can a camel go through the eye of a needle?
Jesus is trying to say that it is very difficult for a rich person to be in God's kingdom, just like it is very difficult to get a camel through the eye of a needle. Some people think that this is a reference to a certain gate to Jerusalem that was very small, barely big enough for a person to walk through, much less a camel. Whether or not Jesus was talking about a gate called "The Eye of the Needle" or actually putting a camel through the eye of a needle, the point is that people who are wealthy in terms of this world have a hard time trusting in God instead of trusting in their own things.
Matthew 19:30 What does it mean that many who are first will be last and many who are last will be first?
Jesus is saying that God's kingdom does not work the same as our world. Our world thinks that the most important people are the ones who are rich, the ones who are famous, the people who are rich, those who are powerful. In God's kingdom, the most important people are the humble, the gentle, and those who trust in Jesus - quite the opposite of the world. Therefore, those who are first in this world will be last in God's kingdom, but those who are last in this world will be first in God's kingdom.
