The Power of a Humble Community
Matthew 18:15-20
Pastor Jim Luthy
At the beginning of the season, the Portland Trailblazers were considered a favorite to win the NBA championship. Their team consisted of no less than 6 former All-Stars and perhaps the greatest Soviet player in history. Through the course of the season, they added two additional former All-Stars. They had the highest payroll in the history of the league. At the end of March, the Portland Trailblazers had the best record in the NBA. By the end of March, they had fallen to 5th in their conference. In mid-April, as their slide continued, their most talented player was suspended for hitting a teammate with a towel. Finishing 7th in the conference (remember, just 8 weeks earlier they had the best record in the league), they were eliminated after losing their first three games of the playoffs.
What happened to one team, one dream? In the papers and on the radio you keep hearing one word: chemistry.
The right chemistry can make an ordinary group of individuals extraordinary. The wrong chemistry can ruin a collection of superstars. The power of chemistry is not too difficult to observe. Everybody can see it in the Blazers.
In Matthew 18:15-20, Jesus is giving a lesson in chemistry. His lesson is not too difficult to figure out. It’s very practical teaching on relationships. If we follow his directions, we’ll learn to get along, to sharpen one another, and to be different than any other organization. The beauty of his lesson is that if you set it in the supernatural context of his kingdom, it’s like setting a fine jewel on a gold ring. It’s beautiful. It’s inviting. And it’s priceless.
"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ’every matter may be established by the testimony 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, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.( Matt 18:15-17)
Jesus’ teaching answers for us the question of what to do if a brother sins against you. What to do is quite plain and easy to understand. What we must be careful about, however, is whether or not our particular conflict applies. There are three critical qualifiers that determine for us whether or not Jesus’ teaching applies.
The first qualifier is whether or not the person with whom you have conflict is a brother. If the person you must confront does not claim the word of God as their standard, you have no basis on which to make your claim. You might be able to appeal to their conscience, but you come with no real authority. A brother, however, has a standard to which you can call him or her to account.
The second qualifier is whether or not the brother has sinned. There is too much confrontation going on that is not based on sin. People whine and complain and grovel and gossip over things that have more to do with differences in personality and style than with sin. I know of one man who, on a number of occasions, accused people in the church of not loving him because they weren’t as eager to hug him every time they saw him as he was eager to hug everybody he saw! Some people just aren’t comfortable with hugs. It is important that we qualify our approach of others with a clear violation of God’s standard, not ours.
The third qualifier, quite frankly, may not exist. Your Bible says "if your brother sins against you." Some earlier manuscripts do not have this qualifier—they just say "if your brother sins, go and show him his fault." I tend to think this is more accurate in the context of the entire Scripture. Was David sinning against Nathan when Nathan confronted him about his murder of Uriah and his affair with Bathsheba? Were Ananias and Saphira sinning against Peter when he confronted them about dipping into the church treasury? No and no. David confessed to God, "against you and you alone have I sinned." Peter told those offering-robbers they "have not lied to men, but to God." Listen, if your brother is having an affair, even if it’s not with you, go and show him his fault!
So, Jesus gives a very clear, practical way of dealing with a brother who sins. Step 1: Go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. The purpose here is to win your brother over.
Perhaps the greatest challenge for us in this situation is the specific directions to make it a matter between the two of us. Far too often, between the time of the sin and the going to show him his fault, we have conversations with others that begin with "you wouldn’t believe what so-and-so did." Or, if we want to spiritualize it, we ask, "Pray for me, I have to go and talk to so-and-so about…"
If our purpose is the same as Jesus intends, we will not discuss with others the sins of our brothers. You see, greatness is not a competition, right? So we don’t need to publicize each other’s sins. We really only do that to build ourselves up above somebody else in our own eyes or the eyes of others. Knowing that’s a lie, there is no point in discussing it or involving others. It will do nothing to win your brother, but it most likely will erode his confidence in you as a messenger and a friend. Go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.
Step 2: If he will not listen, take one or two others along. The purpose here is not to establish the matter and make it a permanent record. The implied purpose is still to win your brother over. We take along two or three witnesses to establish the fact that step 1 has been taken and, if necessary, that step 2 did not work either. Your motive must still be, entirely, to restore your brother. Unless it is, don’t go to step 2. And until it is, don’t go to step 3.
Step 3: Tell it to the church. What is the purpose of this? The purpose is still to win your brother over. The church has established lines of authority who will take responsibility for correcting your brother. Once this step is done, your responsibility is finished and, if your heart is right, you will have already forgiven your brother if you needed to do so.
Hopefully, the offending brother will recognize the authority of the church and respect those who watch over him, making him more apt to listen and more receptive to being won over. If not, the overseers will proceed to step 4.
Step 4: Treat him as you would a pagan or tax collector. Many people try to assert that this means you would treat the offending brother with compassion. After all, Jesus showed great compassion for the pagans and tax collectors. This would be a poor interpretation for two reasons. First of all, it would be a little late in the process to begin treating a brother with compassion. If steps 1-3 are not done with the motive of restoring a fallen brother—done with compassion—it would be pointless to begin at step 4. Compassion must be a common thread through all four steps.
The second reason this is not referring to just treating the offending brother with compassion is that Jesus said to treat them as YOU would a pagan or tax collector. A disadvantage of reading is that you can’t discern voice influxions, but I might guess that Jesus said, "treat HIM as you would a pagan or tax collector." How did 1st century Jews treat pagans and tax collectors? They did not associate with them whatsoever. That’s why, when Jesus hung around them, they accused him of being a "friend of sinners." They wouldn’t imagine doing such a thing! I think Jesus was saying, "here’s the one to dissassociate with!"
The purpose of excommunication is still to win them over, and it is done by making the point that their refusal to listen is not acceptable as a brother. The church has been given authority to make that call. That authority is most effective it is accepted by the rest of the church.
This teaching is a gem if for no other reason than because it is clear. Jesus has given clear instructions for dealing with sin in the church community. But this gem may not be so wonderful unless it is put in the right setting. After all, a big diamond isn’t so beautiful when your sitting down and it’s in your back pocket. Think sinner, do you feel as though you can cast any such stones? Are you completely comfortable with people confronting you with your sin?
The beauty of this lesson lies in its setting. Jesus is still responding to the disciples question about greatness. "Who is the greatest?" they asked.
Jesus replied, "whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Eventually Jesus tells them what to do if a brother sins against them. In so doing, he describes the power of humility to build a kingdom community. And when he sets that jewel, we also see the power of a community.
Think about the humility it takes to go through the steps of restoring a brother who has sinned. It takes humility for us to discern sin from differences in style or personality. It takes humility not to talk about a brother’s faults. It takes humility to go, sinful as you are, and show your brother his faults with the purpose of restoring him. It takes humility to be approached and won over. It takes humility to find two or three respectable witnesses to approach your brother again. Again, it takes humility for him to be approached by three or four and listen. It takes humility to turn it over to the church without judgment or bitterness. It takes humility to serve as overseers in such matters. It takes humility to submit to the authority of the church—to listen even at this later stage and finally be won over. And if it comes down to it, it takes humility to tell a brother they are no longer a brother. Maybe to realize perhaps they never were.
This kind of humility does not exist in your workplace. It doesn’t exist in any organization, club, or any other kind of community. Unfortunately, it doesn’t exist in a lot of churches. But when humility wins out—when people come together to restore one another and to be restored, if necessary, humility has the power to build a community like none other. It’s great chemistry and Jesus is the great Chemist. He’s formulating the kind of community that makes a kingdom.
There is power in that kind of community. Jesus went on to say, "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 18:18) In the humble community of child-like faith is the supernatural power of heaven to bind and to loosen here on earth. Sins are forgiven. People are set free. The one who won’t listen is placed outside that community, bound to their sin and stubbornness.
Jesus went on: "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." (Matt 18:19-20) There is power to move heaven if we can agree. Jesus is with those who humble themselves and come together. That’s the power of community.
There is great power in a community of believers who do not consider greatness something to be achieved. We don’t become great by doing things our own way. We don’t become great by exalting ourselves. We don’t become great by condemning others. If we love one another like a bunch of kids on a journey to see our Father, we’ll see him. And it’s not a race. It’s a journey we’re on together. Submit yourself to the family of believers and experience the joy and wonder of a supernatural community.
