The Purpose Of Church Discipline: An Exposition Of Matthew 18:15-20

The Purpose of Church Discipline: an Exposition of Matthew 18:15-20

When one looks at the word “discipline” we see the word “discipline.” To be a disciple is to submit one’s self to the discipline of the master. In the church, the Master is Jesus Christ who is mater also of heaven and earth (Matthew 28:16). The Church is called out to all nations to make disciples of Jesus Christ from all the nations of the earth. To submit to Christian baptism is the beginning of discipleship which involves learning to observe everything that Jesus commanded the Apostles to teach.

The church recognizes the need for discipline. Most churches and denominations have some sort of written discipline. Sometimes these disciplines become very legalistic and stress outward conformity to what the leaders of the church consider to be right. Hopefully, these disciplines are based upon Scripture, but many add and delete from the teachings of the Bible. But Jesus Himself teaches us what is at the heart of the matter of discipline. His is a yoke, but an easy one. Discipline is not meant to be burdensome. Jesus gives us a good example of how discipline works on the church in Matthew 18:15-20.

To properly understand this passage, we have to put it in its context. One of the questions we must ask is “Who is Jesus referring to here? The word “church” tells us the answer. Jesus’ teaching is for the church and not the world in general. This is true for most of the teaching of Jesus. The word “church” only appears here and in Matthew 16 in the famous “Upon this rock I will build my church” in all the gospels. The Greek word “ecclesia” which is translated church means “those who have been called out.” In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, it is often used of Israel. But Jesus is not referring to that here. He is not referring to Jews or even Jewish-Christians. It is not “synagogue.”

The word “synagogue” is infrequently used in Matthew. It has the meaning of assembly. It is a technical term the Jews used for their worship buildings and teaching centers outside of Jerusalem. It says on several occasions that Jesus entered “their” synagogues and taught. One should note “their” and not “his” or “our.” The use of “their” means that neither Jesus, Matthew, nor the readers of Matthew’s gospel are included. The last time Jesus entered one of their synagogues was in 13:54. After Peter’s confession of Christ, it never says that Jesus ever entered a synagogue again. He does refer to “synagogue” twice, but in neither case does it say he entered one. In one of these cases he was talking to the Pharisees using “your” synagogues. Jesus is the Yahweh of the Old Testament, so any place where one claimed to worship Yahweh would have been one of “his” synagogues. As Lord of the people, if the Pharisees were His people, He could have used “our” but does not. Jesus is clearly distancing Himself from the synagogues. This is not to say there were not true believers there. Jesus had a different picture for the gathering of His people. This is the “church.”

It is interesting to note that after Matthew 13:54, Jesus begins a tour of Gentile lands. He had preached to the Jew first. And now He was preaching to the Greeks. Many of the Jews, especially of the Pharisees had decisively rejected Jesus at this point. Now He went to call Gentiles to become part of the New Israel, the Church. It is at Caesarea Philippi in Gentile land that Peter confesses Jesus not as the Messiah, but as “Christ” which is the Greek word for “Anointed One.” He had been called the Aramaic “Cephas” earlier but is not given a Greek name. This is an important detail. He is given two keys, one to open the church for the Jews and the other for the Greeks. He is given authority to bind and loose. Jesus was not about to put this new wine in the old wineskin of Palestinian Judaism. He was going to build a church, called from both Jews and Gentiles.

The distinction should now be clear. Even though the synagogues had discipline, and some of the practices were similar to those practiced in the early church, they were two distinct organizations. Matthew brings Jesus’ desire for reconciliation to the forefront. He would rather see two brothers reconciled than have the most expensive gift laid at the altar. So, we have to see “reconciliation” as the purpose of discipline and of the Gospel itself. Jesus has just said that His mission was not to destroy, but to seek and save the lost. After this passage, He made it known that one was to forgive someone as many times as he asked even seventy times seven. So, any discipline in the church seeks restoration of the offender whenever possible. Paul used this idea when he had a person who had committed incest and was unrepentant to be disfellowshipped. He was to be turned over to Satan for the purpose that he might come to his senses, which he did and was later restored.