Am I missing something here?
Follow me carefully. I reckon if I did a pop survey of those who are Christians and read the Bible, if I said Matthew 18, I’d imagine a significant number of respondents would talk about binding and loosing. I’d probably get some people talking about agreement. Perhaps one or two might remember there is the outstanding parable of the ungrateful servant.
I am sure I am not the only one who read the whole chapter and picked up on some themes that underpin it. With the exception of vs. 21 the whole chapter is Jesus talking. He covers different issues, but it is not a scatter-gun deal.
Someone asks the question about the greatest in the kingdom and Jesus goes on a spiel about the little people.
I was reading this section of scripture when I was on a train on the way from work. As God would have it across the aisle from me was a five year old girl who was busy playing with her stuff on the floor while her mum was on her mobile phone. The girl had set up her own world and was more than preoccupied with what was going on. So when I real Jesus’ words about the little people I am struck with the following.
First there is something about that age where there is little capacity for enduring bitterness. One minute they can be upset about something and the next minute relations are alright and back to fun. Now would we say that’s an endearing characteristic of a mature Christian we know? When we think of the spiritual examples in our fellowships is their child-like nature the convincing quality? Is that something you notice about those elevated to positions of leadership? Is that something that is genuinely practiced among believers?
Just asking.
Second thing, however is how Jesus keeps it with the little people and not just the little people, but how we can be little people in faith and how it is so important not to lead little people in faith to sin. In fact it’s bad enough leading children into sin and Jesus has some words for that fella and then sin becomes a big deal for Jesus. There’s the little people, there’s sin, there’s entering life.
So precious are these little ones that they are considered the one lost sheep that God knows is worth finding. The little people are very important to God, the little people growing in faith and not in sin is also very important to God.
Now notice the context in which our agreement and binding and loosing makes its appearance. We’re still all about the sin, we haven’t left the little people, what we have done is highlighted how it is a community issue when we look at sin. It’s not just how it affects the relationship with God, it is the impact it has on the community. Again because sin is such a big deal to God, every relational effort has to be made to acknowledge and repudiate sin – and if that is not going to happen … get this … Jesus condones excommunicating people. What else can verse 17 mean? Treat them like a Gentile or a tax collector? Jesus is stating whoever is not yielding to the pleas of the community of faith, is worthy of being ostracised. Now that’s the last resort, it’s not something done lightly, it’s not something that you do with a great sense of self- righteous smug satisfaction – but it is something essential to the community of Christ.
I wonder how many people practice this? By this, I’m not talking about the last resort, I’m talking about the sensitivity to sin on a community level, the desperate desire for people to not sin, the communal relational steps taken to resolve the issue out of that child-like desire to please the Father. How often can we testify of that reality in our day to day lives?
I could go off on one when it comes to the binding and loosing business, but actually the context of how we get there is all the more important. How much Jesus values the little people. How much He values His community growing to hate sin and refute it wherever possible. His desire to see a community emerge that thus seeks to forgive and be child-like in its engagement with Him and with others.
That kind of reading of this scripture has a huge bearing on how important Christian community is when its lived out properly. It’s about doing what is instructed to enter life and realising that we are dependent as a child is on the Father, and we are dependent on healthy Christian relationships that challenge each other not to be sinless, but continue to sin less as they grow to be like Him.
Just blogging.
That is all.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
dmcd
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