Matthew 18:15-20
- Reading the Text:
- NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
- Greek Interlinear Bible, ScrTR, ScrTR t, Strong, Parsing, CGTS, CGES id, AV.
- The Bible Gateway: NRSV, RSV, NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
- The Blue Letter Bible's . KJV, alternate versions, Greek text with concordance, commentaries.
- The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary & sermons.
- Historical References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
- The Five Gospels Parallels, John W. Marshall, University of Toronto.
- Comparative World Scriptures from United Communities of Spirit:
- Comparative Primary Texts at Mahlon H. Smith's Into His Own: Perspective on the World of
Jesus, Rutgers University.
- Food & Fellowship (including "two or three are gathered").
- Purity and Social Relations (see esp "Tax Collectors Visit," from Mishnah, Midrash, Tosefta, and Babylonian Talmud.
- Sin and Justice from Mishnah and Babylonian Talmud.
- Chapter V, The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians, Ignatius of Antioch (c. 110).
- Chapter VI, On Baptism, Tertullian (c. 198)
- III.10, Stromata, Clement of Alexandria (c 200)
- Chapter XVI, The Prescription of Heretics, Tertullian (c. 200)
- II.8, To His Wife, Tertullian (c. 206)
- IV.43, Against Marcion, Tertullian (c. 210)
- Chapter XXI, On Modesty, Tertullian (c. 217)
- II.IX, Against Celsus, Origen. (c.246)
- Epistle VII -- Cyprian of Carthage (c. 250)
- On the Unity of the Church, Cyprian of Carthage (c. 250)
- Epistle LXXV -- Cyprian of Carthage (c. 255)
- Sermon XXXII (LXXXII Ben.) - Augustine.
- Homily LX - Matthew 18:15, Homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew, St. Chrysostom (c. 380)
- From the Geneva Notes.
- "We must strive for agreement, and not to revenge injuries."
- From the Catena Aurea, Patristic Commentary by St Thomas Aquinas.
- From
Matthew
Henry's Commentary.
- "Wherever and whenever we meet in the name of Christ, we should consider him as present in the midst of us."
- From
Wesley's
Notes.
- "If we proceed from the private carriage of man to man, to proceedings of a more public nature, in what Christian nation are Church censures conformed to this rule?"
- The Cure of Evil
Speaking (Matt 18:15-17): Sermon by John Wesley.
- "'Speak evil of no man,' says the great Apostle: -- As plain a command as, 'Thou shalt do no murder.' But who, even among Christians, regards this command?"
- From the
Commentary on the Whole Bible
(Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
- "Probably our Lord had reference still to the late dispute, Who should be the greatest?"
- From The People's
New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
- "The apostles were, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, to establish the rules of the church discipline, as well as to announce the conditions of salvation by the gospel."
- Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
- Radical Gratitude, lectionary-based stewardship, Northwest United Methodist Foundation. (.pdf)
- Commentary,
Matthew 18:15-20, Karl Jacobson, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org,
2011.
- "Jesus says, essentially, that being a member of the church means you have a responsibility."
- "Insiders and Outsiders," Mark G. Vitalis Hoffman, Matthew 18:15-20, ON Scripture, 2011. Commentary and association with current news events, links and videos.
- "Is Matthew’s portrayal of Jesus simply helpful or inspiring because we ________ (fill in the blank with your preferred flavor of Christianity) like to think it has located us on God’s side, on the right side?"
- Dealing with Conflict, audio telling, story in episodes, graphic, audio and written commentaries. Go Tell Communications, Biblical Storytelling for the Global Village, 2011.
- "What Kind of Community Will We Be?" David Lose, Dear Working Preacher, 2011.
- "Authentic community is hard to come by. It's work. But it's worth it."
- "Before You Unfriend," Fr. Rick Morley, a garden path, 2011.
- "Jesus gives a clear blue-print for how our communities might be holy places where holy relationships might flourish."
- "Trip Advisor Comments," Alyce McKenzie, Edgy Exegesis, Patheos, 2011.
- Holy
Textures, Understanding the Bible in its own time and in ours, Matthew 18:15-20, David Ewart, 2011.
- "Real churches have - or should have - real conflicts. The only real harm that will come to a church community is to refuse to deal with conflicts. Conflicts do not kill churches. Refusing to deal with conflict kills churches."
- Exegetical Notes by Brian Stoffregen at CrossMarks Christian Resources.
- "In the larger context, there certainly is a relationship between our text and the verses just before about the shepherd searching for the one straying sheep (vv. 12-14). Restoration to the fold is the purpose in both texts."
- "First
Thoughts on Year A Gospel Passages in the Lectionary," Pentecost 12,
William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
- "Honesty in confronting issues often makes such restoration possible, whereas half dishonest failure to name things leaves untended wounds which fester and, even in apparent reconciliation, the pain will be disruptive and is frequently destructive for all. Unfortunately Christians have been particularly good at replacing honest open love with being nice."
- "Legistlating Forgiveness," Russell Rathbun, The Hardest Question, 2011.
- "How are we to take Jesus' claims about the Father in heaven? "
- "Costly Truth, Costly Forgiveness," Carl Gregg, Patheos, 2011.
- "Christian ethicist Stanley Hauerwas has made the important connection that we can learn a lot about the Christian practice of forgiveness from the character Ian Bedloe in Anne Taylor’s novel Saint Maybe."
- Commentary, Matthew 18:15-20, Clayton Schmit, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2008.
- Comments (commentary) and Clippings (technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican Diocese of Montreal.
-
"How to Get Along," Rev. Todd Weir, bloomingcactus.
- "Conflict saps the life out of the church. Pastors that want to survive learn to tell people to talk to the person they are angry with first, then come back if they can?t work it out. I?m sure Jesus had to do this all the time with an unruly group of fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot and two brothers known as the Sons of Thunder."
-
"The
Church," Gospel Analysis, Sermons from
Seattle,
Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle,
Washington. Detailed background and exegesis.
- "We as Christians are to pray that God?s will be done in the midst of this conflict. We bring this conflict to the Lord in prayer and ask for God?s guidance in this delicate situation."
- Matthew in the Margins, by Brian McGowan, Anglican priest in Western Australia.
-
"The Tension of Discipleship," Mary Hinkle, Pilgrim Preaching.
- "Our hope for the sharing of the good news of Jesus Christ is not that Peter or the rest of us who are fishing for people will get better, clearer, louder, quieter, more trusting, or less cowardly but that God will keep revealing himself and his merciful and just rule through his Son to human beings quite apart from their goodness, clarity, trust and courage."
-
"A
Careful Read," Deanna Langle, The Christian Century, 2005.
- "The Bible invites us to enter into an ongoing conversation of Christians who struggle with what it means to live faithfully in relationship and to look beyond ourselves."
-
Dylan's Lectionary Blog,
Proper 18. Biblical Scholar
Sarah Dylan Breuer looks at readings for the coming Sunday in the lectionary
of the Episcopal Church.
- "The Good News that you heard included an invitation: right now, as you are, you can be a part of something -- specifically, a member of the Body of Christ...The tricky part is that the Body of Christ includes an awful lot of people who are every bit as difficult as we are."
-
"Obedience in Context," Luke Timothy Johnson, The Christian
Century, 1991.
- "Most of us suffer quietly the built-in conflict of loyalties endemic to life in social structures."
-
"Power and Forgiveness in Matthew 18,"
Elaine Ramshaw, Word & World: Theology for Christian Ministry,
Volume XVIII, Number 4, Luther Northwestern Theological School, 1998.
- "A piecemeal and acontextual use of the texts on forgiveness and reconciliation in Matthew 18 can lead to the exclusion of some and the abuse of others. The chapter as a whole envisions a better way."
- "Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Matthew 18:15-20," Transformed for Disciple Community: Matthew in Pentecost, James L. Boyce, Word & World: Theology for Christian Ministry, Luther Northwestern Theological School, 1993.
- Wellspring of the Gospel, Ordinary 23A, Catherine McElhinney and Kathryn Turner, Weekly Wellsprings.
-
"Reconciling with Other Christians," Larry Broding's
Word-Sunday.Com: A
Catholic Resource for This Sunday's Gospel. Adult Study, Children's
Story, Family Activity, Support Materials.
- "When others hurt you, do you confront them, reconcile with them, or just ignore them? Which way is the most effective? Which way is the most moral?"
-
"It
Shall Be Done..."
Jerry Goebel, One
Family Outreach. "Focus on scripture from a justice perspective." Exegesis, study, and teen study
and activities.
- "The influence of Jesus will reach the world but it transforms us from the personal to the communal, from the myopic needs of the self to the telescopic ends of the earth. We are transformed by Christ?s power when we become humble servants and we are given Christ?s authority when we use that power to heal and restore others."
- "The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven," "The Lost Brother," Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources. Includes detailed textual notes.
- Articles & Background:
-
"Matthew 18:15-17: Conflict, Confrontation and Conflict Resolution in a
'Fictive Kin' Association," Dennis C. Duling, Biblical Theology
Bulletin, 1999.
- "After opening with a brief hermeneutical statement about writers, texts, and readers, this study explores the three-step process in Matthew 18:15-18 in relation to similar processes of analogous groups, especially voluntary associations, in the ancient Mediterranean."
-
"Binding and Loosing: A Paradigm for Ethical Discernment from the Gospel
of Matthew," Mark Allan Powell, Currents in Theology and Mission,
2003.
- "Matthew closely connects the business of binding and loosing with the mission of the church that is built by Jesus (16:18) and sustained by his continuing presence (18:20). It would not be an overstatement to say that Matthew considers binding and loosing to be a constitutive aspect of the church's mission on earth."
- "Divorce, Reproof and Other Sayings in the Synoptic Gospels: Jesus Traditions in the Context of 'Qumranic' and Other Texts," Menahem Kister, Orion center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature, 2004.
-
"Matthew 18:15-17: Conflict, Confrontation and Conflict Resolution in a
'Fictive Kin' Association," Dennis C. Duling, Biblical Theology
Bulletin, 1999.
- Recommended articles
from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are
linked below.
ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of
selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices. Annotated list of "starting place" articles at ATLAS for this week's texts (includes direct links).
- Boyce, James L., "Transformed for
Disciple Community: Matthew in Pentecost," Word & World, 1993.
(Section on this text begins on page 313.)
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Cooper-White, Pamela, "Forgiveness: Grace, not Work,"
Journal for Preachers, 2009.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Gaventa, Beverly R., "Costly Confrontation," The
Christian Century, 1993.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Greenberg, Irving,
"The Maturation of Covenant in Judaism and Christianity," The Living
Pulpit, 2005.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - "Homiletical Helps on LSB Series A," Concordia Journal, 2005. (Section on this text begins on page 235)
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerial - Horning, Estella B., "The Rule of
Christ: An Exposition of Matthew 18:15-20," Brethren Life and Thought,
1993.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Johnson, Luke T.,
"Obedience in Context," The Christian Century, 1991.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Langle, Deanna, "A Careful Read,"
The Christian Century, 2005.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Mathew, Parackel K., "Authority and
Discipline, Matthew 16:17-19 and 18:15-18 and the Exercise of Authority
and Discipline in the Matthean Community," Communio Viatorum,
1985.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - McClister, David, "'Where Two or Three Are Gathered
Together,': Literary Structure as a Key to Meaning in Matt 17:22-20:19,"
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 1996.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Patton, John, "Preaching on Forgiveness," Journal
for Preachers, 2009.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Powell, Mark Allan, "Binding and
Loosing: Asserting the Moral Authority of Scripture in Light of a
Matthean Paradigm," Ex Auditu, 2003.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Powell, Mark Allan,
"Binding and Loosing: A Paradigm for Ethical Discernment from the Gospel of
Matthew," Currents in Theology and Mission, 2003.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Ramshaw, Elaine J., "Power and
Forgiveness in Matthew 18," Word & World, 1998.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Boyce, James L., "Transformed for
Disciple Community: Matthew in Pentecost," Word & World, 1993.
(Section on this text begins on page 313.)
- Reviews:
- Sermons:
- "The Tie That Binds," Jeremy Troxler, Faith and Leadership, 2012.
- "To Build a Community of Grace," the Rev. Richard Agular, Day 1, 2011.
- Straight Talk, Due Process and Grace, William J. Carl, III, SermonStudio.
- "The Church," Sermons from Seattle, Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle, Washington.
- "The Hot Potato of Church Discipline," John Jewell, 1999.
- "Tell It Like It Is!" the Rev. Dr. Elton Richards, Day 1, 1996.
- Father Andrew M. Greeley, "Priest, Author, Sociologist," Commentary and Homily
- With Children:
- Worshiping with Children, Proper 18, Including children in the congregation's worship, using the Revised Common Lectionary, Carolyn C. Brown, 2011.
- "Children's Literature: A Resource for Ministry," Sept 4 and 11, (scroll down for Sept 11), 2011, Union Presbyterian Seminary. Connections: Matthew 18:15-20 and And to Think That We'd Neer Be Friends! by Mary Ann Hoberman.
- "Jesus is Watching," Sarah Buteux, Let the Children Come.
- Faith Formation Journeys, Children's Sermon, Pentecost 12A, 2011.
- "One Plus One Equals Three," Charles Kirkpatrick, Sermons4kids.com.
- "Jesus Promises to Be with Us," Sunday School Lessons: Family Bible Study, art projects, music, stories, etc.
- Drama:
- "Worthy Is the Lamb," Heather Cooper, dramatix.
- Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
- Clip Art, Matthew 18:15, Fr. Richard Lonsdale, Resources for Catholic Educators.
- Clip Art Images: Matthew 18:15-20, Misioneros Del Sagrado Corazón en el Perú.
- Matthew 18:15-20, Matthew 18:15-20, Liturgical Drawing, Maria d.c. Zamora, Claretian Resources, Philippines. ("Download and use these for free.")
- Matthew 18:20, Matthew 18:20, Heartlight - Free Christian PowerPoint Backgrounds.
- Matthew 18:15-20, at Cerezo Barredo's weekly gospel illustration. Liberation emphasis.
- Matthew 18:15-20, Scripture Pics - graphics relating to RCL texts, Matt Baker, Germantown UMC, Ohio.
- Hymns and Music:
- Contemporary/Praise Song suggestions, Together to Celebrate, David MacGregor.
- Hymnary.org, hymns, scores, media, information.
- Hymns with Scripture Allusions: Matthew 18:20. The Cyber Hymnal.
- "Accountability," Brenton Prigge, NewHymn, new, relevant hymn set to traditional tunes.
- Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
- Movies scenes with the following themes, listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
- Study Links and Resources for the Book of Matthew
