Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: MATTHEW #28 - 17:22-18:20)
XVI. 17:22-18:35 KINGDOM ASPECTS: BELIEVERS AND THEIR AUTHORITY
A. 17:22-23 SORROW IN GALILEE: JESUS PREDICTS DEATH AND RESURRECTION
a. l7:22-23a JESUS FORETELLS HIS CRUCIFIXION AND RESURRECTION
Su-stre-phoMEnon [4962]de auTON en teGa-liLAIa, EIpen auTOIS ho IeSOUS,
And while they were assembling in :Galilee, :Jesus said to them,
MELlei ho huiOS tou anTHROpou pa-raDIdos-thai [3860]eis CHEIras anTHROpon;
The Son of :man is about to be delivered up into men's hands;
kai a-pok-teNOUsin [615] auTON, kai te TRIteheMEra e-gerTHEse-tai [1453].
23aand they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised up.
b. 17:23b And they were exceeding sorry. kai e-luPEthe-san [3076]SPHOdra [4970].
B. 17:24-27 CAPERNAUM: MIRACULOUS TAX FROM FISH'S MOUTH.
a. 17:24 PETER QUESTIONED RE JESUS AND TRIBUTE MONEY
ElTHONton de auTON eis Ka-phar-naOUM,
And when they came to Capernaum,
proSELthon hoi ta DIdrach-ma lamBAnon-tes to PEtro, kai EIpan,
they that received the half-shekel came to :Peter, and said,
Ho diDAska-los huMON ou teLEI [5055] ta DIdrach-ma?
Does not your :teacher pay the half-shekel?
b. 17:25a He says, Yes. LEgei, Nai.
c. 17:25b JESUS QUESTIONS PETER
kai elTHONta eis ten oiKIan, proEPHtha-sen [4399] auTON ho IeSOUS, LEgon, TI soi doKEI [1380], SImon?
And when he came into the house, :Jesus anticipated him, saying, What do you think, Simon?
hoi ba-siLEIS tes ges, aPO TInon lamBAnou-sin TEle [5056] he KENson [2778]?
the kings of the earth, from whom do they receive toll or tribute?
aPO ton huiON auTON, e aPO ton al-loTRIon [245]?
from their :sons, or from :strangers?
d. 17:26 And when he said, From :strangers, :Jesus said to him, Surely then the sons are free.
eiPONtos de, A-PO ton al-loTRIon, Ephe auTO ho IeSOUS, Ara ge eLEUtheROI ei-sin hoi huiOI.
e. 17:27 CHRIST PAYS THE TRIBUTE MONEY
HIna de me skan-daLIso-men [4624] auTOUS, po-reuTHEIS eis THAlas-san,
But, that we do not stumble them, go to thesea,
BAle AGki-stron [44], kai ton a-naBANta PROton ichTHUN Aron;
andcast a hook, and take up the fish that first comes up;
kai aNOIxas to STOma auTOU, heuREseis [2147] staTEra:
and on opening his :mouth, you shall find a shekel:
eKEInon laBON, dos auTOIS anTI eMOU kai sou.
take that, andgive to them for me and you.
C. 18:1-20 QUALIFICATIONS FOR POWER IN THE KINGDOM
1. 18:1-7 A CHILD: TRUE MEASURE OF GOD'S KINGDOM
a. 18:1 THE DISCIPLES ARE INTERESTED IN KINGDOM GREATNESS
En eKEIne te HOra proSELthon hoi ma-theTAI to IeSOU, LEgon-tes,
In that :hour the disciples came to :Jesus, saying,
Tis Ara MEIzon [3187] esTIN en te ba-siLEIa ton ou-raNON?
Who then is greater in the kingdom of the heavens?
b. 18:2-3 CONVERSION TO CHILDLIKENESS: CONDITION TO ENTER THE KINGDOM
And he called to him a little child, andset it in their midst,
kai EIpen, A-MEN LEgo huMIN, eAN me straPHEte [4762], kai GEnes-the [1096] hos ta paiDIa,
3and said, Amen I say unto you, Except you turn, and become as the little children,
ou me eiSELthe-te eis ten ba-siLEIan ton ou-raNON.
you shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of the heavens.
c. 18:4 CHILDLIKE HUMILITY: CONDITION OF GREATNESS IN THE KINGDOM
HOstis oun ta-peiNOse [5013] he-auTON hos to paiDIon TOUto,
Whoever therefore shall humble himself as this little :child,
HOU-TOS es-tin ho MEIzon en te ba-siLEIa ton ou-raNON.
the same is the greater in the kingdom of the heavens.
d. 18:5-6 THE CONTRAST BETWEEN RECEIVING AND STUMBLING A KINGDOM CHILD
kai hos eAN DExe-tai hen paiDIon toiOUto ePI to oNOmaTI mou eME DExe-tai:
And whoever shall receive one such little child in my :name receives me:
hos d' 'AN skan-daLIse [4624] HEna ton miKRON [3398] TOUton
6but whoever shall stumble one of these :little ones
ton pi-steuONton eis eME, sumPHErei [4851] auTO
believing unto me, it is profitable for him
HIna kra-masTHE [2910] MUlos [3458] o-niKOS [3684] peRI ton TRAche-lon [5137] auTOU,
that a great millstone be hanged about his :neck,
kai ka-ta-pon-tisTHE [1722] en to peLAgei [3989] tes thaLASses.
and he be sunk in the depth of the sea.
e. 18:7 WOE! THE CURSE FOR CAUSING STUMBLING
ouAI [3759] to KOSmo aPO ton skanDAlon [4625]: aNAGke [318] gar elTHEIN ta SKANda-la;
Woe to the world because of the stumblings: for the stumblings must needs come;
plen ouAI to anTHROpo di' hou to SKANda-lon ERche-tai!
but woe to the man through whom the stumbling comes!
2. 18:8-9 WOE! TO THOSE STUMBLING A CHILD OF THE KINGDOM
a. 18:8 DISMEMBERMENT: PREFERABLE TO ETERNAL PUNISHMENT
Ei de he CHEIR sou e ho POUS sou skan-daLIzei se EKko-pson [1581] auTON kai BAle aPO sou:
And if your :hand or your :foot stumbles you cut if off and cast from you:
kaLON soi esTIN ei-selTHEIN eis ten zo-EN kulLON [2948] e choLON [5560],
it isgood for you to enter into the life maimed or lame,
eDUo CHEIras, e DUo POdas Echon-ta bleTHEnai [906]eis to pur to aiOni-on [166].
ratherthan having two hands, or two feet to be cast into the eternal :fire.
b. 18:9 DISMEMBERMENT: PREFERABLE TO FIRE OF GEHENNA
kai ei ho oph-thalMOS sou skan-daLIzei se, Exe-le auTON, kai BAle aPO sou:
And if your :eye stumbles you, pluck it out, and cast from you:
kaLON soi esTIN moNOPHthal-mon [3442] eis ten zo-EN ei-selTHEIN e
it isgood for you to enter into the life one-eyed ratherthan
DUo oph-thalMOUS Echon-ta bleTHEnai eis ten GEen-nan [1067] tou puROS.
having two eyes to be cast into the geenna of :fire.
3. 18:10-14 GOD'S WILL FOR THE LOST
a. 18:10 ANOTHER REASON TO AVOID STUMBLING LITTLE ONES
HoRAte me ka-ta-phroNEse-te [2706] heNOS ton miKRON TOUton: LEgo gar huMIN,
See you despise not one of these :little ones: for I say unto you,
HOti hoi AGge-loi [32] auTON en ou-raNOIS diA panTOS BLEpou-si [991]
that their :angels in theheavens see at all times
to PROso-pon [4383] tou paTROS mou tou en ou-raNOIS.
the face of my :Father who isin theheavens.
b. 18:12 MAN WILL SEARCH OUT A LOST SHEEP
ti huMIN doKEI [1380]? eAN GEneTAI ti-ni anTHROpo he-kaTON PROba-ta [4263],
How think you? if any man come to have a hundred sheep,
kai pla-neTHE [4105] hen ex auTON, ouCHI aPHEsei ta e-neNEkon-ta enNEa ePI ta Ore,
and one of them go astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains,
kai po-reuTHEIS zeTEI to plaNOme-non?
and go andseek that which goes astray?
c. 18:13 HIS JOY OVER THE FOUND - GREATER THAN THAT FOR THE SAFE
kai eAN GEne-tai heuREIN auTO, aMEN LEgo huMIN HOti CHAIrei [5463] ep' auTO
And if he come to find it, Amen I say unto you that he rejoices over it
MALlon e ePI tois e-neNEkon-ta enNEa tois me pe-pla-neMEnois.
more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.
d. 18:14 GOD'S WILL: THAT ALL LOST SOULS BE FOUND
HOUtos ouk EStin THEle-ma EMpros-then tou paTROS mou
Thus it is not a thingwilledbefore my :Father
tou en ou-raNOIS HIna aPOle-tai [622] hen ton miKRON TOUton.
who is in theheavens that one of these :little onesperish.
4. 18:15-17 THREE STAGES IN RESTORING A BROTHER
a. 18:15 HOW TO GAIN A SINNER: SEEK TO WIN HIM ALONE
E-AN de ha-marTEse ho a-delPHOS sou, HUpa-ge, Eleg-xon [1651] auTON me-taXU sou kai auTOU MOnou:
And if your :brother sin, go, reprove him between you and him alone:
eAN sou aKOUse, eKERdesas [2770] ton a-delPHON sou.
if he hear you, you have gained your :brother.
b. 18:16 ONLYBRING OTHERS IN IF FIRST STEP FAILS.
eAN de me aKOUse, paRAla-be [3880] meTA sou Eti HEna e DUo,
But if he hear not, take with you one or two more,
HIna ePI STOma-tos DUo marTUron [3144] e triON staTHE pan 'REma [4487].
that at themouth of two witnesses or three every word stand.
c. 18:17 ONLY TAKE DRASTIC THIRD STEP IF FIRST TWO FAIL
eAN de pa-raKOUse [3878] auTON, eiPON te ek-kleSIa: eAN de kai tes ek-kleSIas pa-raKOUse,
And if he refuse to hear them, tell the church: and if he refuse to hear the church also,
ESto soi HOSper ho eth-niKOS [1482] kai ho teLOnes [5057].
let him be to you as the Gentile and the publican.
5. 18:18-20 AUTHORITY GIVEN FOR BINDING AND LOOSING
a. 18:18 A TRUE WORD OF AUTHORITY ON BINDING AND LOOSING
A-MEN LEgo huMIN, HOsa eAN DEse-te [1210] ePI tes ges
Amen I say unto you, Whatever things you shall bind on :earth
EStai de-deMEna en ou-raNO; kai HOsa eAN LUse-te ePI tes ges EStai le-luMEna en ou-raNO.
shall be bound in heaven; and whatever things you shall loose on :earth shall be loosed in heaven.
b. 18:19 A TRUE WORD ON PRAYER THROUGH SYMPHONIZING
PAlin, aMEN, LEgo huMIN, HOti eAN DUo sum-phoNEso-sin [4856] ex huMON
Again, Amen, I say unto you, that if two of you
ePI tes ges peRI panTOS PRAGma-tos [4229] hou eAN aiTEson-tai [154],
shall agree on :earth as touching anything they shall ask,
geNEse-tai auTOIS paRA tou paTROS mou tou en ou-raNOIS.
it shall be done for them of my :Father who isin the heavens.
c. 18:20 For where two or three are gathered unto my :name, there am I in their midst.
hou GAR ei-sin DUo e treis su-negMEnoi [4863] eis to eMON Ono-ma, eKEI eiMI en MEso auTON.
NOTE: Shall we insiston our rights, especially when we are in the right? Jesus didn't! As Son of God, He certainly should not have had to pay toll or tribute. But He did! He did not wish to offend those who weren't aware of His status. How gracious! And is there here an application for us?
18:1-7 - Here we learn of God's thinking on the true nature of a disciple in His Kingdom. We must be converted and become child-like in our spirit - with true humility. Then Jesus goes on to show the great dangerin causing offense to such little ones! It is extremelyserious! At death and the time of judgment - then we will indeedlearn how serious is this crime!
See in 8:10-14 how Jesus links the 99 and 9 with little children and new converts. It is very dangerous for those who sin against these, and our country is full of such sinners. Even other criminals in prison take it out on such low fellow prisoners.
18:15-17 was the basis for one of John Wesley's most powerful sermons, which he entitled “The Cure for Evil Speaking.” To talk about a brother in his absence without firsttalking to him alone- is evil speaking. In Burwash's Doctrinal Standards he lists 52 sermons, 48 by John Wesley, that every candidate for the ministry in that day had to master. 13 were on the “Sermon on the Mount”. But this one on Evil Speaking was a key one. Lewi Pethrus of the Filadelfia church in Stockholm, Sweden wrote a book on “Christian Church Discipline”, and this also keyed in with his book. (On our Website - <www.2rbetter.org> - under 2008-00-05, in “Archives”, you can read John Wesley's sermon.)
Finally in 18:18-20 we have a somewhat repetition found in Matthew 16 on “binding” and “loosing”. Again, the use of the Perfect Passive Participle in “shall be found” and “shall be loosed” is more accurately rendered - “must already have been bound in heaven” and “must alreadyhave been loosed in heaven”. Williams translation bears this out. And where two or three of this understanding meet together for worship and prayer, thenthey will experience the presence of Jesus.
In verse 19, to agreetogether in the prayer of faith, is to symphonizetogether. I played in a symphony in Victoria, BC during World War II days, and learned 3 interesting points. First, each player must under the conductor play the piece of hischoice. Next, we must all learn to start on time, together; third, each section must blend into onecomplete sound according to the wishes of of the conductor. Now in prayer, the Holy Spiritis the Conductor. Each prayer partner must come into agreement under Hischoice of prayer subject. We must so move under His direction in timing and blending, that Heis perfectly satisfied; not necessarily any one who prays. Thisis symphonizing under the Holy Spirit - and such a united prayer is alwaysanswered by the Father. See Acts 4:23-31 for a NT example of this. My wife Marie and I married for this high purpose, and chose this verse along with Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; and Deuteronomy 32:30 for the undergirding of our “Two Are Better than One” Ministries. J.A.W.