Caring for Brothers and Sisters: Matthew 18:15-20

MF 18

Bible. New Testament. Gospel of Matthew. Chapter 18

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Chapters: 18

According to legend, this child was Sschmch. Ignatius the God-Bearer.

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Chapters: 18

[1] Silver weight

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said: Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

Jesus, calling a child, placed him in the midst of them and said: Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven; So whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven; and whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me.

But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world from temptations, for temptations must come; but woe to the man through whom temptation comes.

If your hand or your foot offends you, cut them off and throw them away from you: it is better for you to enter life without an arm or without a foot, than to be cast into eternal fire with two hands and two feet; and if your eye offends you, pluck it out and throw it away from you: it is better for you to enter into life with one eye than to be cast into fiery hell with two eyes.

See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.

What do you think? If someone had a hundred sheep and one of them got lost, would he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains and go looking for the lost one? And if he happens to find her, then, truly, I tell you, he rejoices over her more than over the ninety-nine who were not lost. Thus, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone; If he listens to you, then you have gained your brother; But if he does not listen, take with you one or two more, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established; if he does not listen to them, tell the church; and if he does not listen to the church, then let him be to you as a pagan and a tax collector. Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.

Truly I also tell you that if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, then whatever they ask will be done for them by My Father in heaven, for where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them.

Then Peter came to Him and said: Lord! How many times should I forgive my brother who sins against me? up to seven times?

Jesus says to him: I do not say to you, “until seven,” but until seventy times seven.

Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants; when he began to reckon, someone was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and since he did not have anything to pay with, his sovereign ordered him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and everything that he had, and to pay; then that slave fell, and, bowing to him, said: “Sir! Be patient with me, and I’ll pay you everything.” The Emperor, having mercy on that slave, released him and forgave him the debt.

That servant, going out, found one of his companions, who owed him a hundred denarii, and, seizing him, strangled him, saying: “Give me what you owe.” Then his comrade fell at his feet, begged him and said: “Have patience with me, and I will give you everything.” But he didn’t want to, but went and put him in prison until he paid off the debt. His comrades, seeing what had happened, were very upset and, when they came, they told their sovereign everything that had happened. Then his sovereign calls him and says: “Evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me; Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your companion, just as I had mercy on you?” And, angry, his sovereign handed him over to the torturers until he paid him all the debt.

So will My Heavenly Father do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from his heart for his sins.

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He takes them to a high mountain, showing that whoever does not rise is not worthy of such contemplations. Christ does this especially because He used to perform His greatest miracles in secret, so that, visible to many as God, He would not be considered by them as a man, like a ghost. When you hear about the transfiguration, do not think that He then rejected His body: His body remained in its form, for you hear about His face and about His clothes. He became lighter when His Divinity showed some of its rays, and this is as much as could be seen. That is why he earlier called the transfiguration the Kingdom of God, since it revealed the ineffable nature of His power and taught that He is the true Son of the Father, and showed the glory of His second coming by the ineffable illumination of the face of Jesus.

And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.

What were they talking about? “About the exodus,” says Luke, which he had to accomplish in Jerusalem, that is, about the cross. Why did Moses and Elijah become visible? To show that He is the Lord of the law and the prophets, living and dead, for Elijah was a prophet, his prophecy still lived, but Moses was a lawgiver and died. Moreover, and in order to show that Jesus Christ is not an opponent of the law and not an enemy of God. Otherwise, Moses would not have conversed with him, just as he would not have conversed with the one who opposed him, and Elijah, the zealot, would not have endured His presence if He had been the enemy of God. Also in order to destroy the suspicion of those who considered Him Elijah or one of the prophets. How did the disciples know that it was Moses and Elijah? Not from images, because making images of people was then considered illegal. Apparently they recognized them by the words they spoke. Moses may have said: You are the One whose suffering I depicted in advance by slaughtering the lamb and celebrating the Passover; Elijah: You are the one whose resurrection I depicted in advance, raising the widow’s son, and so on. By showing them to his disciples, the Lord teaches them to imitate them, that is, like Moses, to be meek and accessible to everyone, and like Elijah, to be zealous and unyielding when necessary, and like them, ready to expose themselves to dangers for the truth,

At this Peter said to Jesus: Lord! It’s good for us to be here; If you want, we will make three tabernacles here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.

Peter, out of much love for Christ, wanting Him not to suffer, says: “It is good to be here,” not to leave and not to be killed, for even if someone came here, we have Moses and Elijah as our helpers; Moses defeated the Egyptians, but Elijah brought down fire from heaven; they will be the same when the enemies come here. He spoke this out of great fear, as Luke notes, not knowing what he was saying. For the unusualness struck him, or he really did not know what he was saying, wanting Jesus to remain on the mountain and not leave, and not suffer for us. But, afraid of seeming capricious, he says: “if you want.”

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice from the cloud said: This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; Listen to him.

You, Peter, desire that there should be tabernacles made with hands; The Father, having surrounded Me with another tabernacle, a cloud not made with hands, shows that just as He, God, appeared to the ancients in the cloud, so did His Son. Here the cloud is light, and not dark, as in ancient times; because He did not want to frighten, but to teach. The voice came from the cloud to show that He was from God. The words “in which I am well pleased” - instead of the words: “in which I rest and which is pleasing to Me.” With the words: “Listen to Him,” he teaches: do not resist Him, even if He wanted to be crucified.

And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were very afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said: Arise and do not be afraid. Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus alone.

Unable to bear the cloudy light and voice, the disciples fell on their faces. Their eyes were heavy with sleep. Sleep means fainting from a vision. So that fear, remaining for a long time, does not destroy the memory of what he saw, Jesus awakens them and encourages them, but he turns out to be only so that you do not think that the voice was about Moses and Elijah, and not about Him: for he is the Son.

And when they came down from the mountain, Jesus rebuked them, saying: Tell no one about this vision until the Son of Man rises from the dead.

Out of humility, he commands not to tell anyone, and at the same time so that, having heard about this, they would not be tempted when they later see Him crucified. For they could have taken Him for a deceiver who was ghostly doing what was right for God. Pay attention to the fact that the contemplation of God occurred after six days, that is, after the world was created in six days. For if you do not go beyond the world and climb the mountain, you will not see the light: neither the face of Jesus, I mean His Divinity, nor the clothing of the flesh. You will then be able to see Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus, for the law, the prophets, and Jesus say the same thing and agree with each other. When you find someone who clearly interprets the thought of Scripture, then know that he clearly sees the face of Jesus; if he also explains the figures of speech, then he sees the white clothes of Jesus, for the expressions of thought are her clothes. But do not say like Peter: “It is good for us to be here,” because we must always succeed and not stop at one degree of virtue and contemplation, but move on to others.

And His disciples asked Him, “How come the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

Deceiving the people, the scribes said that He was not the Christ, for if He were such, then Elijah would have come in advance. They did not distinguish between the two comings of Christ: the first of them was the forerunner of John, the second of Elijah. This is what Christ explains to his disciples. Because listen!

Jesus answered and said to them, “It is true that Elijah must come first and arrange everything; But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him as they wanted, and so the Son of Man will suffer from them. Then the disciples realized that He was talking to them about John the Baptist.

Saying: “truth, Elijah must come first,” shows that he has not yet come, but will come as the forerunner of the second coming, and will establish in faith in Christ all the Jews who turn out to be obedient, establishing them, as it were, in the paternal inheritance of whom they long ago lost. Saying: “Elijah has already come,” hints at John the Baptist. They did with him what they wanted, killing Him, for, having allowed Herod to kill him, although they had the opportunity to prevent him, they themselves killed. Then the disciples, becoming more thoughtful, realized that the Lord called John Elijah, because he was the forerunner of the first, just as Elijah will be the forerunner of His second coming.

When they came to the people, a man came up to Him and, kneeling before Him, said: Lord! have mercy on my son; On new moons he goes berserk and suffers greatly, for he often throws himself into fire and often into water.

This man, apparently, was very unbelieving, judging by the fact that Christ says to him: “Oh, faithless generation,” as well as by the fact that he accuses the disciples. The cause of his son's illness was not the moon, but the demon; he lay in wait for the full moon and then attacked the sick person so that God’s creation would be blasphemed as evil. You must understand that every madman changes, according to Scripture, like the moon, sometimes being great in virtue, sometimes small and insignificant. So, he becomes a sleepwalker and throws himself first into the fire of anger and passion, then into the water - into the waves of numerous everyday worries in which leviathan - the devil, that is, the king over the waters - lives. Aren't waves the constant worry of the rich?

I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not heal him. Jesus answered and said: O faithless and corrupt generation! How long will I be with you! How long will I tolerate you? Bring him here to Me. And Jesus rebuked him; and the demon came out of him; and the boy was healed that same hour.

You see that this man places the sin of his unbelief on the disciples because they were not able to heal. And so, the Lord, shaming him for accusing the disciples, says: “Oh, unfaithful generation,” that is, the sin of their weakness is not as great as the sin of your unbelief, for it, being great, defeated their corresponding strength. By reproaching this person, the Lord reproaches all non-believers and those present. Saying: “as long as I am with you,” indicates that He strongly desires the suffering of the cross and removal from them. How long will I live with offenders and unbelievers? “And Jesus rebuked him.” To whom? Sleepwalker. From this it is clear that he, being an unbeliever, himself, thanks to his unbelief, gave the demon the opportunity to enter him.

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn’t we drive him out?” Jesus said to them: Because of your unbelief; For truly I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you. This race can only be driven out by prayer and fasting.

The apostles were afraid, but did they lose the grace given to them over the demons? Therefore, in private, worried, they asked. The Lord, reproaching them as still far from perfection, says: “because of your unbelief”; if you had warm, ardent faith, then it, even if it seemed small, would accomplish great things. Where the apostles moved mountains, nothing is written about this. But it is likely that they rearranged, although it is not written, since not everything is written down. Otherwise: circumstances did not require it, so the apostles did not rearrange, but did much more. Pay attention to what the Lord said: “Say to this mountain: move from here,” that is, when you say it, then it will move. But the apostles did not say this, because time did not demand and there was no need, and therefore they did not cross the mountains. Tell them, they would move on. “This same race,” that is, the race of demons, “is driven out only by prayer and fasting.” For those who are in the power of demons and those who intend to heal from them should especially fast. Prayer is true when it is combined not with drunkenness, but with fasting. Pay attention to the fact that every faith is a mustard seed. It is considered insignificant due to the violence of preaching, but if good earth happens, it develops into a tree on which the birds of the air build their nests, that is, thoughts soaring upward. Therefore, anyone who has warm faith can say to this mountain: move over, that is, to the demon. For the Lord showed the demon coming.

While they were in Galilee, Jesus said to them: The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and on the third day he will rise again. And they were very sad.

He often tells them about suffering in advance, so that they do not think that He is suffering against his will, and at the same time so that they become accustomed and are not embarrassed by the unexpected event when it occurs. However, the sad thing is also joined with the joyful thing, namely, that He will rise again.

When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of didrachms approached Peter and said: Will your teacher give you didrachms? He says yes.

God wanted the tribe of Levi to be dedicated to him instead of the firstborn of the Jews. The tribe of Levi was numbered twenty-two thousand, and the firstborn were twenty-two thousand and seventy-three. Instead of these firstborns, who were above the tribe of Levi, God determined to give the didrachm to the priests. This is where the custom arose of paying all first-born children a didrachm, that is, five shekels or two hundred ovols. But since the Lord was the firstborn, He also paid this tax to the priests. Ashamed, perhaps, of Christ because of his miracles, they do not ask Him, but Peter, or rather do it with an insidious purpose, that is, as if saying: “Your teacher is an opponent of the law; will he really want to pay didrachms?

And when he entered the house, Jesus warned him and said: What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take duties or taxes? from your own sons, or from strangers? Peter says to Him; from strangers. Jesus said to him: So the sons are free.

As God, although He did not hear, He knew what they were talking about with Peter. Therefore, he warned him, saying: if the kings of the earth do not take taxes from their sons, but from strangers, then how will the King of Heaven take the didrachma from Me, His Son? For this didrachm, as was said earlier, was intended for the temple and the priests. So, if the sons of earthly kings are free, that is, they pay nothing, then how much more I.

But so that we don’t tempt them, go to the sea, throw a hook and take the first fish that comes along; and, opening her mouth, you will find a statir; take it and give it to them for Me and for yourself.

So that, he says, we are not considered proud and prone to contempt and so that we do not seduce them, give a tax, for I give it not because I have to give, but in order to correct their weakness. From here we learn that we should not serve as a temptation where there is no harm to us. Where there is harm to us from any action, there should not be concern for those who are foolishly tempted. To show that He is God and owns the sea, Christ sends Peter to get a stater from a fish, and at the same time we learn a certain sacrament. For our nature is also a fish, immersed in the depths of unbelief, but the apostolic word brought us out and found in our mouths the statir, that is, the words of the Lord and the confession of Christ. For whoever confesses Christ has in his mouth a statir consisting of two didrachms. And Christ, as God and as man, has two natures. So, this statir, Christ, was given up to death for people of two kinds - for pagans and Jews, for righteous people and sinners. If you see any money-lover who has nothing in his mouth except silver and gold, consider that he, too, is a fish that swims in the sea of ​​life. But if there were any teacher like Peter, he would catch him and extract gold and silver from his mouth. By statir, some mean a valuable stone that is found in Syria, while others mean a fourth share of gold.

Bible Online

1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

2 Jesus called a child and set him in the midst of them

3 And he said, Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven;

4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven;

5 And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me;

6 But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea.

7 Woe to the world because of temptations, for temptations must come; but woe to the man through whom temptation comes.

8 If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut them off and throw them away from you: it is better for you to enter into life without an arm or without a foot, than to have two hands and two feet and be cast into everlasting fire;

9 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away from you: it is better for you to enter into life with one eye, than to be cast into fiery hell with two eyes.

10 See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.

11 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.

12 What do you think? If someone had a hundred sheep, and one of them got lost, would he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains and go looking for the lost one?

13 And if he happens to find her, then, truly, I tell you, he rejoices over her more than over the ninety-nine who were not lost.

14 It is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

15 If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone; If he listens to you, then you have gained your brother;

16 But if he does not listen, take with you one or two more, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

17 But if he does not listen to them, tell the church; and if he does not listen to the church, then let him be to you as a pagan and a tax collector.

18 Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.

19 Truly I also say to you that if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven,

20 For where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in the midst of them.

21 Then Peter came to Him and said: Lord! How many times should I forgive my brother who sins against me? up to seven times?

22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, up to seven times, but unto seventy times seven.

23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants;

24 When he began to count, someone was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents;

25 And since he did not have anything to pay with, his sovereign ordered him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and everything that he had, and to pay;

26 Then that servant fell, and, bowing to him, said: Sir! Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything.

27 The sovereign, having mercy on that slave, released him and forgave him the debt.

28 But that servant went out and found one of his companions who owed him a hundred denarii, and he grabbed him and strangled him, saying, “Pay me what you owe.”

29 Then his companion fell at his feet, begging him and saying, “Have patience with me, and I will give you everything.”

30 But he did not want to, but went and put him in prison until he paid off the debt.

31 His comrades, seeing what had happened, were very upset and, when they came, they told their sovereign everything that had happened.

32 Then his master calls him and says: wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me;

33 Shouldn't you also have had mercy on your companion, just as I had mercy on you?

34 And his sovereign became angry and handed him over to the torturers until he paid him all the debt.

35 So also My heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother his sins from his heart.

(Luke 15:3-7)

10 See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven. 11 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost. 12 What do you think? If someone had a hundred sheep, and one of them got lost, would he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains and go looking for the lost one? 13 And if he happens to find her, then, truly, I tell you, he rejoices over her more than over the ninety-nine who were not lost. 14 It is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

(Mk 9, 33-37; Lk 9, 46-48)

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 Jesus called a child and set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven; 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven;

5 And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 6 But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea.

Church discipline 18, 15-20

15 If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone; If he listens to you, then you have gained your brother; 16 But if he does not listen, take with you one or two more, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17 But if he does not listen to them, tell the church; and if he does not listen to the church, then let him be to you as a pagan and a tax collector.

18 Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven. 19 Truly I also tell you that if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven, 20 for where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them.

Interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 18

Old Testament

New Testament

Gospel of Matthew

Books of the Bible:

• Gospel of Matthew
• Gospel of Mark
• Gospel of Luke
• Gospel of John
• Acts of the Apostles
• Epistle of James
• 1 Peter
• 2 Peter

• 1 John
• 2 John
• 3 John
• Epistle of Jude
• Romans
• 1 Corinthians
• 2 Corinthians
• Epistle to the Galatians

• Epistle to the Ephesians
• Epistle to the Philippians
• Epistle to the Colossians
• 1 Thessalonians
• 2 Thessalonians
• 1 Timothy
• 2 Timothy
• Epistle to Titus

• Epistle to Philemon
• Hebrews
• Revelation of John

Chapter 18
Introduction

18

4. ABOUT HUMILITY (18:1-6) (MARK 9:33-37; LUK 9:46-48)

Matt. 18:1-6

. During their stay in Capernaum, the disciples asked Jesus a question that they had undoubtedly already discussed among themselves more than once: Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven? Their thoughts were still directed towards some mighty earthly kingdom in which they would occupy high positions. In response, Jesus called the child and placed him in the midst of them (according to the law, the child had no rights in society).

Then He told the disciples that they needed to change their way of thinking (in Russian: if you do not convert and become like children who do not dream of power and of rising above others. For the position in the Kingdom is determined not by great deeds and lofty words, but humility of spirit, so inherent in children.

So the disciples were preoccupied with the wrong things. They did not have to think about their position in the future Kingdom, but about how best to serve the Lord. This ministry, first of all, had to be aimed at people, and Jesus indicated this with the words: whoever receives (in the sense of “treats with love”) one such child in My name, receives Me. This idea is emphasized by a stern warning regarding temptation.

And whoever causes (in the English text “to push to sin”) one of these little ones who believe in Me... (Yes, little children are able to believe in Jesus!). (Here the child, “set in the midst of the disciples,” serves the Lord and is a prototype of an adult man who believed in Him, but is spiritually inexperienced. It would be better for anyone who would push such a person onto the path of temptation if they hung a millstone around his neck and drowned him in the depths of the sea, says the Lord. - Ed.)

5. INSTRUCTION CONCERNING TEMPTATIONS (18:7-14)

Matt. 18:7-11

(Mark 9:43-48). Jesus continues to develop the theme of temptations “coming into the world.” Their source is people, of whom there were many in the days of Christ. He reminds that such cannot escape the terrible judgment of God (twice He repeated “woe” in Matt. 18:7; “eternal fire” - in verse 8; “fiery hell” - in verse 9; compare 6:22) - for this that they did not want to resist the temptations that were destroying themselves, and through them, other people.

Jesus, of course, did not encourage self-mutilation: “cutting off your hands or feet” or “plucking out your eyes” (compare 5:29-30). Moreover, even one who did this would not get rid of the source of sin, which is the heart (15:18-19). (The image He gave may have reflected His thought that to some people their vicious habits and inclinations are as dear as an arm or a leg. - Ed.) In order to stop being “seduced” and seduced, a person often needs a radical inner change.

Jesus further reminded the disciples of the value in the eyes of the Lord of these little ones (compare 18:6,14), that is, children (small in the physical sense) and adults who are “little in spirit.” Treating them with disdain is a sin before God, who entrusted the care of them to a special group of angels (their angels); these Angels are in constant contact with the Heavenly Father (compare Ps. 90:11; Acts 12:15). verse 11 is missing from some Greek manuscripts; it is sometimes considered a later borrowing from Luke. 19:10.

Matt. 18:12-14

. To support the idea that “these little ones” are of special value to God, Jesus gave the disciples the example of a man with a hundred sheep who suddenly discovered that one of them was lost. Wouldn't he leave... the ninety-nine in the mountains and go... to look for one that was lost? The Heavenly Father acts in the same way towards these little ones (compare verses 6:10), not wanting any of them to perish. That is why we must be careful in every possible way so as not to sow temptations.

6. ON THE NEED FOR CONSENT AMONG BELIEVERS (18:15-20) (Luke 17:3)

Matt. 18:15-20

. From the topic of temptations, the Lord logically moves on to what should be done if someone does fall into sin. If brother sins against brother, the two of them should discuss what happened. If the problem that has arisen can be resolved, then this should all end. However, if the sinner persists (does not listen), then others must be invited to talk with him, so that there are two or three witnesses to the conversation. This was in accordance with the Old Testament regulations (Deut. 19:15).

If even now the sinner refuses to admit his guilt, then the case must be presented to the entire church for consideration; If the Lord used the word “assembly” in this place, the disciples most likely thought that He meant “presenting the matter” to an assembly of Jews (perhaps in a synagogue). After the emergence of the Church, these words should have acquired an expanded meaning for them.

The sinner, who even in this case would not admit his guilt, had to become for them like a stranger; from now on they acquired the right to treat him as a pagan and a tax collector.

Responsibility for coordinated joint actions was assigned by the Lord to the entire group of apostles, whose decisions and actions would be directed from above. Jesus repeats the words He spoke to Peter in 16:19. He further speaks of the need for joint prayers, reminding the disciples that where two or three of them are gathered in His name, He will be in their midst, and that if two of you agree on earth to ask for anything, then whatever they ask, it will be done to them by My Father in Heaven.

7. ABOUT THE NECESSITY TO FORGIVE (18:21-35)

Matt. 18:21-22

. Then Peter approached Him and asked: Lord! How many times should I forgive my brother who sins against me? up to seven times? The apostle showed generosity in this case, since the rabbis taught that an offender should be forgiven no more than three times. Jesus' answer: I do not say to you, “up to seven,” but up to seventy times seven, that is, up to 490 times, implies that there should be no limits to the willingness to forgive. He illustrates this idea with a parable.

Matt. 18:23-35

. Jesus told his disciples about a king (he is likened to the Kingdom of Heaven in the sense that we are talking here about the sphere of relations of believers among themselves and with God - ed.), who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. One of them owed him a huge amount of money - 10,000 talents. In our time, this amount would amount to many millions of rubles, since talent as a monetary unit was equivalent to approximately 25-30 kg. gold. And since that slave did not have anything to pay, the sovereign ordered him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and everything that he had, and to pay. The slave prayed that the master would delay collecting the debt, promising to pay him everything later. The Emperor, having mercy on that slave, released him and forgave the debt; to him.

Soon after this, the forgiven slave found his debtor, who owed him an incomparably smaller amount: only 100 denarii. (The denarius was a silver Roman coin, worth 10-20 kopecks, and was the average daily wage of a worker.) The lender, however, demanded immediate payment of the amount due to him, without showing any mercy.

Moreover, he went and put his debtor in prison until he repaid the debt. His comrades, witnesses of what had happened, were very upset and, coming to the sovereign, told him about everything. Then the sovereign ordered the return of the slave who had shown no mercy to his comrade, although he himself had been awarded much greater mercy from his master, and threw him into prison.

With this parable, the Lord wanted to say that we need to forgive “in the same proportion” in which we ourselves are forgiven. The evil slave was forgiven all his debt, and he, in turn, had to forgive everything to his debtor. A child of God, by faith in Christ Jesus, receives forgiveness of all his sins. This means that a brother who sins against him should be forgiven from the heart, no matter how many times he sins (compare Eph. 4:32).

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