Matthew 18:17
[Jesus said:] “If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.”
This might sound rather harsh, but Jesus has just given the best possible advice for how to handle the situation where someone has done you wrong. First, speak to them one to one, and if that fails, take one or two people with you. The aim is to achieve restoration as quickly as possible. If that doesn’t work, the matter needs to go to the Church, and if the person still refuses to listen, Jesus says that they should be treated like a complete outsider. As we hear these strong words, we need to remember that Jesus, of all people, was always reaching out in love to pagans and corrupt tax collectors, so he wasn’t saying they were beyond hope. However, there may sadly come a time when a dispute cannot be resolved and you need to move on.
What I love about this teaching is that it shows that Jesus deeply understood normal human life. He understood that things can sometimes go wrong, even among his followers. Because he was perfect and the Son of God, you might have thought that that he wouldn’t understand the rough and tumble of normal life. But he did! We should always give the best of our energies to living at peace with people and seeking to bring restoration wherever possible. Sadly, there are some occasions when we can do no more and need to move on. This was clearly the case with Paul and Barnabas. They had a deep disagreement over whether to take John Mark with them on their second missionary journey and they resolved the matter by parting company (see Acts 15:36-41). I always read that passage with sadness but it seems to have been the right decision for everyone concerned.
Question
Have you ever had to move on from a situation that couldn’t be resolved? What did you learn from the experience?
Prayer
Loving God, thank you that you are with me as I face up to difficult situations and that your Spirit gives me the strength and wisdom that I need. Amen
--------
3:23
April 2nd - Matthew 18:15
Matthew 18:15
[Jesus said:] “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offence. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.”
Ever since the Garden of Eden, people have fallen out with one another. This is an inevitable part of living in a world of sin. Here, Jesus gives wonderfully straightforward advice about what to do when it happens: if you are wronged, you need to deal with it as speedily and as privately as possible, with the aim to achieve a restored relationship. It amazes me that this simple and clear advice is so often ignored.
When we are wronged, it is very tempting to tell other people about it immediately – but that just magnifies the problem. We feel hurt, so we want other people to sympathise with us and come on our side. It is always better to go to the person who has wronged us in the hope that the relationship can be restored. So often, offence is caused by a misunderstanding which is easily set to one side with a simple conversation. But the longer we leave it, the greater the chance of the offence growing and causing more hurt.
When speaking to the person who has offended us, we hope they will hear where we are coming from and seek to restore the relationship. Of course, that won’t always happen. Sometimes they fully intended to cause us hurt and are completely unrepentant. In that case, we do need to involve someone else, but the aim is to bring about restoration. None of this is easy, but I love the way this verse shows Jesus’ profound understanding of everyday life and his desire to lead us in the path of healing and harmony in all our relationships.
Question
In what way have you tried to follow Jesus’ advice in repairing relationships?
Prayer
Lord God, I thank you that you understand the tangles that I get into in my relationships. Help me to be a peacemaker today. Amen
--------
3:17
April 1st - Matthew 18:12
Matthew 18:12
“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?”
I suspect that few of us have had experience of being shepherds. However, many of us will have memories of lost pets. I recall the time when our cat Tabitha went missing for days on end. We walked the streets and called out her name, desperately hoping to hear her miaow, but there was no response. Then one day as I was looking down our garden, I saw this poor thin creature dragging herself limply towards the house. She had a broken femur and had presumably been involved in a road accident. To say that we were delighted would hardly begin to describe how it felt to have her back, and over the coming weeks she made a complete recovery. She was just one little cat, but the news of her return home was a moment of incredible joy for our family.
I can therefore begin to understand the joy of the shepherd who found his sheep. It might surprise us that he noticed he was one sheep short amid the large flock, but he knew those sheep well. He knew their personalities. He knew the ones that were always out in front and he knew the stragglers. He knew the sick ones and those who were always vigorous and strong. He knew so much because he loved them. He risked his life every day as he cared for them in the harsh terrain, and as he protected them from sheep rustlers and wild animals. Every single sheep mattered.
In our local churches, we need to continually remind ourselves of the importance of every single person. We will be close to some people and understand them well. Others will be very different from us, and we might find some people quite awkward. But every single person matters intensely, and if they wander away, we need to long for their return and do all that we can to make it happen. And then, whoever they are, if they return, there should be a great celebration.
Question
In what way does this parable challenge the life of your church?
Prayer
Loving God, help me to treasure every single person in the way that you treasure me. Amen
--------
3:32
March 31st - Psalm 51:1-2
Psalm 51:1-2
Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.
The background to this psalm is well known. King David had committed adultery and had been found out. The penalty for this crime in the Jewish law was death. However, David repented of his sin and God showed him generosity in forgiving his wrongdoing. This psalm is both a celebration of God’s forgiveness and of the new life which opened up for David as a result.
The evil one will always seek to persuade us that sin is not actually all that serious. Everyone does it and we really shouldn’t beat ourselves up about it. And, in any event, the sins which other people commit are far worse than anything we would ever think of doing ourselves. Just look at some of the stories in today’s newspapers. We know that we would never do any of the awful things that we read about. In these, and a thousand other ways, we seek to excuse our sins. But the truth is that sin always destroys. And there is no such thing as a little sin, or an excusable sin, just sin. All sin damages us and blocks our relationship with God.
You might read about David’s sins in 2 Samuel 11 and feel good about yourself because you have never sunk to the depths of committing adultery and then organising the murder of your lover’s husband. However, the truth is that we have all sinned and as the apostle Paul wrote: “we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23). We should recognise that today’s psalm is directly relevant to our own lives, as each one of us needs God’s gift of forgiveness. Let us come to God and ask him to create in us a pure heart and then spread the word about God’s forgiveness, because everyone needs it.
Question
What has been your own experience of God’s forgiveness?
Prayer
Lord God, I confess that I have sinned against you. Help me to receive your gift of forgiveness with joy and, in the power of your Spirit, to live a new life. Amen
--------
3:19
March 30th - Psalm 48:1-3
Psalm 48:1-3
How great is the LORD, how deserving of praise, in the city of our God, which sits on his holy mountain! It is high and magnificent; the whole earth rejoices to see it! Mount Zion, the holy mountain, is the city of the great King! God himself is in Jerusalem's towers, revealing himself as its defender.
I will never forget my first sight of Old Jerusalem; its golden limestone walls were set against a deep blue sky. It was absolutely beautiful and immediately triggered the memory of psalms like this one, which praise the magnificence and beauty of the city.
Jerusalem has a central place in the Bible. It was here that Abraham offered to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah. Centuries later David established Jerusalem as his capital city and his son Solomon then built the glorious temple. Although Jesus lived in Galilee in the north of the country, he frequently visited Jerusalem and it was here that he was crucified and rose from death. It was in this city that the Spirit was poured out upon Jesus’ followers on the day of Pentecost, and the Church was born. And then, right at the end of the Bible, John has a vision of the New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven and he pictures a place where there is no longer any more death, mourning, crying or pain (Revelation 21).
The city continues to act as a reminder of the way in which God has reached out to his people over thousands of years, and it is a wonderful privilege to be able to visit it. But now we have been set free to worship God anywhere. When two or three people meet in the name of Jesus he is there standing with them, whether it’s in Jerusalem, Jaipur or Jarrow – or anywhere else!
Question
Do you have a favourite place to worship God? Wherever you are, take some time to worship him freely.
Prayer
Loving Father, thank you that we are free to worship you anywhere. Help me as I worship you today. Amen
UK