This message starts in Matthew 18:15-20. This is, an admittedly difficult passage. Some would argue that its plain and clear, but to do so ignores so much of what is taking place and the direction that Chapter 18 is going. This is a passage on conflict in the church and how we handle it.
When I get to verse 16 I have this crazy mixed up image in my head of what's happening. I see two kids on a playground who have gotten into an argument, and one of them stomps off to go get a couple of friends to help him prove that he's right and the other guy is wrong...no matter how much pummeling it takes to get the point across.
Somehow, I don't think that's what Jesus was going for. The trouble is, to often, this is exactly what this passage is taken to mean. To many start with the standpoint that as Christians we are right, and this passage gives us permission to prove that to other people. If the conflict is inside the church, then it gives us permission to abuse power and force people to submit to the greater power.
That's not what Jesus meant. That's not what Jesus is doing.
This is why we need to focus more in on what would have been understood by the folks around Jesus as the time that we miss after a couple thousand years. Jesus was talking to the faithful. He was talking to the Disciples. One of the many things that I love about this passage is that Jesus understands human nature better than we ever could, and he is showing us that here.
Jesus isn't telling the Disciples to avoid conflict. Rather, he is instructing them on what to do when it happens. The conflict he's talking about is what happens inside of groups or communities, among people who have a shared set of beliefs and values. What happens when there is conflict surrounding those things?
What Jesus starts off by doing, and he never says this, but it has that affect is to de-escalate the situation. Put in a better way, the writer of 2 Timothy explains it like this.
This is very good advice. It's so good in fact, that in the modern internet age we have shortened that verse down to a very good bit of wisdom.
What's being warned against are those people who set out to either cause pain and harm with their words, deliberately inflame a situation to prevent a resolution from being achieved, or who have no bearing on the conversation but feel the need to insert themselves into anyway. These folks aren't worth the time and energy to put up with and shouldn't be engaged with. Jesus sets this tone when he starts in verse 15.
Throughout this passage, Jesus is setting up a process to follow that gradually builds the conflict, as necessary, to a larger group of people. At each stage their is hope for resolution. Take a look at what he does.
In verse 15 Jesus tells someone who is in conflict with another person that in order to get through it, you first go to them in a place where you can be alone. This, hopefully, has the effect of taking the tension out of the situation. It gives the people involved a chance to communicate and talk it out among themselves first. The goal here is the same as it is at each stage. The first thing that happens is that they establish that something is causing the conflict and it's not just a misunderstanding. Then they seek a resolution. If the resolution can't be found, then you advance to the next stage.
The second step brings in witnesses. These are witnesses to prove that superior numbers make someone right, but they serve a special role. The Disciples would have understood this. Jesus is referencing the book of Deuteronomy.
The job of the witnesses is not to act as extra muscle, but to be the third party that establishes that something is in conflict and then help find a resolution. If that doesn't work, you move up the next step.
From there it goes to the community. There's an assumption here. This assumes that you are a part of the same community, like a church. That means you have a shared set of values and beliefs, and that has come into conflict. At this point the goal is, again, to establish that something is wrong and then figure out a resolution.
If that doesn't work, then Jesus says to treat them like they are a gentile or a tax collector. This doesn't mean we have permission to treat them like they don't exist. Frankly, that's the least Jesus like thing you can do. Remember how Jesus treated the tax collector and the gentile. They are still people of value and created in the image of God. What this means is that there has been a separation from the community. That's not permission to condemn people to hell.
Some folks would argue that that is exactly what Jesus is doing there because of what Jesus says in verse 18.
I think this verse is Jesus' answer to the question, "what if the community gets it wrong?" Remember, Jesus knows our nature better than we do. This was a part of Jewish tradition that allowed for changes to be made, and adaptation to occur. This is Jesus saying you have permission to change and I'll back you in it. Things don't stay the same, and even if the community gets it right one time, it doesn't mean that the same resolution will work again.
The thing is, this whole process only works for one very good reason. This is a reason that keeps us humble and willing to go through it, because we know who we are following.
This is an often quoted verse, and one that should bring us comfort. Its also a word of reminder to us, of who we follow. This works because we follow Jesus and we check our story so that we can follow his. When we do this in his name, following him, then we can reach a resolution. If not a resolution, then we can find a way to still go forward. Without him is when it gets messy, and we cause more problems than we can handle.
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