Matthew 18

קרא את הפרק הזה בכוונה

Matthew 18 is Jesus's teaching on life inside the community of his followers, and it begins with a child. Asked who is greatest in the kingdom, Jesus sets a child among the disciples and says that entering the kingdom requires becoming like one. He warns of millstones for anyone who causes a little one to stumble, tells of a shepherd who leaves ninety-nine sheep for one, lays out how to confront a brother who sins, promises his presence where two or three gather, and, when Peter asks how often to forgive, answers with seventy-seven times and a parable about a servant forgiven an unpayable debt who would not forgive a small one.

פתח פירוש פרק

Matthew 18 answers a question the disciples keep asking in different forms: who is the greatest? Jesus answers by calling a child over and standing him in the middle of the group. Unless you turn and become like this, you will not even enter the kingdom, let alone rank in it. From that child the chapter never really moves away. The little ones must not be caused to stumble; better a millstone and the sea than that. The little ones must not be despised; their angels see the Father's face. When one of them wanders, the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine and goes after the one, because the Father is not willing that any of them perish. When one of them sins against you, go to him privately, then with witnesses, then before the church, and know that Christ himself is present where two or three gather in his name. Then Peter asks the question the whole chapter has been leading to: how many times must I forgive? Seven? Not seven, Jesus says, but seventy-seven, and tells a story to explain why. A servant who owed a king more than he could earn in a thousand lifetimes was forgiven everything, walked out, and seized a colleague by the throat over a few months' wages. The king's question is the chapter's question: should you not have had mercy, as I had on you?

קטעי מפתח

Matthew 18:1-6 Matthew 18:12-14 Matthew 18:15-20 Matthew 18:21-35 Deuteronomy 19:15

Historical and literary context

The chapter is the fourth of Matthew's five great teaching blocks, sometimes called the community discourse, given in Galilee before the final journey to Jerusalem. Children in the ancient world had no status, which is the point of Jesus's object lesson. The procedure for confronting a sinning brother draws on Deuteronomy 19 and its rule of two or three witnesses, and "tell it to the church" is one of only two uses of the word "church" in the Gospels. The ten thousand talents of the parable was an almost unimaginable sum, larger than the annual revenue of whole provinces, set against a hundred denarii, a few months' wages.

How the chapter unfolds

Verses 1 to 5 answer the question of greatness with a child. Verses 6 to 9 warn against causing little ones to stumble and against the hand, foot, or eye that causes oneself to sin. Verse 10 speaks of the angels of the little ones. Verses 12 to 14 give the parable of the lost sheep, with the Father unwilling that any little one perish. Verses 15 to 20 lay out confrontation, witnesses, the church, binding and loosing, and Christ's presence among two or three. Verses 21 to 35 are Peter's question, the answer of seventy-seven times, and the parable of the unforgiving servant, ending with the warning that the Father will treat those who refuse to forgive from the heart the same way.

Why this chapter matters

Matthew 18 has shaped how churches handle greatness, sin, and forgiveness. Its picture of the child as the model of the kingdom reversed every ancient assumption about status. Its step-by-step process for a brother who sins, private confrontation, then witnesses, then the church, is the foundation of Christian practices of correction and reconciliation. "Where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them" is among the most quoted promises of Jesus. And the parable of the unforgiving servant is the Bible's sharpest illustration of why forgiven people must forgive: the debt God cancels is beyond repayment, and the debts we hold against each other are small beside it.

Interpretive tension to watch

The chapter promises that whatever the church binds or looses on earth is bound or loosed in heaven, and that the Father grants what two agree to ask. Readers have taken these as sweeping guarantees or as promises tied to their context of reconciling a sinning brother. Likewise, the parable ends with the forgiven servant handed over to be tortured until he repays. Is God's forgiveness conditional on ours? The chapter's own logic suggests that refusing to forgive reveals a heart that never received forgiveness, rather than a bargain God revokes.

שאלות לפרק הזה

Jesus answers a question about greatness by placing a child in the middle. What about a child is he asking the disciples to become?
The process in verses 15 to 17 begins privately. Why might Jesus insist on that order, and what goes wrong when it is skipped?
The forgiven servant is choked by a debt of a few months' wages after being released from one of impossible size. Where does that proportion show up in your own grudges?

Study with context

Use this as a chapter guide, then press deeper into the text itself. The goal is to slow down observation, notice structure, and ask better questions before jumping to conclusions.

הוספה להערות

1 Ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ὥρᾳ προσῆλθον οἱ μαθηταὶ τῷ Ἰησοῦ, λέγοντες, Τίς ἄρα μείζων ἐστὶν ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν; 2 Καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος ὁ Ἰησοῦς παιδίον ἔστησεν αὐτὸ ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν, 3 καὶ εἶπεν, Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐὰν μὴ στραφῆτε καὶ γένησθε ὡς τὰ παιδία, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν. 4 Ὅστις οὖν ταπεινώσῃ ἑαυτὸν ὡς τὸ παιδίον τοῦτο, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ μείζων ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν. 5 Καὶ ὃς ἐὰν δέξηται παιδίον τοιοῦτον ἓν ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματί μου, ἐμὲ δέχεται· 6 ὃς δ᾿ ἂν σκανδαλίσῃ ἕνα τῶν μικρῶν τούτων τῶν πιστευόντων εἰς ἐμέ, συμφέρει αὐτῷ ἵνα κρεμασθῇ μύλος ὀνικὸς ἐπὶ τὸν τράχηλον αὐτοῦ, καὶ καταποντισθῇ ἐν τῷ πελάγει τῆς θαλάσσης. 7 Οὐαὶ τῷ κόσμῳ ἀπὸ τῶν σκανδάλων· ἀνάγκη γάρ ἐστιν ἐλθεῖν τὰ σκάνδαλα· πλὴν οὐαὶ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐκείνῳ, δι᾿ οὗ τὸ σκάνδαλον ἔρχεται. 8 Εἰ δὲ ἡ χείρ σου ἢ ὁ πούς σου σκανδαλίζει σε, ἔκκοψον αὐτὰ καὶ βάλε ἀπὸ σοῦ· καλόν σοι ἐστὶν εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν ζωὴν χωλὸν ἢ κυλλόν, ἢ δύο χεῖρας ἢ δύο πόδας ἔχοντα βληθῆναι εἰς τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον. 9 Καὶ εἰ ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου σκανδαλίζει σε, ἔξελε αὐτὸν καὶ βάλε ἀπὸ σοῦ· καλόν σοι ἐστὶ μονόφθαλμον εἰς τὴν ζωὴν εἰσελθεῖν, ἢ δύο ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχοντα βληθῆναι εἰς τὴν γέενναν τοῦ πυρός. 10 Ὁρᾶτε μὴ καταφρονήσητε ἑνὸς τῶν μικρῶν τούτων, λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν ὅτι οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτῶν ἐν οὐρανοῖς διὰ παντὸς βλέπουσι τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ πατρός μου τοῦ ἐν οὐρανοῖς. 11 Ἦλθε γὰρ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου σῶσαι τὸ ἀπολωλός. 12 Τί ὑμῖν δοκεῖ; Ἐὰν γένηταί τινι ἀνθρώπῳ ἑκατὸν πρόβατα, καὶ πλανηθῇ ἓν ἐξ αὐτῶν· οὐχὶ ἀφεὶς τὰ ἐννενηκονταεννέα, ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη πορευθεὶς ζητεῖ τὸ πλανώμενον; 13 Καὶ ἐὰν γένηται εὑρεῖν αὐτό, ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι χαίρει ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ μᾶλλον, ἢ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐννενηκονταεννέα τοῖς μὴ πεπλανημένοις. 14 Οὕτως οὐκ ἔστι θέλημα ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν τοῦ ἐν οὐρανοῖς, ἵνα ἀπόληται εἷς τῶν μικρῶν τούτων. 15 Ἐὰν δὲ ἁμαρτήσῃ εἰς σὲ ὁ ἀδελφός σου, ὕπαγε καὶ ἔλεγξον αὐτὸν μεταξὺ σοῦ καὶ αὐτοῦ μόνου. Ἐάν σου ἀκούσῃ, ἐκέρδησας τὸν ἀδελφόν σου· 16 ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀκούσῃ, παράλαβε μετὰ σοῦ ἔτι ἕνα ἢ δύο, ἵνα ἐπὶ στόματος δύο μαρτύρων ἢ τριῶν σταθῇ πᾶν ῥῆμα· 17 ἐὰν δὲ παρακούσῃ αὐτῶν, εἰπὲ τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ· ἐὰν δὲ καὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας παρακούσῃ, ἔστω σοι ὥσπερ ὁ ἐθνικὸς καὶ ὁ τελώνης. 18 Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅσα ἐὰν δήσητε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἔσται δεδεμένα ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ· καὶ ὅσα ἐὰν λύσητε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἔσται λελυμένα ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ. 19 Πάλιν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ἐὰν δύο ὑμῶν συμφωνήσωσιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς περὶ παντὸς πράγματος οὗ ἐὰν αἰτήσωνται, γενήσεται αὐτοῖς παρὰ τοῦ πατρός μου τοῦ ἐν οὐρανοῖς. 20 Οὗ γάρ εἰσι δύο ἢ τρεῖς συνηγμένοι εἰς τὸ ἐμὸν ὄνομα, ἐκεῖ εἰμὶ ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν. 21 Τότε προσελθὼν αὐτῷ ὁ Πέτρος εἶπε, Κύριε, ποσάκις ἁμαρτήσει εἰς ἐμὲ ὁ ἀδελφός μου, καὶ ἀφήσω αὐτῷ; Ἕως ἑπτάκις; 22 Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Οὐ λέγω σοι ἕως ἑπτάκις, ἀλλ᾿ ἕως ἑβδομηκοντάκις ἑπτά. 23 Διὰ τοῦτο ὡμοιώθη ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀνθρώπῳ βασιλεῖ, ὃς ἠθέλησε συνᾶραι λόγον μετὰ τῶν δούλων αὐτοῦ. 24 Ἀρξαμένου δὲ αὐτοῦ συναίρειν, προσηνέχθη αὐτῷ εἷς ὀφειλέτης μυρίων ταλάντων. 25 Μὴ ἔχοντος δὲ αὐτοῦ ἀποδοῦναι ἐκέλευσεν αὐτὸν ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ πραθῆναι, καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ τέκνα, καὶ πάντα ὅσα εἶχε, καὶ ἀποδοθῆναι. 26 Πεσὼν οὖν ὁ δοῦλος προσεκύνει αὐτῷ, λέγων, Κύριε, μακροθύμησον ἐπ᾿ ἐμοί, καὶ πάντα σοι ἀποδώσω. 27 Σπλαγχνισθεὶς δὲ ὁ κύριος τοῦ δούλου ἐκείνου ἀπέλυσεν αὐτόν, καὶ τὸ δάνειον ἀφῆκεν αὐτῷ. 28 Ἐξελθὼν δὲ ὁ δοῦλος ἐκεῖνος εὗρεν ἕνα τῶν συνδούλων αὐτοῦ, ὃς ὤφειλεν αὐτῷ ἑκατὸν δηνάρια, καὶ κρατήσας αὐτὸν ἔπνιγε, λέγων, Ἀπόδος μοι ὅ τι ὀφείλεις. 29 Πεσὼν οὖν ὁ σύνδουλος αὐτοῦ εἰς τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ παρεκάλει αὐτόν, λέγων, Μακροθύμησον ἐπ᾿ ἐμοί, καὶ πάντα ἀποδώσω σοι. 30 Ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἤθελεν, ἀλλ᾿ ἀπελθὼν ἔβαλεν αὐτὸν εἰς φυλακήν, ἕως οὗ ἀποδῷ τὸ ὀφειλόμενον. 31 Ἰδόντες δὲ οἱ σύνδουλοι αὐτοῦ τὰ γενόμενα ἐλυπήθησαν σφόδρα· καὶ ἐλθόντες διεσάφησαν τῷ κυρίῳ αὐτῶν πάντα τὰ γενόμενα. 32 Τότε προσκαλεσάμενος αὐτὸν ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ λέγει αὐτῷ, Δοῦλε πονηρέ, πᾶσαν τὴν ὀφειλὴν ἐκείνην ἀφῆκά σοι, ἐπεὶ παρεκάλεσάς με· 33 οὐκ ἔδει καὶ σὲ ἐλεῆσαι τὸν σύνδουλόν σου, ὡς καὶ ἐγώ σε ἠλέησα; 34 Καὶ ὀργισθεὶς ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ παρέδωκεν αὐτὸν τοῖς βασανισταῖς, ἕως οὗ ἀποδῷ πᾶν τὸ ὀφειλόμενον αὐτῷ. 35 Οὕτω καὶ ὁ πατήρ μου ὁ ἐπουράνιος ποιήσει ὑμῖν, ἐὰν μὴ ἀφῆτε ἕκαστος τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν καρδιῶν ὑμῶν τὰ παραπτώματα αὐτῶν.

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קרא את הפרק הבא Matthew 19 in Textus Receptus.

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