Matthew the apostle wrote how Jesus asked His disciples, “How think you? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, does he not leave the ninety and nine, and goes into the mountains, and seeks that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoices more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. Moreover if your brother shall trespass against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone: if he shall hear you, you have gained your brother”, and in chapter eighteen and verse sixteen of his book, Matthew shares how Jesus gave instruction when a brother, “will not hear you” where we read:
But if he will not hear you, then take with you one or two more,
that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
The verse reads, “But if he will not hear you, then take with you one or two more, ...”. Matthew began with the word, “but” or “moreover and” “if he” which means “the disciple's brother”“will not hear you” or “will not listen to, understand or consider what the disciples says”, “then take with you” which means “join and add to yourself” “one or two more” or “one or two other people”. Matthew shared how Jesus told His disciples to gather “one or two” additional people with them when a “brother” will not listen to them.
The verse goes on to say, “that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.” Matthew added the words, “that in the mouth” or “so in the orifice in the face used for eating and speaking” “of two or three witnesses” which means “pertaining to two or three testimonies concerning what is being said” “every word” or “each, all, the whole and everyone of the words spoken” “may be established” which means “put in place, set, made firm and kept intact”. Matthew shared how Jesus said the reason “two or three witnesses” were gathered was to “make firm and set” every word that is spoken to the person who trespasses against the disciple.
When we consider Matthew's words in this verse, we see Jesus' second step when a person trespasses against His disciples. If they do not hear the person who is offended when approached “one on one”, the offended person is to take “two or three” other people with them to be “witnesses” to what is being said. God desires for people to get along, and sometimes they offend one another. When this happens, Jesus said to confront the person “one on one” first, and if that does not work, gather “two or three witnesses” with the desire to be reconciled. God wants every person to be “reconciled” to Him, and because everyone has “sinned, and come short of the glory of God”, He sent His Son Jesus to bring them back into a relationship with Him. In other words, everyone has “trespassed” against God, and His passion is to bring them back together with Him.
Next time Matthew writes how Jesus shares what to do, “if he neglects to hear” the “two or three witnesses”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
No comments:
Post a Comment