The Gospel of Matthew

The Man of St Matthew

Chapter 18: Overview

In 19,1 we find Matthew's usual expression for concluding a discourse: "When Jesus finished saying these words.." chapter 18 is therefore the fourth of Matthew's five discourses.

The beginning of the discourse is normally taken as 18,1 when the disciples ask Jesus a question. The opening phrase of the chapter is "In that hour.." which is usually translated "At that time..." "At that time..." would be a strong beginning, see 14,1 for example. "In that hour..." may be less strong making a connection with what preceeds.

Our reading of 17,22-27 has in fact suggested that these verses form a preamble to the discourse. Thus the prediction in 17,22-23 can be recognised as the new beginning it would seem to be. Then Mattthew's unique insertion about taxation matters in 17,24-27 has deeper resonances and some verbal echoes which will now be taken futher.

In this discourse, the disciples ask their question in 18,1 and Jesus replies to them. This discourse is for all disciples, not just leaders as some claim. The discourse will be about life within the Christian community, the Church (18,17, as also 16,18).

The starting point is the question "who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven", the theme around which Jesus reflects and broadens as the discourse unfolds.

The key unifying phrase for the discourse is your or my "Father in heaven" in verses 10,14, 19 and 35.

The centre of the chapter with its more discordant note is 18,15-20 and its concern for disciplinary measures for an erring brother or sister.

Reviewing the Chapter

As we read through the chapter we can notice how the words change:
In verse 1, the disciples asks about the kingdom of heaven and that is the theme of the first five verses. In verses 2-5, Jesus has a child with him so that "child" and "kingdom of heaven" are the theme up to verse 5.

In verses 6 and 10 Jesus speaks about his "little ones". We will have to consider how these relate to the child in verses 2-5 as well as to what Jesus says in between, verses 6 to 9.

In verses 12-14, Jesus develops this theme with the parable of the sheep. The "little ones" are mentioned again in verse 14.
Many commentators make this section 18,10-14. However, we will see that verse 10 concludes 18,6-10.
"What do you think?" in verse 12 makes a better opening while it is a linking phrase for Matthew.

As mentioned above, we have here "Father in heaven" twice: "my" in verse 10 and "your" in verse 14.

Verses 15 to 20 at the centre of the chapter deal with the very practical issues of Church and the brother who sins. This ends with the reassuring note in verse 20 of Jesus' continuing presence.

In verse 21 Peter asks Jesus about forgiveness. "Then" is a linking word as we have seen. Jesus gives his reply in verse 22 and follows this in the remaining verses, 18,23-35, with a parable about forgiveness.

Putting all this together, we can see the discourse unfolding in six steps which are best seen as linked together:

We will look more more closely at the connections within the first three steps, 18,1-14, when we come to the reading.

What stands out is that the central theme is about Church discipline, 18,15-20, while the setting and the rest of the discourse is then about care and forgiveness.

Reading Plan

Our look at the overall flow of the chapter has gives a good background for our reading of the chapter. The middle part about Church discipline stands out so it would be useful to read it on its own. With that in mind, we can read the chapter with three pages:

With that in mind, we are ready to return to the main page and then begin our read through the chapter.