August 5th, 2023

This Sunday is typically called the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, and the Gospel Reading for this Sunday is from what is typically called the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew [14:13-21]. With the writings you have found on this website, we are in the same gospel account, but we are at a slightly different pace. This week we are looking at what is usually called the eighteenth chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew.

This chapter is sometimes considered to be the fourth of five sermons within this gospel account, and some may wish to connect this sermon to the fourth book of the Old Testament, the book of Numbers. The title of ‘Numbers’ may turn some people off, simply because they did not like mathematics in school. The Hebrew title of ‘In the wilderness’ was taken from some of the first words of the text, and that does not make it very popular either. But this is a book that has some significant interactions between Israel and others. This tracks the location of the people of Israel from Mount Sinai to a spot near The Promised Land, so that the children of Israel will be able to enter sometime soon. During this time, Moses and Joshua had to deal with both internal and external problems, those problems within Israel and those problems with the other nations around Israel.

That is much the same issue in this fourth sermon within this gospel account. By the way this sermon begins, it is to have the reader/listener become as a child. That is an internal issue and deals with the issue of a person relating to the Maker of heaven and earth, the One who puts those inward parts of a person together. Then the issue becomes more external and has to do with others, who also could called little ones, and that should be no surprise. We could admit that we are all little ones after being humbled by the Lord’s Law.

What follows is an attempt at a somewhat-literal translation of this eighteenth chapter (the words in bold print are historical presents and give a special emphasis; you may wish to compare translations with some of these texts and to look at what some study bibles have to say regarding some of Jesus’ very special words):

In that, the hour, they approached, the disciples, the Jesus, saying, “Who so greater, he is, in the kingdom of the heavens?”

And calling to a child, he stood him in midst of them, and he said, “Amen, I am saying to you, if not you turn and you become as the children, certainly not you will enter into the kingdom of the heavens. Therefore, whoever will humble himself as the child, this, this is the greater in the kingdom of the heavens; and whoever receives one child, such, upon the name of me, me he receives.”

“Now whoever scandalizes one of the little ones, these, the believing into me, it is better for him that it would be hung, a millstone, a donkey’s, around the neck of him, and he be drowned in the open sea of the sea. Woe to the world for the scandals; for a necessity to come, the scandals, but woe to the man through whom the scandal comes. Now if the hand of you or the foot of you scandalizes you, cut off it, and throw from you; good for you, it is, to enter into the life, maimed or lame, than two hands or two feet, having, to be thrown into the fire, the eternal. And if the eye of you scandalizes you, pluck out it, and throw from you; good for you, it is, one-eyed, into the life, to enter, than two eyes having, to be thrown into the Gehenna of the fire.”

“See, not, you despise one of the little ones, these; for I am saying to you that the angels of them in heavens, through all, they see the face of the Father of me, the One in the heavens.  What to you it seems? If there happens, to a certain man, a hundred sheep, and it wanders, one of them, he will leave the ninety-nine upon the mountains and, going, he seeks the wandering, will he not? And if he happens to find it, amen, I am saying to you that he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine, the not having wandered. Thus, not it is, will, before the Father of you, the One in the heavens, that he should perish, one of the little ones, these.”

“Now if he sins against you, the brother of you, go, reprove him between you and him alone. If you, he hears, you gained the brother of you. Now if not he hears, take with you, yet one or two, that upon mouth of two witnesses or three, it may stand, every word. Now if he refuses to hear them, tell to the church; now if also the church he refuses to hear, let him be to you as the Gentile and the tax-collector. Amen, I am saying to you, what if you bind upon the earth, it will be, having been bound in heaven, and what if you loose upon the earth, it will be, having been loosed in heaven. Again amen, I am saying to you that if two are symphonic of you upon the earth, about all matter of which, if they ask, it shall happen to them from the Father of me, the One in the heavens. For where are two or three, having been assembled into the, my name, there I am in midst of them.”

Then, approaching, the Peter, he said to him, “Lord, how often he will sin into me, the brother of me, and I will forgive him, until seven times?”
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He says to him, the Jesus, “Not I am saying to you until seven times, but on the contrary, until seventy times seven. On account of this it was likened, the kingdom of the heavens, to a man, a king, who wanted to settle a word with the slaves of him. Now beginning, he to settle, he was brought to him, one debtor of myriads of talents. Now, not having, he, to repay, he commanded him, the lord, to be sold, and the wife and the children and all, as much as he has, and to be repaid. Therefore, falling, the slave worshipped him saying, ‘Be patient upon me, and all I will repay to you.’ Now feeling pity, the lord of the slave, that, he released him, and the loan, he forgave him. Now going out, the slave, that, he found one of the fellow-slaves of him, who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he choked, saying, ‘Repay if something you owe.’ Therefore, falling, the fellow-slave of him pleaded him saying, ‘Be patient upon me, and I will repay to you.’ Now he, not, he wanted, but on the contrary, going away, he threw him into prison until he repays the thing being owed. Therefore, seeing, the fellow-slaves of him, the things having happened, they were grieved greatly, and, coming, they made clear to the lord of them all the things having happened. Then, calling near, him, the lord of him, he says to him, ‘Slave, evil, all the debt, that, I forgave you, since you pleaded me. It was necessary also you, to have mercy on the fellow-slave of you, as I also, on you had mercy, was it not?’ And being angry, the lord of him, he gave over, him, to the tormentors until which he repays all the thing being owed. Thus also, the Father of me, the heavenly, he will do to you, if not you forgive, each one, the brother of him, from the hearts of you.”