Recently,
I had an outside, unwelcomed clergy instructing my church leaders that the
final step in ‘church discipline’ is to take the wayward person … who refuses
to repent … and “tell it to the church”
before expelling them from the fellowship.
This clergy was quoting Matthew 18:17 … translated (today) into English
from the original Greek New Testament: “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to
the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you
as a Gentile and a tax collector.” (NASB) The problem was his lack of proper exegetical
analysis of the original Greek text. Contextually,
“tell it to the church” [τῇἐκκλησίᾳ]
was understood to mean “to the rulers of the church” – not to some assembly of
persons (in general). In antiquity, the
early Church Father and Archbishop of Constantinople – John Chrysostom (347-407
AD) – makes this clear in his 4th century commentary: “But if he shall neglect to
hear them also, tell it to the church, that is, to the rulers of it; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be to thee as an heathen
man and a publican.” (source: Homily LX on the Gospel According to
St. Matthew)
Exegeses of Matthew 18 frequently overlook
the contextual fact that Jesus is not speaking (general) to the multitude, but
(specifically) to the disciples (18:1) … whose successors were the hierarchs
and presbyters of the church. All of
Matthew 18:15-20 pertains to the Apostles and their successors – not anyone
whosoever claims to be a Christian or the whole assembly of believers. The church leaders
[elders]
had the responsibility to administer church discipline by excluding the wayward
person(s) from the fellowship of the church … with the purpose of causing
him/her to repent.
Here’s the point: Never try to determine the meaning of a Biblical
text without reading its context. Always
read a paragraph before and after. Better
yet, read the whole chapter or entire Biblical book. If
you don’t, this can create two related problems:
First, when you ignore the context, you don’t know what
the author is talking about.
That’s a
serious liability to figuring out what the verse in question means. That’s because context - more than anything - determines
the meaning of the text you’re reading. When
you ignore the context, then, you are ignoring the information the author is
giving you to tell you what he’s talking about. If you don’t know what he’s talking about,
then it’s possible to misunderstand what he means. If you misunderstand the author’s intended
meaning, then you’re misunderstanding what God is trying to tell you.
Second, when you ignore the context, you are more likely
to create new context from your life situation.
When you
don’t read the text before and after a verse, you create a context vacuum that
you are tempted to fill with your own life circumstances. Since context determines the meaning of the
smaller unit of text, your own life situation becomes the new context that
changes the meaning of the verse.
For
example, many people read or cite Matthew 18:20 out of context. They wrongly interpret that verse to mean that
if two or more believers are together, then God is present with them. That’s not
what Jesus meant, though. Instead, He’s
explaining how to handle a brother who sins. You can tell because the verses before and
after verse 20 (also known as the context!) are about church discipline. Therefore, verse 20 should be understood in
that light. Jesus is telling us we need
two or more people to properly judge a believer who refuses to repent.
Listen:
The Holy Spirit not only inspired the Bible verse you’re reading, but He also
inspired the context — the words before and after. So, when you don’t read the context, you are
simultaneously ignoring the Holy Spirit’s inspired context and overwriting it
with your own life situation.
Rev.
Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling
Memorial Chapel
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