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Texts -- Matthew 18:1-9 (NET)

Context
Questions About the Greatest
18:1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying , “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven ?” 18:2 He called a child , had him stand among them , 18:3 and said , “I tell you the truth , unless you turn around and become like little children , you will never enter the kingdom of heaven ! 18:4 Whoever then humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven . 18:5 And whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me . 18:6 “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the open sea . 18:7 Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks ! It is necessary that stumbling blocks come , but woe to the person through whom they come . 18:8 If your hand or your foot causes you to sin , cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire . 18:9 And if your eye causes you to sin , tear it out and throw it away . It is better for you to enter into life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into fiery hell .

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  • [Mat 18:2] Dear To The Heart Of The Shepherd
  • [Mat 18:2] Father, Who Hast Gathered
  • [Mat 18:3] Child In The Midst, The

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Matthew 18:15; Does God Punish People Forever?

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • 9:1 In his vision Ezekiel heard the Lord (cf. v. 4) cry out loudly for the executioners (guards), who would punish the people of Jerusalem, to draw near to Him with their weapons in hand. The Lord had predicted that the peopl...
  • 13:8-9 The Lord told these false prophets that He opposed them for what they had done. He would act against them by removing them from positions of influence among His people, depriving them of the rights of citizenship in Is...
  • Matthew often grouped his material into sections so that three, five, six, or seven events, miracles, sayings, or parables appear together.27Jewish writers typically did this to help their readers remember what they had writt...
  • I. The introduction of the King 1:1-4:11A. The King's genealogy 1:1-17B. The King's birth 1:18-25C. The King's childhood 2:1-231. The prophecy about Bethlehem 2:1-122. The prophecies about Egypt 2:13-183. The prophecies about...
  • It was common when Jesus lived for forerunners to precede important individuals to prepare the way for their arrival. For example, when a king would visit a town in his realm his emissaries would go before him to announce his...
  • Comparison of John's Gospel and Matthew's shows that Jesus ministered for about a year before John the Baptist's arrest. John had criticized Herod Antipas for having an adulterous relationship with his brother Philip's wife (...
  • 6:19-21 In view of the imminence of the kingdom, Jesus' disciples should "stop laying up treasures on earth."329Jesus called for a break with their former practice. Clearly money is not evil. The wise person works hard and ma...
  • This invitation is a sign of Israel's rejection of her King since with it Jesus invited those who had believed in Him to separate themselves from unbelieving Israel and to follow Him. In verses 20-24 Jesus addressed the conde...
  • Matthew recorded increasing polarization in this section. Jesus expanded His ministry, but as He did so opposition became even more intense. The Jewish leaders became increasingly hostile. Consequently Jesus spent more time p...
  • 16:18 "I say to you"(cf. 5:18, 20, 22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44; 8:10) may imply that Jesus would continue the revelation the Father had begun. However the phrase occurs elsewhere where that contrast is not in view. Undoubtedly it ...
  • Jesus proceeded to clarify the way of discipleship. In view of Jesus' death His disciples, as well as He, would have to die to self. However, they could rejoice in the assurance that the kingdom would come eventually. Glory w...
  • 17:24 The two drachma tax was a Jewish tax that every male Jew between 20 and 50 years of age had to pay toward the maintenance of the temple and its services (Exod. 30:13). There was no two drachma coin in circulation at thi...
  • Chapter 18 contains the fourth major discourse that Matthew recorded (cf. chs. 5-7; ch. 10; 13:1-53; chs. 24-25), His Discipleship Discourse. This discourse continues Jesus' instruction of His disciples that He began in 17:14...
  • 18:1-2 The writer introduced and concluded this discourse, as he did the others, with statements suggesting that Jesus delivered this address on one specific occasion (cf. 5:1; 7:28-29). The last two discourses in Matthew wer...
  • The major sub-theme of this discourse is offenses (Gr. skandalon, stumbling blocks). The humble disciple will be careful not to put a stumbling block in the path of another disciple as that one proceeds toward the kingdom.18:...
  • From a discussion of discipline Jesus proceeded to stress the importance of forgiveness. Sometimes zealous disciples spend too much time studying church discipline and too little time studying the importance of forgiveness.18...
  • Matthew marked the end of Jesus' discourse on humility (ch. 18) and reported Jesus' departure from Galilee for Judea. This is the first time in Matthew's Gospel that Jesus moved into Judea for ministry. Until now all of Jesus...
  • Another incident occurred that provided another opportunity for Jesus to emphasize the importance of childlike characteristics in His disciples (cf. ch 18).19:13 It was customary for people to bring their children to rabbis f...
  • There is a theological connection between this section and the former one. The death of Jesus provided the basis for God's gracious dealings with believers in His Son. This connection is clear to Matthew's readers because Mat...
  • The three parables in this series are similar to three concentric circles in their scope. The scope of the parable of the two sons encompassed Israel's leaders (21:28-32). The parable of the wicked tenant farmers exposed the ...
  • 23:1 As we have seen, there were three groups of people present in the temple courtyard. These were the disciples of Jesus, His critics, namely the various groups of Israel's leaders, and the crowds of ordinary Israelites. Je...
  • "But"introduces the transition from the words to the disciples that preceded (vv. 1-12). The scribes and Pharisees had taken the exact opposite position on Jesus' person than the disciples had. Consequently their futures woul...
  • This lamentation should help us realize that the judgment Jesus just announced in such strong language was not something that delighted Him. It broke His heart. This is also clear from His personalizing the people in Jerusale...
  • Jesus concluded the Olivet Discourse with further revelation about the judgment that will take place at the end of the present age when He returns. He had referred to it often in the discourse, but now He made it a special su...
  • Abbott-Smith, G. A. A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1937.Albright, W. F. and Mann, C. S. Matthew. The Anchor Bible series. Garden City: Doubleday, 1971.Alford, Henry. The Greek Testa...
  • 9:33-34 Jesus returned to Capernaum evidently after several months of absence. This was His last recorded activity there. Rather than discussing Jesus' coming death and resurrection the disciples had been arguing about their ...
  • 9:38 This is the only place where the synoptic writers mentioned John speaking out alone. John spoke for the other disciples in the house (v. 33).Evidently the exorcist was a believer in Jesus though not one of the Twelve or ...
  • The simple trust in Jesus that the children in this pericope demonstrated contrasts with the hostility of the Pharisees in the previous paragraph.10:13-14 Mark's account of this incident is very similar to Matthew's. However,...
  • Again Luke omitted several historical details and thereby focused the reader's attention on the essential issues and the contrast with the previous pericope. Since the disciples did not understand Jesus' role as the Suffering...
  • Jesus used His condemnation of the Pharisees' hypocrisy as an occasion to warn His disciples against being hypocritical. The context of this teaching in Matthew's Gospel is Jesus' instruction of the Twelve before He sent them...
  • 17:1-2 The introductory "and"(dein the Greek text, untranslated in the NIV) indicates a logical connection with what has preceded. It is inevitable that disciples retard the spiritual progress of others occasionally because n...
  • This aspect of the problem involved showing disregard for the poorer members of the church.11:17 The Corinthians' behavior at the Lord's Supper was so bad that Paul could say they were worse off for observing it as they did r...
  • 20:11 This "And I saw"introduces something else John saw in this vision (cf. 19:11, 17, 19; 20:1, 4, 12; 21:1, 2). The continuation of chronological progression seems clear from the continued use of "And"to introduce new info...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

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