The Authority to Restore a Brother
Matthew 18:18-20
This Sunday we are looking at just three verses in Matthew 18. They undeniably connect to the verses we considered last week in Matthew 18:15-17 and they anticipate Peter’s question about forgiveness (Matt. 18:21) and Jesus’ answer that follows (Matt. 18:22-35).
Remember that Matthew 18 is the fourth great teaching discourse of Jesus that Matthew presents. It is all about how the children of God relate to one another in the kingdom of God as it is manifest in the form of the church. We have seen that we must enter the kingdom humbly like a little child (Matt. 18:1-4). We must accept each other in the name of Christ like we would welcome Christ (Matt. 18:5). We must care for and protect one another not causing others to stumble in sin (Matt. 18:6-9) or despising any of His little ones (Matt. 18:10). God greatly values each one of His sheep and seeks those who wander astray—and so should we (Matt. 18:12-14).
Then in Matthew 18:15-17, Jesus taught us how to restore a brother who sins. He showed that each one of us is personally responsible to work toward restoring a brother who sins against us. So, when there is unconfessed, unrepentant sin, Jesus gave us four step process for restoration. Step one is to confront in private (Matt. 18:15). If he listens, you have gained your brother back and the process ends there. If not, step two is to confirm with one or two witnesses (Matt. 18:16). If he doesn’t listen in that setting, then step three is to disclose it to the church (Matt. 18:17). Perhaps the humble, loving, pressure from the whole congregation will win him back. If he doesn’t listen to the church, the final step is to excommunicate the member—treat him like a heathen or tax collector (Matt. 18:17).
All of this, even excommunication, is for the good of the sinning brother. It aims at restoring him to full fellowship with the church. It is also for the good of the church—to protect the purity and holiness of God’s people. One thing is clear in Matthew 18—Jesus cares about the purity and holiness of His church. Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” (John 17:17). Peter writes in his first epistle, “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,” (1 Pet. 1:22). One of the greatest ways we show love to our brothers and sisters in Christ is to insist on the holiness of God’s church—that we all obey the truth of the scriptures through the Holy Spirit.
Now I know that this whole process of church discipline might seem a little intimidating. If you’re like me, you probably have a sense of inadequacy about doing this. You might be thinking, “What right do I have to go to somebody else and confront them about their sin?” After all, I am not perfect or sinless and neither is anyone else. Church discipline, restoring a sinning brother, is never an easy thing to do. Knowing this, Jesus assures us of our authority in the church to do it. What power do we have to deal with sin in the body of Christ? What is our authority? This is what Jesus teaches us in Matthew 18:18-20—the scope and source of our authority.
First, He teaches us the …
1. Scope of Authority: to Bind or Loose (Matt. 18:18)
Notice how Jesus prefaces His teaching, He underscores the seriousness by using the solemn formula, “Assuredly, I say to you . . .” He stresses it again in Matthew 18:19 saying, “Again, [or assuredly][1] I say to you . . .” Jesus is letting His church know what He teaches and demands of His church is based in His own divine, messianic authority.
What is the scope of the authority that Jesus gives to His church? He says, “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matt. 18:18). What does Jesus mean by binding and loosing, and how is heaven involved?
Remember that Jesus already spoke about this in Matthew 16. There, He told Peter that, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:19). Here, Jesus makes the same proclamation about binding and loosing in nearly the same words, except that Jesus now speaks not in the second person singular (to Peter alone), but in the second person plural (to the whole church).[2] Jesus entrusted the keys of the kingdom to His church. The keys are a symbol of authority—the authority to open and close, lock and unlock, bind and loose. In both places, the syntax of the Greek text means, “whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven.” In other words, pronouncement on earth that something is “bound” or “loosed” depends upon what heaven has already willed and decreed. It is not that earth gives direction to heaven. Rather, the church binds and looses on the authority of what God has already declared in heaven. Heaven itself endorses the activity of the church when the church acts in accord with the authority of Christ and the truth of God’s word. We are not MAKING our own judgment; we are REVEALING heaven’s judgment.
Jesus administers the reign of His kingdom in His church by the faithful proclamation of true doctrine, and by the faithful discipline of its members. We saw in Matthew 16 that the church uses the keys by preaching the gospel of the kingdom. The church can declare with authority of heaven that all who believe the gospel are loosed from their bondage to sin—their sins are forgiven. And we can declare with that same authority that those who refuse to believe in Christ are still bound in sin—not forgiven.
Now, Jesus applies the same language in Matthew 18:18 with respect to church discipline. Based on the authority of Christ and the truth of His word, the church can declare that an unrepentant member is still in bondage to sin and that when a brother listens to correction and repents, he is loosed from that sin. Heaven itself endorses that decision because the church acted on the decree that God has revealed in His word. Jesus has given great authority in the church, and heaven itself ratifies what the church does when it follows Jesus’ commands regarding church discipline.
If you have sinned against your church family, and someone goes to try to restore you, but you don’t listen and repent; then two or three go to you, and you don’t listen; then the whole church pursues your restoration, and you won’t listen, then we can declare on the authority of heaven that you are still bound in your sin. If however, somewhere along the process you listen, your heart is broken over your sin, and you turn from it, we can declare on the authority of heaven that you are loosed from that sin. We have gained you back to fellowship as a brother in Christ. Heaven stands with us. That is the authority of the church in restoring a fallen brother or sister—the authority to bind or loose what heaven has decreed.
Then, in Matthew 18:19-20, Jesus describes the source of that authority—the power behind it.
2. Source of Authority (Matt. 18:19-20)
Where do we get the authority to discipline and restore our brothers and sisters in Christ who have sinned? First, Jesus says we have the …
A. Promise of the Father (Matt. 18:19)
Jesus says, “Again, I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven” (Matt. 18:19).
Probably most of you have heard this verse used in regard to prayer in a general sense. If you take the verse by itself, apart from the context, that is exactly what it sounds like. In fact, the word translated “ask” is used frequently in the New Testament in the context of prayer. Taking this verse out of its context, many have misused it as a blanket promise that God is bound to answer any request if two Christians agree in prayer. Scripture is rich in prayer promises (Matt. 21:22; John 14:13–14; 15:7–8, 16); but if this passage deals with prayer at all, it is restricted by the context.[3]
What is the context? In this whole chapter Jesus is teaching about relationships in the kingdom of heaven as they are lived out in the church. The immediate context is the binding and loosing judgments of the church when it conducts church discipline. Matthew 18:19 simply restates the truth of Matthew 18:18. Notice the word “anything” in Matthew 18:19. Jesus said, “if two of you agree on earth concerning anything.” The word for any “thing” (πρᾶγμα, pragma) is a term frequently limited to judicial matters.[4] Paul uses the same word in 1 Corinthians 6:1 when he asks, “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?” Thus, we cannot make “anything” refer to any prayer request whatsoever. Jesus is talking about specifically what will happen as the church follows His instructions for disciplining and restoring a sinning brother. This is not a passage teaching that God gives whatever we want. This is a passage revealing that the church has the authority to act on God’s Word.
This verse is not talking in general about small groups of Christians joined in prayer. It is talking very clearly about church discipline. The reason for two agreeing (two or three in Matthew 18:20), goes back to Matthew 18:16 where Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 19:15, “But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’” Two or three are sufficient establish a judicial matter.
When two brothers or sisters in Christ come together in concern over a sinning believer who has wandered away; and when they ask for God’s work in that person’s life, and when they pray for wisdom in dealing with it, and for the protection of the church family and for God’s gracious work in the life of the wandering one, God the Father in heaven hears them and “it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.” The Father has a heart for the church—and for that wandering one too. By asking according to the word of Jesus, we are asking something that the Father is already eager to do.[5] And if we ever get to the point where a brother is so in love with his sin that he must be removed—when he turns to us and says, “You don’t have the right to do this, who do you think you are?”—our response is “We are the body of Christ, ‘the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth’ (1 Tom. 3:15), and based on the authority God has given us in His word, we judge that you are removed until you repent and are restored.”
And finally, Jesus expresses the great authority of the church in this process by describing His own personal support and involvement. The source of the church’s authority is the …
B. Presence of Christ (Matt. 18:20)
Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Not only does the Father confirm discipline when it is administered according to His Word, but the Son adds His own divine confirmation.[6] This verse parallels the one before. But here, Jesus takes the place of the Father in being the source of authority. Jesus “implicitly equates himself with God”[7] and promises His authority in the proceedings of the church.
Again, although it’s a biblical truth, Jesus isn’t speaking simply of the fact that whenever two or three are gathered together in His name, He is there. Personally, I am confident that He is “there” when it’s only me! Jesus is present with any legitimate meeting of His people, whatever its size, and there is no need to mishandle Scripture to prove it. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, indwells every believer (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 6:19; Gal. 4:6; Eph. 1:13; 2 Tim. 1:14; 1 John 3:24). Matthew’s Gospel emphasizes Jesus’ being “with” His people, as underscored at the beginning of the Gospel by citing the prophecy from Isaiah that Jesus should be called “Immanuel” (“God with us”; Matt. 1:23), and at the very end of the Gospel when Jesus promises, “lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20).
But here, Jesus is specifically speaking about the process and authority of church discipline. As soon as the proper process of accountability, confrontation, and discipline begins, Jesus is present, and God the Father is working through the interactions that take place. Even in the private, one-on-one confrontation, two believers are present in Jesus’ name, and the result will be that God will confirm and empower the actions that are taken in conformity with His Word.[8]
To gather “in [His] name” means to be in union with Jesus, in community with your brothers and sisters in the church, and under His authority. Spurgeon comments, “The presence of Jesus is the fixed center of the assembly, the warrant for its coming together, and the power with which it acts.”[9] Jesus said, “I am there in the midst of them.”
And we can draw great comfort from this. The process Jesus is calling us to follow in disciplining and restoring fallen believers is a hard one. It is filled with pitfalls and dangers, and our own spirits are anguished in executing it. But He is there with us in it. He will help us, guiding us in making the right judgments, leading us to make sure that we have the attitude of humility in our hearts, and directing us to have His own purpose in the matter, that is, the winning of that wandering brother or sister.[10]
Jesus calls us humbly, loving to pursue our brothers and sisters according to His instructions and in His authority.
Let me challenge you with two applications of this passage today:
- Consider your relationship to Christ and His Church. Attending a church does not make you a member of Christ’s church. You must be united with Christ to be in union with His church. How do you come to Christ? Just as Jesus said in the beginning of this chapter—you come humbly, like a little child, trusting only in the righteousness of Christ and His sacrifice for the forgiveness of your sins. All who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in this way are in Christ, united with Him in His death and resurrection. Paul writes, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20). Maybe you need to repent and believe in Jesus Christ. Do it today.
And when we are joined with Christ this way, we are joined to one another in Christ. “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Eph. 4:4-6). If you are in Christ, your place is in His body, the church. Maybe Christ is calling you to membership in this church. Do it today. - Seek to restore holiness. Jesus has saved us and called us together to be His holy bride (Eph. 5:27). If you have sinned, repent and confess that to the Lord. If you have offended another person in your sin, seek to make it right. If someone has sinned against you, humbly, lovingly call them to repent and be reconciled. If you see a brother or sister going astray, seek them in the love and grace of Christ.
This is what it means to be the church. When we live in love toward one another pursuing holiness, Christ is with us.
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[1] The NKJV footnotes says, “NU-Text and M-Text read Again, assuredly, I say.”
[2] Jacob Gerber, Gaining Back Your Brother, https://jacobgerber.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Matthew-18-15-20.pdf
[3] D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 403.
[4] Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 281.
[5] Greg Allen, The ‘Immune’ System, https://bethanybible.org/archive/2007/102107.htm
[6] John MacArthur, MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Matthew, Moody Publishers, Chicago. P. 138.
[7] Craig Blomberg, ibid.
[8] Charles Swindoll, quoted on https://www.bibleoutlines.com/matthew-1815-20-confronting-sin-in-the-believing-community/.
[9] Charles Spurgeon, Commentary on Matthew, https://www.preceptaustin.org/matthew-18-commentary-spurgeon
[10] Allen, ibid.
