What in Matthew’s gospel may sound like a lost cause may not be all that final. Jesus is discussing conflict within the church when he says, “If the member refuses to listen to (two or three members), tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (Matthew 18:17). The key terms here are church, Gentile, and tax collector, and they deserve some careful attention.
First of all, we know that Jesus is really talking past the disciples to us because the church is a post-resurrection reality, birthed at Pentecost. How then are we to deal with the likes of Gentiles and tax collectors? Jesus can’t mean that we give up on them entirely. The mission of the church, as given by Jesus later in Matthew’s gospel, is to go and “make disciples of all nations (i.e. Gentiles)” (28:19). And Jesus himself has already expressed his concern for tax collectors in particular by calling a tax collector named Matthew to become a disciple. When Jesus’ choice of dinner companions (“sinners and tax collectors”) was questioned he answered, “I have come to call not the righteous, but sinners” (9:1-9).
When Jesus says that those who refuse to listen to the church should be treated as Gentiles and tax collectors he is not giving up on them, but singling them out for a renewed effort at reconciliation. So I would suggest that Jesus’ words in Matthew 18 are not a warning to those who disagree with the church, but a reminder to the church – as the body of Christ at work in the world – “to call not the righteous, but sinners,” and “to go and make disciples of all nations.” In other words enough is never enough.
Prayer: Lord, open our hearts to those who need the good news, and grant us the patience to live you word into reality. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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