Bible ReadingMatthew 18:15–2015 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.”
[19:31]16 “But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.”
[19:31]17 “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.”
[28:51]18 “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
[23:26]19 “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.”
20 “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
[31:54]Matthew 9:9–139 “As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he rose and followed him.”
[29:54]10 “And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.”
11 “And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’”
12 “But when he heard it, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.’”
13 “‘Go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.’”
[29:43]Luke 19:1–101 “He entered Jericho and was passing through.”
2 “And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.”
3 “And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.”
4 “So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.”
5 “And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.’”
[30:01]6 “So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.”
7 “And when they saw it, they all grumbled, ‘He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.’”
8 “And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.’”
9 “And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.’”
10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
[30:01]Observation questions- In Matthew 18:15–17, what changes as the conflict moves from one person, to a few people, to the gathered church?
- What situations make a private conversation unsafe or unfair when one person has much more power than the other? [20:24]
- What responsibility does Jesus give to the gathered assembly in Matthew 18:18, and who are the kinds of people included in that assembly? [23:16]
- In Matthew 9 and Luke 19, what does Jesus actually do with tax collectors, and how does that shape the meaning of Matthew 18:17? [29:43]
Interpretation questions- Matthew 18 begins with a private conversation, but it also brings others and eventually the church into the matter. How might this passage protect both truth and the person who has been harmed, especially when power is unequal? [24:34]
- Jesus says the goal is to “gain” a sibling. What would repaired relationship look like when it cannot mean simply forgetting the harm or returning immediately to the way things were? [25:32]
- If someone refuses to listen and a relationship must change or end for now, what might it mean to maintain a real boundary without treating that person with contempt? [30:02]
- Jesus promises to be present where two or three gather in his name in a passage about conflict and reconciliation. How does that promise change the way a church understands difficult, incomplete attempts at peace? [32:10]
Application questions- Is there a conflict in which it would be tempting to keep the peace by minimizing a real wound? What might honest truth-telling look like without becoming cruel or retaliatory? [29:23]
- When have you felt isolated in a conflict, especially when the other person held more influence, authority, or social support? Who could help carry the weight with wisdom, care, and respect for safety? [24:38]
- Are there situations in your workplace, family, church, or community where “keeping the circle small” could wrongly become a way of silencing someone who needs help? What would a safer and more faithful response look like? [21:02]
- Think of a relationship where trust has been damaged. What boundary may be necessary right now, and how can you hold that boundary without feeding contempt in your own heart? [30:51]
- Jesus’ goal is more than winning an argument or reaching an exhausted truce. In one current disagreement, what would it look like to seek mutual respect, repair, or a more truthful peace? [25:00]
- Is there someone you have begun to think of mainly as a problem, an opponent, or a lost cause? Without denying the harm or forcing closeness, what would neighbor love and prayer for that person look like? [30:11]
- Where might you need Christ’s help simply to keep showing up faithfully—at a table, in a conversation, or in a community—when you cannot fix the outcome yourself? [32:42]
