First observations: Matthew 18:15-20

Things I had not really noticed before

1. The NIV, NRSV. CEV, Amplified, and the Message [to name just five I looked up quickly] all use the word “church” in this passage. I guess that it seems strange to see the word attributed to Jesus, although that it might not seem so strange to Roman Catholics since I do recall Jesus telling Simon that he would build his church upon him.

I guess I always thought of church as something that developed in Acts, after the believers received poor welcome in the temple and synagogues.

2. The approach to dispute resolution seems like something that might be suggested even in some Christian against non-Christian conflicts, but I don’t know that it would always work, although it usually seems smart to try to settle a dispute by talking to the one you have the beef with first.

A question to those of us who are not taking our brothers to task: Why aren’t we? Is it because we are told to forgive our brothers seventy times seven times and we have lost count before 491? Or are we too chicken to face somebody one-on-one and face earthly repercussions that might bring? Are we weaseling out questioning our ability to know who the members of the “church” are? After all, we may know the roster of our own congregation or even our own denomination, but how do we really know who is a member of the one, true “church,” especially since we have been admonished not to be judges?

And how do we treat somebody like an unbeliever or tax collector? I suspect that traditions which have practiced shunning or excommunication might be using this text for justification, but Jesus was repeatedly rebuked for socializing with tax collectors and “sinners.”

These are just my first observations as I start studying the Gospel passage for next Sunday. Anybody who has a comment is welcome to share. And I may amend my questions/comments or partly answer some of them later, so you might wish to check again.