“The Power of the Body” -- Matthew 18:15-20

What I know about agency is that an agent has a fiduciary duty toward the principal, the one he or she represents. The agent acts strictly on behalf of the principal, with loyalty to the principal being the prime duty of the agent. That is, the agent places his or her own self-interest beneath the interests of the principal, with all his or her actions seeking what is best for the principal, even at the expense of the agent’s interests.

The significance of this relationship is seen in part in today’s passage of Scripture. True, our relationship with Christ is not a legal agreement between Him and us, but the idea of acting as Jesus’ agent in our world is a good idea to keep in mind.

Background

A lot has happened since Jesus first mentioned the Church in Matthew 16. As we mentioned, Jesus’ intent in asking the question of who the disciples thought Jesus was was to take the teaching of the Messiah deeper than the disciples had gone before. Almost as soon as Jesus had made the proclamations in Matthew 16:15-20, He began to tell them that He was to go to Jerusalem to be crucified in keeping with God’s will.

Peter, who had been so certain of Jesus as Messiah only a few verses earlier, now tries to dissuade Jesus from this seeming death wish of His. It’s a natural response to a friend’s concerns about His own safety, so it must have taken Peter and the others by surprise when Jesus tells Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!” Jesus’ point was that Peter was thinking as a person, not as a disciple of Christ. He was looking for man’s solution, not God’s.

Jesus then tells the disciples that the cost of discipleship is a high cost. While Jesus pays the price for our sins, and we receive this gift of grace freely, we also have to come to Christ by denying ourselves and following Him.

From there, we read of the Transformation. Jesus takes Peter, James and John up to the top of a mountain, and as Jesus is speaking, the Bible says Jesus’ “face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light” (17:2b). As this happens, Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus and talk with Him.

Coming down from the mountaintop, Jesus and the three disciples come upon commotion as a father had brought his son to be healed. The disciples had been unable to heal the son, and Jesus cast the demon out. Jesus told His disciples they were unable to cast out the demon because of their lack of faith, telling them that if they had the faith of a mustard seed, they could move mountains. And, again, Jesus tells them that He will go to Jerusalem and be crucified.

A few other incidents take place, and we come to the passage for today’s message. As we look at this passage, I want us to keep in mind the following truth:

Central Truth: The Church has the power through Christ to act in His name.

The Church has the power to:

1. Speak to sin (15-17)

People do things that either hurt or annoy us almost all the time. Almost every time, it is the result of thoughtlessness on behalf of the one who offends us. Most of the time when we are offended by someone’s actions or inactions, we hold it to ourselves and soon forget it or we remember and gripe to others about the senseless things that people do to us.

Jesus has another way to deal with wrongs done against us. He wants us to talk it out. This is consistent with His call to be peacemakers and to practice a ministry of reconciliation. In these verses, Jesus tells us that when a person wrongs us, we are to confront them and seek reconciliation.

When we hear or read the word “confront,” we may think of angry words being spoken, possibly with a touch of self-righteousness included. But that’s not consistent with what the Bible teaches. When we confront others, we come with a sense of humility and grace. It’s possible that our offense was because we misunderstood or misinterpreted the other person’s action or inaction. Jesus says speak with the other person and see if can be worked out. Hopefully, regrets will be expressed, apologies given and a relationship is restored.

There are times, though, when both parties believe themselves to be in the right. At that point, Jesus says we are to take the dispute to two or three objective people who have no interest in the outcome of the disagreement. We present the problem to the parties and abide by their opinion. Usually, that will take care of the problem.

On the off chance that the party in the wrong still refuses to admit his or her wrong, then Jesus says take it to the entire church and let the church decide. If, after the church’s decision, the wrongdoer still refuses to repent, then the church has the duty to remove the unrepentant person from the fellowship until such time as the wrongdoer will see the error of his or her ways and seek forgiveness from the church and the person wronged.

In giving these instructions, Jesus is letting us know that we have a duty to Him to seek out potential problems and deal with them directly. Our loyalty to Him must direct our actions. Too many churches have been harmed when people take the perceived wrong and talk about it among the others in the fellowship. When we do this, we do two wrongs. First, we deprive the perceived the wrongdoer the opportunity to make amends quickly. Second, we give only partial information to others. This partial information makes me look right in the eyes of others while making the other person look wrong. Sides are being taken, often without the facts, and gossip begins to spread. In such cases, the one who believes themselves to have been wronged becomes the wrongdoer in the way he or she has tried to resolve the issue.

Because Jesus has called us to a ministry of reconciliation and peacemaking, we have a duty to Him to seek the restoration of relationships before they become out of control.

There are those rare occasions when people just simply will not see eye-to-eye. It’s not unusual for a dispute to arise when both parties are wrong to one degree or another. But in those instances when a conflict cannot be resolved because one party refuses to acknowledge the wrong they have done—for whatever reason, whether it’s pride or a genuine belief they had done nothing wrong—it may be time to sever the relationship with such a person. Such a step should be one of last resort and taken with much prayer and regret.

Why does Jesus make this comment? It’s to remind us that the body of Christ on earth has a duty to keep itself pure and holy. The way to do this is to earnestly seek God’s will in all matters and to maintain doctrinal integrity. When we indulge sin in our fellowship, we are saying to the world that sin really isn’t that big a deal after all.

Jesus’ standards are high standards, and we lower those standards at the risk of diluting our message and our own integrity. The duty of the agent is loyalty to the Principal and to seek His interests over our own. We must remember this as we speak to sin in our midst and in our world.

2. Speak God’s Word to the world (18)

At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus had stated that the Church would bind and loose those things which had been bound and loosed in heaven first. Here, He reiterates that truth to remind the Church of its power in our world.

Jesus has a message, and it is a message of redemption. This message is revealed to us by God’s will and grace. This message speaks to us of what God has done in heaven and expects to be done on earth. Recall the Lord’s Prayer, where we are told to ask God, “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). God’s will is done on earth when His kingdom comes into our world.

The kingdom of God on earth was ushered in with the coming of Christ into our world. Jesus brought God’s kingdom into our world and extended membership into the kingdom by redeeming us at Calvary and giving us eternal life. Part of our membership in the kingdom is that we become the body of Christ on earth, the Church. As such, we are called upon to do God’s will on earth as it is in heaven. In heaven, there is no question but that God’s will shall be done, and done in His time. We are therefore called upon to earnestly and daily seek God’s will on earth and to act upon that will in His time.

That which is loosed in heaven shall be loosed on earth, and what is bound in heaven shall be bound on earth. It is our duty as the body of Christ, the Church, to act in loyalty to Him who is our Principal.

3. Bring about Christ’s will on earth (19-20)

It’s fun when two people come to agreement on something. Whether it’s where to eat, or where to go, or how to run a business or get an idea off the ground, when two or more people come to the same conclusion, things will begin to get done.

Jesus understood that. That’s what the promise of v. 19 is about. Jesus knew that if two of is people, acting in His name and in total agreement, then great things can be done through those two as the Father works through them by His Spirit.

The words can be taken out of context, of course. Jesus says, “If two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven.” This doesn’t mean that two of you can agree to split the lottery winnings and so expect God to come through on His end of the bargain. Consider the context. Jesus is teaching about the Church, and He is reminding them that the things bound and loosed in heaven will be bound and loosed on earth. Keep in mind that Jesus also tells us in John that, “Anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And because I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask Me for anything in My name, and I will do it” (cf. John 14:12-14).

The operative phrase is asking in Jesus’ name. To act and to ask in Jesus’ name is to submit ourselves to His will and guidance, to do and say what He tells us to do and say. In this context, what we are asking Jesus to do is to act and to speak through us by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not asking for selfish reasons, but for the furtherance of God’s will on earth as it is in heaven.

Verse 20 gives us more context. When we come together in Jesus’ name, He is with us. This gives greater awareness to v. 19 and gives us the assurance that the Church, the body of Christ, is always to be submissive to the One who is the head of the Church. It is also telling us that the Jesus who died to redeem us and who was raised again so that we may enjoy eternal life—knowing the Father and the Son—is always with us. When we go out to do and speak Jesus’ will in our world, we do not go alone—He is with us. This promise is echoed in the Great Commission, that as we go about our daily lives, making disciples and baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, He is with us, never leaving us. He is working in us and through us in order that His kingdom may become more and more a part of our world.

Conclusion

The role of the agent is to surrender our will to the will of the one we represent. The role of the agent is to seek that which is best for the one we represent.

Our relationship with Jesus is similar to the agent and the principal, but it goes so much deeper. Like the agent, we have a duty to seek, discover and do Jesus’ will. We do this, though, not for legal requirements, but because we love Him and trust Him and want to be obedient to His will. We know that, in all things, Christ is supreme. As the head of the body, the Church, we are called to extend Jesus’ influence in our world and our own lives.

We come together in His name, seeking to bring reconciliation and making peace, dispensing His judgment and His grace and mercy. We do this all in the name that is above all names, Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior.