18:21 And Jesus called a a little child unto him, and set
him in the midst of them,
(1) Humbleness of mind is the right way to preeminence.
(a) A child in years.
18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be b
converted, and become as little children, ye shall not
enter into the kingdom of heaven.
(b) An idiom taken from the Hebrews which is equivalent to
"repent".
18:62 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which
believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were
hanged about his neck, and [that] he were drowned in the
depth of the sea.
(2) We ought to have great respect for our brethren no matter
how base they may be: and he that does otherwise shall be
sharply punished.
18:73 Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must
needs be that c offences come; but woe to that man by
whom the offence cometh!
(3) A good man cannot help but experience offences, yet he must
by no means offer offence.
(c) Obstructions and hindrances which stop the course of good
works. The Greek word conveys the sense of things
which we stumble at.
18:8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot d offend thee, cut them
off, and cast [them] from thee: it is better for thee to
enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two
hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
(d) )See Geneva Mt "5:29")
18:104 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little
ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do
always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
(4) The weaker that a man is, the greater care we ought to have
for his salvation, as God teaches us by his own example.
18:155 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against e
thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him
alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy
brother.
(5) We must strive for agreement, and not to revenge injuries.
(e) If his offence is such that only you know your
brother's offence.
18:16 But if he will not hear [thee, then] take with thee one or
two more, that in the f mouth of two or three witnesses
every word may be g established.
(f) That is, by the word and witness; the mouth is
sometimes taken for the word of speech, (Nu 3:16),
and also for a still witness, namely, when the matter
speaks for itself, as below in (Mt 21:16).
(g) Sure and certain.
18:176 And if he shall h neglect to hear them, tell [it]
unto the i church: but if he neglect to hear the church,
let him be unto thee as k an heathen man and a publican.
(6) He that condemns the judgment of the Church, condemns God.
(h) Literally, "does not condescend to hear", or "make as
though he did not hear".
(i) He speaks not of just any policy, but of an
ecclesiastical assembly, for he speaks afterward of the
power of loosing and binding, which belonged to the
Church, and he has regard for the order used in those
days, at which time the elders had the judgment of
Church matters in their hands, (Joh 9:22 12:42 16:2),
and used casting out of the synagogue for a punishment,
as we do now by excommunication.
(k) Profane, and void of religion: such men, the Jews
called Gentiles: whose company they shunned, as they
did the publicans.
18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall l agree
on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it
shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
(l) This word, which is normally used of the body, is here
used of the mind, for it belongs properly to poetry.
18:217 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall
my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven
times?
(7) They will find God severe and not too pleased, who do not
forgive their brethren even if they have been purposely and
grievously injured by them.
18:24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him,
which owed him m ten thousand talents.
(m) Here is set down a very great sum of six thousand
crowns, that the difference may be the greater, for
there is no proportion between them.
18:26 The servant therefore fell down, and n worshipped him,
saying, Lord, o have patience with me, and I will pay
thee all.
(n) This was a polite reverence which was very common in
the East.
(o) Yield not too much to your anger against me: so is God
called in the Scripture, slow to anger, that is to
say, gentle, and one that refrains his fierce wrath,
(Ps 86:5); patient and of great mercy.
