Mercy Not Sacrifice

Jesus said to his disciples: "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church. If he refuses to listen even to the Church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.

Amen, 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. Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:15-20)

If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church. If he refuses to listen even to the Church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.  This passage continues to confuse me.  Jesus is telling his disciples to mistreat their brothers who sin against them but don’t ask for forgiveness by treating them as Gentiles and tax collectors.  I suppose I can understand the reference to Gentiles, but not tax collectors that he welcomed. Consider Matthew 9:9-13 that reveals his demand that collectors be treated with mercy.

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” (my emphasis).  He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’  I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

Furthermore, according to Matthew, Jesus told his disciples to involve the Church in these conflicts with sinners who won't ask for forgiveness.  But Jesus was Jew and a rabbi who attended the synagogues of his day.  The Christian Church was later created by his disciples and followers.  Jesus wouldn’t have told his disciples to appeal to the Church.  Those likely were Matthew’s words expressed many decades after Jesus’ crucifixion.  Matthew wrote his Gospel in about 85 CE.  

Nevertheless, we sinners must remember that Jesus desired mercy, not sacrifice. He did not come to call the righteous but sinners.  Do we hear that call?  Those of us with ears must listen.

Deacon David Pierce