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18 Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them. ~ Matthew 18:18-20
Today, we return to our study of Matthew 18 where the main topic is greatness. This subject was under consideration, because as they were walking along with the Lord Jesus, the disciples began to discuss which one of them would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Greatness in the eyes of God is different than greatness in the eyes of man. Greatness according to God's economy is measured by servanthood.
In Mark 10:42-43 we read, "42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, 'You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant.'"
In v.18 of today's passage we read, "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Literally, this verse reads, "Whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." This is linked to the previous verses of dealing with sin exacted upon one believer by another. When we are truly being defined by God, we are granted His power and His authority. This authority rings true even in the hearts of those who disagree with. The moral authority always comes from the truth. The goal of such authority and subsequent power has as its purpose the upholding of the truth. It is out of this context that the hurt brother offers the brother who exacted the offense reconciliation. All of this is built upon the earlier mention principle by the Lord Jesus that He doesn't want any of these little ones to perish.
In Matthew 16:19 we read, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
In this verse, the Lord Jesus’ words meant the disciples would have His power and authority as symbolized by the possession of the keys, to deliver the truth of God to the world. The unfolding of this process is seen in the book of Acts. Through his sermon on the day of Pentecost, Peter opened the door of the kingdom to his hearers. The words "bind" and "loose" were common Jewish legal phraseology meaning to declare something forbidden or allowed. The words "bind" and "loose" provide a picture of harmony due to the fact that together these words mean "to sound together," or "to harmonize." When two related notes are struck on any instrument, the result is harmony. The harmony is already there, it is simply brought out as the right notes are struck. This is where the power and the authority to communicate most profoundly is discovered, when we harmonize with the will of God.
In v.19-20 of today's passage we read, "19 Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."
There are those who come to today's passage and conclude that if we ask God for anything that He will respond to it affirmatively. This is not that the teaching to be discovered here. We must always remember the context and the context is how to deal with a brother who has offended us and is not repentant. In addition to that, the Lord Jesus was describing greatness. We will be great in His kingdom as we are increasingly described by His word and His will. And, when this is the case, we will be committed to reconciliation with a brother who has hurt us.
This passage is important because it describes how many must be involved in order for us to arrive upon the will of God. The Lord Jesus clearly said the number needed is at least two which was the number He required in Deuteronomy 19:15. We must always remember that when we study a Bible passage, our goal is not to determine our personal meaning, our goal is to discover what the Holy Spirit meant when He gave those words. The key is that we are in submission to God's Word. And, this is the goal behind any message rendered from God by the believer. When we are submitted to God's truth, the Lord Jesus promises to honor us with His authority and His power as we deliver that truth. Today's passage clearly means that when believers gather together to deal with unrepentant sinners, they have the complete backing of heaven and the goal is forgiveness and reconciliation.
