>(c) Finally, I want to say that it seems to me that two factors are clearly
>discernible in Mt 18 as a whole--in the chapter on Church Discipline: (a)
>the authority of excommunication does indeed lie within the earthly
>leadership of the church, but (b) the Jesus of this chapter so
>circumscribes and warns against the use of that authority against
>individuals that one might do well to avoid ever exercising that authority
>even though it is in one's (collective) hands: better to bring the lost
>sheep back than to dismiss him/her forever from God's flock. That is
>consistent with another theme in Matthew's eschatological teaching: that
>judgment (i.e. condemnation) is a privilege of God and Christ, not one that
>the individual or perhaps even the church community should deign to
>exercise; moreover, in the parable of good grain and weeds, it is suggested
>that one not endeavor to root out the weeds in the acres of God's harvest
>but leave them for the Harvester to dispose of as He sees fit.
To which Paul responded:
Thanks, Carl. I think, however, that the resolution to the suggested
dilemma (in "b" above) lies not in a softening or disregard of Mt
18:15-18, but in the recognition that while judgement is not to be
carried out individually (Mt 6:1ff, Rom 14), it is something to be
carried out by God's appointed civil magistrates (Rom 13) and by the
authority of the church (Mt 18).
=========================================
This is a very important and interesting passage. I grew up with and was
taught something very similar to Paul's understanding. It has a long
history in the church.
But I have changed my mind on it for a number of reasons. (1) Matt 18:10-14
comes immediately before the passage on "church discipline." The parable of
the lost sheep in Matthew cuilminates in 18:14: "Thus it is not the will
before your Father in the heavens that one of these little ones be
destroyied." That is really the topic sentence for what follows.
(2) Matthew earlier indicates his view of the church as a CORPUS MIXTUM.
that is the burden of the parables in Matthew 13, "the tares among the
grain" (13:24-30) and "the great dragnet" (18:47-50). One is to allow the
tares to grow until the harvest--and then the grain and weeds will be
separated. Or the division of the good and the bad fish will be done at the
eschaton (SUNTELEIA TOU AIWNOS) when the angels will separate the bad from
the good (cf. Matt 15:31-46).
(3) Matthew 18:17 says that the end of the process is "... let that one be
for you hO EQNIKOS KAI hO TELWNHS. Throughout the gospel of Matthew these
are precisely the ones who are the object of Jesus' word and ministry.
(4) What does this mean for understanding Matt 18:18? (a) These verses do
not describe a process by which to keep the church pure. [It is very
different from 1QS, the manual of discipline at Qumran.] (b) As the object
of mission the church (and all its members) are to proclamim the good news
of the kingdom of God to these people. (Cf. Matt 18:18-20) What ultimately
binds on earth and in heaven is the proclamation of the gospel.
Once again I have perhaps sinned against the strict interpretation of
b-greek's guidelines. But you cannot interpret a verse or a phrase in that
verse apart from both the nearer and further context in a text, in this
case Matthew.
==============================
And, by the way Carl, I trust that Edward and Jonathon persuaded you that
Fred Danker did his Ph. D. at the U. of C. I am curious to know what of his
stands next to my dissertation in the department collection.
And to give my alma mater cause to blow its horn a bit, William F. Arndt of
BAGD did do his doctorate at Washington University in 1935. I still have
the printed copy of his dissertation, "The Participle in Polybius and in
St. Paul", which he gave me with a personal inscription oin Feb. 8, 1954.
He had a marvellous custom to aid interested students. He would give
electives in alternate years lecturing in German and Latin to h elp
students keep their languages up. Would that some still did that!
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*Edgar Krentz, Prof. of New Testament *
* Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago *
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