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. 16 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.’ 17 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. 18 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. 19 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. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Jesus has just spoken of the shepherd who searches for the sheep that has wandered and of the Father’s desire that none of His little ones be lost (Matthew 18:12–14). He now explains how His disciples are to respond when a member of the Christian community falls into serious sin. The same concern remains: the person who has gone astray is to be sought in the hope that he will repent and be restored to full communion with the Christian community.
Jesus begins, “If your brother sins [against you], go and tell him his fault between you and him alone” (v. 15). “Brother” means a fellow disciple, someone who belongs to the family of believers. The bracketed words “against you” are absent from some important ancient manuscripts, so Jesus’ teaching can apply more broadly than to a personal offense.
The first approach is private. The purpose is to help the person recognize the wrong and turn away from it while protecting him from unnecessary public shame. Fraternal correction is therefore an act of concern for another person’s spiritual good. Jesus states its purpose clearly: “If he listens to you, you have won over your brother” (v. 15). To “win” or “gain” the brother means that someone who was in danger of remaining in sin has been brought to repentance and restored to full communion with the Christian community.
If the private approach fails, Jesus says, “take one or two others along with you” (v. 16). He cites Deuteronomy 19:15: “every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.” The matter has now become more serious, but reconciliation remains the goal. The presence of others can help establish the truth, impress upon the sinner the seriousness of what has happened, and encourage repentance.
If the person still refuses to listen, Jesus says, “tell the church” (v. 17). Matthew uses the word “church” only here and in Matthew 16:18. In this setting it refers to the local Christian community and those responsible for its pastoral care. The Church now becomes involved because persistent serious sin can harm both the sinner and the Christian community. The Church therefore has a responsibility to seek the sinner’s repentance while also protecting the spiritual well-being of the community.
Jesus then gives the most severe step: “If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector” (v. 17). In the Jewish setting of Jesus’ time, Gentiles and tax collectors were generally regarded as outside the religious fellowship of the community. Jesus therefore means that the persistently unrepentant sinner is no longer to be treated as a member in good standing of the Church. Even this step is meant to be remedial. Its purpose is to make the seriousness of the person’s refusal clear and to lead him toward repentance and eventual reconciliation.
Jesus then declares, “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (v. 18). Similar words were spoken to Peter in Matthew 16:19. Here Jesus gives the Church authority to act when a sinner refuses to repent. This includes making judgments concerning the life and discipline of the Christian community. These are not merely human decisions made for convenience. Christ assures His Church that the legitimate exercise of the authority He has entrusted to her has the sanction of heaven.
The passage then turns to prayer. Jesus promises, “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” (v. 19). Some commentators understand this prayer particularly in connection with the difficult responsibility just described: disciples praying for the person who has gone astray and seeking God’s guidance in caring for him. The words also have a broader application to the prayer of Christians united in faith.
Jesus concludes with an extraordinary promise: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (v. 20). The Church does not seek reconciliation, pray, or exercise the authority entrusted to her without Christ. He Himself is present among His disciples as they pray and seek to act faithfully.
Matthew introduced Jesus as Emmanuel, “God is with us” (Matthew 1:23). Here Jesus again assures His disciples that He is truly present among them as they pray and seek to act faithfully. At the end of the Gospel, the risen Christ will promise, “I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Here, in the midst of His teaching about the difficult work of correcting, seeking, and reconciling a brother who has sinned, Jesus gives the same assurance: He is present with His Church.
The entire process therefore begins and ends with concern for the person who has wandered. The sinner is approached privately, then with the help of others, and finally through the Church because his reconciliation matters. Even when repentance does not immediately occur, the Church continues to pray under the presence of Christ, seeking the salvation of the one who has gone astray.
Lord Jesus, help us to care for those who wander from You. Give us charity when correction is necessary, humility when we ourselves need correction, and perseverance in praying for the reconciliation of every sinner. Remain in our midst and lead us always toward You. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The New American Bible, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2011. Notes on Matthew 18:15–20.
- Hahn, Scott, and Curtis Mitch. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010, 39.
- Casciaro, Jose Maria, gen. ed. The Navarre Bible: New Testament, Expanded Edition. Dublin: Four Courts Press; New York: Scepter Publishers, 2008, 110–11.
- Brown, Raymond E., Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, eds. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990, 661–62, para. 115.
- Mitch, Curtis, and Edward Sri. The Gospel of Matthew. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2010, 231–33.
- Aguilar Chiu, José Enrique, et al., eds. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. New York: Paulist Press, 2018, 945–46.
- Collins, John J., Gina Hens-Piazza, Barbara Reid, OP, and Donald Senior, CP, eds. The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century. 3rd fully rev. ed. London: T&T Clark, 2022, 1210.
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