Rev. Nick Koschmann, pastor of Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Forest Grove, Oregon, joins Rev. Brady Finnern to study Matthew 18:10-20.
The LORD pursues His people like a shepherd looks for His sheep. His pursuit of us shows that every time one repents and believes in Christ brings one response: Thanks be to God! Jesus gives us holy instruction on how we are to care for others in His name. Sinners need the law and although it is difficult, we are reminded that we are simply servants of the Shepherd with the goal of restoration in Christ. “Lord God, as Your Son pursued the lost sheep, bring us back to You. By Your Spirit, give us the right words so that when someone sins and is under threat of walking away from You, We lay those in our lives who have walked away from You at Your feet and ask for mercy. Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Amen”
Thy Strong Word reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations.
Thy Strong Word is hosted by Rev. Brady Finnern, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Sartell, MN, and graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation.
Matthew 18:10-20
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.[a] 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my[b] Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
If Your Brother Sins Against You
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed[c] in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 18:10 Some manuscripts add verse 11: For the Son of Man came to save the lost
- Matthew 18:14 Some manuscripts your
- Matthew 18:18 Or shall have been bound… shall have been loosed
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. esv.org
