Mateus 18

Handling a recalcitrant brother

15 "Now if your brother sins against you, go, confront him between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have won your brother. 16 But should he not hear, take along with you one or two more, so that every word may be established by the mouth of two or three witnesses. 17 And should he refuse to hear them, tell it to the congregation. But should he refuse to hear even the congregation, let him be to you just like the heathen and the tax collector.*In other words, such a person is to be excommunicated, ostracized.

Agreeing in prayer

18 "Assuredly I say to you, whatever (pl.) you (pl.) may bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you may loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven.*The tense of the Greek verb phrase here is a periphrastic future perfect, passive voice (so also in 16:18). Thus, "will have been bound/loosed" not "will be bound/loosed". We are not telling God what to do; we are to apply down here that which He has already done in heaven. What had been just for Peter is now given to all the disciples. For more discussion, please see the Appendix: Do we command God? Matthew 18:18. 19 Assuredly again, I say to you that if two of you should agree on earth about any subject whatever that they may ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven.*If you are like I am, you have probably tried this, and it didn’t work! Why not? I suppose because verses 19 and 20 must be taken together. The ‘because’ that begins verse 20 gives the clue—if Jesus is part of the group that is asking, then His will limits the asking. 20 Because where there are two or three gathered together into my name, there I am in their midst!"*The Greek text has "into my name", not "in"—commitment is involved.