CCCV. THE SAME SUBJECT-continued. St. Matthew xviii, 11-14. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. 2 Nor must even the sinful and the erring be despised. He who speaks of Himself as the Son of man, had just claimed to be also the Son of God. He tells us why He became man. It was to save such. He puts to us a case appealing to our human conduct. He has been speaking of Angels. These are they who left not their first estate, while foolish man went astray. Greater joy there is, for the time, "for returning sinners, than for remaining Angels." In this parable, which He afterwards repeats, we are not to suppose that the steadfastness of the rest of the flock gives the shepherd less satisfaction than the recovery of the single sheep that went astray. Nor are we to infer from this similitude that God sets more store by one penitent than by those who have never in the same way wandered from His fold. "This can never be imagined, nor would it correspond with the illustration. The shepherd does not set a greater value on the lost sheep than he does on those that are safe; but his joy for the moment, at the recovery of the lost sheep, is greater than he receives from all the rest, because he has regained that, and is sure of all the rest."3 These he leaves "in the wilderness," in the fold, where they are safe. After that wanderer he goes "into the mountains." For the mountains in those r Henry. 2 St. Luke xv. 4-6. 3 Bp. Mant. Porteus in D'Oyly and parts were grassy, and promised to the silly sheep a pleasant pasture. The prospect was tempting, and it was ignorant of the dangers that were lurking there. The parable simply sets forth that the care of God extends to even one of the least of His servants, as a shepherd's care1 extends even to a single sheep, and that the most insignificant of his flock. He would not have even one lost. The recovery of one, to speak after the manner of men,3 causes as much joy as if it were an only one. He says too "my Father" and "your Father" in connection with these little ones. It is "my Father" when asserting their dignity; "your Father" when hinting our duty. CCCVI. FORGIVENESS. St. Matthew xviii. 15. Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. We are not only to beware of injuring others, but we are to try and restore those who may have injured us. It is not enough that we avoid wrong-doing; we must be ready to pardon and to win the wrong-doer. The Lord here teaches. us how to proceed in such a case. The first step is quiet, kind remonstrance. Not proclaiming the wrong, till it is inflamed by the intervention of others; but privately and gently expostulating, as brother with brother. This of course involves trouble, but it is trouble worth taking. It is against our own love of ease, or lust of revenge; but we must "go" and do it. It is a course too which would often be successful if rightly undertaken, and not having war in our heart, in the hope of being unsuccessful, and that we may be justified in proceeding to harsher measures. Some 1 Ezek. xxxiv. 6, 11, 12. St. John iii. 16, 17; 1 Tim. ii. 4; 2 St. Pet. iii. 9. 3"By a mode of speech common in Scripture, He transfers human feelings to God Himself."-Bp. Wordsworth. offer terms of peace in a tone which shows that nothing would please them more than that those terms should be rejected, that they may have a decent pretext for war. We must act not with a sinister design of exasperating an enemy, but with the sole and single desire of gaining a brother. Remember, he is thy brother still; a son of the same Father; a member of the same Church. That man must be hard indeed who will resist overtures from the injured side. His readiness to hear you is a symptom of his willingness to make reparation. Wait not for him to make the advance. It is more generous coming from you. Smooth the way to a return. CCCVII. THE SAME SUBJECT-continued. St Matthew xviii. 16-20. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. If in the pursuit of peace you find you have to deal with one who rejects your kindness, and will not listen to your proposals of reconciliation, do not even in such a case proceed to extreme measures. Let patience have her perfect work. Let brotherly love continue. Act in the spirit of even Moses' law. Let there be one, or even two, to witness thy Deut. xix. 15; St. John viii. 17; 2 Cor. xiii. 1. moderation, to add weight to thy arguments, to make either side more careful as to what is said and done. A man will sometimes yield to an umpire what, from wounded pride or from a false sense of honour, he will not yield to an opponent. But if there should be one so callous or so careless as to slight this further opportunity of reconciliation you offer him, then, but not till then, will you be justified in making it public, in telling it unto the Church,' in going as it were to law, and formally proceeding against him. And we must remember that in primitive times the practice was to submit their differences only to Church courts. It was regarded by the Apostle as a scandal for brother to go to law with brother, and that before unbelievers.2 It was only when every method had been exhausted, and there was no milder measure left to be tried, that the obdurate offender was formally shut out, till he showed signs of repentance, from the society of the faithful; excommunicated, regarded as an outsider, no longer within the Church; 3 as the Jews regarded heathens, and those whom they considered as bad or worse, the extortionate tax-gatherers under Roman rule. And as the Lord has to refer to Church censures, which, as not followed by any immediate visible effects, some might be disposed to despise, He solemnly repeats what He had said before as to the ratifying of these in heaven. What He had before said to Peter as the representative of the rest, He here repeats to all the Apostles, and to the Church which is built upon that foundation. Nor let them be staggered at so large a promise to so small a flock. Any two of them presenting a petition in godly union and concord, should have even on earth an answer from Heaven. Even two or three of them might for the time constitute the Church. For to these, visibly so few, gathered together in His name, according to His will, would he join Himself; presiding invisibly over "Our Lord," as Bp. Wordsworth notes, "had already prepared His Apostles for the use of this word." St. Matt. xvi. 18. 1 Cor. vi. 1-7. 3 1 Cor. v. 12, 13. 4 5 St. Matt. xxviii. 20. St. Luke xii. 32. By two of them it was at first misunderstood. See St. Mark x. 35; 1 St. John iii. 22; v. 14. their counsels, and giving them the sanction of His real though unseen presence.1 A promise the Church pleads at the close of her Order for Morning and Evening Prayer daily throughout the year. CCCVIII. THE UNMERCIFUL SERVANT. St. Matthew xviii. 21-27. my Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. The Jews, it is said, refused forgiveness after the third offence. This was the Rabbinical rule. Peter, who "wished to follow the rules just laid down, but felt a difficulty as to the limit," 2 proposed to extend this to seven times, and seems to have thought that he would be acting with extreme generosity in so doing. He seems to have proposed this question expecting to be commended for it. His Master's answer must have opened his eyes. Forgiveness is not a matter of arithmetic. Multiply this seven by seventy, and 1 "This promise is made to such only as meet in Christ's name; that is, to such as gather together in the manner which he has directed, and for a purpose which he will approve." -A Plain Commentary. See 1 Cor. v. 4. 2 Alford. |