Matthew 18:16 Commentary and Bible Study

The stages of dealing with an offence are to be followed carefully. The private interview has failed, so the matter now needs to involve a small number of others. At each stage, the hope is for repentance on the part of the offender, and as soon as that occurs, the problem is solved and no further action is required. This is not therefore a case of a sin which must always lead to action on the part of the church because it is so serious (1 Corinthians 5:1-5).As Hendriksen points out, there is now an opportunity for the one who has been offended against to consider whether the matter is really so serious that it warrants the involvement of one or two others. That is a big step, and he is going to have to explain to those others what has happened. He will want to be quite sure they do not accuse him of ‘making a mountain out of a mole-hill’. Nevertheless, if he is sure, he will find some others who are suitable witnesses. The aim is to investigate exactly what happened in the presence of these witnesses. Every word that took place between the two individuals is to be established, and as witnesses they are preparing if necessary for the next stage. They will also encourage the offender to repent at this stage – he is described in the next verse as either hearing or neglecting to hear them, so clearly they urge him to respond in the right way. They are called witness, but that does not imply that they witnessed the original offence. There may be no witnesses to that, so that they become witnesses only at this stage. Who are they? They may be the friends of the one offended against, but certainly they are people who are acceptable to the offending brother. This is not a posse; the aim is still to win the brother.