In light of a bible study I'm preparing to teach soon, I recently searched through a number of commentaries to dicipher the literary structure of Matthew chapter eighteen. The most valuable commentary I found pertaining to the literary structure was Davies and Allison's volume in the ICC. Upon further reflection though, I wasn't entirely convinced that Davies and Allison outlined chapter eighteen correctly, so I dove into the text myself and came up with something far more fluid. It also ends up being a chiastic structure as well, instead of the triad which Davies and Allison produced. Below is how I see Matthew chapter eighteen.
Literary
Structure of Matthew 18
A) 18:1-4 – Becoming like Children in the
Kingdom of Heaven: Humility before brethren who turn-back
B) 18:5-9
– If a brother causes another brother to stumble
C) 18:10-14
– Do not despise the Father’s lost sheep
B’) 18:15-22 – If a brother sins against
another brother
A’) 18:23-35 – What the Kingdom of Heaven is
like: Forgiveness of brethren who ask for it
A)
1 At that time the disciples came to
Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest
in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 And He called a child to Himself and
set him before them,
3 and said, “Truly I say to you-all,
unless you-all are turned-back and come-to-be like children, you-all will not
come-into the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Whoever then humbles himself as this child,
he is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven.
B)
5 “And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me.
5 “And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me.
6 But whoever causes one of these little
ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a
heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the
sea.
7 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is
inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling
block comes!
8 “If
your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you;
it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two
hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire.
9 “If your eye causes you to stumble,
pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life
with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.
C)
10 “See that you
do not despise one of these little
ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the
face of My Father who is in heaven.
11 [“For the Son of Man has come to save
that which was lost.]
12 “What do you think? If any man has a
hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine
on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?
13 “If it turns out that he finds it,
truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which
have not gone astray.
14 “So it is not the will of your Father who
is in heaven that one of
these little ones perish.
B’)
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault in
private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.
16 “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you,
so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be
confirmed.
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 have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall
have been loosed in heaven.
19 “Again I say to you, that if two of you
agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for
them
by My Father who is in heaven.
20 “For where two or three have
gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”
21 Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord,
how often shall my brother sin
against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to
you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
A’)
23 “For this
reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle
accounts with his slaves.
24 “When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.
25 “But since he adid not have the means to repay, his lord commanded
him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment
to be made.
26 “So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have
patience with me and I will repay you everything.’
27 “And the lord of that slave felt
compassion and released him and forgave
him the debt.
28 “But that slave went out and found one
of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’
29 “So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I
will repay you.’
30 “But he was unwilling and went and
threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed.
31 “So when his fellow slaves saw what had
happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that
had happened.
32 “Then summoning him, his lord *said to
him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you
all that debt because you pleaded with me.
33 ‘Should you not also have had mercy on
your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’
34 “And his lord, moved with anger, handed
him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.
35 “My heavenly Father will also do the
same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”
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