Tuesday, 19^th week in ordinary time – Memorial of St Clare – 11^th August 2026 – Matthew 18:1-5,10,12-14

If you want to understand the weight of what Jesus is saying here, you have to back up and look at the whole picture from verse 1 to 14, because context determines your breakthrough. We are officially stepping into the fourth of the five great discourses in the Gospel of Matthew. This isn’t just a casual conversation by the campfire; Chapter 18 is the “Community Discourse.”

Jesus is pulling Peter and the rest of the disciples into a huddle to give them the ultimate masterclass on community relations. He isn’t teaching them how to build an empire; He’s teaching them how to build a brotherhood. He’s looking at a group of competitive, hot-headed men and saying, “Before you try to change the world, you’ve got to learn how to live with each other.”

The text opens with the disciples asking Jesus who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. The entire pericope must now be seen on the basis of this question and not through a modern-day application of issues or our own interpretation.

Look at the disciples in Matthew 18:1, because their timing is completely off and it exposes exactly how we miss what God is actually saying. They pull up to Jesus and ask, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” which is a wild question to ask when you look at the context. It’s an absolute oddity! You don’t ask for a promotion when the CEO just told you the company is about to go through a crisis.

Twice before this, back-to-back in rapid succession, first in Matthew 16 and then again in Matthew 17, Jesus had just laid it all on the line. He looked them in the eyes and declared His passion, His death, and His resurrection. He’s talking about a cross, and they are competing for a crown! He is trying to prepare them for a burial, but they are too busy trying to plan their political coronation.

They are asking for a seat at the table of power while entirely ignoring the sacrifice that pays for the room.  Perhaps what was bogging the minds of the disciples was the primacy of Peter, for Jesus in Chapter 16: 16- 19 had declared him to be ‘the rock’ and now the others wanted to know where they stood on the charts of power.

Jesus places a child in their presence as an answer to their question. They were driven by the desire to be given status and Jesus clearly demands that they change their mindset. Using a double negative, he insists they will never enter the kingdom of heaven if they are driven by such earthly titles and honours.

Children, in first century Palestine were considered the lowest on the social strata. While they were loved and cared for, they certainly had no rights. Jesus was not asking the disciples to emulate the faith of child but rather become like a child who has no rights. In verse five, Jesus humbles himself identifying with a child who has no power and wants the disciples to do the same.

It is with this context in mind that we should read verses 6-9. The desire for power and position in the community is stumbling block for the others. This word ‘stumbling block’ used seven times in four verses is translated in Greek as ‘skandalizos’ from where you get the English word, scandal.

When the leaders at the top start fighting for power, the people at the bottom are the ones who pay the price, and Jesus has zero tolerance for that. The moment the elders and leaders of the community get caught up in a toxic power struggle, it becomes a massive counter-sign, a total stumbling block to Matthew’s ‘little ones,’ the brand-new converts who just stepped into the faith.

Jesus looks at these power-hungry leaders and doesn’t give them a gentle slap on the wrist; He advocates a watery grave with a heavy millstone dragged around their necks! Why a millstone? Because that massive stone ensures that those corrupt, selfish thoughts sink straight to the absolute bottom of the sea. Jesus wanted to bury those prideful desires so deep under the waves that their thirst for power would never, ever find its way back to the surface again! Jesus would rather drown your ego in the depths of the sea than let your pride poison the purity of His house.

So, any part of the body, be it the eye, hand or foot that drives the rest of the body towards the lust for power should be discarded than have the entire body be burnt in the fires of Gehenna. The word hell used in verse nine was a reference to the valley of Gehenna which was situated outside the city of Jerusalem where the rubbish of the city burnt constantly.

This community discourse wasn’t just a casual conversation; it was a divine GPS and a protective guardrail for the leaders of the Church. Jesus is laying down the law, showing them that it is their absolute duty to live in a way that doesn’t just blend in, but glows.

Leaders are called to illuminate the path, not create a hazardous roadblock that scandalizes the “little ones” who are just trying to find their way. These new believers aren’t target practice for your frustration, and they aren’t collateral damage for your church politics. They are not to be despised! They are to be aggressively protected, fiercely defended, and shielded from every toxic force of evil, whether it’s sneaking in from the outside world or brewing right inside the walls of the church!

However, there was always a possibility of the sheep straying.  Unlike Luke’ Gospel where the sheep was lost, Matthew’s Gospel refers to the sheep that chooses to stray away. This perhaps was a reference to a community member who lost his faith or simply decided to be adventurous and move away.

Technically it is foolishness to leave ninety-nine sheep vulnerable to wolves while the shepherd goes in search of one lost but this is exactly what Jesus desired. He desired us to risk all for the sake of one in order to highlight how precious every soul in the community is. Jesus desires us to have the right concern for every member of the community especially those who have gone astray.

If leadership in the Church plays the number game, then we will be happy with the ninety-nine and the seemingly packed Church at Sunday mass. We fail the Lord when we take comfort in a full house at Sunday mass. Sadly, a count of the sheep may reveal that in the course of time the number that strayed away in not one but one too many.

Continue Reading