Sign in or register to access ESV Study Bible notes or save your personal notes and highlights.
Enjoy this free preview of the ESV Study Bible notes.
Matt. 18:1–20:34 The Community of the Messiah Revealed. This is the fourth of Jesus' five major discourses in Matthew's Gospel (see Introduction: Key Themes; Literary Features). As his earthly ministry draws to a close, Jesus has spent considerable time clarifying his identity and mission (chs. 14–17). He instructs his disciples on the nature of his covenant community, explaining the kingdom community's characteristics (18:1–35), its implications for the sanctity of marriage (19:1–12), and its value (19:13–20:34).
Matt. 18:1–35 Characteristics of Life in the Kingdom Community. Jesus instructs the disciples about the kind of community life that will characterize their relationships with one another and with the world at large.
Matt. 18:20 there am I among them. Jesus affirms that he will be divinely present among his disciples as they seek unity in rendering decisions, which is rightly understood also as an affirmation of omnipresence and therefore of deity.