if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye,
rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. (10) Take heed that ye despise not one of these little
ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in
heaven.‖
Then he said if your hand is a trap for you, cut it off; and if your eye is a trap for you, gouge it out; all in the
context of their reluctance to welcome ―little ones‖ (new believers).
Here we have a similar teaching to that of the parables in chapter 13, where Y‘shua compared the Kingdom
to a pearl and to a field; in both cases, showing that nothing was of more value. The allegorical reference to
"hand or thy foot" could mean many things, including false doctrines. (See also comments to verse 19.)
In heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father
This could be a reference to "guardian angels", a belief that seemed to have been held by Y‘shua's disciples
as seen in Acts 12:15. As discussed in my Verse by Verse Explanation of Revelation book, there also seems
to be angels assigned to Israel and to the nations of the world.
18:11-14 The Son of man is come to save that which was lost
―(11) For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. (12) 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? (13) 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. (14) Even so it is not the will of your
Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.‖
Then he goes into the parable of the lost sheep – obviously, a description of what happens when one of
these children falls into a trap that has been set. Y‘shua, the Good Shepherd, goes and rescues him
because he does not want any of them to be lost. (Matt 18:12-14).
18:15-16 If thy brother shall trespass against thee
―(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. (16) 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.‖ (Matt 18:15-
16)
Then he discusses what to do if someone sins against you. First you talk to him privately; then take one or
two others as supporting witnesses; then if he still doesn't listen, you tell it to the whole congregation. The
objective is restoration rather than punitive justice, giving the offender every possible opportunity to repent
and return to the fold. (Matt 18:15-17).
This discussion has to be seen in the light of Y‘shua's ministry so far and his relationship with the established
religious leaders of Israel. By this time, they had already rejected him and denounced him as a servant of the
devil (Matt 9:34, 10:25, 12:24-27). By rejecting the Messiah, they had forfeited their position as the spiritual
leaders of Israel and would bring about the eventual destruction of the Temple and the nation. They were
continually following Y‘shua and trying to catch him with trick questions. He never fell for any of them, but
always turned their questions back on them. Y‘shua was clever, articulate and knew the Torah perfectly; so
nobody could trick him with anything. He was, however, concerned about his followers who were not as
articulate as he was. Compared with Y‘shua, they were like children and could easily fall into traps. He was
also concerned that some of his disciples would become proud and follow the example of the Pharisees in
setting traps for others.
Clearly, if they had to be like children to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and then they set traps for other
children, it would become a self-inflicting wound. They would be stuck in a religious-political system similar to
the one that existed already, where everybody tries to out-smart each other and they all fall into hell together.
The full explanation of "being converted" is in verse 4, where Y‘shua indicates this has to do with humility. As
mentioned earlier, Moses is said to be the most humble man to ever live as well as the greatest of the
prophets until Y‘shua's time. (See also comments to verse 19.)