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17 (A)If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church.[a] If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.

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Footnotes

  1. 18:17 The church: the second of the only two instances of this word in the gospels; see note on Mt 16:18. Here it refers not to the entire church of Jesus, as in Mt 16:18, but to the local congregation. Treat him…a Gentile or a tax collector: just as the observant Jew avoided the company of Gentiles and tax collectors, so must the congregation of Christian disciples separate itself from the arrogantly sinful member who refuses to repent even when convicted of his sin by the whole church. Such a one is to be set outside the fellowship of the community. The harsh language about Gentile and tax collector probably reflects a stage of the Matthean church when it was principally composed of Jewish Christians. That time had long since passed, but the principle of exclusion for such a sinner remained. Paul makes a similar demand for excommunication in 1 Cor 5:1–13.

17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church;(A) and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.(B)

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