Matthew 18
When the disciples ask, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?", He calls a little child to Him, sets him in the center and says, "Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Anything that a person values, whether it be persons or things, must be set aside if it keeps one from the kingdom of heaven.
"For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost." All children under the age of responsibility, though they belong to a lost, sinful race, are covered by the work of Christ. They will go to heaven. The Lord values a lost sheep found more than ninety and nine that never went astray.
Do not spread a trespass, but get right with your brother. If he does not hear, take one or two more with you. Should he not listen to them, take it to the Church. If he does not listen to the Church, he will be as a heathen man to you.
What is bound or loosed on earth is also in heaven.
'That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them."
We must remember that this applied when Jesus was here, because this was spoken at that time. The assembly in its present character was not formed until Pentecost. It is a principle of the kingdom of heaven, which is now used in the assembly on earth.
The Kingdom of Heaven Likened to a Certain King
"Then came Peter to Him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."
The Lord likens the kingdom of heaven to a certain king to show what its character is to be in regard to forgiveness. The king reviewed the accounts of his servants.
One servant was called who owed ten thousand talents. Having nothing to pay, he ordered him, his family, and his belongings to be sold to pay the debt. The man begged for time to pay, promising to pay all. His promise to pay all was evidence that he was not yet broken. He could never pay all. It is a picture of the unrepentant Jew clinging to his pride. His master, the king, forgave him the debt, having compassion on him.
This servant (the Jew) had a fellow servant (the Gentile) who owed him a hundred pence, a much smaller debt than the one that the Jew owed the king. The Gentile asked the Jew for mercy, but he laid hands on him and cast him into prison.
The Lord of the first servant, hearing that he refused to show mercy to his fellow man, called him, rebuked him and delivered him to the tormentors until he paid all. The Jew now is in prison until Jesus comes to deliver him (Isa. 40:1,21Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. (Isaiah 40:1‑2)). The Lord said, "So likewise shall My heavenly Father do also unto you [the Jew], if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother [including Gentiles] their trespasses." Such an unforgiver does not know God. Jesus departed from Galilee and came to Judea beyond Jordan.