Matthew 18:15

My Notes

What Does Matthew 18:15 Mean?

Matthew 18:15 is Jesus' instruction for conflict resolution within the community of faith, and its simplicity is its genius. "If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone." The Greek elegxon (tell him his fault) means to expose, to convict, to bring evidence — but the instruction is to do it privately. The first step is always one-on-one. Not a group text. Not a whisper campaign. Not a public call-out. Go to the person. Alone.

The word "brother" (adelphos) establishes the relational context: this is about the family of faith, not strangers or enemies. And "trespass" (hamartano — to sin, to miss the mark) indicates a genuine offense, not a personality clash or a preference difference. Jesus isn't talking about people who annoy you. He's talking about real sin — real harm done by someone within the community.

The goal stated at the end of the verse reveals everything about the spirit of the instruction: "thou hast gained thy brother." The Greek kerdaino (gained) is a commercial term — to profit, to win. But the profit here isn't vindication or an apology. It's the brother himself. The goal of confrontation isn't to be proven right. It's to recover the relationship. If you confront and win the argument but lose the brother, you've failed the instruction. The entire process Jesus outlines (verses 15-17) is designed to maximize every chance of restoration before any form of separation occurs.

Reflection Questions

• 1.When someone hurts you, what's your first instinct — to go to them directly, or to talk to someone else about it first? What drives that instinct?
• 2.Jesus says go 'alone.' Why is privacy so important in this first step? What happens when we skip it and go public first?
• 3.The goal is to 'gain thy brother' — to restore the relationship, not to win the argument. When has your desire to be right gotten in the way of actual reconciliation?
• 4.Is there someone right now you need to go to — privately, directly, with the goal of restoration rather than vindication? What's stopping you?

Devotional

"Go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone." Nine words that would prevent about 90% of church conflict, social media drama, and relational wreckage if people actually followed them. Before you tell anyone else — before you vent to a friend, post about it, or bring it up in a group — go to the person. Alone. Privately. Face to face.

This is wildly countercultural, and it always has been. Our instinct when we're hurt is to build a case, gather allies, and confront from a position of strength. Jesus says the opposite: go alone. Go vulnerable. Go without backup. Not because the offense doesn't matter, but because the relationship matters more than your need to be validated. The first audience for your grievance should be the person who caused it, not the people who will agree with you.

The goal — "thou hast gained thy brother" — is the line that reframes the whole thing. The point isn't to win. It's to gain. To recover the person. To restore the relationship. If your confrontation is designed to prove you're right, you've already missed the instruction. If it's designed to get the person back — to bring them into honesty, into repentance, into restored relationship — then you're doing what Jesus said. The hardest part isn't going. It's going with the goal of gaining instead of winning.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture