<p>18:16<i> But if he does not hear you, take with you one or two others, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established- </i>The principles of Mt. 18:16,17 concerning dealing with personal offences are applied by Paul to dealing with moral and doctrinal problems at Corinth (= 2 Cor. 13:1; 1 Cor. 5:4,5,9; 6:1-6). The context is indeed of personal offences, but as with all Scripture, we are not using it out of context if we extract the principles and apply them in different contexts.</p>
<p>The &ldquo;two or three witnesses&rdquo; were required in order to execute someone under the Mosaic law (Dt. 17:6; 19:15; Heb. 10:28); having &lsquo;witnesses&rsquo; was very important to the Jews in the way they operated their judicial thinking (Mt. 26:65; Acts 6:13; 7:58). Surely the Lord didn&rsquo;t intend His new Israel to as it were re-enact the death penalty by excluding someone from the community if they personally offended you, didn&rsquo;t repent and therefore were unforgiven by you? That would be absolutely in conflict with His teaching which surrounds this section. This kind of legalistic, judgmental approach, and the need to establish &ldquo;every word&rdquo;, seems so out of step with the radical grace, acceptance, patience, forgiveness without repentance and non-judgmental of the preceding and subsequent teachings of Jesus. The sharp difference in tone confirms me in thinking that the Lord here is not merely speaking tongue in cheek, but is parodying synagogue disciplinary procedures, as suggested on 18:15.</p>