What does Jesus mean in Matthew 18:15-17? 15 "If your brother sins (against you), go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. 16 If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.
Why go to the Church? What if my church tells me something I don’t like? What do I do? Besides, how many churches were there at that point in history?
Remember the context of this. Matthew was written to a Jewish audience and Jesus was teaching Jews. In the Jewish society of the time, there was no “separation of church and state”–the state was the church and vice versa. Also remember that in Judaism, in order for one’s name to be inscribed on the book of life on the Day of Atonement each year, one must see amends for offenses, not only against God, but against other humans
jewfaq.org/holiday4.htm.
By taking your grievance to your brother in private first, you give him the opportunity to correct his behavior and make amends, either to you or to whomever he has wronged (since not all manuscripts include the “against you” section), without dragging it out in public and humiliating him needlessly.
Taking witnesses with you if he doesn’t listen the first time is a reference to Deut. 19:15-19: " One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. 16 If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse a man of a crime, 17 the two men involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the LORD before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time. 18 The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against his brother, 19 then do to him as he intended to do to his brother. "
It is a law designed to protect people from being falsely accused out of spite or evil intent. It also protects you from counter accusations that you treated him unfairly and can be used to call in people that the offender respects to add their voices to yours.
If knowing that more than only you know of his sin is not sufficient to cause him to change his ways, go to the church --ie, to the authorities of your people who have a reason to care what happens to him, his community–for a more public dealing with his sin/crime.
If that doesn’t work, ie you can’t keep dirty laundry within the “family” so to speak and deal with it yourselves, treat him as you would an outsider who had no ties to the community and turn him over to the (at the time) Roman authorities to be punished (the Jews were living under Roman occupation). You’ve done all you could to save him from those who would perhaps judge and punish him more harshly, but he has chosen to make an outcast of himself–no longer part of the community or worthy of it’s protection.
At any rate, there’s my interpretation, for what it’s worth
You may find some of the resources listed at the following site useful. I have not looked at the vast majority of them, but it looks helpful.
textweek.com/mtlk/matt18a.htm