One of the most overlooked commands in Scripture may also be one of the simplest.
"Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone..." (Matthew 18:15 KJV)
Notice what Jesus did not say.
He did not say, "Go tell the pastor."
He did not say, "Go complain to the elders."
He did not say, "Gather a group of people who agree with your side."
He did not say, "Wait until someone else fixes it."
He said, "Go to him."
That instruction reveals something profound about the heart of God. God's answer to broken relationships is not avoidance. It is pursuit.
What is particularly interesting is the context of Matthew 18. Just before Jesus gives instructions for dealing with an offending brother, He tells the parable of the lost sheep.
"How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?" (Matthew 18:12 KJV)
The shepherd does not wait for the lost sheep to find its way back. - He goes.
The offended brother does not wait for the offending brother to make the first move. - He goes.
In both cases, the one who acts is the one who understands the heart of the Shepherd.
Too often we interpret Matthew 18 as a procedure for conflict management. In reality, it is a lesson in redemptive pursuit. Jesus is teaching His followers to care more about restoration than vindication.
Our flesh wants an audience. Christ wants a conversation.
Our pride wants validation. Christ wants reconciliation.
We often want someone to agree with us before we ever speak to the person who hurt us. Yet Jesus calls us to leave the crowd and seek the individual.
That sounds remarkably similar to a shepherd leaving ninety-nine sheep to search for one.
As a chaplain, this truth has become increasingly important to me. Chaplaincy is not a ministry of waiting. It is a ministry of going.
We go to the hospital room.
We go to the nursing home.
We go to the grieving family.
We go to the struggling believer.
We go to the person who has withdrawn from fellowship.
We go to the individual carrying a burden too heavy to carry alone.
The ministry of a chaplain is, in many ways, a ministry of pursuit.
Whether someone is wandering in grief, fear, anger, loneliness, addiction, disappointment, or relational conflict, the response of Christ is not distance. The response of Christ is movement toward them.
That is why the command "Go to him" matters so much.
It reflects the very character of God.
God went looking for Adam in the garden.
God pursued Israel again and again through the prophets.
The Son of God left heaven and came seeking sinners.
The Shepherd goes after the sheep.
And Jesus tells His followers to do the same.
Perhaps this is the greatest lesson of Matthew 18: spiritual maturity is not measured by how well we identify problems. It is measured by our willingness to pursue people.
The shepherd goes after the sheep.
The offended brother goes after the brother.
The chaplain goes after the hurting.
And in every case, the one who goes is reflecting the heart of the Good Shepherd, who came looking for us when we had wandered far from home.
