The Meaning of Matthew 18:14 Explained

Matthew 18:14

KJV: Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

YLT: so it is not will in presence of your Father who is in the heavens, that one of these little ones may perish.

Darby: So it is not the will of your Father who is in the heavens that one of these little ones should perish.

ASV: Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

Discover Matthew 18:14

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Matthew 18:14?

MEANING: What does Matthew 18:14 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Matthew 18:14 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Matthew 18:14?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Even so  it is  not  the will  of  your  Father  which  is in  heaven,  that  one  of these  little ones  should perish. 

What does Matthew 18:14 Mean?

Verse Meaning

This verse concludes the argument of the discourse thus far. The heavenly Father does not want one of Jesus" humble disciples to wander away from his calling in life as a disciple because someone has discouraged, rejected, or opposed him. Moreover He does not want His disciples, of all people, to be responsible for this. Perishing in this context does not mean loss of salvation but the ultimate result of failing to achieve God"s goal for him or her as a disciple, namely, a wasted life.

Context Summary

Matthew 18:10-20 - Saving The Straying
How tenderly the Master speaks of the children! We must turn back to become like them, Matthew 18:3. To cause them to stumble is to incur terrible penalties, Matthew 18:6. Not one of them is to be despised, Matthew 18:10. Each has an angel from the Father's presence chamber-one of the most exalted-to take charge of him, Matthew 18:10. To seek and to save one of these, the Good Shepherd is prepared to traverse the mountain paths, Matthew 18:12. It is not the Father's will that one should perish.
When we have sinned against our brother, we must seek him out and be reconciled. See Matthew 5:23-24. But when our brother has sinned against us, we are to make three efforts before we give him up as hopeless. It is the presence of Jesus with His people that brings them into unison with the unseen world, so that their decisions and prayers are simultaneous with the divine mind. The Advocate-Paraclete in our hearts is at one with the Advocate-Paraclete on the throne, John 14:16. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 18

1  Jesus warns his disciples to be humble and harmless,
7  to avoid offenses,
10  and not to despise the little ones;
15  teaches how we are to deal with our brothers when they offend us,
21  and how often to forgive them;
23  which he sets forth by a parable of the king who took account of his servants,
32  and punished him who showed no mercy to his fellow servant

Greek Commentary for Matthew 18:14

The will of your Father [τελημα εμπροστεν]
Observe that Westcott and Hort read μου — mou here rather than μων — hūmōn after B Sahidic Coptic. Either makes good sense, though “your” carries on the picture of God‘s care for “each one of these little ones” (εν των μικρων τουτων — hen tōn mikrōn toutōn) among God‘s children. The use of εμπροστεν — emprosthen with τελημα — thelēma is a Hebraism like εμπροστεν σου — emprosthen sou in Matthew 11:25 with ευδοκια — eudokia “before the face” of God. [source]
The will of your Father [θέλημα ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν]
Though some read my Father ( μοῦ ). Lit., There is not a will before your (my) Father. So Wyc., It is not will before your Father. Meyer paraphrases, There is not before the face of God any determination having as its object that one of these, etc. [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 18:14 mean?

Thus not it is [the] will of the Father of you who [is] in [the] heavens that should perish one of the little ones of these
οὕτως οὐκ ἔστιν θέλημα ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Πατρὸς ὑμῶν τοῦ ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἵνα ἀπόληται ἓν τῶν μικρῶν τούτων

οὕτως  Thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: οὕτως  
Sense: in this manner, thus, so.
ἔστιν  it  is 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
θέλημα  [the]  will 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root: θέλημα  
Sense: what one wishes or has determined shall be done.
Πατρὸς  Father 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: προπάτωρ 
Sense: generator or male ancestor.
ὑμῶν  of  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 2nd Person Plural
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
τοῦ  who  [is] 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: ὁ  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
οὐρανοῖς  [the]  heavens 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Plural
Root: οὐρανός  
Sense: the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it.
ἵνα  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ἵνα  
Sense: that, in order that, so that.
ἀπόληται  should  perish 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Middle, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀπόλλυμι  
Sense: to destroy.
ἓν  one 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root: εἷς  
Sense: one.
τῶν  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Neuter Plural
Root: ὁ  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
μικρῶν  little  ones 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Neuter Plural
Root: μικρός  
Sense: small, little.
τούτων  of  these 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Genitive Neuter Plural
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.

What are the major concepts related to Matthew 18:14?

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