If therefore thou shouldest offer thy gift at the altar, and there shouldest remember that thy brother has something against thee,
The Lord is teaching how brothers should treat one another. A man at the altar remembers that his brother has something against him — so what does God want from him now?
The first hearers still lived under the temple sacrifices.
We should remember that the Lord Jesus was speaking to His disciples, and the temple sacrifices were still in place. Still, His words have something to say to us too.
The distance in setting does not empty the passage of value for a reader today. One writer insists the opposite:
But it is a serious mistake to think this undeniable fact takes away the profit of a single word for the Christian, though we now stand in a position of grace that could not exist then. There is the richest moral instruction for everyone who honours Him who spoke as no man ever spoke.
Our instinct says God comes first, so finish the worship and sort out the quarrel afterwards. The verse overturns that instinct.
A man brings a gift to honour God, and on the way up to the temple his conscience is at work. Then, at the altar, his conscience reminds him that his brother has something against him. We might have thought it must always be right to put God first: offer the gift, and then go and seek reconciliation with your brother. The Lord, who knows our hearts, shows that in these circumstances the gift is unacceptable.
Notice which way the complaint runs. The man with the gift is not the injured party. He is the one who caused the injury.
In Matthew 18:15 the matter is what I have against my brother, because he has wronged me, and I should go and tell him his fault. But here I know that he has something against me. The case is reversed. Pride shows itself as much as anything in refusing to admit when we are wrong.
That is why the command is so short and so hard. It leaves no room to wait for the other person to come first.
Perhaps it was only a misunderstanding, or I may have deliberately hurt a child of God, a brother or sister. Anyway, he or she has something against me. The Lord says in this case, "Go."
Some read "the altar" as the Lord's Supper. One writer disagrees, but still applies the verse widely.
"The altar" does not mean the Lord's table. Still, we should examine ourselves before taking the Lord's Supper, and we shall have a far deeper sense of grace if we do. These were legal sacrifices. But for us the principle applies whenever we come to God — even in prayer. "If I hold on to sin in my heart, the Lord will not hear me."
Does making it right with the person also make it right with God?
If I wrong another person, that wrong will interfere with my communion with God. Only atonement can restore that communion. Paying the person back is not enough on its own. It might satisfy the injured man, but it could not be the basis of restored communion with God… Still, if the question is an injury done to my neighbour, then repayment must come first.
The Greek word here is not the one used of a sinner being reconciled to God, and the difference shapes what the errand looks like.
The Greek word for "be reconciled" here is di-allasso. It is never used for a man being reconciled to God; that is a different word, kat-allasso. Di-allasso means both sides giving ground after both have been hostile — an idea that is not in kat-allasso. It seems that when believers quarrel or misunderstand each other, the Lord sees that there is usually, if not always, fault on both sides. Both need to give ground.
The same writer turns the verse around, to the case where you are the one holding something against a brother.
Certainly you ought to go to him, if you have anything against him, and be reconciled to him. But instead of this you turn your back on the altar and stay away with your gift of thanks due to God. What blindness — sinning like this against God and against your brother!
- Remember — what starts this is your own memory, not his complaint. You are the one at fault, and pride is what keeps you standing still.
- Leave — do not press on God a gift He will not take. He refuses worship offered while a wrong sits unmended.
- Go — the first step is yours. The word for reconciling expects both sides to give ground, not a verdict on who was worse.
- First — repair comes before sacrifice. Paying the person back never covers sin by itself, yet God will not restore communion while the debt is left unpaid.
- Then offer — the same rule covers every approach to God, prayer included. Sin kept in the heart stops the Lord from listening.
leave there thy gift before the altar, and first go, be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
The Lord has just placed anger and contempt against a brother alongside murder. Now He presses the point into worship itself. A man stands at the altar with his gift when he remembers a broken relationship. What God tells him to do next is not what most of us would expect.
The teaching about anger does not stop at the heart. It demands action from the one who caused the injury.
The Lord spoke with an authority uniquely and emphatically His own. He was not content merely to condemn the hateful evil of anger in heart and word, even when it never becomes a violent deed. He goes on to carry out the revealed mind of God for the kingdom by requiring reconciliation if anyone has made his brother stumble. Throughout, disciples are in view, not mankind in general.
The scene is the temple. The man is on his way to honour God, and his conscience is already awake. Our instinct would be to finish the offering and deal with the brother later.
We are called to act, and to act as soon as we see there is a problem. A man brings a gift to honour God, and as he goes up to the temple his conscience is at work. Then, at the altar, he remembers that his brother has something against him. We might have thought it must always be right to put God first — to offer the gift first, and seek reconciliation with the brother afterwards. The Lord, who knows our hearts, shows that in these circumstances the gift is unacceptable.
The word behind "be reconciled" points at both people in the quarrel, not just one.
The Greek word for "be reconciled" is di-allasso. Scripture never uses this word for a man being reconciled to God. For that it uses a different word, kat-allasso. Di-allasso means mutual concession after mutual hostility, an idea absent in kat-allasso... It seems that when believers have a quarrel or misunderstanding, the Lord sees fault on both sides, usually if not always. Both need to make concessions.
God refuses the gift because of what He is building among His people.
Our Father will not value our offerings, as His children and worshippers, unless we are growing in affection for our brothers... Our Father is working to fill a kingdom with children and with brothers. Its citizens will know Him as their Father and each other as brothers... He says, in effect, "You must come to Me in the path of brotherly love. Otherwise I cannot receive your gift. My altar is indeed among you, but I cannot receive your gift while you have no love for one another."
The command is to go. It applies too when you are the one holding a grievance. Staying away from worship is a second failure.
So you certainly ought to go to him, if you have anything against him, and be reconciled to him. But instead of this you turn your back on the altar and stay away with your gift of thanks due to God. What blindness — sinning in this way against God and against your brother!
Does this verse mean you should stay away from the Lord's table? Commentators are careful here. They point to what Paul writes.
Some have asked what this means for us. If someone comes to remember the Lord in the breaking of bread, and remembers that another has something against him, should he not break bread until the matter is settled? Scripture does not put it that way. It says instead, "Let a person examine (or judge) himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup" (1 Cor. 11:28).
Kelly points to the nation that heard these words. They were bringing offerings to that very altar.
What tenderness of conscience He looked for! Brotherly affection, humility, readiness to admit wrong, a desire to win back an offended brother... And the opposite was the case with the Jews. They were so absorbed in bringing their offering to the altar that they were blind to their wrong against Him who stooped to be their brother... They refused to be reconciled and kept on with their offering, however offensive to God. It was presumptuous sin, and high-handed self-will under a cloak of religion.
- Remember — conscience wakes at the altar, not before it. The wrong you forgot, God did not.
- Leave — the gift stays where it is. God will not take worship offered over an unhealed injury. The Father is forming a family, not collecting offerings.
- Go — the move is yours, whether you gave the offence or are holding one. Turning your back on the altar instead is a second sin.
- Be reconciled — the word means mutual concession after mutual hostility. Expect fault on both sides, and confess your own.
- Then come — the aim is a restored gift, not an abandoned one. On the Lord's Supper, writers point to self-judgment and eating, not staying away.