Binding and Loosing

There are two verses in the book of Matthew, where a serious misinterpretation of the meaning of the verses has permeated the modern church and the prayer lives of many.

The verses in question are Matthew 16:19 and Matthew 18:18:
"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." (16:19)
"Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." (18:18)

The Widow's Mite

"And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on." - Luke 21:1-4 (parallel passage - Mark 12:41-44)

This passage is often taken in isolation and is often interpreted and preached as though it is giving us an example on how to give. Though this may seem to be a good example of giving, it is actually out of context for the passage for the following reasons:

1. The offering refered to here was not an offering commanded by God. In fact, there is only one mention of any offering like this in the Old Testament and its purpose was to repay those who repaired the temple (see 2 Kings 12:4-18). The only purpose it seems for this offering was to pay the priests.
2. Notice that Jesus did not commend the widow for what she did, nor did He say something like, "Go and do likewise." Knowing people's hearts, if what she did was for a good motive, it would seem likely that Jesus would have mentioned something about it, but it is noticably missing. Nor did He make any comment like, "The Father will provide."
3. Look at the events prior to this account. Jesus was in the court or women, on the east side of the temple. This was the closest the women could get to the holy places of the temple that were forbidden to them. Here people gathered around to hear teachers like Jesus. There would have been many people around to hear Him. In Luke 20, Jesus was tested a couple of times by the chief priests, scribes, elders and saducees tested Jesus. Then in verses 45-47 we read (or Mark 12:38-40): "And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows' houses, and for appearance's sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation."

Jesus here is teaching about the scribes who were parading about in the synagogues as though they were the bee's knees.