Short answer: No, criticizing a pastor is not automatically sin, and Matthew 18:15–17 does not forbid raising a concern. Jesus commands the first step to be private: go alone and show the fault, so the sin addressed is gossip and refusal to hear rather than the criticism itself. The goal named in the text is gaining back a brother, not winning an argument or removing a leader. The process assumes the person in the wrong may be anyone, including someone with authority.
The setting of Matthew 18:15-17: life among disciples
Matthew 18:15–17 does not stand alone. The chapter opens with the disciples asking who is greatest in the kingdom, and Jesus answers by placing a child in their midst and warning anyone who causes a little one to stumble. Then comes the parable of the lost sheep, which ends with the Father's will that not one of these little ones should perish (18:14). That sequence matters. Jesus is not handing down courtroom procedure for the wider world. He is teaching his own disciples how to live together as people who have been found, and the search for the lost sheep sets the tone for everything that follows.
The form of the teaching is a procedure with escalating stages. Verse 15 begins privately: go and show the brother his fault, just the two of you. Verse 16 adds one or two witnesses if he will not listen, echoing the Old Testament requirement that a matter be established by two or three. Verse 17 moves to the gathered assembly, and only after that does Jesus describe the person as outside the circle. Each step widens the audience slowly. The shape itself teaches patience, giving room for repentance before the matter grows larger, and the goal named in verse 15 is gaining a brother back, not winning an argument.
Verse 18 follows with the saying about binding and releasing, and it is attached to this process rather than floating free. Jesus gives the gathered community a weighty responsibility, and the context of the lost sheep keeps that authority aimed at restoration. Because the whole discourse is addressed to disciples, it describes life among those who already belong to Jesus, not a method for judging outsiders. One caution belongs here: this passage must never be used to send a person alone to confront someone who is abusive or dangerous. Where there is harm, wise outside help and safety come first, and the private step is not a rule that overrides care for the vulnerable.
What Jesus actually says in Matthew 18:15-17
The first step is personal and specific. Jesus says to go and "show him his fault between you and him alone" (Matthew 18:15). The wrong must be named plainly, not hinted at or aired sideways. And the person addressed is a brother, which assumes a shared faith and a real relationship, not a stranger online. The boundary matters: no audience, no group chat, no public post. This is not a license to corner someone. Where there is abuse or danger, going alone is not wisdom, and outside help may be needed. The text aims at honest, private conversation, not isolation.
If that conversation fails, Jesus adds witnesses: "take one or two more with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established" (Matthew 18:16). This echoes the old covenant pattern for confirming testimony. The point is to establish facts, not to recruit allies or build a case by numbers. The witnesses are there to hear and verify, which protects both parties from rumor and exaggeration. The step assumes the first conversation happened and was refused. It is patient, not punitive, and it keeps the matter from spreading beyond what is needed to confirm the truth.
Only as a last resort does Jesus say, "tell it to the assembly" (Matthew 18:17). The gathered church becomes the final human court in this process, and if the person refuses even that, the standing changes: he is to be treated as a Gentile or a tax collector. The text does not spell out every detail of what that looks like. What stays central is that confrontation is meant to gain a brother back, not to win an argument. And this passage must never be used to pressure someone to face harm alone or to silence real concerns about abuse.
What Jesus actually commands when a brother sins
Matthew 18:15–17 does not forbid raising a concern about a pastor. It forbids gossip and demands a particular way of speaking. Jesus begins with the smallest possible circle: go and show the fault between the two of you alone. The sin in view is real sin, and the first step is private truth-telling, not public accusation. Notice what the text does not say. It does not say the accused must be a layperson, and it does not exempt leaders. The process assumes the one in the wrong could be anyone in the community, including someone with authority. The command is about how a concern is raised, not whether it may be raised.
The setting shapes the tone. The chapter opens with the disciples asking who is greatest in the kingdom, and Jesus answers by placing a child before them and warning against causing little ones to stumble. Immediately before our verses comes the parable of the lost sheep. Matthew 18:14 says, "Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." That sentence reframes confrontation as a search for the lost, not a tribunal. The goal named in 18:15 is gaining back a brother, not winning an argument or removing a leader. The concern for the vulnerable stays in view throughout.
The steps escalate only when the earlier ones are refused: one or two witnesses, then the assembly. Matthew 18:18 then speaks of the community's decisions being ratified in heaven, a weighty claim about the church's responsibility, not a license for private vendettas. Because this teaching is given to disciples, it describes life among those who belong to Jesus, not a procedure for judging outsiders. Two cautions follow. The passage must never be used to send a person alone into danger or to silence legitimate concerns about harm. Where abuse or threat is present, pastoral wisdom and appropriate outside help come first. The process aims at restoration, and it can bear the truth.
The goal named in 18:15 is gaining back a brother, not winning an argument or removing a leader.
Where readers disagree about confronting a pastor
Evangelical readers agree on the shape of Matthew 18:15–17: a wrong is named privately first, the person is heard, and the aim is gaining a brother back. They differ on how the steps apply to a pastor. Some argue that a public teaching office means concerns about doctrine or conduct should reach elders sooner, since the congregation is affected. Others insist the first move is still a private conversation, unless there is danger or a pattern of harm. Both sides want truth spoken in love; they disagree about timing, not about whether the wrong should be named.
The middle step is clearer than the last. Jesus provides for witnesses so that a matter is established, not so that a crowd is recruited. The hardest disagreement concerns telling it to the assembly. Some readers see a formal congregational step; others see a smaller body of leaders acting for the church. The final clause divides readers too. Some hear exclusion from fellowship; others hear a changed relationship that still leaves room for the welcome Jesus showed to tax collectors. What stays central is that the person is heard and restoration remains the goal.
The text sets limits that matter when the person is a pastor. Confrontation is aimed at a brother who sins, not at silencing someone who reports harm. Where there is abuse or danger, going alone is not faithfulness but risk; pastoral caution and appropriate outside help come first. Notice also that Jesus gives no license for fear of authority to override truth. The process is governed by truth and love, and the desired end is gaining a brother, not winning an argument or protecting a reputation.
The shepherd's seeking shapes the confrontation
Jesus speaks these words, and the parable just before them shows a shepherd leaving ninety-nine sheep to search for one that wandered off. Matthew 18:13 says of that shepherd, "If he finds it, most certainly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray." The confrontation Jesus commands in 18:15–17 takes its shape from that seeking. The goal is not to win an argument but to gain back a brother. So the process begins small: go privately, show the fault between the two of you alone. Nothing here authorizes public shaming or a campaign against a leader. It authorizes a quiet, hopeful search for someone who has strayed.
The one who gave this instruction was himself falsely accused and did not answer back with threats. That matters for how the steps are used. The widening circle in 18:16–17, from one witness to two or three, then to the assembly, is a patient escalation, not a license for harshness. And the passage carries a limit the text itself implies: this is not a tool for pressuring someone to face an abusive leader alone or for silencing real concerns about harm. Where there is danger, the private step may not be safe. Wisdom and appropriate outside help belong here, not a rigid reading of the sequence.
The gospel grounds the whole process. Because we have been forgiven, we go to a brother to restore, not to condemn. Jesus, the Lord of the church, holds the authority named in 18:18, and he entrusts this seeking to his people. Matthew 18:14 gives the heart of it: "Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." The confrontation is meant to serve that will. Where restoration happens, heaven's joy over the found sheep is the pattern, and the one who came to seek and save the lost is the one who taught us to go.
What faithful response looks like when a pastor has sinned
Matthew 18:15–17 gives a sequence, and the first step is easy to skip. Jesus says to go and show the fault between the two of you alone. That rules out the group text, the hallway conversation and the public post. Go prayerfully, name the specific thing, and go to understand as well as to be understood. The aim in 18:15 is stated plainly: if he listens, you have gained your brother back. Restoration is the goal, not winning an argument. Before you go, examine your own conduct and motive, because Jesus addresses a brother who may also be in the wrong.
If the conversation does not resolve matters, 18:16 says to take one or two more, so that the facts may be established by witnesses. Notice what these people are for: establishing what happened, not recruiting allies. Keep the circle as narrow as the text allows. If the pastor still will not listen, 18:17 directs the matter to the assembly, which in ordinary church life means the recognized leadership and the order your church actually has. Public platforms are not a shortcut around this. The steps are obedience; they do not guarantee the outcome you hope for.
Two cautions belong here. These verses must never be used to send someone alone to confront an abusive leader, and they must not be used to silence real concerns about harm. Where there is danger, pastoral caution and appropriate outside help come first. The passage also leaves the result with God. Jesus says of the stray sheep that the Father is not willing that one of these little ones should perish, and that is a comfort, not a formula. You do the faithful thing; the Father holds the outcome.
Biblical fidelity check
Read closely, Matthew 18:15–17 is about a brother who sins against you, not a public figure's sermons. The first risk is skipping the private step: "If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone" (Matthew 18:15). The second is treating "two or three witnesses" as allies rather than fact-finders. The third is lifting "tell it to the assembly" into a weapon. The text names a wrong, seeks a hearing, and aims at gaining the brother back.
Evangelical readers agree the passage commands private, truthful confrontation aimed at restoration, but differ on how it applies to a pastor. Some say a public teaching office means concerns should reach elders sooner; others insist the first step stays private absent danger or a pattern of harm. Readers also differ on whether "tell it to the assembly" means the whole congregation or leaders acting for it, and whether the last clause means exclusion or a changed standing. Central: the wrong is named, the person heard, restoration sought, and truth and love govern rather than fear of authority.
Reading Matthew 18:15-17 alongside other passages
For further study, compare the shepherd who rejoices over the one found in Matthew 1: Genealogy and Birth of Jesus with the patience Jesus describes in Matthew 10: Jesus Sends the Twelve with Authority, then consider how the wider church is to receive a brother who will not listen in Matthew 12: Lord of the Sabbath and Sign of Jonah and what reconciliation restores in Matthew 13: Parables of the Kingdom.
Frequently asked questions
Is it wrong for me to go to my pastor and confront him about something he did wrong?
No, confronting your pastor is not a sin; Matthew 18:15–17 describes going to a brother who has sinned against you as the first step toward gaining him back, not as an offense. The passage places the confrontation in private first, between you and him alone, and only widens to witnesses and the assembly if he will not listen. Jesus frames this as restoration, seeking a brother rather than winning an argument, and the surrounding verses show heaven's concern that none of these little ones perish. So examine your own motive, go gently and privately, and let the goal be reconciliation.
What should I do when I raise a concern with my pastor and he will not listen?
Go to him privately first, since Matthew 18:15 directs you to show him his fault between you and him alone, and only if he does not listen should you bring one or two others as witnesses. If he still refuses, the passage says to tell it to the assembly rather than to keep the matter hidden or to broadcast it more widely. The goal throughout is gaining your brother back, not winning an argument, and the passage does not promise that every pastor will respond well.
Does Matthew 18 mean I should never talk to anyone else about a pastor's sin?
No. Matthew 18:15–17 gives a sequence, not a gag order: first go alone, then take one or two witnesses, then tell the assembly. The goal throughout is gaining back a brother, and Jesus supplies the wider steps precisely because private conversation may not resolve it. A pastor's sin is not exempt; if anything, the final step assumes the church must hear it. What the passage forbids is skipping straight to public talk before private appeal.
