14. (a) What steps did Jesus outline for handling cases of sin against a person, which cases are too serious to be overlooked? (b) What would it mean for one to be viewed “as a man of the nations and as a tax collector”?

¹⁴ Jesus gave counsel concerning sins that might be committed against a person and that are considered as too serious in nature to be overlooked. He said: “If your brother commits a sin, go lay bare his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

17. What is meant in this scripture by ‘gaining’ one’s brother?

¹⁷ If your brother “listens,” accepting your reproof, then “you have gained your brother.” Does this refer simply to effecting a personal reconciliation? No, but as the rest of Jesus’ counsel shows, it must mean ‘gaining him’ in the sense of helping him to stay within the congregation, turning him back from a course that could lead to his being expelled therefrom, with accompanying loss of God’s favor and blessing. So the ‘gaining’ of your brother would be in the sense described at James 5:19, 20, Galatians 6:1 and Jude 22, 23. This, in fact, should be your principal aim and desire​—not that of getting personal relief or satisfaction for some offense.