But if he does not listen to them either, tell it to the church. And if he does not listen even to the church, let him be to you like a Gentile and a tax collector.
In this saying Jesus sets the final stage of brotherly correction, showing that the church’s involvement is meant not to shame, but one last time to call to repentance and reconciliation. If a person also rejects the voice of the church, then he places himself outside the fellowship of the community. The attitude “as a Gentile and a tax collector” means not hatred or contempt, but acknowledging the reality that he no longer lives within the community, faith, and obedience. In this way Christ preserves both the holiness of the church and the discipline of love, distinguishing the one who seeks repentance from deliberate rejection.