Matthew 18:1-13

Matthew 18, I'm going to look at verses 1-13.

Who is the greatest? Roger, Rafa, or Novak?

! Who's the greatest? We've heard about it all week, haven't we?

! Who is the GOAT, the greatest of all time?

If England won the Cricket World Cup today, that'll be the thing, isn't it?

Is this the greatest one-day cricket team ever?

Who is the greatest?

Well, that question is here this morning, isn't it, in Matthew 18.

It's not a new question.

Here, the disciples and the followers of Jesus are arguing

who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?

Who is the GOAT in the Kingdom of Heaven?

And what's really interesting is rather than putting that down

or saying that's a false question,

Jesus takes it and he answers it

and he uses it as an occasion for teaching his disciples.

And this question of verse 1, who is the greatest of the Kingdom of Heaven,

really unlocks Matthew 18, because the whole chapter is devoted to the kind of people that Jesus' people are to be.

The kind of church that Jesus' disciples are supposed to be.

What sort of community is the Kingdom of Heaven supposed to be like?

What kind of community is it supposed to be like?

What kind of fellowship is it to be?

And so on.

What kind of people are you to be?

And Jesus takes the trouble to take this question seriously.

Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?

What does Jesus want to tell us?

Well, he's teaching us about what sort of creature his church is supposed to be.

First thing, I want you to notice a few things and then two implications.

First thing is the low position you must take.

The low position you must take.

And that's from verses 1 to 4.

It's an odd question, isn't it?

Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?

But that question was alive in the religious nitty-gritty of the day.

Because no matter where you turn, this was the question.

Who was the greatest?

Whether it was of worship, whether it was in the law court,

whether it was of meals, whether it was a matter of business feelings.

Again and again, they would have to ask the question.

Who is the greatest?

They felt it was important to know.

Who ranked where?

And what honour should be ascribed to them?

It was a question that they were used to.

Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?

And the people over whom we rule.

And so on, and will rule.

And so Jesus makes a response, doesn't he?

That takes them by surprise.

Look at verse 3.

He takes a child.

And he puts them in the middle of them.

Those disciples.

And he says, truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,

you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Let alone worrying about your status and your rank.

You won't enter it unless you are turned.

That's what it is strictly speaking.

The verb there is passive.

It is not the disciples who are doing the acting.

But they are acted upon.

It is literally translated, unless you are turned.

What does that mean?

It is such a radical change needed in your attitude.

That before you enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

You and I need to be turned by someone else.

That is, it has to be a working of God turning you.

Turning you away from your pride and your self-centeredness.

That unless you are turned from that and become like little children,

you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

He places a low position that you must take.

And it is the evidence that you've been turned like that,

that your whole attitude has changed.

It is that verse 4,

that whoever humbles himself like a child,

is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Humble yourself like this child that I've said in your midst.

And when you humble yourself,

you become the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

It's as if Jesus is saying,

the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven

is the one who doesn't care about being the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Now as we look back at this again,

and go back to it,

note that Jesus deals with this child.

He puts this child in the middle,

and he talks about becoming like this child,

becoming like children.

And he's putting the child, isn't it,

in front of them as a model.

What does he mean by that?

What does he mean by that?

Become like little children.

And so the customary way of looking at this passage

is to say that there's some characteristic

there's some character trait of children,

little children,

that we need to manifest,

that we need to show.

Some might say it's little children's humility

that you need to follow.

And little children are not concerned with self-advancement.

And so,

that's what you must model yourself on.

Or you must humble a child in its innocence.

Or in its receptivity.

Or you must humble yourself like a child

in its trustfulness.

And if you read the commentators,

you'll see various suggestions

of the qualities of little children

that we are to emulate.

But there's a problem with that, isn't there?

And the problem is this.

Have you been around little children recently?

Even little children?

Do you really believe that little children are humble?

And little children don't care about self-advancement?

That little children are full of that art?

You know others first.

Please put others first.

Do you really believe that children are innocent?

Well, you've not seen that in the Bible.

And that is a false way of interpreting

what Jesus is saying here.

And it's also sentimental.

And so what did Jesus mean when he says

you need to become like little children?

He's not talking about a quality.

But he's talking about the position

of little children.

He's not concerned about a characteristic

that they have

but about the status of little children

in the Palestinian culture of this day.

Why?

Because when he places that child there

and he says you need to be turned

and you need to become like this little child

humble yourself

he's saying

like a child in our culture.

Now in the culture of Jesus' day

it was not that in Jesus' time

children were particularly despised.

That wasn't true.

But it was true that children in Jesus' day

did not have any status.

They didn't have any position you might say.

They were a responsibility

but they did not have any clout in this way.

Part of a little bit of background.

In some of the rabbis, the teachers' laws

that they formulated around this time

you'd often find the child

or sometimes he's called a minor.

And the child would be mentioned in a group.

And the others in the group

that the children would be mentioned

were the deaf and the mute

and people who suffered from mental disability

they called them the imbeciles.

Somebody who had a kind of mental impairment.

And the child.

Three people in the group.

And the deaf and the mute

are someone who had a mental disability

and children.

It wasn't meant to put them into a despised status

but it was something like this.

So who was required to go up to the yearly feast?

And so in Jerusalem

and they gave some exceptions

they said everyone except

somebody who's deaf and mute

somebody who has a mental disability

and someone who is a child.

The child was exempted from that requirement.

They weren't required to go.

And what about if you had an ox

that gored somebody

or an ox

that gored another ox

and the ox said

well if their ox

belonged to

somebody who was deaf or mute

or somebody who had a mental disability

or somebody who was a child

they weren't responsible.

They couldn't be charged.

It's as if

for whatever reason

they didn't have enough position

they didn't have enough legal status

to be charged as being culpable.

Or if they were sheep

and the sheep got out of the pen

and somehow got into

somebody else's crop

or damaged their neighbours' fields

the shepherd

or the owner of the sheep

they would be responsible

for what that sheep had done.

But if that man

had entrusted

the care of that flock

to a deaf and mute person

or somebody with a mental disability

or a child

then those persons

weren't responsible for it.

the owner was.

It's just as if

the child

did not have any status.

He wasn't even

legally responsible

in certain situations.

It was that kind of position.

And so when Jesus

seems to be saying

it's not that you become

like little children

and that you have

some certain quality

that children have

and you are to emulate it.

But no

you are turned

and you become

like little children

in their position.

The position

that little children

have in our society.

Jesus is saying

not one who is great

not one who is significant

but one who accepts

their position

of insignificance.

Who has no status.

And you are willing

to accept that.

And so when Jesus

says whoever

will humble himself

in verse 4

as this child

he does not say

whoever humbles himself

as this child

humbles himself.

But he means

whoever humbles himself

as this child

is in a position

of humility

and insignificance

in our society.

So that it is

a low position

do not be concerned

with greatness

or status

but be willing

before the kingdom

of God

if I ever enter it

I must be so

radically

reorientated

or turned

that I am willing

to say of myself

there is one sense

in which I don't

have any clout

at all

any influence

at all

any significance

at all.

It is a humbling

thing.

Gerald Ford

was

the American

president

and he lost

a president

election

to Jimmy Carter.

Before he lost

the election

Gerald Ford

was invited

to be the

guest of honour

at a dinner

for Vince Lombardi

the kind of

legendary

American football

coach.

It was a benefit

dinner for

Council Research

and they invited

the president

to come and be

the guest of

dinner

guest of honour

but in the time

from when he

accepted the

invitation

to the time

of the actual

dinner

he lost

an election

and he was

now the

ex-president.

And on their

way

flying to

Houston

Gerald Ford

was contemplating

whether people

would be

disappointed.

He was saying

out loud

they asked

to get the

president

but instead

they were getting

the ex-president

and he said

it out loud

to his wife

he said

he hoped

people would

be too

disappointed

that he

was not

a sitting

president

and his

wife

Betty Ford

said

don't worry

darling

it's me

that they're

coming to see

It's devastating

for the man

isn't it?

I hope she's

doing you

but it would

be humbling

it's humbling

for him

and to be

told

listen

it doesn't

matter

whether you're

the president

or whether

you're the

ex-president

they're not

coming to see

you anyway

and that's

one of the

first principles

of the church

of Jesus

Christ

that if I'm

going to enter

into the kingdom

of heaven

I need to

accept this

position of

insignificance

and you might

say that is

a devastating

blow to my

self-image

but Jesus

isn't dealing

with your

self-image

he's dealing

with your

pride

and Jesus

is saying

to you

this morning

unless you

are turned

and you

take a

position

before the

doors of

the kingdom

of heaven

of saying

I have

no clout

I have

no claim

on this

kingdom

I have

no

status

the only

way that I

can enter

into the

kingdom

of heaven

is as a

gift from

you Lord

because I

have no

status

I make

no demands

and it is

a low

position

and it is

a humbling

of yourself

it's not

taking up a

false

honesty

and beating

yourself down

and saying

oh how

insignificant

I am

it's not

trying to

say something

that you

aren't

but it's

to realise

that before

God

we are in

the position

of little

children

as they

were in

Jesus

day

they had

no status

they had

no significance

and if we

are going to

enter into

the kingdom

of God

we will

only do

so as

a gift

and that

is

excruciating

for our

pride

the low

position

that I

must

take

and I

must

maintain

when I

am in

the

kingdom

because after

all if I

am in

that kingdom

of God

this morning

if I am

in the

kingdom

of heaven

if I

am

great

at all

I will

not care

about

greatness

and really

who is

the greatest

in the

kingdom

of heaven

well the

answer is

very easy

isn't it

the answer

is easy

Jesus

is the

greatest

in the

kingdom

of heaven

that he

who did

not

consider

equality

with God

something

to be

grasped

but made

himself

nothing

taking the

very nature

of a

servant

he

humbled

himself

even to

the point

of death

even death

on a cross

now secondly

not only

the low

position you

must take

but

secondly

the high

value you

must appreciate

and you'll

see that in

verses 5 to

14

we will

come back

and deal

with verses

8 and

9

some other

time

I'm not

trying to

avoid those

texts

but I want

you to

see the

main flow

of the

argument

in 5 to

14

and the

main flow

of the

argument

from verses

5 to

14

is how

highly

Jesus

values

every one

of his

people

that's the

main point

notice how

he speaks

to them

he speaks

in terms

doesn't he

in verses

1 to 4

he calls

his people

child

and children

and then

in verses

6 and

10

and 14

he uses

a different

word

he uses

the word

little ones

and so the

question I think

we need to ask

are these

children that he's

speaking about

are they

literal children

or not

sometimes it's

taken in that

way

well I don't

argue no

if you look

at verse

6

whoever

receives

one

such

child

in my

name

receives

me

then verse

7

but whoever

causes one

of these

little ones

who believe

in me

to sin

it would be

better for him

to have a great

millstone

fastened

around his

neck

and to be

drowned

in the

depths

of the

sea

but you

see what

it says

the little

ones who

believe in

me

he defines

them

doesn't he

who are

the little

ones

the little

ones who

believe in

me

and so when

Jesus talks

about little

ones he's

talking about

believers

he's talking

about his

disciples

he's talking

about his

followers

not merely

children

they represent

all Christians

all his

people

he's trying

to say

what a high

value

you have

upon you

now how do

you see this

look at

verses 6

and 7

if you

have

somebody

who tries

to trip

up one

of these

little

ones

these little

ones who

believe in

me

no matter

who he

or she

is

just one

and someone

tries to trip

up that one

of Jesus'

little ones

up

tries to make

them fall

tries to make

them fall

away from me

tries to get

their affection

away from me

however they

do it

they want

them to

grow cold

towards Jesus

they want

to sabotage

their faith

in Jesus

well it would

be better

for them

if a millstone

was tied

around their

neck

think of the

millstone

it's not the

little stone

that you use

to get

ground herbs

it is

the massive

great stone

that would

be turned

by an ox

or a donkey

there'd be a

great stone

and an ox

or a donkey

would be tied

to it

and they would

strain with all

their might

the animal

and they would

grind the

millstone

let's think of a

better illustration

for us today

let's say one of

those big people

carriers

and let's say

one of those

people carriers

was tied

around your

legs

and you were

thrown into

the middle

of the sea

it's a horrible

death isn't it

it's a horrible

death

and that's what

Jesus is saying

it would be a

horrible death

but it would be

far better than

facing the kind

of death

the kind of

judgment that

that person

will have to

face

and accountability

before God

because he would

destroy or he

would lead

astray one of

God's

Jesus flock

now it's a

horrible thing

to say

but I want you

to flip the

image

and this is

what you're

supposed to

do

because what

you're supposed

to see is

the value

that lies

behind it

Jesus is

saying to you

this morning

if you're one

of his followers

that is how

valuable you are

that is the

kind of value

to me

that you are

precious

gives another

picture of

verses 12 and

13

it's the picture

of the

stray sheep

here's a guy

isn't it

he has a

modest flock

and one of

them goes

astray

he's got 99

safe on the

hillside but

one of them

has gone

missing

what do you

do

stuff the

one

I'm alright

with the

99

what do

you do

does he

leave the

shepherd the

99 on the

hills and

go and look

for the

one

sheep

but he

does

see when

he's found

the sheep

he takes

the two

legs

one hand

and he

carries the

other two

in the

other and

he puts

it over his

shoulder and

he carries

them home

and Jesus

says I

tell you that

when he

finds that

sheep he

rejoices over

that sheep

more than

over the

99 that

didn't go

astray

look at

that image

it's a

bizarre

image

does

Jesus

not care

for the

99

who are

left

or does

Jesus

leave the

99 at

risk to

go and

get the

one

that's

not the

point

it's

not the

point

of the

story

no the

point is

this

do you

see much

how

one of

the

father's

sheep

matters

to him

do you

see the

high value

that the

father places

on his

sheep

so what

Jesus says

there's a

couple of

implications

that if my

people really

do have that

kind of

value

one

implication

has to

do with

assurance

assurance

you see that

in verse

14

so it is

not the

will of my

father who

is in

heaven

that one

of these

little ones

should

perish

he said

that is

the way

the will

of God

is

that is

the purpose

of God

that his

people matter

so much

to him

he will

not allow

one of

them to

perish

they are

so precious

do you

hear the

assurance

there is

in that

if God

values you

as one

of his

people

like that

you must

be terribly

immensely

secure

every

one of

them

matters

every

one of

them

counts

judge

life

it's a

funny

phenomenon

isn't it

I think

one of

the ways

the devil

works in

judge

life

is he

causes

people to

just pull

back a

little bit

so maybe

they kind

of decide

to miss

for a few

weeks

people don't

call as

they should

people don't

email as

they should

people don't

notice as

they should

people think

nobody

really cares

for me

I'm not

important

I don't

matter

do you see

this here

every one

of Jesus

sheep

counts

everyone

matters

it doesn't

matter what

the world

thinks about

you

it doesn't

matter what

Christians

think

but that

person

matters

to

Jesus

and if

that person

is precious

to Jesus

then he

or she

will never

be lost

and do you

know why

well because

it isn't

God's will

for one of

these little

ones to

perish

and some

of us need

that don't

we

not only

assurance

is there

assurance

but there's

another

implication

and it's

got to

do with

attitude

look at

verse 10

look at

verse 10

it says

see that

you do

not

despise

one of

these

little

ones

you see

if God's

people have

this kind

of value

in God's

sight

and in

Jesus

sight

if they

are such

worth

to him

then you

better not

treat them

with contempt

and you

ought to

have

the same

kind of

values

as the

living

God

does

and therefore

you don't

treat them

with contempt

another disciple

of Jesus

he gives

an argument

in verse

10

and he

says

for I

tell you

that in

heaven

their angels

always see

the face

of my

father

who is

in heaven

what on

earth

does that

mean

there's a

lot of

ink that's

being spilled

on that

what it

says in

some ways

all of

Jesus

people

and it's

not talking

about guardian

angels

here okay

but everyone

evidently

that everyone

of Jesus

people

have angel

representatives

in heaven

who always

behold the

father's

faith

and so we

probably need

to do a bit

more work

on angels

but in

Hebrews

Hebrews 1:14

chapter 1

verse 14

we read

that angels

are serving

spirits sent

forth on

behalf of

those who

are to

inherit

salvation

angels are

the servants

of God

set to do

his work

for the good

of his

people

we need to

do a bit

more work

on angels

but the

main point

here is not

that you can

put it all

together

but Jesus

reasoning is

if my

disciples

even the

most minor

league ones

even the

littlest

ones

if my

children

always have

angels

representing

them before

the father

if they

have angels

ministering on

their behalf

they must

be somebody

what's the

point

it's another

way of

showing exactly

the same

truth

the supreme

value of

Christ's

flock

and so he

says

don't despise

one of these

little ones

don't despise

one of these

little ones

have the

value

that your

father has

towards his

people

there's another

boy

my sister

was looking

after me

she's

10 years

older than

me

and she

was about

10

I was

about

one

and I

was crying

for some

reason

uncontrollably

and my

mother

had humble

figures

you've got to

be a certain

age to be

into humble

figures

they're kind

of funny

looking porcelain

children

really

they're worth

a fortune

and I

don't know

mom or dad

three or

four and I

don't know

and I

was crying

and controlling

my sister

gives me a

humble figure

to play

with

and I

toss it

into the

fire grate

and smash

it

and I

don't know

what happened

I was too

young

to know

what happened

but the

tales were

the legendary

when my

father

wrote home

and the

humble figure

is extremely

precious

worth a

fortune

but in my

sister's eyes

and in my

eyes it was

just another

thing to play

with

it was a

common thing

I didn't

recognize

I didn't

realize the

value of it

I just thought

it was something

to play with

and we can

so easily do

that in church

life

but we don't

realize the

true value

of Christ's

church

Jesus people

are not

common things

we must not

despise them

or treat them

with contempt

now I know

in a church

we can't all

be highly

intimate

with each

other

we can't

all have

a really

intense

degree of

involvement

all the

time

we know

that that's

impossible

but is there

another believer

here

that you

actually regard

with contempt

you wouldn't

use that

word

but you

would have

to say

yeah I do

kind of

look down

upon him

or her

and you

or I

need to

repent

of that

you might

look at

some other

Christian

and think

well they're

too old

for me

or they're

too young

for me

to care

about

or they're

not in

my age

bracket

or they're

not in

my stage

of life

or that

great line

that the

devil

whispers in

your ear

there's no

one like

me

here

or you

might say

that person

is not

spiritually

sure

there's

all sorts

of subtle

ways

in which

that attitude

can come

out

and Jesus

saying

see that

you don't

despise

any of

these

little ones

no one

left behind

no not

one

and Jesus

saying

you must

have that

attitude

you must

value

my people

with the

same

capacity

I have

for them

and that

will make

a difference

it will make

a difference

to the way

that we

regard

one another

and to

the way

that we

treat

one another

and that

all means

this as we

finish up

it means

that I

don't need

to care

about whether

I have

great status

or not

I don't

need to

care

whether

I'm

the greatest

or not

when

Jesus

places

such

high

value

upon

me

let's

pray