Lowly & Small, Greatest of All

Well, we were talking earlier in the service about VBS,

and last Sunday I shared a little of our vision for a weekly kids ministry

here at our church in the fall,

and urge you to think and pray about being involved with it.

And this morning I want to just continue to direct our thoughts along some related lines.

So as we go to the Word of God this morning, and maybe for the next week or two,

we want to take some time to reflect on some of the moments that Jesus had with kids.

Matthew and his gospel especially seem to take notice of this.

We see several moments in which Jesus drew the attention of his disciples to kids,

and so here we are as disciples of Jesus,

and may he do the same thing in our hearts and minds as we listen to him this morning.

We're in Matthew chapter 18.

Matthew 18 · chapter mention

Matthew chapter 18.

Matthew 18 · chapter mention

Starting in verse 1.

At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked,

Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

Just to give you a quick sense of where Matthew's at in the story of Jesus,

we're somewhere between the transfiguration and the triumphal entry.

And Jesus is in and around the town of Capernaum,

which is up in Galilee in that northern part of Israel.

And speaking of children, Jesus has just healed a demon-possessed boy.

And I don't know how many times I've read that story before,

but for some reason this week as I read that again, it just got to me.

How awful that is.

That this evil spirit was messing with this boy, this child,

trying to hurt him, trying to get him to kill himself.

And wonderfully, Jesus cast the demon out of the boy with a word,

set him free, he was changed, he was healed.

And now we come to this little conversation in chapter 18, verse 1.

Now this seems to have been an ongoing topic of conversation for the disciples.

It's not too long after this that the mother of James and John will come to Jesus

and ask if James and John can have the two most important seats

at the right and left of Jesus' throne as he enters his kingdom.

And then we see again, a little later, at the Passover supper,

on the night of Jesus' betrayal,

that the disciples were fighting amongst one another

about which of them was the greatest.

And we see glimpses all throughout the story of Jesus, really,

in the ways that Jesus speaks to them,

that this is an issue for the disciples.

He encourages them not to be like the people of this world,

not to desire greatness and power

like the Pharisees or like the rulers of this world.

So this question really does show what Jesus' disciples are most interested in.

Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

Okay, maybe it's not us at the moment,

but, you know, Jesus, give us some thoughts,

give us some ideas.

Help us figure out what the secret is to that greatness,

and maybe we might even come to attain to that ourselves one day.

And of course, even though Jesus has just told them five verses earlier

about how things are going to go when he comes to Jerusalem,

all indications are that the disciples are still thinking of Jesus riding into Jerusalem,

setting up the kingdom here and now on earth,

and maybe perhaps thinking, you know,

what's my role going to be in this?

What's my place going to be in this new order?

I mean, I've been following Jesus since the beginning.

I've been his loyal follower.

Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

Verse 2.

Jesus called a little child to him

and placed the child among them.

Think about this. Picture this.

Jesus is very deliberate here.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he called the child by name

because he'd already taken the time to know this child first.

He very intentionally calls this child and puts him in the middle.

Can you picture it?

Twelve grown men or perhaps more, even more followers of Jesus,

all standing around and a little child standing in the middle.

And Jesus said,

Truly, I tell you,

unless you change and become like little children,

you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Wow.

I'm thinking at this point,

the disciples are probably turning a little red in the face.

I mean, what a statement.

I'm just guessing.

But maybe before all this,

they're thinking,

well, if anyone's going to have some honor,

some prominence in this coming kingdom

of which Jesus is going to be king,

it's going to be us.

I mean, look at us.

We've been with Jesus right from the start.

We're his best friends.

Amongst all his followers,

we've got seniority here.

And then Jesus blows them away

by telling them that as they are right now,

they're not even going to enter

the kingdom of heaven.

They're not going to be a part of the kingdom.

And this is one of the stronger forms of negation.

It's literally,

you will not ever enter the kingdom of heaven

unless you all have a massive change of attitude,

change of heart.

The Greek word for change that's used here

most often is translated as turn.

It means to turn the other way,

to turn around,

to change direction.

So we're not talking about just a little change

or just a little attitude adjustment.

We're talking about a big change,

a complete change of mindset,

a complete change of heart.

You know, sometimes we might not like

the many hard things that Jesus says to people,

but at least Jesus is consistent.

He doesn't play favorites.

He points out the sin of the Pharisees

and He points out the sin of the closest friends,

His disciples.

He tells the crowds to repent or perish

in Luke 13

and He says the very same thing in a sense

right here to His own disciples,

the 12, the ones that He's chosen.

Unless you change,

you will not ever enter the kingdom of heaven.

Wow.

Well, what kind of change must they make

in order to enter the kingdom of heaven?

Jesus says,

unless you change

and become like little children,

like this little child

now standing in the midst of you.

I mean, who would have thought

that this would happen?

That little boy or that little girl

just sitting on the side

listening to all this,

is suddenly in the very center

and is the example

of how the 12 will be saved.

Here we are gearing up

for another VBS this summer,

gearing up for some kids' ministry this fall,

and some of us,

if we're honest,

we might be thinking,

well,

I don't really care about the kids in Davidson.

What do they have to do with me?

Maybe if we're honest,

we're like the disciples

who probably didn't even notice them

until they were making too much noise

or interrupting.

Or maybe we do notice them,

maybe we do care about them,

but maybe we think that this is all

just about us teaching them,

the kids.

But could it be that Jesus actually

has something to teach us

as a church

through them?

Maybe not doctrine,

but maybe about hard attitude

kind of things.

Maybe about faith,

trust,

worship.

Out of the mouths of children

you have called forth

your praise,

said the psalmist.

I don't know about you,

but I can hardly get over this.

There's a lesson to be learned

from this child

standing in the middle

of the circle here.

And Jesus says,

unless you learn it,

you won't be in

the kingdom of heaven.

So this is not an optional lesson

for spiritual overachievers.

This is an essential lesson,

a bare minimum lesson

for all citizens of Christ's kingdom.

So in what way

do we need to change

and become like little children?

What is the change

that Jesus longs to see

in his disciples

and in us?

He goes on to explain

verse 4.

Therefore, he says,

whoever takes

the lowly position

of this child

is the greatest

in the kingdom

of heaven.

Another more,

perhaps more literal

translation,

whoever humbles himself

like this child,

he is the greatest

in the kingdom

of heaven.

What do you mean

by that, Jesus?

This is a tough one.

Some of us probably

have the tendency

to just assume

we know what this means

and move on.

Oh, it just means

I need to have faith

like a child

or be humble

like a child

and am I?

I think so.

I hope so.

Next.

In fact,

that's probably

how the disciples

initially responded

to what Jesus said.

Obviously,

they didn't get it

because not too long

after they were fighting

about which of them

was the greatest.

So I want to encourage you

not to assume

that you necessarily

know what Jesus

means here

or that you've

already done this.

Let's meditate

on this together.

Whoever humbles himself

like this child,

this one

is the greatest

in the kingdom

of heaven.

First,

what is the action

that Jesus

is calling them to?

Whoever

humbles himself

to humble

yourself.

He's essentially

telling his disciples

there's something

you need to do.

Something very important.

you need to

humble yourselves.

It's not something

that's going to happen

automatically.

It's something

that you need

to be intentional

and be deliberate

about doing.

Humble himself.

Humble yourself.

He says to them.

And as we reflect

on this,

you know,

it comes to our attention

that humbling ourselves

is not mainly

an outward action.

It's not like,

well,

I'll just go find

some humble-looking

clothes

and put them on

and now I'm good

to go.

Many of the Pharisees

were well-practiced

at acting

humble.

But this is not

what Jesus

is calling them to.

No,

humbling yourselves,

humbling ourselves

has to do primarily

with a change

of attitude,

a change of heart.

Jesus is calling

them right there

to change the way

that they think

and feel

about themselves

and about other people.

It's easy to put

on sackcloth.

It's easy to

forgo shaving

for a couple weeks.

It's easy to let

your hair grow long

and become unkempt.

But it's much harder

to change the way

you think about people

and the way

you see yourself,

the way you feel

about certain people

or the way you feel

about yourself

in relation to them.

Especially if,

like these disciples,

we're stuck

in the habit

and in the rut

of seeing ourselves

a certain way

and others

a certain way.

And then we come

to this question,

what is it about

a child

that we must

humble ourselves

to be like?

This is maybe

the hardest question

of all here.

This is the whole lesson.

The child in the middle

is the object lesson.

That Jesus is trying

to teach us.

What does it mean

to humble ourselves

like this child?

Maybe you know the answer.

I know I've heard

this passage

and read it

lots of times before.

I've heard a few

different answers.

You know,

but when you come up here

to preach,

you want to know for sure,

what does Jesus mean

by this?

And there are

a couple different ways

that you could take

Jesus' words here.

some take this

to suggest

that this is all

about the innocence

of children,

the purity of children,

about the simple

faith or trust

of a child.

I'm not so sure

about that.

As I look at it,

Jesus is not talking

so much about faith

or purity

or innocence,

but about humility,

about humbling

yourself.

Does Jesus mean

that we should

humble ourselves

like this particular

child is humble?

Like is this

specific child

that he called out

a shining example

of humility

among all the rest?

I'm not sure

about that either.

In verse 3,

he says to all of them

that they need to change

and become like

children, plural.

So this is,

to me it seems,

about,

there's something

about children

in general

that we need

to see,

that Jesus

wants us to see.

Does Jesus mean

that we should

begin to think

of ourselves

as having

the same importance

in society

as a child has?

That's kind of

what my Bible

translation

maybe suggests.

Whoever takes

the lowly position

of this child

is the greatest

in the kingdom

of heaven.

The idea here

would be that

when it comes

to measuring

greatness

in our world,

children are

always considered

to be at

the very bottom.

They haven't

accomplished

anything.

They haven't

contributed

meaningfully

to their

community

at all

yet.

In fact,

they're totally

dependent on

others just

to live.

So if this

is what Jesus

means,

perhaps he's

calling his

disciples to

think of

themselves as

being like

that,

as being of

little importance

in the kingdom

because they've

contributed very

little,

because they're

totally dependent

on the mercy

of God,

even to be

citizens,

that's a good

possibility.

Or does Jesus

mean that we

should humble

ourselves

and have the

same general

attitude that

young children

have?

this is

probably

what I

think,

another good

possibility.

It seems to

me that there's

a big contrast

in attitudes

here.

There's the

disciples and

there's the

kids.

Look at

verse 5.

Jesus says

there,

whoever

welcomes

one such

child in

my name

welcomes

me.

I got

thinking about

this.

Why would

Jesus say

that to

his

disciples?

Could it

be that the

disciples have

not been all

that welcoming

to the

children of

Capernaum?

Could it

be that they've

not been

warm to

them or

really taken

an interest

in them?

Could it

be that they

think that

this whole

messianic

movement that

Jesus is

leading would

be better

served by

some competent

adults who

can really

accomplish some

great things

and make

this kingdom

truly great?

Maybe they're

looking at

everyone who

comes along

through that

lens.

I don't know.

They see

Jesus talking

to Nicodemus.

Oh,

Nicodemus,

he's a member

of the ruling

council.

If he becomes

a follower of

Jesus,

just think of

where this

kingdom's going

to go.

But that

crippled man

over there

that Jesus

just healed,

well,

he's probably

not going to

do much for

the cause.

but children

don't seem to

see the world

that way,

do they?

They see

people oftentimes

as people,

especially

young children.

I often

smile at my

own kids.

Sometimes I'll

see a stranger

walking by and

just not think

to say hello

or to greet

them and the

first thing

they,

hi,

how's your

day today?

In fact,

even the

stranger might

be surprised

at just how

unexpectedly

kind and

welcoming

the child

is.

Children,

they do

notice the

difference in

people's

circumstances.

They see

things like

disabilities.

They see

the color

of people's

skin.

They see

the way

that they're

dressed.

But amazingly,

for kids,

it doesn't

automatically

translate into

thinking that

they're somehow

better than

that person

or looking

down on

them.

A child is

far more

likely to

have compassion

on the man

with the

broken legs

who's sitting

and begging

on the

street than

their mom

or their

dad.

A child

would generally

talk to

and think

the same

of the

prime minister

or of the

next door

neighbor.

They would

talk to

an accomplished

businessman

the same

as they

would talk

to the

college

dropout.

They're

easily

welcoming

to all

kinds of

people who

are different

than them.

Perhaps

Jesus wants

his disciples,

wants us,

to get

something of

that kind

of mindset

towards others.

To stop

thinking of

ourselves as

the most

important,

as the

greatest,

as wiser

than so

and so

and humble

ourselves

and take

up that

mindset that

a child

has toward

people all

around.

Now it

doesn't mean

that children

don't wrestle

with pride.

I think we

know that

they do.

Even early

on they can

have that

mentality of

well I know

better than

mom or dad

or I

want to be

first.

The world

revolves around

me.

We're all

sinners.

Sin affects

all of us

even from the

time that

we're

little.

But there's

something about

a child's

way of

looking at

other people

and even

themselves

that's just

lowly.

It's just

humble.

They don't

assume things

about other

people as

much.

And unlike

us adults

they actually

know that

they don't

have all

the answers.

And we

know it

because they

ask questions

all the

time.

It's such

a wonderful

and refreshing

thing about

kids.

Whoever

humbles

himself like

this child

is the

greatest in

the kingdom

of heaven.

If we're

listening

closely

Jesus is

redefining

greatness

at least

for his

kingdom.

And it's

the total

opposite of

what we

might expect.

He says

the greatest

in the

kingdom of

heaven is

the one

who

willingly

deliberately

humbles

himself.

Takes

up the

lowliest

of places.

And I

think we

need to be

careful here.

Jesus is

not telling

us to

pretend to

be humble.

He's not

telling us to

pretend to be

like children.

Neither is he

telling us to

pretend that

we're unskilled

or ungifted

or that we're

not good at

certain things.

It's not

false humility

that Jesus

is looking

for.

So what is

Jesus looking

for?

As I got

thinking about

this I

realized Jesus

is himself

the best

example of

what he's

looking for

in his

disciples.

Here he

is, God's

chosen king.

And what's

he doing?

He's not

sitting on

a throne.

He's among

his people

loving them,

caring for

them,

serving them,

washing their

crusty feet.

He didn't

come to be

served by

them.

He came

to serve

them.

He didn't

come so that

all his

citizens could

lay down

their lives

for him

as their

great king

but so that

he could lay

down his

life for

them.

In our

world it's

the other

way around.

The subjects

give their

lives for

the king.

The body

guards of

the president

jump in

front of

the president

to take

the bullet

for the

president

and protect

him.

But in

the kingdom

of heaven

the king

jumps off

his throne

to take

the bullet

for his

citizens,

for his

people.

that is

greatness.

A king

who will

get off

his throne

and literally

actually

physically

become a

child.

Give up

his rights

and privileges

and even

his very

life to

rescue an

unworthy

sinner like

me.

that's

greatness.

Verse 5

Jesus says

whoever

welcomes

one such

child like

this in the

midst of you

guys.

Whoever

welcomes one

such child in

my name

welcomes me.

in these

words I can

almost hear

Jesus saying

to his

disciples,

do you

want to

serve me?

Do you

want to

help the

cause of

my kingdom?

Do you

want to

welcome me

as your

Messiah,

as your

king?

If that's

what you

want to

do,

then you

can start

by welcoming

one of

these little

children here.

That's your

assignment.

I can

only wonder

what Peter

and James

and John

were thinking

as he said

this.

I don't

know.

I wouldn't

be surprised

though if

moments before

this conversation

they were

already dividing

up the land

of Israel

into regions

or tribes

or districts

and thinking

which one am

I going to

be the

governor of

when Jesus

takes his

seat on the

throne?

What's my

job going to

be here?

What's my

role?

And Jesus

says,

unless you

have a

massive

change

of attitude

you won't

even enter

my kingdom.

You want

to do

something

great for

me?

Start

by welcoming

the children

in my

name.

In fact

you could

almost

summarize

this whole

conversation

like this.

Jesus

who is the

greatest

in the

kingdom

of heaven?

Answer

humble

yourselves

and welcome

the children

or you

won't even

enter it.

What a

word.

What a

moment here

with Jesus.

Are you

feeling convicted?

I'm feeling

convicted.

I've been

feeling convicted

all through

my preparation

here.

What do we

do with

this?

first of

all I

think we

need to

ask

ourselves

the

question

the

disciples

should

be

asking

themselves

in what

way do

I need

to humble

myself?

And

before we

get to

all the

other

aspects of

life I

think the

first and

most important

question is

have you

humbled

yourself

before

God?

have you

come to

that place

in your

heart where

you admit

that you

really don't

have anything

to offer

him?

Where you

admit that

yes I

am in

need of

you Jesus

I'm in

need of

your

forgiveness

where you

admit to

him that

you're a

sinner.

this is

the first

and most

important

way that

we all

need to

humble

ourselves

and like

children

just come

to him

and say

father I've

blown it

I'm sorry

I haven't

listened to

you I'm

sorry I

haven't

treated you

the way

that I

should

would you

forgive me?

We all

have to

come to

this moment

with God

this humble

moment in

order to

enter the

kingdom of

heaven and

the good

news is

that God

is rich

in mercy

and he

forgives

and if

you've done

that then I

invite you to

consider another

simple way

another practical

simple way to

humble yourself

pride is an

elusive thing

it's something

that's very

difficult to

see in your

own life

because it

blinds you

to its own

presence

and so this

morning I

want to

simply invite

you to

ask the

Lord Jesus

to reveal

to you

Lord are

there any

proud

thoughts

proud

attitudes

in my

heart

that I

have

convict me

show me

what they

are

show me

the ways

you want

me to

change

how I'm

thinking

and as

you do

maybe it's

helpful to

start thinking

about some

different people

in your

life

you can start

with your

family

how do you

think about

them in

relation to

yourself

how about

your friends

how about

your co-workers

how about

your neighbors

how about

one another

here in the

church

from there

you might

want to

consider

Lord what

what are

some lowly

some humble

things that

that you

would have

me do

whether it's

at home

with your

family or in

the church

or in your

community

what are

some of

those thankless

tasks and

jobs that

God has

maybe put

before you

to do

maybe it's

taking out

the garbage

at home

maybe it's

cleaning the

church

maybe it's

visiting with

someone who's

shut in or

who's an

outcast in

the community

maybe it's

even

serving as

the secretary

on a board

of the library

or the school

community council

has pride

or a

worldly view

of greatness

been keeping

you from

humbly

serving the

least of

these or

serving in

one of

these lowly

ways

these are

just some

questions to

get the

prayers rolling

Jesus said

whoever welcomes

one such

child in my

name

welcomes me

and amazingly

he applied

this rebuke

this command

specifically to

welcoming

children in

his name

something that

the disciples

felt was

maybe not

that important

but something

that Jesus

felt was

very important

and so we

can think about

this even as

we're gearing up

for VBS this

summer and

kids ministry

this fall

are we willing

to do that

to welcome

to serve

some of the

kids of our

community

in Jesus

name

whoever welcomes

one such

child

in my name

welcomes me

said Jesus

let's pray

Lord in

these moments

would you

speak to

our hearts

and truthfully

Lord these

are the kinds

of conversations

that we need

to have with

you that

can happen

in just a

couple minutes

so please

would you

speak to us

all throughout

the week

would you

show us

each one of

us how we

need to

humble

ourselves

would you

forgive us

for the pride

that we've

had in our

hearts

for those

ways in which

we've thought

that we are

better than

others

that we see

more clearly

that we're

wiser than

others

that we

deserve a

better kind

of service

or responsibility

than others

Lord even

as these

we plan to

have these

kids come

in the fall

and later

this summer

we pray

and ask

would you

use them

to teach

us this

very lesson

that you

taught to

your disciples

that day

and would you

give us ears

and hearts

to hear it

we ask this

in your name

Jesus

amen