Greatness in the Kingdom

Matthew 18:1-9

Immanuel – 10/27/24

Can you believe that it has been one year since we began our study of the Gospel of Matthew? The way that my Bible is laid out, that is 20 pages – a year to study 20 pages! And as we dove into certain passages I felt like we were just scratching the surface. 

The Bible is truly a remarkable book. We immerse ourselves in studying this book for as many years as Lord gives us, and still there are depths we will never reach. What is even more amazing is that our studies do not merely result in knowing more things, but our time in the word transforms us. 

As Paul writes:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. -2 Timothy 3:16-17

Yes, as we study God’s word we are gathering more intellectual knowledge, but we are also growing in righteousness, we are being made complete, we are being equipped for every good work. There are all kind of facts that you may forget: For instance, do you remember the five women listed in Jesus’ genealogy? If you forget, that’s ok. We might lose information about God’s word, but we do not lose the transformation from God’s word (provided we do not sell ourselves back into bondage).

God’s word is good. It is our daily bread, the light unto our path, the power of God unto salvation. And as a local church, we treasure God’s word. It is the center of everything that we do, so all people will know joy in God.

That’s why we are comfortable to take this slow boat through the Gospel of Matthew. One year already, and as things are currently mapped out, we’ll finish Matthew sometime in August. Still a ways to go.

Anyway, today we begin chapter 18; and as we do, we come to the fourth of Jesus’ five great discourses in Matthew: the discourse on relationships. 

As I said last week, Matthew places this discourse within the Capernaum house – likely Peter’s house. The Sermon on the Mount was for a whole crowd of disciples, but this discourse is far more intimate. Jesus is focused on teaching His twelve disciples, though there are probably a few others present. 

Again, this is the discourse on relationships, but it is not a teaching about relationships in general. Jesus is teaching His disciples how relationships within the kingdom of God are to flourish. Certainly, there are implication beyond Jesus’ disciples; but this discourse is for His disciples, and to be implemented within the community of disciples. 

And this whole discourse is touched off by a question. It is a question of status: who will be the greatest? Who will be top disciple?

Read vs 1

Kingdom Greatness

The disciples ask a question brimming with implications. The first implication is that the disciples are fully convinced that Jesus is the Messiah and that His kingdom was soon coming to earth. 

The last passage regarding temple taxes also happened inside the Capernaum house. There Jesus is teaching how the sons of God – belonging to the kingdom of heaven – are to relate to the kingdoms of earth. Meaning, this is how to live within the heavenly kingdom while on earth – and it was to live according to gospel freedom. 

Let’s not lose the context of the moment. The disciples are not suddenly asking about what things will be like in heaven. They are asking a very earthy question. “Jesus, when your kingdom is revealed on earth, then you are going to need leaders in that kingdom. What will our ranks be? Who will be the top disciple?” They still can’t shake the Jewish conception that the Messiah will be a militaristic leader.

But Jesus is going to take their understanding and turn it on its head.

Read vs 2

For some reason there is a little child – a toddler – in the house with all the disciples. Imagine it. With a smile, Jesus lovingly takes the hand of the toddler and places him in the middle of the room. The twelve watch Jesus make the child become the center of attention.

Is this Peter’s child? One of the other disciples? A kid that just wandered in? The fact that we don’t know who this child is, that he is completely anonymous, helps to drive home Jesus’ point.

Read vs 3-4

See how Jesus does not at first answer the disciples’ question, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Instead, Jesus addresses a more pressing issue: not greatness in the kingdom of heaven, but entrance into the kingdom of heaven. 

He says, “You need to become humble, like this child, if you even want to get into the kingdom.” 

Doesn’t Jesus’ redirection imply that the disciples’ question entirely misses the kingdom of heaven. If the disciples go on thinking like this, so wrapped up in what makes a person great (what makes me great), then that is to become a person left outside of the kingdom of heaven – here on earth and forever. Jesus’ kingdom is not about greatness for yourself!

I must admit, this is probably one of my deepest struggles. I want to be great. I want significance. There are all these celebrity pastors who have huge followings, that sell millions of books, that speak around the world, and I want that. My flesh wants it, my sinful heart. I am caught up in the same delusion as the disciples. I want to be one of the great ones in the kingdom.

And imagine if I attained all that selfish gain, and Christians around the world knew my name, and what I said drew men’s acclaim, only to be cast into the everlasting flame. That’s what chasing greatness earns.  That’s where my sinful heart would lead me. I cannot follow my heart.

But look at the word in verse 3, “turn.” That is language of repentance; to turn away from following my heart and turn to embrace the humility of a toddler.

In our modern-day children are highly valued, and parents are praised for making children the center of their world (which is not a good thing, parents). But in Jesus’ day the pendulum was swung in the opposite direction. Children were undervalued and insignificant. When strength and power were the highest values in society, vulnerable and dependent children were utterly unimportant. 

The only way for the little child to survive is to be dependent upon her parents, to implicitly trust them. In the same way, a disciple must trust in and be dependent upon our Heavenly Father. A toddler has no power to pull herself up by her bootstraps. She cannot provide for herself. She has no meaningful strength. She is the embodiment of humility. And that kind of humility is the same kind of humility that Jesus demonstrates.

There is, of course, a big difference. Jesus is God, infinite in power and strong beyond measure. He needs no help, He needs no provision, He can trust Himself. But instead of claiming these things for Himself, Jesus has chosen another way: a way of meekness, a way of humility.

Perhaps there is no better picture of Jesus’ humility than what we find in Philippians 2. There, Paul is teaching us to be humble by showing us the humility of Christ.

Read Philippians 2:3-11

Jesus, God the Son, eternally arrayed in infinite splendor and joy stepped down from glory, taking on the humility of our human limitations, and entered our ugly brokenness. He submitted Himself to the Father, becoming completely dependent upon Him. Then He laid aside His strength – though He could have summoned a legion of angels to His aid – and He took the cross of a criminal. The King of the universe; spat upon, despised, forsaken. Hardly can we fathom how much the Son of God lowered himself in humility.

But the Father saw what His Son endured for the sake of love, saw the marvelous humility of Jesus and crowned Him with glory and honor, with a name that is above every name; so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. 

This is how the kingdom of heaven works: from humility to honor, from suffering to glory, from lowliness to loftiness. That is what Jesus is teaching the disciples, and us. There is no room in the kingdom for those who chase their own greatness. Repent from such selfish pursuits of significance. Chase instead the humility of a child, the dependence, the lowliness. 

In verse 4 Jesus does tell the disciples how to become great in the kingdom: humility. You may be an impressive specimen, you may not, but either way, lower yourself. In chapter 20, when this topic comes up again, we learn that the primary way we lower ourselves, and actively pursue humility, is through serving others. We will leave an exploration of that concept to chapter 20.

But recognize this, the kingdom of heaven is entirely different than the way the disciples were imagining it. It is entirely different from earthly kingdoms. 

In the kingdom of heaven, all that you have, and all that you are, comes from God. The faith that leads you to repentance comes from God. The humility of heaven comes from God. The greatness given to those in the kingdom comes from God. None of it is earned, none of it is deserved, none of it is won. It is all grace given by our Heavenly Father; and simply because He has chosen to love the unlovable. Not because of us, but because of Him! And what was it he did again? From Philippians 2 we see that Jesus considered others more significant than himself. It is not that he thought he was less significant, it is that he lived in such a way that he treats us as more significant.

Continuing to answer the question about greatness in the kingdom, Jesus teaches how disciples are meant to relate to the lowly.

Read vs 5

Remember, Jesus is teaching about the community of disciples. Disciples, when you encounter another disciple – a person who is pursuing lowliness and humility and dependency on God – receive them in Jesus’ name. This “receiving in Jesus’ name” simply means to receive them as Jesus would receive them. 

Consider the lowly leper pf chapter 8. No one would go near him, and no one dared touch him. Jesus, moved by compassion, stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and healed him. Matthew was a despised tax collector, but Jesus embraced him and welcomed him as a disciple. Jesus loved the poor, the weak, the oppressed, the invisible. He served them, cared for them, loved them, honored them.

So if we see our struggling brother or sister in Christ, or that person in the church everyone seems to avoid, and we love them and serve them and care for them, we receive them in Jesus’ name. 

And look at that awesome elevation in verse 5. Yes, we receive a little one, but we receive Jesus Himself. The King of glory in the heart of this lowly, insignificant, struggling disciple. Jesus is going to tell a lengthy parable in chapter 25 about this very truth. 

“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” -Matthew 25:40

How attractive is the kingdom of God! The lowest disciples are lifted to share in the glory of Jesus the King! Thus, if we receive the lowest as if we are receiving the King Himself, then how blessed we shall be! 

Realize, as you are spending time with difficult, challenging, invisible believers, you are spending time with Jesus. Not that those people are Jesus, but that Jesus is there with you, loving you as you love them, and that little one He also loves. It is such a beautiful picture of love and acceptance. Indeed, it is the kingdom of heaven invading this broken earth!

But woe to those who cause these little ones to stumble!

Read vs 6

Temptations

Let’s be clear about what Jesus is saying. The little one that Jesus speaks about is a person who believes in Him. Again, Jesus is talking about what to do, and what not to do, as His lowly disciples relate to one another.

If we do not receive the little ones, it means we turn them away, we reject them, we think ourselves better than them. If they observe that, wouldn’t it be natural for them to begin to doubt Jesus. “If this is how Jesus loves, I want nothing to do with it.”

In fact, this happened to someone I dearly love. He was brand new to faith, like a little one. Even still, he was serving on a security team for a megachurch. That church was doing a special video recording one Sunday, this friend was asked to turn away anyone who didn’t have video appeal. Now in that area there were a lot of poor people; he was effectively being asked to turn away the poor. When he realized what was happening, he threw his security vest on the ground and walked out of that church, and he walked out of all churches, and he walked away from Jesus. 

I was furious when I heard about this. The staff of that church will have to answer for their evils. This person that I love, stumbled. How many of the rejected poor stumbled? It would be better for them to have a millstone fastened around their necks and thrown into the depth of the sea.

Jesus is talking about being thrown to your death in a way where there is no possible escape. It is final. And the horror of drowning is far better than what awaits those who cause “little ones” to stumble. 

False teachers are in the same category, and hypocrites, and unloving legalists, and those who push the boundaries of Christian freedom, and so on. It would be anything that would cause the weaker in the faith to stumble, the new in the faith to second guess, the insecure to feel rejected, the lowly to feel exploited. 

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

-1 John 4:20

Then Jesus moves from people who cause little ones to stumble, to a much larger system that causes little ones to stumble.

Read vs 7

Disciples of Jesus live within this world, and this world is full of temptations. Consider of the porn star, attempting to seduce men and women. Consider of the porn industry, temping women to sell themselves. Think of the whole entertainment industry, tempting the masses with “sex sells.” Think of our culture, that has so demeaned intimacy it tempts the vulnerable to abort its consequences, and the sanctity of human life is thrown in the gutter. 

Woe to those who are in the world, and the systems of the world, that vomit their temptations upon others. Without repentance, without Christ, they shall meet an end so sorrowful it should cause us to weep for them!

Remember it was the King of Glory that humbled Himself and spent time with prostitutes and sinners!

But since the world will go on in corruption until Jesus comes again, temptations will come. We now move from large systems of temptation to personal responsibility with temptation.

Read vs 8-9

Just the other day at our house, we were talking about a man named Aaron Ralston. He is an adventurer and mountaineer based out of Colorado. In 2003, as he was canyoneering, descending into slot canyon, he was holding onto a boulder wedged between the canyon walls. But as his weight shifted, the boulder also shifted, and it pinned his arm against the canyon wall. Nothing would free him. He knew he would die if he stayed there. He knew the only escape was through the pocketknife he carried. 

After 127 hours of hoping there would be some other way out, he cut off his own arm. He cut his arm off to escape certain and terrible death.  

The world has temptations, and those temptations threaten to pin you to an inescapable an eternal death. The temptations are not going anywhere. Until Christ returns, they are an immovable part of this world. If they have you pinned, cut off your arm! It is better to be armless than to know eternal death!

Obviously, Jesus is not encouraging self-amputation. He is saying, whatever it takes, as much as you are able, cut the sources of temptation from your life. Rid yourself of them. Those desires that crave sin, kill them! 

If you find temptations through your phone, get rid of your phone! It would be better to be without a phone than got to hell! 

If temptations come from friends who love to gossip, then leave those conversations behind! Better not to have friends like that than go to hell!

If you are tempted to seek significance, then humble yourself and serve the lowest of the lowly. Better for this world to think you insignificant than be applauded into hell!

When you remove such things in your life, it might feel like you are cutting off your hand. But better to lift one hand in heavenly worship than be groping two-handed through the blackness of hellfire. Such is the gravity, the severity, of sin!

Let us fight against temptation. Let us resist the pull of the world. Let us never take part in causing our brothers and sisters in Christ to stumble.

  But defeating temptation cannot be just about saying no. Nature abhors a vacuum. If we reject one thing, something else will fill it. If we are going to turn away from sin, we must turn towards something else. 

Turn towards Jesus. Turn towards following Him. Turn toward the path of humility. Like Jesus said, “Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Hear that is an active and ongoing turning, continually making yourself lowly. What can you do to increase your dependance upon the Father? Fasting? Times of solitude? Loving the unlovable? 

What can you do to increase your trust in the Father? Praying? Casting your cares upon Him? Cutting lesser things from your life and trusting Him to provide greater things?

Whatever it is, do it with all humility. Pursue lowliness; for lowliness is at the very heart of Christ.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” -Matthew 11:28-29

In Matthew chapter 20, we learn that the disciples did not receive Jesus’ teaching. The question about “who will be the greatest” comes up again. But Jesus is patient with them. He does not lord His superiority over them. He does not dismiss them for their little faith. Instead, He is gentle with them, and lowly. 

And He says, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” -Matthew 20:28

How awesome the humility of this man from Nazareth! How freely He gave His life away for the lowly, the broken, the unlovable, the little ones. And for bowing down so low, emptying Himself of all His rights,

God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. -Philippians 2:9-11

If this is what the King of the universe has done, surely we can consider others as more significant than ourselves.