By Captain Michael Ramsay. Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 16 May 2021, by Sarah-Grace and Heather Ramsay
Matthew 18: …the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
The scene is like this: Jesus’ followers, his congregation, his friends, like you guys here; like us; they ask Jesus which one of them is doing the best? Who is the star? Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?
Jesus then looks for a child in the congregation and has her stand with the disciples who are asking the question (the word is gender neutral but there is an argument to be made that the child is a girl)[i] and Jesus tells his disciples – she is the greatest…or one like her.
What does Jesus mean by this? He means a couple of things:
· One, he means to tell his leadership team, ‘why are you asking me such an annoying question’?
· Two, he means to let be known to ALL who are present, that the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven is one who isn’t concerned about being the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven – the one who doesn’t consider themselves better than or even necessarily as worthy as everyone else there.[ii]
And then Jesus goes one step further in his rebuke of his those who were seeking to be seen as the star of the team. He tells them that whoever welcomes one like this child (who does not consider themselves better than someone else; someone who isn’t primarily concerned about their own rights and position; someone who may seem a little timid; someone who isn’t already part of the ‘crowd’); whoever welcomes one like this on Jesus’ behalf, who is humble enough to learn, they are welcoming Jesus. When we welcome little people, meek people, eager people, new people to be a part of our group, our group becomes part of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Verse 6ff: “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
Jesus continues in his response to people asking to be crowned Champion of Kingdom of Heaven. If we are so full of ourselves that we cause others to be drawn into our fights, if we are so full of ourselves that other people copy our arrogance, then we are in danger of the fire of hell.
Jesus is not apparently happy at all that people have asked him who would be the greatest in his Kingdom. For us to be even concerned about such a thing, Jesus suggests, Verse 2, we may even disqualify ourselves from the Kingdom of Heaven. And if, even worse, we cause others to be like this, it would be better to have a big stone tied to us and be tossed out there into the ocean.
Verse 10: “See that you do not [look down on] despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.
Jesus continues. He says that we must not to be so full of ourselves as to be worrying about which one of us is the greatest; Jesus says that we must not teach others to be full of themselves thinking that they are better than any other people; and Jesus says, ‘make sure you don’t despise people who aren’t fighting to be considered the best in the Kingdom of Heaven’. He says:
· Don’t puff yourself up!
· Don’t teach other people to puff themselves up!
· Don’t despise people who don’t puff themselves up.
· Don’t look down on people who don’t play your games.
· Don’t look down on clients;
· don’t look down on staff,
· don’t look down on poor people,
· don’t look down on smart people;
· don’t look down on new people;
· don’t look down on or exclude old or young people…
A shunned, despised, or unwelcome person will wander off.[iii]
Verse 12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.
God loves all of us and He does not wish that a single one of us should perish. So back to the original question, who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?
· The greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven is one who is not worried about ‘winning’ or promoting themselves, and
· the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven is one who helps the vulnerable or the outsider, and
· the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven is one who invites the vulnerable and the outsider be to a part of our team that continues to help the vulnerable and the outsider.
When we serve the King of Heaven this way then we are indeed all most valuable parts of His Kingdom to Come.
----
[i] NT Wright, Matthew for Everyone Part 2: Chapters 16-28 (NT for Everyone: Louisville Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004),p.27: The child is gender neutral term but NT Wright argues for a girl.
[ii] Cf. M. Eugene Boring, Matthew (NIB 8: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1995) 374
[iii] NT Wright, Matthew for Everyone Part 2: Chapters 16-28 (NT for Everyone: Louisville Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004), p.31: anyone who is an outsider/outcast is a ‘little one’
Posts
