As Disciples of King Jesus…

We are Citizens of His Kingdom

His Kingdom is Very Different Than the Kingdoms of the World

Jesus’ Kingdom is Often Referred to as the “Upside-Down Kingdom”

Because, Compared to the Ways of the World…

Everything About Jesus’ Kingdom Seem to Be Flipped

In Our Text, We’ll Be Looking at the Idea of “Greatness”

What Does the World Value, Honor, or Aspire to Be?

What are the Qualities that Make Someone Important/Significant?

What Does the World Consider Great?

Riches

Power/Strength

Wisdom/Knowledge

Influence

These are the Qualities of Greatness to the World

But in Jesus’ Upside-Down Kingdom…

Greatness Looks a Lot Different

The Greatest aren’t Those Who are Rich…

But Those Who are Generous

The Greatest aren’t Those Who are Powerful…

But Those Who are Gentle/Humble

The Greatest aren’t Those Who are Wise…

But Those Who are Foolish By Worldly Standards

The Greatest aren’t Those Who are Influential…

But Those Who Make Themselves Insignificant

In Jesus’ Kingdom, the Values of the World are Turned on Their Head

Greatness/Importance Looks Very Different

And Jesus is Going to Show that to Be the Case in Our Text

Matthew 18:1-4

As I’ve Mentioned Many Times…

One of the Ways that Matthew has Structured His Gospel Account…

Is Around 5 Major Teaching Discourses of Jesus

Chapters 5-7: Sermon on the Mount

Chapter 10: The Limited Commission

Chapter 13: The Parables

Chapter 18: Relationships in the Kingdom Community

Over the Next Few Weeks, Jesus is Going to Teach Us…

How We are to Interact with Each Other as Citizens of His Kingdom

It’s Difficult to Split Up this Discourse…

Because Everything Jesus Says is Connected

Each Teaching is Linked to the Next…

So that the Whole Discourse is a Single Masterful Sermon

But, So that We can Dive in to Each of These Principles…

I’ve Divided it Up the Best I Know How

So Let’s Jump into the Text

Matthew 18:1 (NASB95)

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

I Think to Understand the Disciples’ Question…

Requires an Understanding of the Kingdom

What is “the Kingdom of Heaven”?

I’ve Talked About this Before…

But a Misunderstanding of the Kingdom…

Has Been so Deeply Ingrained in Many of Us…

That it Probably Wouldn’t Hurt to Repeat it:

The Kingdom of Heaven is Not the Church/Community of Believers

The Church is the Collective Citizens of the Kingdom

But the Kingdom is More Than Just its Citizens

Among Other Things, a Kingdom Refers to:

The King, Himself

The Territory He Rules Over

The People He Rules Over

The Laws He’s Established

The Privileges He Offers His Subjects

“Kingdom” = “the Reign/Rule of a King”

The Disciples Aren’t Just Asking Jesus, “Who is the Greatest Disciple in Your Church?”

They’re Asking, “Who is the Highest Ranking Official in Your Kingdom/Empire?”

“Who is the Most Important to Your Kingdom Mission?”

“Which of Us is Going to have the Most Honor and Authority?”

“Which of Us is Going to Be Sitting at Your Right Hand…”

“When You Take Your Throne?”

They’re Looking at “Greatness” the Way the World Does

But Jesus is About to Flip Their Value System on its Head

Matthew 18:2–3 (NASB95)

2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus Answers Their Question with an Object Lesson

It was Common for Rabbis to Do this

They would Often Use Men of Great Morality or Heroic Behavior…

As Examples for the for Their Disciples to Imitate

But Jesus Doesn’t Use an Example of:

A Person of Great Morality

A Brave War Hero

A Wise Rabbi

A Faithful Leader

He Uses a Small Child as the Example

“Truly I Say to You”

Jesus’ Way of Saying, “You Better Listen Closely, Because this is Important!”

“Unless You are Converted and Become Like Children”

“Converted” = To Turn

Jesus is Telling Them to Turn From Their Way of Thinking

In Their Pride and Self-Centeredness…

The Disciples were Desiring a Position…

Of Great Importance, Honor, and Authority

Jesus Says, “That’s Got to Change!”

What Does it Mean to Become Like Children?

Jesus Isn’t Referring to Taking on Childlike Qualities

He’s Talking About Taking the Lowly Status of a Child

Little Children in the Ancient World were Low on the Social Scale

No One in the Ancient World Considered Children…

To Be Great or of Any Importance

They had No Authority

They couldn’t Fight in Any Wars

They couldn’t Lead

They Didn’t have Any Wisdom to Offer

They were of No Help Financially

They were Dependent on and Under the Authority of Adults

As it Pertains to Greatness/Importance, They were at the Bottom

The Disciples Wanted to Be at the Top

They Wanted Positions of Importance, Honor, and Authority

They Wanted to Be Considered “Great”

But Jesus Told Them They Needed Change Their Way of Thinking…

And Take Positions of No Importance, Honor, or Authority

“You will Not Enter the Kingdom of Heaven”

“Not” is an Emphatic Double Negative

In Greek it Looks Like, “You will Not Not Enter the Kingdom of Heaven”

In English, a Double Negative Makes a Positive

But in Greek, it Makes the Negative More Emphatic

“You will NEVER Enter the Kingdom of Heaven”

“There’s Not the Slightest Chance that You’ll Enter the Kingdom of Heaven”

Understand What Jesus is Saying Here:

“You Want to Know Which One of You is the Greatest in My Kingdom?”

“Unless You Change Your Way of Thinking…”

“And Put Yourself at the Bottom, You’ll Never Even Make it in!”

Matthew 18:4 (NASB95)

4 “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

“So You Want to Be the Greatest in My Kingdom?”

“You Want to have the Highest Rank?”

“You Want to Be at the Top?”

“Here’s How You Do it…”

“Humble Yourself to the Status of this Little Child”

Does it Get Any More Backward/Upside-Down than that?

To Be the Greatest, You Must Make Yourself the Least

To Be at the Top, You Must Put Yourself at the Bottom

To Be the Highest Rank, You Must Make Yourself the Lowest

To Be of High Reputation, You Must Consider Yourself of Low Reputation

Jesus Often Put it this Way When Discussing this Topic with His Disciples:

To Be First, You Must Be Last

That’s Exactly How Mark Records Jesus’ Response on this Occasion

Mark 9:35 (NASB95)

35 Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”

To Be First (Ahead of Everyone Else)…

You Must Be Last (Place Yourself Behind Everyone Else)

To Be Greater Than Everyone…

You Must Become the Servant of Everyone

This is Foolish From a Worldly Perspective

It Seems Illogical/Counterintuitive

It’s Totally Upside-Down

It Goes Against Everything the World Teaches Us

And It Goes Against All of Our Natural Inclinations

We All Want to Be First

We All Want to Be Great

We All Want to Feel Important

Jesus Says We can Be First, Greatest, and Important in His Kingdom

But We Only Get There By Being Last, Least, and Insignificant

Greatness in the Kingdom Doesn’t Consist of:

Being Given Significance, Honor, and Authority

It Consists of Giving Significance, Honor, and Authority

The Greatest are Not Those Who are Being Served…

But Those Who are Doing the Serving

There’s Only One Time that We’re Ever Told…

To Seek to Be Greater Than One Another

Romans 12:10 (ESV)

10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

The Only Time I should Ever Strive to Be Greater Than You:

Is By Showing You More Honor Than You could Ever Possibly Show Me

Is By Considering You More Important Than You Consider Me

The Only Time I Should Place Myself on a Higher Podium than You…

Is So that I can then Lift You Up Even Higher

The Greatest are Those Who Lift Others the Highest

Application

According to Luke’s Account…

Just After the Establishment of the Lord’s Supper…

Just a Few Hours Before His Arrest…

The Disciples, Again, are Arguing Over this Question:

“Which One of Us is the Greatest?”

Listen to Jesus’ Response on that Occasion

Luke 22:24–27 (NASB95)

24 And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. 25 And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’

26 “But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. 27 “For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.

It’s Obvious that Those Who Eat at the Table…

Are Greater Than Those Who Serve the Table

But Jesus Came, Not to Eat, But to Serve

The Greatest of Us All (Our King)…

Was a Servant

On that Very Same Night Around that Same Time…

We Read in John’s Account About Jesus Washing His Disciples’ Feet

Jesus Tells Them:

“You Recognize that I’m Your Master”

“And Yet, I’ve Served You”

If the Master Serves His Servants…

What Ought the Servants to Do?

If the Master Humbles Himself…

What Ought the Servants to Do?

If the Master Embraces the Status of a Servant…

What Ought the Servants to Do?

Our King, the Greatest One of All, was a Servant to All

If We could Ever Hope to Share in His Greatness…

It’s Only Possible By Also Becoming a Servant to All

In, Arguably, the Greatest Summation of the Gospel in the Bible…

Paul Wrote:

Philippians 2:3–11 (CSB)

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. 4 Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others. 5 Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited.

7 Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, 8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross.

9 For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— 11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus Emptied/Humbled Himself…

To the Lowest Possible Point of Dishonor and Humiliation

And Because He Did, God Exalted Him to the Highest Place of Honor

Jesus Promises Us the Same…

If We Follow His Example…

Of Emptying/Humbling Ourselves…

And Considering Others as More Important Than Ourselves

This 4th Teaching Discourse of Jesus…

Is All About How Kingdom Citizens Ought to Behave Toward One Another

It’s All About Kingdom Relationships

Jesus Started this Discourse with a Bang

“Don’t Seek to Be Greater Than One Another”

“Seek to Serve One Another”

Let’s Follow the Teaching and Example of Jesus…

And Consider One Another More Important Than Ourselves

When We Do this:

We’ll Be Accepted into His Eternal Kingdom

We’ll Be Exalted in Honor, Importance, and Greatness

We’ll Be Like Our King