Matthew 18:10-14

Scripture Reading: Luke 15:11-32

Introduction

I have in My Hands 100 $1 Bills

Yes, I Know I Shouldn’t Be Flaunting My Great Wealth in Church

But I Want You to Imagine with Me for a Second

Imagine You’re Taking These 100 Dollars to the Opry Mills Mall in Nashville

You’ve Got the Whole Day to Shop…

So You Go in Every Single One of the Over 200 Stores

At the End of the Day, You Decide Not to Buy Anything

But When You Count Your Money…

You Find that $1 is Missing

Now You’re Faced with a Decision

Do You Retrace Your Steps Through the Entire Mall…

In Hopes of Finding Your 1 Lost Dollar

Or Do You Say, “Ah, it’s Only $1!”

“I’ve Still Got $99 in My Pocket”

“No Need to Spend Hours Searching for One Lost Dollar”

“Besides, While I’m Searching for the One that’s Lost…”

“I Might End Up Losing More”

To Most (if Not All) of Us, Searching for the Lost Dollar is Ridiculous

We Don’t Value $1 Enough to Go Through Such Trouble

When You Lose Something You Greatly Value…

It’s Devastating

And You’re Willing to Go to Extreme Lengths to Find it

And if You Happen to Find it…

It’s a Cause for Celebration

Most of the Time, Losing a Dollar Doesn’t Devastate Us

Sure, it’s a Bummer, But Nothing to Cry About

And Most of Us Think Finding a Dollar is Pretty Cool…

But Not Worthy of Throwing a Party

I’m Afraid that We May Assign the Same Value to Our Siblings in Christ…

That We Assign to a Dollar

When a Brother or Sister Steps Away From the Faith…

Does it Devastate Us?

Or is it Just a Bummer?

Do We Value Them Enough to Try to Bring Them Back to Jesus?

Or Do We Just Go on with Our Lives, Sparing Ourselves the Trouble?

Do We Celebrate/Throw a Party When They Return to Faithfulness?

Or Does a Half-Hearted Smile and a Hug Suffice?

In Our Text, Jesus Tells Us that God Greatly Values His Children

So Much So that When Just a Single One Goes Missing…

He is Devastated and Seeks to Find Them

And When He Does, it’s a Cause for Great Celebration

And Here’s the Main Point We’re to Walk Away with:

He Wants Us to Value Each Other…

To the Same Degree that He Values Us

Matthew 18:10-14

We are in the 4th of the 5 Major Teaching Discourses of Jesus

This Discourse is All About Relationships in the Kingdom:

How We’re to Treat One Another, as Citizens of God’s Kingdom

Jesus Began His Discourse By Saying that…

The Greatest/Most Honorable/Most Important/Highest Status in His Kingdom…

Are Those Who Humble Themselves to the Lowly Status of a Child

To Be Superior, You Must Be Inferior

To Be Honored, You Must Take the Place of Dishonor

To Be Important/Significant, You Must Make Yourself of No Importance/Significance

To Be the Greatest, the First, the Highest Rank…

You Must Place Yourself at the Bottom - Below Everyone Else

You Must Make Yourself a Servant to All

He Then Moves on to Say that We Must Love/Accept/Care for…

The Lowly/Humble Citizens of the Kingdom

And Judgment will Be Horrendous for Those Who Cause Them to Sin

It would Be Better to Be Crippled/Lame/Blind for Eternity…

Than to Suffer the Judgment of Causing a Disciple of Jesus to Sin

Now, Jesus is Going to Tell Us How Much God Values…

Each and Everyone of His Children

And the Message is:

We should Value Each Other Too

Matthew 18:10 (NASB95)

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.

Disciples of Jesus are Not to Be Despised

Despised = To Look Down on, Think Little of

To Consider of Very Little Value

Jesus is Saying, “Don’t Look at Any of God’s Children…”

“And Consider Them of Little Value”

And What He Says Next has Sparked Many Imaginations:

“Their Angels in Heaven…”

Sounds Like Jesus is Referring to Guardian Angels, Doesn’t it?

In Daniel, There are Angels that Represent Individual Nations

In Revelation, There are Angels that Represent Individual Churches

And Here, it Sounds Like Jesus is Saying…

There are Angels that Represent Individual Christians

Is that What Jesus is Saying?

It’s Possible!

Notice What the Author of Hebrews Says About Angels

Hebrews 1:14 (NASB95)

14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?

Angels Minister/Render Service for the Sake of Christians

They Minister/Serve on Our Behalf for Our Benefit

What All Does that Entail?

I have No Earthly Idea

But I Know it’s True

(Put Matthew 18:10 Back Up)

Is that What Jesus is Referring to Here?

Possibly

So is Jesus Referring to “Guardian” Angels?

Notice Jesus Never Used the Word “Guardian”

“Guardian Angel” Makes Us Think of Angels…

Whose Mission it is to Protect Us From Any Harm

We Don’t See Any Scriptural Evidence for Such a Thing

But is it Possible that Individual Christians have Individual Angels…

Assigned to Them and Serving Them in Some Way?

Sure, that’s Absolutely Possible

But I Think What’s More Important than Speculating on that…

Is Focusing on What Jesus Actually Said in this Text

He Said Their Angels in Heaven:

“Continually See the Face of My Father Who is in Heaven”

This is Royal Throne-Room Language

They are Always in the Presence of God Almighty

I Believe the Point Jesus is Making Here is This:

“Don’t Consider God’s Children of Little Value…”

“Because Their Angels have Immediate Access to God”

God is Always Keeping Up with His Children

He’s Always Watching

He’s Always Aware

So Do Not Under-Value His Children Whom He Greatly Values

Matthew 18:11 (NASB95)

11 “For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

The NASB Puts in Brackets Verses that aren’t in the Earliest/Most Reliable Manuscripts

A Scribe Most Likely Took this Statement From Luke 19:10…

And Added it Here Because of How it Fits with What Jesus Says Next

But, Whether it’s Original in Matthew or Not, it’s True

And the Following Parable Illustrates this Fact

Matthew 18:12–14 (NASB95)

12 “What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? 13 “If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. 14 “So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

Jesus Compares the Heavenly Father to a Shepherd of 100 Sheep…

Who Values Each of His Sheep So Much…

That He’s Willing to Leave 99 of Them on the Mountain…

To Search for a Single One that Goes Missing

When One of His Children Goes Astray into Sin…

He is Devastated

They Don’t Become Less Valuable to Him

They’re Still Just as Valuable to Him as Those Who Remain Faithful

He Doesn’t Give Up on Them

He Pursues Them

“Truly I Tell You”

What I’m Telling You is True and Extremely Important

If the Father Finds His One Child Who Went Astray…

“He Rejoices Over it…”

“More Than Over the 99 which have Not Gone Astray”

His Joy Over Finding His One Lost Child…

Exceeds the Joy of Knowing that His Other 99 are Safe

That’s Not to Say that He Doesn’t Rejoice Over Those Who Stay Faithful

He is Delighted When His Children Remain with Him

But He’s Even More Delighted When One that Strays…

Is Returned to the Safety of His Love and Care

He Doesn’t Want Even a Single One of His Children to Perish

Jesus Tells this Same Parable Under Different Circumstances in Luke’s Account:

Notice How He Describes God’s Joy Over Finding One Lost Sheep

Luke 15:5–7 (NASB95)

5 “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Application

To Make this Passage More Practical…

Let’s Look at the 3 Primary Components:

Value God’s Children (Even the Least of Them)

Search for the Ones that Go Astray

Celebrate if They Return

In Order to Value God’s Children:

We Need to Recognize the Value God Places on Them

He’s Devastated When He Loses Even One

And He’s Willing to Leave the Rest in Order to Find it

If He Values Each of Us in that a Way…

We Need to Value Each Other in that Same Way

But in Order to Do that…

We Need to Be Close to God’s Children

We Need More Times of Intimate Fellowship

I’m a Firm Believer the Church Today Needs More Times of…

Small Group Gatherings and In-House Get-Togethers

This Larger Assembly is Good…

But if We’re Being Honest…

Close Relationships and Intimacy…

Are Nearly Impossible to Cultivate in this Environment

It’s So Much Easier for People Get Overlooked/Neglected

It’s Far Too Easy to Slip in and Slip Out…

Without having to Interact with Anyone

In Smaller, Relaxed Settings, Like a Living Room, Back Porch, or Coffee Shop…

Is a Much Better Environment for:

Building Relationships

Growing in Intimacy

Confessing Struggles and Sins

Personally Applying the Scriptures

I Want to Challenge All of Us to Seek Opportunities…

Grow Closer with Your Siblings in Christ

We Need More Opportunities…

To Be with Each Other Outside of this Building

And that Starts with Every Individual Here

In Order to Go Search for the Ones that Go Astray:

Everyone Needs to Be Involved

It’s Not About Trying to Force Relationships with Everyone Here

It’s Not Possible to Be Best Friends with Everyone

But if We All had a Small, Tight-Knit Group of Christians…

That We were Close to…

And Kept in Constant Contact with…

Sheep Falling Through the Cracks and Going Astray…

Would Be Far Less Likely

And if Anyone Did Fall into Sinful Practice…

They would have a Group of People…

Who Notice and are Going to Be There to Bring Them Back

The Command to Seek/Bring Back the Straying Ones…

Is the Responsibility of Every Christian

It’s Not an Elder’s, Deacon’s, or Preacher’s Duty

It’s a Christian’s Duty

When We Value Each Other the Way God Values Each of Us…

We’ll Take the Initiative to Gently and Lovingly Bring Them Back to the Fold

And that is So Much Easier and More Effective…

When Everyone has a Close-Knit Group Within the Church

In Order to Celebrate the Return of a Straying Sibling:

We Need to Experience the Joy that God Feels Over Their Return

I Love that We Form a Line and Give Lots of Hugs and Kind Words

But if That’s Our Only Way of Celebrating with Sibling that’s Returned Home…

It Makes Me Question if We Truly Believed They were Lost

We’re Called to Be More Than Just Happy

We’re Called to Celebrate

We Need to Be Intentional and Make Time/Sacrifices for Them

Take Them Out to Eat

Invite Them Over for Lunch

Get Them a Special Gift

Reach Out to Them that Week

When a Lost Sibling Returns to the Lord and to the Church…

It Ought to Be Less of a Solemn Welcome Back…

And More of a Celebration/Party

There’s So Much More that could Be Said…

But the Point is this:

God Greatly Values Each and Every One of Us

And We are Expected to Greatly Value Each Other Too

What We Can’t Do, is Value Each Other Like that 1 Missing Dollar

Very Little Value

Not Worth Our Time

Barely Affected By its Return

What We Need are:

Close Relationships with Our Siblings

Seeking to Bring Them Home if They Stray

And Celebrating with Them if They Return

This is Who Jesus is to Us

And this is Who We Should to Each Other