"Who Is The Greatest?"_Matthew 18a Oct 27 2024
God With Us - Discovering the Gospel of Matthew • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro and Prayer
Intro and Prayer
Hello friends
(pray…)
Who is the GOAT - the Greatest Of All Time?
Let’s do a little quiz - no cheating!
Let’s look at sports
Baseball -
Who has the most home runs?
Who has pitched the most strikeouts?
What about football?
Who has the most MVPs in the NFL?
Which player has the most Super Bowl wins?
What about golf?
Who has won the most majors in golf?
Tennis
Who is considered the greatest tennis player in history?
These are all fun to talk about
The answers to these questions are (from the Internet):
Barry Bonds
holds the Major League Baseball home-run record with 762. Back in 2007 he passed Hank Aaron, who hit 755
Babe Ruth - 714
Nolan Ryan
has the most career strikeouts in Major League Baseball. During a record 27-year career, he struck-out 5,714 batters
Peyton Manning
holds the NFL MVP record with five awards
Tom Brady
There's a reason Brady is so often billed as the greatest of all time (G.O.A.T., if you will). He has reached the Super Bowl 10 times (9 with New England and one with Tampa Bay) and has won a record seven Super Bowls
Jack Nicklaus
won 18 men's major golf championships, more than any other man
Who is the best golfer of all time? Based on the number of victories alone, Jack Nicklaus is hands down the best golfer of all time. He has a total of 73 PGA Tour wins, 10 Champions Tour trophies, and overall 115 worldwide wins.
Roger Federer
is “certainly the greatest player of all time,” says the tennis federation chief after his recent retirement announcement. The Swiss player spent a record 237 consecutive weeks at No 1 in the world rankings - 77 weeks longer than the Jimmy Connors streak in the 1970s.
Did I get all that right?
Now, let’s get a little more controversial
Who is the greatest athlete of all time?
It’s easy to point to the greatest in one sport - but how do you measure the greatest of all time - of all sports?
I obviously Googled this
ESPN ranks the Top Three athletes:
3. Muhammad Ali
2. Babe Ruth
1. Michael Jordan
Here’s kind of a silly question -
Who is the greatest Christian?
In all of God’s kingdom, who is the greatest?
That’s kind of a silly question
Who Is The Greatest?
Who Is The Greatest?
But that’s exactly what the disciples asked Jesus
They came up to him - out of the blue - and said, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
I don’t believe they were asking, “Jesus, who is the greatest in your kingdom? Moses? Abraham? Elijah?”
I could be wrong - but I have a feeling they were thinking about themselves
If there were such a thing as the Top Twelve of God’s Greatest,
I believe they thought that they were all on that list
But they wanted to know who was #1
“Jesus - out all us twelve disciples, which one of us is the greatest in your kingdom?”
They had been with Jesus for a while during his ministry
They had served the Lord and seen the Lord do many things
And they probably figured it was time for a little recognition
I think there might have even been a little jealousy among the twelve
This morning, we’re in Matthew 18 and this out-of-the-blue question came from the disciples right after the Transfiguration in chapter 17
Remember, Jesus went up to the top of the mountain to be transfigured
And who did he bring with him?
Peter, James, and John
How do you suppose the other nine felt about that?
In fact, Jesus told those three disciples to not tell anyone else about the Transfiguration until after his Resurrection
Jesus took those three on the mountain - and those three couldn’t say what happened up there - they were under a gag order
This had to have brought some concern to the other disciples
Think of what was going on in their heads
The disciples had the notion that Jesus was going to put himself in some position to resist Rome and restore Jerusalem to its former glory
And I think there were times when the disciples were trying to show off
I think it’s possible that there might have been a little competition - “which one of us is the best?”
I could be totally wrong, but I think that was what was going on in their heads
So they come right out and ask him - point blank
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
And Jesus could have given a typical answer: Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Elijah, Jeremiah
In fact, none of us would have had any problem if that answer was in our Bibles
Any one of those great OT patriarchs would have made sense
If Jesus named one of those great men, scholars would have written books on why that person was the greatest
“Why, it’s clear why Jesus said Moses...”
But there’s a problem in what we think “the greatest” means
We tend to think that the greatest of anything in life means to be...the greatest
The most successful
The most popular
The one with the biggest following
Jesus revealed to them that they hadn’t the slightest idea of what they were asking, or talking about
Before Jesus even answers them, he calls for a child in the crowd to come over to him
And then he said this:
And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
This is Jesus’ answer as to who the greatest is in the kingdom of heaven
So, Jesus is talking about true humility
We’re looking at the first 20 verses of Matt 18 - there a many applications we can take out of these verses
But today I want us to take away one lesson - the lesson of humility
Almost every single verse, out of Chapter 18, is the very words of Jesus
He gives us a lesson of humility using a child - and I want to continue that lesson moving forward this morning
And by the way, the disciples essentially asked, “Who is the greatest who is already in the kingdom of heaven?”
The response from Jesus was:
“Unless your humility comes to the level of a child - you can’t even enter the kingdom of heaven”
Right there in verse 3
That gives us hope - all of the little children who have passed on - are now in the presence of Jesus
[Hannah Mae…]
So - being humble like a child allows access to the kingdom of heaven - and being humble like a child makes you the greatest in the kingdom of heaven
The question is:
Why humility? And why does Christ give the example of a child?
The first question should be: What is the “kingdom of heaven?”
I’ve covered that before - but it’s a reference to being saved - to being one of God’s chosen
In the church today, we rarely talk about the “kingdom of heaven” - or the “kingdom of God”
Those two terms are the same - interchangeable
Way back in Matthew 4, before Jesus even called his disciples, listen to what he preached
From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Jesus is king - and the ultimate kingdom in the universe is his very own:
The kingdom of heaven - or kingdom of God
It’s an accurate way of saying that you are a part of his salvation - that you belong to him
If you are a follower of Christ - you are in the kingdom of heaven
Your loved-ones who died and who are now with the Lord - they are in the kingdom of heaven
Look at this passage from Colossians -
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
We’ve already been transferred to his kingdom -
we don’t have to wait until we die to go there -
we have already entered eternal life and we are already subjects of the King of kings
But what does humility have to do with it?
Think of it - entering the kingdom of heaven requires a trusting faith in Jesus - you need to believe in him
And in order to do that, you must also repent
(That’s why Jesus said to repent because the kingdom of heaven is at hand.)
Repent and believe
Repent means to turn away from your old life and to turn to God - to agree with God that he is the only way
Repenting means that you agree with God that your way of life will never work - and that you need him
I want to take a quick example from Luke 15 - the Parable of the Prodigal Son
Don’t turn there right now - please read it on your own
I think most of us have a basic understanding of the parable
Very quickly I want us to see pride and humility in that parable
It was ultimate pride for that man’s son to come to his father and say:
“Give me all of my inheritance - I need it so I can leave you, and go out into the world on my own - I demand my inheritance because you are basically dead to me”
By asking for his inheritance, the son was saying to his father, “You are dead to me - give me what I want.”
That’s essentially what all sinners say to the Lord:
“I don’t need you - you’re dead to me”
“I’m going to take a journey into the far country”
“You are in my way of living my life the way I want”
“I'm the captain of my own ship”
Unbelievers say these things in the way they live their lives
But then - what happened to the son who left his father?
- after he spent everything
- and the famine came into the land
- and the only job he had was to feed the stinking pigs
- and he was so hungry, he wished he could eat what the pigs were eating
- the Prodigal Son got real humble
The thought came over him to go back to his father
Here’s the point in this - he didn’t care to return to his father in order to be a big-shot on his father’s property
He didn’t think: “Well, it didn’t work out for me in the far country - let me go back to my father’s house so I can run the show, there.”
When he first left his father’s house - he wanted to be a big-shot on his own
But now he’s learned his lesson about humility
At first, all he could think about was to leave his father’s stupid ranch - so he could be somebody
But now, he figured if he could just be one of the lowliest servants for his father - then he wouldn’t go hungry
Now, his prayer became:
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”
This is the speech he rehearsed - for when he would see his father face-to-face
And how did his father treat him?
His father treated his son like he was the greatest - he threw a party for him - and had his servants come and give him nice clothes, and a ring, and nice shoes
That’s why - in God’s eyes - we are the greatest, when we enter his kingdom through humility
But why did Jesus use a child as an example?
By the way - if women were considered to be of little status in the First Century - children back then, would come even below that status
But a child has no problem expressing himself that he is in need
When the thunderstorm hits in the middle of the night - a child expresses zero pride
A child has no problem running into mom & dad’s room because he’s scared
A child has no problem expressing their need for help
What does a child do when he gets lost in public?
They don’t think: “Oh, this is cool - I’m finally on my own”
A child will immediately look for his or her parents
They cry out to their parents in the crowd
This is literally what God wants from us:
To seek him
And cry out to him
This is the expression of childlike humility
How many times does the Bible tell us to seek after the Lord - and to call on his name?
God always responds when we come to him like this in humility
Have you read Exodus?
In one sense, I could make the point that the entire story of Exodus began when the people cried out to the Lord
They had been in Egypt for 430 years since the days of Joseph
And then it says they had a new king who did not know Joseph - and he was cruel to the Israelites
That’s often what it’s like to live in worldly sin - it’s great in the beginning, and then you realize you are a slave to it
In the 2nd chapter of Exodus, verse 23, it says that the people “groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help”
And their cry for rescue from their slavery went up to God
And then it says that “God heard their groaning”
God will hear you if you cry out to him
He will hear you and rescue you
Let’s get back to Matt 18
My ESV Bible divides the first 20 verses into four categories
They are almost all equally divided:
Who Is The Greatest
Verses 1-6
Temptations to Sin
Starting verse 7
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
Starting verse 10
If Your Brother Sins Against You
Starting verse 15
I want to look at all of these episodes very quickly - I’m not going to go into great detail - but I want to show humility in all sections
The last section in Chapter 18 has the title in my Bible: The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
It is the longest section - and is a powerful parable given by Jesus
But I want to reserve that for next time
Temptations to Sin
Temptations to Sin
vv. 7-9
Jesus says that temptations are necessary - even Jesus was tempted
But he gives a strong warning to the one who actually tempts others
Then he advises us to cut off body parts if those body parts cause us to sin
What Jesus is saying is to get rid of the “works of the flesh” from our old selves
It’s about less of ourselves - and more of him
It actually takes humility to do this
Pride serves itself through sin -
Humility serves God through obedience
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
vv. 10-14
Jesus gives us the Parable of the Lost Sheep
What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
Could you imagine the humility it took for the Lord Jesus to lower himself to come to this world -
And be mocked, and tortured, and be killed
Just to save you and me?
Jesus is the picture of humility for us
Now we come to the last section this morning -
If Your Brother Sins Against You
If Your Brother Sins Against You
vv. 15-20
Jesus gives us instructions on how to handle a brother who has sinned against you
If someone has wronged you - according to Jesus, what is the first step you should take?
The first step is to tell him his fault - between you and him
Don’t drag others into the confrontation until you’ve confronted that person privately
Don’t gossip about that person to get confirmation from others on how bad that person is
It takes humility to confront your brother alone - otherwise, you are attempting to humiliate and shame that person
Only humility can gain your brother back
Pride holds grudges
Pride never forgives
Only humility is the answer to reconciliation
Conclusion
Conclusion
As I close today, I want to leave you with a definition of humility
True humility is seeing people and loving people just like Jesus does
Jesus infinitely humbled himself when he left his throne in heaven to come to earth in our likeness - to suffer and die for us - to rescue us
Jesus never showed an ounce of arrogance
Jesus never held a grudge - not even towards Judas
Whenever Jesus walked into a crowd, he saw value in other people
That’s what humility is - seeing value in others before considering yourself
Coming to the Lord in repentance takes humility
It takes honesty and humility
You need to get honest with yourself and admit that your sinful life without the Lord is no good
And just like a child, it takes humility to cry out to the Lord for his help
Some of you may have heard the gospel a thousand times - but you keep putting off responding to the Lord
The kingdom of heaven is at hand
Look at this world around you - the time to repent and believe is now
When I was a little kid, I had an overwhelming desire to do something “great” in life
I didn’t know what it was - I just wanted to do something “great”
I think the greatest thing I ever did was to cry out to God and place my faith in Jesus
The greatest thing you can do is to trust in Jesus - and enter his kingdom
(Pray…)
(Pick one…)
Communion
Communion
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
