Who Is the Greatest?

Matthew 18:1–6 ESV

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Matthew 18:1–6 ESV

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

I want to quickly look at the parallel verses of this scene in Mark 9:33-34 and in Luke 9:46-47 to help give us a better understanding of what is unfolding here. Before we turn there, keep in mind that Peter, James, and John had just privately accompanied Jesus and witnessed the transfiguration. Even if the three that witnessed the transfiguration were perfectly obedient in telling no one what they saw, they still were taken up separately. This might still be taken as preferential treatment by the others, don't you think? And before the Transfiguration, Peter was called the rock on which Jesus would build his church and John the Baptist was revealed by Jesus to be the one that the prophets spoke of when they prophesied of the second coming of Elijah. These events and likely others that weren’t even recorded were subtly playing out in the sinful hearts of the disciples to create envy, discord , and pride. Now let's look briefly at Mark and Luke's perspective to get a better understanding of the context.

Luke 9:46–47 ESV

46 An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. 47 But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side

Mark 9:33–34 ESV

33 And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.

While Matthew's account by itself gives us the impression they asked Jesus directly, Mark and Luke's perspective helps us to see that Jesus had actually perceived the question in the disciples' hearts without them needing to say anything. Understanding the exchange in this way makes me appreciate the candidness of Matthew's account. He understood that the inner struggles of the heart were not unknown to Jesus. In fact, he knew these struggles to be something that would not go unaddressed by Jesus. Perhaps on the way to Capernaum he might have interjected, "You guys do realize that Jesus already knows what you're arguing about, right?" to which they all might have responded, "No one asked you, Matthew!" But this is such a beautiful reminder that Jesus knows our hearts and he knows our inward struggles.

As adults, the desire to be seen as successful and accomplished in all that we do hangs over our heads like a dark, looming mist. News feeds highlighting the latest and greatest executive bringing their company to the top of the Fortune 500. Social media showing you post after post of your friends' and families' exciting updates and elaborate trips. Your neighbor pulling into their driveway with that brand-new make and model you've only dreamed of for years. No matter what you do, how hard you work, how much you save or know, it always seems like there is someone right across the street that reminds you that you haven't quite made it. Even in our walks with Christ, we tend to measure ourselves against others who appear to have it all together. Those that always seem to know more than we do or do more then we can, as if there is some sort of formal ranking system based on the number of verses you’ve memorized or strangers you’ve evangelized.

This tireless pursuit of achieving peak material and religious status wasn't unknown during the days of Jesus. It was just as prolific then as it is today and we are seeing it in action here with Jesus’s disciples. If we trace this heart problem back as far as we can in scripture, we will find our first example of this in Genesis. Let's look at Genesis 3:1-6:

Genesis 3:1–6 ESV

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

In a time where death was only a word and God would walk with man, the illusion the serpent created of God withholding knowledge and power made the draw for the fruit much more alluring. That desire for their own glory was what gave birth to the sin that affects you and me today. They replaced the desire to know and to love God with all their hearts for the desire to have the honor and glory that only belongs to Him. We see this same heart problem continue repeating itself from this moment to generation after generation after generation. Cain and Abel, Joseph and his brothers, Pharaoh and Moses, the disciples arguing on their way to Capernum. And if we are being honest with ourselves, we would admit that our hearts are no different even on our best days. So we return now to Matthew understanding the nature of Jesus's confrontation better and the embarrassment that drove the disciples to be silent before the Son of God. Jesus doesn’t leave them to wallow in their uncomfortable silence and, as he often does, he turns to a parable to give them a picture of his own father’s kingdom.

Jesus tells them ,"...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.” Why do you think he chose a young child as the model for them to look to? Is he trying to knock them down another couple of pegs to help them get a head start on their journey to being more humble? Perhaps. Those of you that are raising or have raised young children might be sitting there thinking, "Woo, boy ... Jesus must have picked the perfect little angel out of the crowd for this illustration because I know he's not talking about my kid. This last Friday they had five meltdowns, broke my coffee maker, locked the babysitter in the closet, and set the cat on fire." I sympathize for you - being a parent challenges you in so many ways you could never have anticipated. But let yourself also remember when those little hands reached up to you asking to be held for the first time. Remember the small voices asking for a help or saying their first "I love you”. They were fully dependent on you for their survival yet never once questioned your ability to provide for them. You are the center of their whole world and they love you in a way that they will love no one else, and I’m sure you would agree that your love for them is deeper than you can express. Hold onto that thought now because we will come back to it in a moment.

The first sentence Jesus speaks here has two words that help us understand what Jesus is trying to communicate to his disciples. The first word is "turn". Some translations may use the word ‘converted’, but both have the same inherent meaning; that is "to change direction". The second word that he uses is "become". That is, "to be made" or "to be born". Jesus is wanting them to see that unless they are completely changed and remade (that is, reborn) like a humble child, they won't even be able to enter into the kingdom of heaven. We have been reading through the Gospel of John in our men's Bible study and recently finished looking at the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. In that conversation, Jesus tells him this very same thing. Unless you are born again you will never see the kingdom of God. The very first thing that must happen is for us to turn around - to repent. We cannot do this without first recognizing that our hearts do not naturally desire God; that our natural bent is to desire the things that bring us pleasure and glory. Unfortunately, can't even recognize this on our own. It is the word of God that reveals to us that we are full of sin and that our hearts do not naturally desire God but long for the things that are opposed to Him. Paul acknowledges this in Romans 7:7 saying,

Romans 7:7 ESV

7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”

So it is the word that the Father gave to us that exposes all of humanity as naturally sinful. Yet while we were still in our sin, God loved us and longs for us to know Him and love Him. Hosea 6:6 says,

Hosea 6:6 ESV

6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Because He knew that we couldn't justify ourselves or produce a holiness and righteousness in ourselves that could withstand the majestic radiance of His holiness, He sent His son to us so that through Jesus we could have a way to live with Him forever. This was also born out of love: John 3:16,

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

It is Christ alone that saves us. We have done nothing to deserve this love, we can do nothing to earn this love, but it is being offered to us freely through his son Jesus all the same. John 3:17-18 continues by saying,

John 3:17–18 ESV

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Our salvation comes from believing in Jesus coming out of obedience for what God sent Him here to do.

Do you see the picture of child-like dependence on an infinitely good and infinitely loving Father who cares for you? This is what Jesus is trying to get the disciples to realize. There is no system of order or rank in heaven; there is only the Father and the Son and those who found their life by taking on Jesus's righteousness in place of their own. There is no more love to earn for we have been given access to all of His love without measure. Like our own little ones, our faces will light up at the mention of our his name. Just like our children, we will find great pleasure in spending time with Him. We will find Him so irresistibly desirable that He becomes what our hearts long for; always. This makes Psalm 37:4 even more amazing to consider:

Psalm 37:4 ESV

4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Delighting in Him makes Him the very thing we desire and, if we desire him, he will not withhold himself from us. Just like the picture of your young child reaching up for you to hold them, Jesus made a way for us to be brought into the Father’s loving embrace through his death and resurrection. In that embrace we will find ourselves clothed in Christ’s righteousness, we will find ourselves empowered by the Spirit to grow in our understanding of the Father through Jesus, and we will find ourselves serving each other out of love. What kind of peace is this that we can rest in him knowing our future is secured? The peace of a child who has run into their parents’ arms for safety.

This should cause us to read the next two verses much differently. Yes, it is good to protect our earthly children from worldly teachings that lead them away from God. But Jesus is speaking the words of God here. Are not all who have put their faith in Jesus the children of God. 1 John 5:1-2 says,

1 John 5:1–2 ESV

1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.

This brings a much heavier weight to Jesus’s words, don’t you think? But it is vital for the disciples to hear as they will soon be tasked with going to the world to tell the good news of Jesus. Should they fall back into the “who is the greatest” mindset again, they could lead thousands of people away from Christ. This is the same for the church today. There are teachers, preachers, and evangelists who will open up the word of God and speak with a split tongue because their hearts are far from the heavenly Father and closer to their fame or bankroll. And so many people sit and listen to their empty words not realizing that there is a God in heaven that loves them. And each one of us being no greater than than the other should be doing nothing less than pointing our friends, family, and everyone in between to Jesus through whom they too can taste and see that the Lord is good.

Today, if you don’t know Jesus personally as the one who has saved you and God as your loving Father, I encourage you to go to the Bible and see him for yourself. From Genesis to Revelation, you will not find an angry, hostile, distant God. Instead you will find a God that delights in you and knows you and longs for you to know him. Who gave all that he ever loved for all of eternity to us so that we may be with him for eternity also. You will not find a God who desires a performance in order to earn his favor. You will find a Father who cherished you before you were even born. Who desires steadfast love over sacrifice. In Christ you will find joy everlasting, indescribable peace, rivers of mercy, and life everlasting. If anything, doesn’t this make God the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Let’s pray me and then we’ll stand to worship.