Kingdom Greats
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Kenny Roger’s song “I Am the Greatest”
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.
In this teaching section of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus identifies what it takes to be a kingdom great in the Kingdom of God.
People strive for greatness and this is not always a bad thing. We should strive to make something of ourselves and we should seek to do the best that we can do.
However, the Disciples were constantly acting like the leaders of the world. They were always trying to compare themselves with each other to determine who was the greatest. This came out of a sense of pride rather than from the Lord.
1. A Worldly Comparison (vv.1-3)
1. A Worldly Comparison (vv.1-3)
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.
The Disciples were wanting Jesus to pick one of them for the ultimate example of greatness,.
In Mark’s account we are told that they had been arguing with each other along the way.
Matthew doesn’t give us that bit of information, but he does use their question as a way to frame the fourth teaching section in his gospel.
Remember that the structure of Matthew hangs on 5 major teaching sections that resemble the 5 books of Moses and have ministry details and miracles surrounding these teaching sections.
Sections:
Section 1: Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): Life in the Kingdom of God
Section 2: Engaging in Missions in the Kingdom of God and Persecutions to Come (Matthew 10)
Section 3: Parables About the Kingdom (How God is at Work to Grow the Kingdom) (Matthew 13)
Section 4: Attitudes in the Kingdom (Serving and Forgiving) (Matthew 18)
Section 5: The Coming of the Kingdom of God at the End of the Age (Matthew 24-25)
In this section, Matthew wants to address the question of who is greatest in the Kingdom of God in the 4th section.
Matthew doesn’t give us the backstory that Mark does to let us know that the Disciples had been arguing with each other about who was better on the way.
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.
35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”
Isn’t that just like us? We argue and compare ourselves with each other rather than the standard which is Jesus. If we were to compare ourselves with Jesus, we would fall woefully short and have no reason for boasting, but instead we compare ourselves with other fallen people so that we can have some room to boast in the flesh.
We looked at Ephesians 2:8-9 last Wednesday and you’ll note that we have no room to boast in the flesh.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Application:
How have you compared yourself with others to make yourself feel better about how you are living?
Do you need to confess your sin of comparison today?
2. A Humble Example (vv. 2-4)
2. A Humble Example (vv. 2-4)
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.
So Jesus pulls a child into the midst.
We need to understand the status of children in the ancient world. Many never grew to adulthood, but died of tragedy early on.
They were also not doted upon like they are today. They were the lowest rung of societal class.
We don’t know if this was an infant or just a little child, but Jesus calls for a child to be brought in front of them and they are told they have to become like this child to be great in the Kingdom.
Rather than pride, God values humility, faith, and trust.
Think about children. What are the cares of a child’s heart?
I was talking to Travis this weekend at camp and we were talking about how perspectives of things change as you get older. As a child, you are fascinated by everything you see and as you get older you can be weighed down by the cares of the world that change things.
As a child, everything is an adventure and a discovery, but as an adult you can get caught up in thinking about how far you have to travel to go on a trip, what you have to pack, how you are going to pay for it, etc.
You also tend to remember things from your childhood and they were much grander than they seem to you now as an adult.
As a child time tends to crawl, but they you get older and it feels like it is flying by. Why? Because of what we have on our minds and the cares we have to concern ourselves with.
You see children are testy, but at the end of the day they still come back to that relationship of trust and familiarity that they have with their parents. They know that mom and dad will take care of the details that they don’t know about.
They know that they can rest while their parents are working out the details.
Let me let that one set for a minute to get the full affect! That is how you and I are called to live with Christ. We need to rest in Him with humility knowing that He is going to work out all of the details.
I’m not talking about a careless form of living. Some of us might need to think a little more before we act. I’m talking about a trust that we can follow God’s plan for our lives, even if we don’t like the plan or understand the plan, because God knows best and is working out all the details that we don’t know about.
3. A Welcome Reception (vv.5)
3. A Welcome Reception (vv.5)
5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,
Jesus then turns to say that if you welcome one of these little one, you welcome Him.
Jesus had a heart for children and certainly he is speaking about children, but there is also a play on words happening. He is also speaking about little ones in the faith. These are the newly called to faith that are growing and learning still about Jesus and the Bible.
As a church, we must prioritize the new in faith before the enemy comes to snatch them away. Don’t get me wrong. We cannot lose our salvation.
However, some people are not fully saved but are growing warmer to the things of God and the seed gets snatched because we don’t pay enough attention to them.
Sometimes churches don’t pay attention to the children and the little ones in the faith as much as they should.
If you think about the mainstream megachurch you will see this on display. I was watching a message from John MacArthur and he pointed this out. When you see the cameras pan these megachurch worship services, what do you notice is missing in the shot?
Children!
They ship them off and you very rarely see kids in there with the adults. They want them to be in another section that they call the kids section. Now, I’m not knocking kids programs. I think they are good. However, we should not be a segmented church that is always sending the kids out of the service.
We are called to worship together and kids need to see how adults worship God and feel welcome to be a part of the larger body as well.
Illustration:
young tender plants requiring care to help them with new environment and the heat of the sun and pests
4. A Grave Warning (vv.6-9)
4. A Grave Warning (vv.6-9)
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.
7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!
8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.
9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.
Jesus now turns to give a grave warning to the Discples
Do not cause one of these little ones to sin or fall away!
It would be better to have a great millstone hung around the neck and drowned in the sea
Galilee was known for its agriculture and grinding stones
It was also known for the Sea of Galilee
Hyperbole:
What lengths are you willing to go to in order to make sure that you do not cause yourself or others to sin?
Cut off a hand or foot
Pluck out an eye
Let me ask you a question that might be super hard for you to come to grips with today.
Is your phone causing you to sin?
Are your friends causing you to sin?
Are you causing someone else to sin?
Do you need to cut off some things in order for you to live more holy?
5. The Great Rescue of the Father (vv.10-14)
5. The Great Rescue of the Father (vv.10-14)
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.
12 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?
13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.
14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
In the final section, Jesus connects again these “little one” with what He has been teaching.
Jesus says that these little ones have angels that always see the face of the Father in heaven.
This is not teaching that there are single guardian angels for every person.
Some of you need more than one angel to help you out!
It does, however, seem to indicate that God has given charge to his angels concerning us to protect us.
That doesn’t mean God won’t let us get into trouble or wander away.
It does mean that He will go to great lengths to save us.
He leaves the 99 and goes after the 1 that went astray.
The statement that there is more rejoicing in heaven over the 1 than the 99 does not mean that God has favorite kids in the Kingdom.
More hyperbole
God delights in the salvation of the little ones that come to him
Conclusion
What is your status in the Kingdom of God?
Is God out on a rescue mission to get you?
Think about some of the extravagant rescue missions that have taken place that put the life of the rescuer in danger to save the person they were going after.
Sometimes the rescuer doesn’t make it in order to save the lost and perishing.
Jesus died for you to live. Jesus rose again, so that you would not have to die.
If you want to be great in the Kingdom, you have to humble yourself and come to Him in faith like a child.
There can only be one Greatest in the Kingdom and that is the Savior Jesus Christ.
