WHO IS THE GREATEST?

WHO IS THE GREATEST? Matthew 18:1-4 April 23, 2006 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction In Neil Levine’s book, The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, he candidly remarks that the Welsh-American architect was a very vain man. At the age of 89, he agreed on the witness stand in court that he was, in fact, the world's greatest living architect. Later when his wife suggested that he should be more modest, he rejoined, "You forget, Olgivanna, I was under oath.” We’ve arrived in our study at a new section of the outline of the gospel of Matthew. Chapter 18 is what analysts sometimes call the fourth book of the collected teachings of Jesus. This block of instruction brought to the church by the Holy Spirit via Matthew is all about the character of the new community God is creating in the church. The primary point we will discover in our study is that kingdom values are qualitatively different from the values of the world. In most cases they’re exactly opposite. The New Testament is awash with teaching about inter-personal relationships. Of extreme importance to God is the manner in which believers interact with one another. You see, the Bible reflects a picture of the church as God’s redeemed community, learning to become and behave how God intended humanity. The 18th chapter of Matthew collects the teachings of Jesus on this topic. Let’s prepare our hearts in prayer to truly welcome what He wants us to know. We’re going to bite off the first four verses this morning and apply ourselves to understanding one of the foundational principles of Christian community: humility. That is, of course, that slippery virtue that, once you think you have it, it’s gone. Interestingly, the actual word humility does not appear in this passage, but as you’ll see it’s all about humility. The Text At that time the disciples come to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Everybody’s worried about who the greatest is. “I’m richer than you, so I’m superior.” “I have more education, so I’m better than you.” “I can do carpentry better than you—I’m better.” “I’m better than you because I’m more eloquent” “I can sing better, so I’m more valuable than you. The urge to be the greatest—to somehow prove I am better at something so I can assuage my insecurities about not being great at most things! Of course, then there is the height of absurdity—“I’m more religious than you, therefore I am superior.” Peter was usually in on this one-upsmanship game, but he was gone paying the taxes with the money he miraculously retrieved from the fish’s mouth. James and John had quite a competitive spirit, too. They even sent their mommy to Jesus to ask Him to let her two sons sit at His left and right hand in His coming reign. (Matthew 20:20-26) How did Jesus handle this worldly thinking? How did He answer the question of who is the greatest? He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Out of the crowd Jesus calls a child (the word used here indicates probably a child of seven years or younger—PAIDION) Not yet answering their question, Jesus instead exhorts them to repent (change) and become like little PAIDIONs, or they will not only not be great in the kingdom—they won’t even get in! Jesus says that the more we are like young, trainable children, the more we are kingdom-type people. One chapter from now He will say that the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these (Matthew 19:14) There is something about young children we must understand in order to grasp what the kingdom lifestyle is to be. Now Jesus finally answers the question put to Him: Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” There it is. Childlikeness is a pre-requisite for entry into the kingdom, and more childlikeness qualifies one for “greatness” in the kingdom of heaven! The way to greatness is true humility, becoming a weak, innocent and vulnerable child. How terribly different from the world’s thinking this is! In his terrific book, Basic Christian Leadership, John Stott says, "At no point does the Christian mind come into more violent collision with the secular mind than in its insistence on humility, with all the weakness it entails. The wisdom of the world values power, not humility. . . . Nietzsche dreamed of the rise of a daring ruler-race — tough, masculine and oppressive. Nietzsche worshiped power; he despised Jesus for His weakness. The ideal of Nietzsche was the Ubermensch, the superman; but the ideal of Jesus was the little child. There is no possibility of compromise between these two ../../images; we are obliged to choose." In the kingdom economy, the truly great people are almost unnoticeable at first. They’re busy, serving, helping, encouraging, blessing—doing all sorts of things, except for one. They are not showboating. Neither are they jockeying for position, power or prestige. Because of their humility, great people are set free from the compromises of competition. In the kingdom the truly great people attend worship and small group meetings primarily to give; the little people go to get. Verse four, then adds another dimension to what it means to be childlike and great in the kingdom. Not only are kingdom people like little children, they like little children. Jesus who 43 verses later will say, Let the little children come to me…, now says to his greatness-mongering disciples, And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.  [webmasters note: Matthew 18:5] In the kingdom of God selfless people are great people That’s what the Lord said as recorded in verse four – Whoever humbles himself… Time and again we are exhorted in the pages of scripture to not think highly of ourselves, to consider others more important than ourselves, to honor others above ourselves and to serve others rather than expecting to be served. Paul said of Jesus, For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that through his poverty you might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9) And in Philippians, Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. (2:5, 2:3) The rarest medal in the Olympics wasn't created from gold, but a bolt. The story begins on a cold, winter afternoon in Innsbruck at the 1964 Olympic two-man bobsled competition. A British team driven by Tony Nash had just completed its first run, which had put them in second place. Then they made a most disheartening discovery. They had broken a bolt on the rear axle of their sled, which would put them out of the competition. At the bottom of the hill, the great Italian bobsled driver Eugenio Monti, who was in first place, heard of their plight. Without hesitation, Monti removed the bolt from the rear axle of his own sled and sent it to the top of the hill. The British team affixed it to their sled and then completed their run down the mountain, winning the gold medal. Monti's Italian team took the bronze. When asked about his act of sportsmanship, Eugenio Monti deflected any praise, saying, "Tony Nash did not win because I gave him a bolt. Tony Nash won because he was the best driver." The story of Monti's selfless act spread. And because of it he was given the first De Coubertin Medal for sportsmanship. The award, named after the founder of the modern Olympics, is one of the noblest honors that can be bestowed upon an Olympic athlete; in other words, the most precious hardware any Olympian can own. People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Be good anyway. Honesty and openness will make you vulnerable. Be honest and open anyway. People need help but may attack you if you try to help them. Help them anyway. In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway. In the kingdom of God childlike people are great people I find it interesting that imbedded in this short story are two mini-examples of childlike humility. Notice, first of all, when Jesus wanted to illustrate kingdom humility, he didn’t refer to any of the disciples and one of their rare acts of selfless service. No, He called a child. Now, in that culture children were counted as nothing. No adult ever was seen interacting with a child in public because it was beneath adults to do so. But not Jesus. In trying to illustrate childlikeness He actually called a child as an example. The other mini-example is perhaps so obvious it’s easy to miss. The child came. He came and stood there just as Jesus asked. Little children are naturally cooperative—not with their parents-- but haven’t you noticed if another adult asks him, the child will instantly and enthusiastically respond? That refreshing characteristic disappears somewhere in the teen years. This is a clue to what genuine, childlike humility is. You come when Jesus calls you and you stay where He puts you. And you remain unselfconscious about it all. Just like this boy. Others, you know—“grown ups”, don’t like to be told what to do—especially in public. This is pride, and it lives in those who have no ultimate security to fall back on. It is so hard for proud people to take their masks off and be utterly at the disposal of Jesus. Children don’t have that problem. Do you know why? Because Jesus is their security! Little children make no claims of worthiness or greatness. He just submits himself to the care of his parents and trusts them for all that he needs. The child knows he can’t meet his own needs, take care of himself. He has no resources to even keep himself alive. No wonder Jesus chose to illustrate the simple, humble faith of the kingdom person by modeling a child before them. The simple, humble faith of a child is not only needed to get into the kingdom, but the more that kind of faith grows, the greater you are in the kingdom. Christians should always shun the pretense of pride and self-engineered greatness. Why? Because Christians, of all people, know they are accepted in Christ. We have nothing to fear losing. We have admitted to Him our sinfulness, our spiritual bankruptcy, and have come to Him for His grace. We have nothing to protect. God has given us the highest status in the world. We are children of God! Delight in your position, Christian. You are a child. Therefore, you are great in the kingdom, and as long as you remain childlike, you will become even greater in the kingdom! Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (verse 4) There’s your answer, disciples! You wanted to know who is the greatest in the kingdom. It is the child. Be a child. In the kingdom of God impartial people are great people Before we leave this text, we must take a look at verse 5 and consider the wonderful twist Jesus adds to this teaching. Whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. (verse 5) Jesus insists that the other quality about great people in His kingdom is impartiality. Anyone who is willing to welcome a little child in Jesus’ name will actually be welcoming Him. This is very close to another quote from Jesus: The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. (Matthew 25:40) Here’s the test of greatness—have you become childlike and humble enough to spend your time and resources entertaining little children? That’s right, little children—who have snotty noses, cry, are occasionally nuisances, and who, most importantly, have nothing to give back. Great people in the kingdom always have time for the little ones, the least of these and the down-and-outers. Tell me, how do you view obnoxious people; bothersome, ugly people; flakes and wierdos; nerds and low-lifes? How do you like serving people who cannot help you at all? Is your faith and trust in God deep enough to believe that it is right to “waste your time” on the least of these? Such impartial people are great in God’s kingdom, but they’re foolish also-rans in the world’s economy. I’ve seen such greatness in this church family. For about nine years my niece, Joni, lived with us and was a part of this congregation. Suffering with mental retardation, physical problems and borderline psychosis, she was usually very sweet, and sometimes, well, not so sweet. It was a regular treat for me to watch God’s people at MECF with Joni. Often I would walk into the room and see a grown man down on one knee talking with her. Actually, you usually listened to Joni as she would jabber about her cat, her room, her beads or stuffed animals. There the man knelt, planted in her tiny world, inches from boredom, but listening patiently, wordlessly communicating to this precious girl who had nothing to offer him in return for his kindness, “Joni, you matter to God, and you matter to me right now more than my agenda—or my aching, bony knee.” Dozens of believers—great kingdom people—every Sunday and weekly at small group meetings, they demonstrated in real and patient terms what real kingdom greatness is—letting a little child come into their lives and giving her the love she desperately needed. I love living among great kingdom people! Do you know what it’s like living in the kingdom of this world, where you can’t find anyone who cares unless they can get something from you in return? Sure you do. It can be a cold place where there are no impartial people—where you have to measure up to standards before you can be someone’s friend. A couple of years ago, in Meridian, Mississippi George Phillips and his wife were getting ready for bed when his wife noticed that the light was on in the shed in the backyard. Evidently some thieves had broken in and were trying to steal some of their tools. She told George to call the police. He did so and when the dispatcher learned the details of the call the reply was, “Well, all of our people are busy right now, but some of our people will get there.  Just lock the door, it sounds like there is no threat to your life.”  George hung up the phone, waited about 30 seconds and called  the police again. He said, “I’m the guy who called a few seconds ago about thieves breaking into my tool shed. Don’t worry about it. I’ve taken car of it, I just shot all of them.” Within a few minutes there 3 squad cars, an ambulance and an emergency rescue team. They showed up and they caught the burglars red -handed. One of the policeman said to George, “I thought you said you shot them.” George replied, “I thought you said nobody was available!” That’s the world for you—nobody available. The kingdom of God, represented thus far by the imperfect church in our world, is a place of refuge, a place of acceptance and blessing. It is God’s new community, living out the principles and values of the kingdom. It’s the place where the children of God pay heed to Romans 12:16 – Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. It is a kingdom here God’s kids rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. (Romans 12:15) Conclusion Harry Hopkins was a counselor to FDR during WWII. Churchill called him one of the five most powerful men in the world. He didn’t hold a cabinet position. Someone asked FDR why he kept Hopkins around. FDR said, “Someday you may have this office and sit where I sit. You will find out what a lonely job this is because everyone who comes to see you wants something from you. And then you will find out how important it is to have one person in your life that doesn’t want anything except to serve you.” That’s what God calls His church to be: a community of people with childlike humility, people who selflessly serve others impartially and lovingly. A great church full of great people. I challenge us all to recommit ourselves to this call to greatness. Sing this little chant with me and dedicate yourself anew to this calling. If you want to be great in God’s kingdom Learn to be the servant of all.     [Back to Top]