Who Will Be the Greatest
Notes
Transcript
Greatest in the Kingdom....
Greatest in the Kingdom....
Good morning everyone!
Well, we are just a few days away from Turkey day! The day mist will be guilty of the 5th sin, Gluttony.
We love it all and want to eat it all, amen. We will all then sit down and promise we will never do anything like that again… the same promise we made the year before… And its hard, we love food and we love those special dishes our family and friends make during those times of the year.
But it is a wonderful time with our family.
But don’t lose sight of the fact this celebration remembers those early settlers and the faithfulness of God in preserving them after a hard year.
And honestly, we should take the time to thank our heavenly Father for His faithfulness in our lives and those around us. God is good my friends, so very good.
Today we come to ta new chapter in the Gospel of Matthew. If you have your Bibles with you, lets come to chapter 18.
I hope you bring your Bibles with you, and if you do not have one, let me know, I want to make sure you do.
So Matthew chapter 18, lets look at verses 1-6
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.
With each text we cover, we know that Jesus is moving closer and closer to the cross… this hour is approaching.
Now they are still at Capernaum, we know this from the Scriptures, we will talk more about that in a minute. A lot has happened in the last few chapters., twice Jesus has shared His upcoming death, burial and resurrection. And while the disciples don’t really understand this yet, but this is His purpose and He is moving toward the cross.
So let’s move forward and consider these three points.... Here is the first.
1. A Profound Question...
Now remember, Jesus has been teaching about his upcoming death, burial and resurrection, and this doesn’t fit what the people think or understand about the Messiah.
And while here at Capernaum, literally, almost immediately from the way the Scripture reads they ask him about His coming Kingdom. verse 1 says “ at that time...” which literally means “at that hour...”
Remember from last week, Peter was asked about Jesus being exempt from the Temple tax,and while Peter answered yes, Jesus went on to share about their place as sons of the King and his Kingdom.
So while considering all these things… look at what is happening, The disciples come to Jesus, seeking some information about his Kingdom.
They ask.....??
Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of God. - This may seem like a strange questions, but it’s really not. Their life is full of people in different tiers of position and leadership. Consider their past when they had judges, prophets and even kings for a while.
And Jesus has spent some time teaching about the Kingdom of God. And they have probably interrupted His teaching in light of their present life situations.
Jesus said this in Matt 5:19
19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
And then in Matthew 11:11
11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
So this is not a new topic for them, but they misunderstood parts of what Jesus is teaching....
And what other keys bring us to this understanding.. The phrase “…Who is greatest....” is present tense, and it points to the disciples concern about their status and privilege that is about to be set loose on the world.
And while they ask this, we know they are missing the bigger picture of the Father’s will and Jesus mission.
Jesus has been talking about laying down this life, about His death and resurrection not establishing His kingdom. We understand this looking at Jesus life across the testimony of the Scriptures.
But for the disciples, they are still caught in that old paradigm, His kingdom is coming and will throw off all the restraints of those who seek to harm them and oppress them.
Even today they are still in that paradigm in a way. In Ad 67 and Rome is oppressing Israel and its people, hundreds of Israelis and their families were holed up in the southern fortress of Masada. They opted for a mass suicide instead of the humiliation of defeat. Today the solider pledge this will never happen again in their land, they will not fall to pagan lands.
So they cam to Jesus with a profound question....
Let me ask you… What is your question before the Lord?
What are you seeking his help with? Are you asking for your will or His?
Now lets move on to a second thought...
2. A Stunning Example
As the disciples ask this question, Jesus has one of the most meaningful object lessons of His public ministry here on Earth.
He calls for a child to come to Him… can you imagine the blessing of being that child as Jesus talked about the importance of your life, and the lives of your young peers in front of mankind.
To me it is wonderful… definitely a great moment!
Jesus is bringing to them a live parable of sorts, teaching them with a truth using this child as the example
Lets look again and see what the Savior says...
Verses 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 calls for this child to come, and with that child as the center of attention, Jesus begins to teach them.
And with verse 3, Jesus says “Truly” There is another one of those key words in Scripture. When you see “truly” or “truly, truly” ; Jesus is saying hey, pay attention to what I am saying… You don’t want to miss this...
And look at what Jesus says… Unless you turn and become as a little child, literally change the way you are thinking , be transformed in their thinking.
Unless they leave this preoccupation, this focus on being the greatest or most important in the Kingdom, they would fail in their walk with the Lord.
Why children? Why does Jesus compare a successful life to that of a child in their midst?
Well lets consider these little ones.... Children were not admired or respected in the first century. They were totally dependent on others for their protection and provision. They can really do nothing for themselves or to improve their status.
So unless you become like them, instead of dependent on self, you instead are utterly dependent on God, you cannot be greatest in the Kingdom.
The disciples were looking at self and the physical… Jesus had made this great declaration about Peter in chapter 16, and so he may have felt pretty good about himself. Maybe others felt like they had reason to boast...
Ask yourself this question....
Are you looking at self, your accomplishments, your works? Is your attitude, you know like... look at me, why wouldn’t God want to use me…?
We might need a little help from God ....right
God wants us dependent on Him, you see a life that is dependent is a life that is looking for God, following God and walking with God. It is that person who will live for God in a way that is pleasing to God.
So look at the negative..Verse 3
Unless you become like a child, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.
So unless you realize it is not you or your works, but entirely God’s work and you need him, you cannot enter into His eternal presence.
And there is a positive..Verse 4
Whoever humbles himself like this child will be greatest in the Kingdom. Those who understand their helplessness, and respond to God has such, they are the greatest in the Kingdom.
Again the phrase “...Is the greatest… “ speaks to the new age.. It is the new perspective of faith in the Savior, faith in God’s work to Save not the old system of sacrifices...
The call in Christianity is to abandon self, our ways, wishes and desires and take His upon us and in turn weigh our ways, wishes and desires in light of His ways.
There is where we find life… when we weigh our life in accordance with Jesus and his ways… there we find the fullest expression of life.
Be child like in front of God, be utterly dependent upon Him for everything.
We can trust him, remember what Paul said to those believers at Ephesus.
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
Now just one last thought for today my friends...
3. A Stern Warning...
As the disciples are thinking about Jesus words, trying to think about what He is saying and wondering how it effects them.... Jesus brings them a stern warning...
This warning is powerful, one that every generation after them should pay attention too...
Lets look at verses 5-6
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.
Now remember Jesus has placed a child in their midst, he is using this little one as a living parable, a physical example for them to see …
And Jesus makes two important statements here...
The first is verse 5. It is a positive aspect to living in front of God…
“ Whoever receives one such child in my name received me...” Jesus is not just saying children are important… But he is talking about the “little ones”
these new believers… young in the faith!
The essential truth of discipleship is that we are discipled to disciple others!
You exist to help others grow. Just as you exist as parents and grandparents, in which you model your life to others, to help them grow up as good citizens. So you exist to help those new ones in the faith - “grow up”
And when you move past your needs, desires wants and invest in others, when you humble yourself and take on that job of discipling others… Jesus says you welcome me into your midst as well.
Jesus wants you to replicate His life to others… Care for others, help others, instruct others, love others, reflect Christ likeness into their lives.
But there is a negative to this verse as well....
Look at verse 6....
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.
Wow…
There is a danger in not valuing the ‘little ones.”
I remember talking about ministering to children once and someone said , children are fine but they don’t pay the bills… ugggghh ( BTW, that did not happen here, it was a different church, in the north).
We can take what Jesus is saying here and reflect about it two fold.. Physical and Spiritual children.
Both are important.
We must tend to our little ones, these dear children, teach them and help them grow toward the Lord. And once they are His, we must disciple them so they know the truth. So they can be free in Jesus!
But the greater meaning speaks to those future spiritual children, those people who humble themselves, turning away from their own reasoning, their own understanding…those who turn away from sin and come to Jesus
When we embrace and welcome these new believers, we welcome Jesus into our midst.
But Jesus makes it clear, harm them, and it brings judgment.
Look again at verse 6
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.
So what Is Jesus saying...
The phrase I really want you to focus on is this, “...Cause - and with it - to sin...” The meaning here isn’t just to cause one to commit an offense or a wrong doing in front of God, but the deeper meaning can refer to causing one to turn away or renounce their faith in God all together,
So whoever would cause one to of these little ones, whether it be a child or a a new young believer to fall away… there would be judgment upon them.
Jesus says it would be better for them to to tie a millstone around their neck and cast into the water to drown in the deepest part of the sea than to face God’s judgment because of their sin.
Wow, think of a millstone, it is that large round wheel that was used in the mills to grind wheat or corn into a fine powder to use it for making food related products.
This stone is so heavy, those stones weight a thousand pounds or more and to lift it off the grind floor. Jesus says it would be better for you to tie it to your neck and cast it into the sea, whereby it would pull you to your death. It would be better for you to drown than to suffer under the punishment of God.
This my friends is why it is so important that we examine our lives in front of God each day …
Disciples, followers of Jesus are called to live righteously in front of God, people have to see Jesus in us...
And if not from us then who? The world is not going to be like Jesus, no they will be like their father the devil.
So we have to be Jesus in front of them, and disciple them as they come to faith in Christ.
The greatest are those who humble themselves…who place no confidence in their own flesh and become utterly dependent upon Jesus, and relaying that to others as they grow as well.
It begins with a decision… what will you do today. and then each day...
Pray