By Pastor Greg
A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year-old grandson. The old man's hands trembled and his eyesight was blurred. At the dinner table his shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor; milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. "We must do something about dad," said the son. "I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor." So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. However, one evening at supper the four-year-old child spilled some of his food on the floor, and he too knocked over his glass of water. Turning to his parents, he asked “Does this mean I have to sit with grandpa?”
Children are remarkably perceptive. They see things and observe things that most adults miss. Children see our attitudes and observe our behaviors. And they are not afraid to ask penetrating questions. The grandson in the story rightly assumed that grandpa had to eat alone because he made such a mess. And in his innocence the boy assumed that based upon his parent’s behavior, there was rank in the house. And the messy were the least important in the home.
One day, as Jesus and His disciples were walking to Capernaum, the disciples began to argue among themselves which of them was the greatest. But they did this quietly, hoping that Jesus would not hear their discussion. But when they settled in a house, Jesus asks them what they were discussing out on the road. Oh, He knew what they were saying, and he wanted the disciples to know that He knew. According to Matthew, the disciples finally blurted out what was on their mind. They wondered who was the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. And to illustrate His answer, Jesus uses a child.
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:1-6).
According to Jesus the greatest in the Kingdom is not the most educated or the most gifted. The greatest is not the one who has done the most to advance the Kingdom of God. Isn’t that comforting to know? Jesus says that just because we are not the best of the best, or not the most gifted and talented, we are still of value in the Kingdom of heaven. As Jesus stood with this child, He could have turned to Peter who had recently been to the mountaintop with Jesus and witnessed His transfiguration (the same Peter who walked on water), and said “that’s not what makes you great”. Those words can be comforting. Not all of us (few of us, actually) accomplish such great things in life, yet we are not least in the Kingdom of God.
Although great deeds and great words do not equal greatness in God’s Kingdom, neither does doing nothing or little at all. Please notice that Jesus didn’t say that this child was greater than the disciples. That’s not what He was doing here. He didn’t say that innocence or an absence of works in the Kingdom is what makes someone greater either. I mean, let’s face it; this child probably didn’t bake very many casseroles for the weekend pot-luck meal. Neither did this child preach or teach or witness to others about Christ. So don’t start thinking that you are great because you do very little for God’s Kingdom. What Jesus is trying to teach is that the greatest in the Kingdom is the one who demonstrates humility; the one who has a servant’s heart, or the one who submits themselves to the Father’s authority. Greatness in the kingdom was not based on great works or words, but on childlike humility of spirit.
The disciples were asking the wrong question. They should have been concerned about serving the Lord, not asking about positions in the kingdom. Their service needed to be directed toward people, not themselves. Truthfully, their question was just as discriminating as the question a religious lawyer asked Jesus one day (see Luke 10:30-37). In that instance Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan to answer the question “who is my neighbor”. In this case, Jesus pointed to a child to answer the question “who is the greatest”. Both lessons point straight to the heart, asking them the question “who is more important in your eyes, a despised Samaritan or yourself? Who is more important, you or this child?” According to Jesus the greatest in the Kingdom is the person who sees others as more important than themselves (see Philippians 2:3-4).
What makes the lesson of the child so significant is the fact that according to Jewish Law this child had no rights (as mentioned in The Bible Knowledge Commentary) But Jesus said that until the disciples get down off their high horse and begin seeing everyone as valuable and important, they would not even enter the Kingdom of Heaven. So instead of worrying over who was the greatest, these disciples should be more concerned that their selfish, self-centered attitudes will exclude them from the Kingdom altogether.
Do you think we struggle with this same tendency? Do you think we have developed the same idea that rank in the Kingdom is based upon great works or great words? Sometimes I think we do. It seems that today’s Church has fallen into this same mindset. It seems we have because I will often hear someone say that children are the church of tomorrow; as if today the adults are greater and the children are less simply because they do not contribute to the Kingdom in significant ways. That’s why those words just don’t seem right to me. To push the needs of the children aside; to say that tomorrow you can be part of the church, but not today, is to be guilty of the same sin Jesus addressed in this section of Matthew.
I believe our children see this. I believe they assume there is rank in the church based upon our behavior. Based upon our decisions a child can easily recognize that the needs of the adults are more important than the needs of the children. That’s why we must lay aside all selfishness, and instead humble ourselves before God; considering the needs of the children among us and recognizing their value in the Kingdom of God. They are not least in the Kingdom and we are not the greater. Everyone has value in God’s Kingdom, regardless of their age.
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