Amen. Please be seated. And if you have a Bible, let me invite you to turn with me to Matthew chapter 18. This morning we turn a corner in Matthew chapter 18 is a long teaching section of our Lord Jesus, and it's about our relationships as Christians.
That is our relationships with others. And this morning in particular Jesus confronts, well, our selfish desire to be prominent, to be greater than others. There's a direct connection as well in the passage between Matthew 18 and 1 to 4. We looked at last week in Matthew 17 verses 24 to 27.
In that passage, Jesus showed his humility. He did it by acknowledging that he was the very son of God, and that he didn't have a responsibility to pay the temple tax if you remember that passage. And the reason was because he's the son of the king of the universe, and because he's the very fulfillment of the ransom price for atonement that the temple tax paid. But nevertheless, he instructed Peter to pay the temple tax for himself and Peter, thus showing both his deity and his humility.
And now today in this passage, Jesus will direct his disciples' attention to their own issue concerning, well, their lack of humility. So let me invite us all to do some self-examination from Matthew chapter 18 verses 1 through 4. Here now, the Holy and Inspired Word of God. At that time, the disciples came to Jesus saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, Truly, I say to you, 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. Amen. This is God's Word.
May he write it on our hearts. Let's look to him together in prayer, Father, in heaven. We ask that you would teach us this word and drive it home by the work of the Spirit to our hearts. And so would you humble the proud because you oppose the proud and are gracious to the humble.
We ask that you would do that work in us and in each of us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. The disciples here were struggling with selfish ambition, the desire to be greater than, and to be thought to be greater than the others.
And this was an issue for that. But of course, it's an issue for all believers in every generation. And here the disciples ought to have had the attitude of the sons of Cora in Psalm 84 when they said, I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the courts of the wicked. But the disciples didn't want the doorkeeper job.
They wanted to be the greatest and to be thought to be the greatest. They weren't content with a low position. They wanted the highest. And so we want to think through what happens here.
Jesus, of course, actually we'll see here's an argument about who's the greatest in the kingdom of heaven in verse one. And in his response he gives them first a visual aid, verse two, and then a verbal lesson verses two through three and four. So first the argument. That is the argument that the disciples are having about the greatness of the kingdom of heaven.
Now look, verse one, you don't hear about this argument, you just hear this. At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And of course they were thinking of the kingdom as an earthly kingdom that would be established by Jesus. They had come to believe he's the Messiah and they were wondering, just wondering which of them would be the greatest.
The Gospel of Luke says that they were arguing about it and that Jesus knew what they were thinking. The Gospel of Mark adds that they had actually been on their way down to Capernaum and when they got to Capernaum Jesus asked what they had been arguing about. And Mark tells us actually they were silent initially, perhaps because they were embarrassed by their worldly thoughts or their rivalry and jealousy and selfish ambition. But in any case, Matthew just tells us that at some point they did go ahead and ask Jesus directly, who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
Now why were they asking that question? Well, I mean maybe they argued about it because Moses and Elijah had appeared to Peter, James and John with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration just recently before. But Abraham hadn't been there and David hadn't been there, Ruth and Esther hadn't been there. All kinds of important characters in God's plane of redemption for the world hadn't been there.
Maybe it's heard their thinking about, well, who is the greatest? Or maybe because Peter, James and John all got to go up on that mountain, but the nine others didn't get invited to do so. And maybe that got their sense of the in competition going. Or maybe because Jesus had just mentioned in the last passage at the end of chapter 17, he had just mentioned the kings of the earth and their sons.
And of course, likened himself as a son of a king, which he is, and not only himself, but his disciples as sons who are free and maybe lie to that kingdom and king language. They're thinking about the kingdom and then, well, who rises to the top here. But whatever motivated them, it's truly an astounding question. And the timing of it is astounding because Jesus had almost immediately before in chapter 17 verses 22 and 23, explained that he was going to be handed over to wicked men and be killed by them.
And their response had been to be greatly distressed. They were greatly distressed, but their distress doesn't seem to have lasted very long. They're convinced he's the Messiah. The Messiah is going to establish a glorious earthly kingdom.
And so they want to know who's the greatest. And they begin to jockey for position in a way. And the kind of kingdom they were thinking of, though, is not the kind of kingdom Jesus came to bring. And we know that because in Acts chapter 1, this is, Acts chapter 1, this is because very clear, even after the resurrection, when Jesus is walking upon the earth with his disciples before his ascension into heaven, they asked him, Acts chapter 1, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel.
John Stott notes that the verb restore shows they were expecting a political and territorial kingdom, and the noun Israel, that they were expecting a national kingdom and the adverbial clause at this time that they were expecting its immediate establishment. And they were wrong on all counts. I mean, the kingdom is going to be a spiritual kingdom, not of this world, and it's going to be a kingdom of those who are saved from their sin through faith in Jesus. And it's going to be a kingdom that is for all people, not Jews only, not for Israel only, but for Gentiles too, people from every tribe and tongue and nation and language.
And it was going to develop and come, not instantaneously in the fullness of its consummated glory, but it was going to develop over time as the gospel was preached and the spirit of God brought the gospel home to the hearts of people. And so they were completely wrong about the kind of kingdom and remained so until after the ascension. And so these are ideas that they're going to learn later. Here, their minds says Jim Boyes were still miles away from genuine Christianity.
They want to know who's the greatest, and at least some of them thought it was themselves. So Jesus teaches them about the kingdom with a visual aid and a verbal lesson. Notice in the first place that visual aid in verse two. And here's his response to them, calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them.
And so truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Notice the visual aid is a child. It's the diminutive word for child. So either a young child here or a very little child in any case.
Some think they were probably at Peter's home. This may even have been one of Peter's children. He was a married man. But children here, well children, they're the visual aid.
Now children have both negative and positive characteristics as you all know. As adults do too. I mean let's not be picky or let's not pick on the children. But children after all don't know very much and that's why they need to be educated.
Well lack the kind of focus that allows them to focus on one thing for a long period of time and they need to mature. And children are, well not to be mean but children are foolish and easily deceived because of the fall into sin. Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, the Bible says. And that's because we all come into this world falling in Adam and foolish.
And we are not to be childish in those kinds of ways. Jesus isn't commending those things. We are not to be childish but we are to be child-like. And children have positive characteristics such as trust, that tendons seem to believe what you tell them.
You kind of have to grow up a bit to lose your gullibility. Or well sadly you kind of have to grow up a little bit to be suspicious of everybody. But children in that day in contrast to the world that we live in today, they occupied a really low place in ancient society. And that seems to be chiefly what Jesus is driving at here.
Their low status in verse 4 he will speak of their humility, sharing humility. The status of a Jewish child was reflected in the common rabbinic put down. Which was deaf and dumb, weak minded under age. They didn't think very highly of children.
A Jewish society a child was quote not taken seriously except as a responsibility. One to be looked after, not one to be looked up to. Now to be sure the Old Testament in the Psalms celebrates children as a gift from God. And they are and we thank God for children and we thank God for the children of this church.
But children start life small, weak and needy. They don't as much do as are done for. They're provided for. They're looked after.
They're given food. They're given drink. They're given clothes and stuff. They don't have high status and they don't have a high capacity to care for themselves.
They're in a humble condition, a low condition, dependent and needy. That's the visual aid. Jesus says you need to become like children. And here's the verbal lesson in verses 3 and 4.
Truly I say to you, says Jesus, 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. So he stresses humility as we said because humility is the exact opposite of the self-seeking pride. These disciples were demonstrating.
Thomas Macquemas, the medieval author, once said he is genuinely great who considers himself small and cares nothing about high honors. Kind of like I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord than anything else. Another Christian said, great men never know that they are great, but small men never know that they are small. As my old pastor put a great man or so given to doing what the Lord has called them to do, they never stop to think about their personal greatness.
But small men are so wrapped up in themselves that they never realize their midgets. Jesus understood that his disciples were wrapped up in themselves. And what they needed to do was to change, to become like little children if they're even going to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The disciples have been asking about greatness in the Kingdom.
And Jesus said, you're asking the wrong question here guys. The question is how will you even get into the Kingdom of Heaven? That's what they needed to be concerned about. And so Jesus says and insists on it on their conversion as it were, or their repentance as it were.
Unless you turn, he says, and become like children. You will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. To enter the Kingdom of Heaven you must possess the humility and the dependency that's of the nature of children. And so they needed to be radically changed.
And we need to be radically changed too because people are not humble by nature. And the older we get, the more obvious it is unless we repent. For we are all in our fallen condition. We are all self-seeking, selfish, driven by pride, self-reliant, self-righteous.
And we need to see that. We need to be humbled by that. We need to be driven out of ourselves to look away from ourselves, to turn as it were. From the way that we're headed to turn, from trusting in ourselves so that we can begin to look at Jesus.
In the Sermon on Mount Jesus also addressed this question about who does the Kingdom belong to, or who belongs in the Kingdom. In Matthew 5 verse 3 he said, blessed are the poor in spirit. For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Who does the Kingdom of Heaven belong to?
The poor in spirit Jesus says. That's an attitude about yourself. You see yourself as poor. Not poor in money or possessions, but in spiritual categories.
Moral categories. It's the opposite of being rich in spirit. Of thinking you have it all together and being full of yourself. It's the opposite of being self-confident and self-assured and self-sufficient, which is what the world tells you you ought to be.
But the word poor in blessed are the poor in spirit is the word for beggar. And it's not the word, and there is a word in great, for somebody who's got a really low income. They're barely scraping by. They work to eat and clothe themselves and might have the prospect of rising through hard work and good circumstances and providences.
But that isn't this word. This word Jesus uses. Blessed are the poor in spirit is the word for the person who is utterly destitute, completely dependent upon the good will and charity of others. They can't meet their own needs by their own hands.
To be poor in spirit then is to see yourself like you really are before God, that you are weak and helpless without Him. Spiritually bankrupt. Aware of the debt of your sin that you cannot pay. And all you have then is what?
A cry for mercy. A cry for help. Some people object to Christianity on just this point though. Because they say well that makes Christianity a crutch for people who can't make life, make it life on their own.
And how would we respond to that? Yep, it's true. That's me. I can't do it on my own.
John Piper asked the question why is the thought that Christianity is a crutch considered a valid criticism of Christianity? People don't usually look at a crutch and say that's bad. It's just a crutch. We don't think crutches are bad things.
Why does a crutch become bad when it's Christianity? It says Piper. I think the answer that most critics would give is this. If Christianity is a crutch, then it's only good for cripples.
But we don't like to see ourselves as cripples. And so it's offensive to our self-sufficiency. I mean it was Jesus who said that it's not the healthy who need a physician but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.
The church is a hospital for the sick. Sinners. The helpless. The needy.
Here in Matthew 18 he says I came not to call the self-sufficient adults who show impressive potential to be great in my kingdom. No. I came to call those who are humble like children, needy, independent like children. And so how can we become this way?
Well see us Lewis says if anyone would wish to acquire humility, I can tell him the first step to recognize that he is proud. You don't get humility by trying to be humble. That would just make you proud of your achievement if you thought you got there. You get it by a sight of God in his majesty and acknowledging your own sin and self-righteousness.
By seeing that Jesus is great and you are not and confessing your self-inflated self-estimation. If you will admit your arrogant and you can't change yourself, you're admitting then that you need what you can't provide for yourself. So you ask God for mercy and you receive it. The kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor in spirit.
It's given to them just as entrance into the kingdom of heaven as for those who are humbled like this child. For people who don't do for themselves but are done for as we said. For people who don't work their way up into a status of greatness for which they can boast but people who see themselves at the bottom, needing a handout at the lowest rung. In other words, you can't be in the kingdom of heaven by nature.
You've got to become a part of the kingdom of heaven by grace as a gift. You aren't in it because you've been created but by becoming a new creation, not by being born but by being born again and becoming then like little children receiving the gift of the kingdom. So we might ask as we wind up this portion of scripture. Did they get it?
Did the disciples get it? Were they turned and changed to become like little children? We know that they didn't get it right away because they're still fighting for the top position two chapters later. Oh, maybe you know the famous story.
Matthew 20 verse 20, the mother of James and John appeared at the feet of Jesus and asked that one of her sons could sit at the right hand of Jesus in his kingdom and the other son could sit at the left hand of Jesus in his kingdom. But what we also know is that they probably put their mother up to it. She put the question to Jesus, but James and John are right there with her, egging her on, maybe even having asked her to do it because maybe they thought he'd be more favorable to her. We know that.
Well, on the one hand, because Mark doesn't even mention the mother just that they put the question to Jesus obviously through her, but also because they were the rest of the disciples. Mark tells us indignant at the two brothers, not at the mother. They were indignant. They were hot with anger at the two brothers.
So it was their request. They wanted those positions for themselves. And so what did Jesus do? Well, he went through it all over again in Matthew chapter 20 verse 25.
He said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you, but whoever would be great among you must be your servant and whoever would be first among you must be your slave. Even as the son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. And as long as Jesus was with them on the earth, they didn't get it.
But when he died, they did. For they understood at last that he had given himself for them and had bought their salvation at the cost of his own life. And that changed them. And it's beautiful to see the disciples were all guilty of the self-advancing spirit, but among the many who were guilty, James and John stood out because of their efforts to be in the first places.
And yet think of them. Jesus gave them the nickname sons of thunder, suggested of their assertive and aggressive attitudes. On another occasion, you remember that, well, these two wanted to call down fire on a village to destroy it after the Samaritans had not received them the way they thought they ought to be received. And yet they were changed.
They were changed by the sight of the son of God upon a cross, the knowledge that he had humbled himself and died for their sins and risen to rule his kingdom. We're not told much about James, but he must have changed because we don't hear of him struggling for prominence in the church after the resurrection, but we do hear that he eventually died, was executed for faith in Christ and proclaiming Christ. And then John, of course, lived to be an old man. John lived to be an old man and he was known as the apostle of love.
He spoke humbling first John 3 16 when he said, by this we know love that he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. So if Jesus can turn a son of thunder into an apostle of love, he can conquer the proud and give them humility, humility like this little child that they might become part of his kingdom. And he needs to give us that. If any of us are going to become a part of his kingdom and hear this table, then may the Lord once again humble us and make us to see that we are truly poor, truly needy for what only Jesus can give us.
Let's pray. Father, give us Jesus and all the benefits of belonging to him and we ask it not in our name but his not standing on our rightness but his righteousness not hoping in ourselves, but asking as a gift. We ask you to do it in mercy in his name we pray, amen. Let's stand together and sing.