Seeds for 11/07/2023 - Matthew 18:1-5
Scripture: At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
He called a little child to Him, and placed the child among them. And He said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
Observation: Jesus gives an unexpected answer to the disciples’ question, “Who… is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Rather than cut to the chase, Jesus takes a moment to set up His answer by having a child join Him in the midst of the group. Scholars tell us that children had no status or standing in society, which came with age. Jewish children enjoyed the love of their parents, but had no societal status apart from that. So, as Jesus makes His points with children as the reference, He is not referring to something we might think of as a universal admiration and idealization of children or a reverence for childlike innocence. Those concepts were not operative in His audience’s imagination.
First, Jesus challenges the disciples to “change and become like little children” in order to enter the kingdom. The child would not be standing in Jesus’ presence based on understanding itself as worthy on its own. He or she would having a standing that derived solely from the love of their parents. Likewise, we enter the kingdom based not on earning our own status, but “dressed in His righteousness alone.” Our worthiness is based on the love of God in Christ for us. We must, as must the disciples, put aside any and all sense of meriting a place in the kingdom and receive it strictly as a gift.
Second, Jesus gets around to the question specifically asked: “whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Having clarified how entry into the kingdom works—by complete and total humility in receiving the love of God as a pure, undeserved gift—Jesus is now ready to point out that the one who chooses that lowly status, that utter dependence, is the greatest in the kingdom.
Third, “whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me,” Jesus adds. Not only must we become humble to receive the love of God, we must also welcome the one who has no standing but that conferred by a love generous enough to offer it. In other words, welcoming Christ requires imitating Him, which requires having hearts transformed to be like His own generous, loving heart.
Application:
What might evoke the same sense of dependence and humility today as the child did for Jesus’ audience?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, humble me completely. Empty me of earning and help me embrace the pure gift of your love. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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