Seeds for 11/09/2023 - Matthew 18:10-14
Scripture: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.
“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.
Observation: An interesting thing about noticing the same or a similar parable or saying of Jesus in various Gospels is that the different contexts bring out new facets of meaning. Here’s a good example. The most well-known version of this illustration is from Luke 15:3-7. There, it is a beginning point as Jesus leads up to the parable of the prodigal. Here in Matthew, however, we find it in this cascade of teaching with “these little ones,” the children, as the center. So, how is Jesus using this illustration here?
The focus is the Heavenly Father’s care and concern for “these little ones.” One clue that they are the central concern is that that phrase is used and God’s care is expressed in bookends around the parabolic illustration about God’s seeking love. The first and last sentences in this passage show it: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones” at the beginning, and “In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.” (emphasis mine)
Jesus poses the scenario. “If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?” I can’t help but wonder if the actual answer to the question, “will he not leave the ninety-nine,” is more of a double-take from the disciples and a quizzical look. “Will he not?” Would he, really? He’s got ninety-nine out of a hundred! I wonder if some hyperbole is at work here in order to underscore the caring desire and determined will of God the Father.
The illustration shows us that while God’s care for the ninety-nine is intact, He “is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.” Important word, “any.” So committed is the Father to securing a place in the kingdom for the least and the lowly, represented by and including the children currently standing before the disciples as Jesus teaches, that He acts as personal search party if only one is missing from the roll call.
This passage reminds me of Paul’s words to Timothy, expressing the heart of God that all people would come to saving faith in Him: “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
The saving grace of the Gospel is not for some people, it’s for everyone. God doesn’t want to lose a single soul. He wants the truth to be known far and wide so that all might be saved. And when we lose our way, like the single sheep, it is the heart of God to go searching for us. C.S. Lewis captured this notion well when he said, “He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less.”
Application:
Where are you in relation to the flock right now? Are you solidly in the fold or are you wandering from the Father, needing to return to the God who came in the flesh for you?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; Prone to leave the God I love: Here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it; seal it for Thy courts above. 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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