Introduction: We place lots of emphasis on Jesus’ final words recorded in the Gospel according to Matthew: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:19-20 ESV). Being His last command, it makes sense for us to emphasise it. But Jesus spent the majority of His ministry teaching the disciples and His other followers how to treat one another. How is it that we as followers of Christ are to behave and accordingly, treat each other? Today’s text is pivotal for this idea. I firmly believe it’s one of the most important passages in the Bible.
“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.
7 Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! 8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.
10 See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 18:1-10 ESV.
Context: What was the time that the disciples came to Jesus? I think the context is important here. Earlier in Matthew, Jesus confronts Peter: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Matthew 16:23 ESV). For Peter, he was seen as the leader of the disciples. He was boisterous and opinionated. And with this confrontation from Jesus, I imagine that in the disciples eyes, they were probably thinking that if Peter wasn’t to be at Jesus’ right hand in Paradise – then who would be? And so their question: “who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven”. But Jesus demonstrates that our pursuit of glory and power is not what God desires.
Calling a little child: Jesus responds to the disciples by calling to himself a child and He says that unless we as His followers become like children, we won’t enter the kingdom of heaven (v. 3). It’s literally a condition of salvation – quite the opposite to what the disciples were hoping. Now the child in reference here isn’t what we would picture. The original Greek word is paidia, which most probably refers to an infant. When we see babies, we tend to feel a little joy, hope and even love. Children are a crown. But babies, while they bring lots of joy, they are vulnerable and highly dependent. They won’t survive without their mother’s care. And that’s the point: unless we humble ourselves and become like an infant – we also won’t survive. Jesus is calling us to humble ourselves and rely on God for our strength, direction and hope. If God is not our everything, then He needs to be! And returning to the point from the disciples, Jesus is calling us to not chase after greatness – rather, He wants us to be guided by meekness. Let humility be a fruit of God’s Spirit that you desire today.
As children, how are we to treat each other: In the way that we care for one another, Jesus desires that we receive each other. For the way we treat each other reflects the way we treat Christ. Indeed, as followers of Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwells within us. So literally, the way we treat fellow believers is the way we treat Christ! He gives a dire warning for anyone who causes another 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” (v. 6). This is serious. Jesus uses a form of Roman capital punishment to bring the point home. Do not cause another to sin – whether directly or indirectly. Directly refers to when we purposefully cause someone to sin. As a married man, I know the buttons to push to stress my wife. It can be tempting to use them at times! But Jesus calls us not to. We’re to be different. Do not purposefully lead another to sin! The other way is through indirect actions – and this is where it can be hard. When I was at ACOM, I was challenged by a classmate who refused to eat meat in public. Why? The Apostle Paul wrote the following: “I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died” (Romans 14:14-15). In a similar manner, is it not possible that by drinking a beer at a pub, you may indirectly influence another to be drunk? That’s something I’ve been considering lately. The point here is that we need to deeply consider our actions and seek to honour one another – remembering that we are all, like infants.
Temptation is part of the world: In verse 7 Jesus tells us that temptation is everywhere we look. The world as we know it, is temptation. And He says that it’s necessary for these temptations to come. Remember the story of Abraham and Isaac from the book of Genesis. Tests and trials come in our life to see what we’re made of. Will we honour God if we lose our only child? Or like Job, will we trust God despite the loss of literally everything in our lives? While painful, we can see that in the times of trial and suffering, Jesus walks with us. But even though temptation and sin abounds in the world, Jesus He strikes a warning. Woe to the one these temptations come! Remember the millstone.
Take drastic action to remove sin: Jesus then moves into two hyperbolic statements. Cut off a limb if it causes you to sin. In other words; take drastic action to remove sin from your life. Don’t literally cut out your eye. But do what is necessary to reduce temptation in your life – because the consequences are dire. If you don’t, you’re in danger of being thrown into the eternal pit of fire. That lingering sin in your life you can’t seem to shake, try something different. Perhaps talk to someone about it. They may give you the accountability you need. Phones are a great cause of sin. They’re designed to suck you in and spend hours upon hours engrossed in often junk content. I’m not battering technology in general, but our use of it can be the issue. Perhaps you struggle with alcoholism, glutony, greed. There’s many vices we can read in the scriptures. Whatever you find takes precedence over God, take drastic action to align your priorities correctly. And similarly, take drastic action to care for and honour those around you.
Don’t despise one another: As little children, infants under God, Jesus calls us to care for each other accordingly. Do not lead another to sin. We need to be quick to forgive, remembering that the way we treat others is the way we treat Christ. The world calls us to chase glory, to chase fame, to chase success. In our capitalist society, depending on your abilities and circumstances, it’s possible to reach the proverbial top. But Jesus challenges us to walk the journey of humility. We cannot achieve anything on our own. We’re vulnerable, weak and utterly dependent upon Him. When we come to understand this, the way that we treat others changes. People are not a footstool for you to step on as you climb the corporate ladder. They’re people made in God’s image, equally loved and cherished by God. We need to be quick to honour, respect and encourage each other.
The changing faith landscape of Australia – McCrindle 2022. – lead into the Great Commission
What if, in our endeavour to reach the world that is lost, our best effort is to be a community filled with people of integrity, humility and the fruit of the spirit? In the Gospel according to John, Jesus said the following:
“I give you a new commandment—to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples—if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35 ESV).
The way that we treat each other, the way we relate to others as followers of Christ, is what has the biggest impact on people. We don’t care for lip service. We care for integrity – people who do what they say they will. I leave you with the following words from Micah 6:8 ESV:
“He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?”
May that be written your heart.
