Matthew, Chapter 18

Matt. 18:1-6

Matt. 18:1 "At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. 6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."

"At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" Being great is something that we are taught to strive for beginning at a very young age. Parents often want greatness for their children. We are told in school and at work to become somebody, to strive for greatness, to climb the corporate ladder. It was with this natural and worldly teaching that the disciples asked the Lord, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" The Lord showed them and us that the kingdom of heaven is different from every other kingdom and all the worldly desires.

"And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Rather than striving for greatness in the kingdom of heaven the Lord told the disciples that "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." The Lord told the disciples that they must be converted in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. The disciples needed converting. They were seeking for greatness for themselves and wondering who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. The Lord told them that they must become as little children in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. Sometimes we see people who want to become great preachers or that want to have the preeminence in the church. Others want to be known as having done some great work in the church. The truth is that all these attitudes are wrong in the church. We must be converted if we are to enjoy the benefits and privileges of the church here on earth.

A little child knows that he is dependent on others and does not try to promote himself above adults. In order to enjoy the privileges and benefits of the church we must develop the attitude of the little child. We must understand that we are dependent creatures who are saved by the grace of God. We must also understand that we are not to strive for greatness, but consider others to be better than ourselves. We are to be servants and not masters in the kingdom of heaven.

"Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." We need to learn to see things as the Lord see them. In the eyes of the Lord when we humble ourselves and become as little children, then we are great in the kingdom of heaven. This is certainly not the idea that the world has of greatness. The world tells us to be proud and to be somebody. The Lord tells us to be humble and to understand that without him we are nothing. The greatest in the kingdom of heaven are those who have humbled themselves the most and consider themselves to be the least.

"And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me." Not only does this teach us that we should be willing to receive little children in the kingdom of heaven, but that we should also receive adults who have humbled themselves as little children. We are not to turn down those who come to us in humility. Humility is one of the great evidences of a child of God. When we receive someone who comes to us in humility, then the Lord considers that to be equivalent to receiving him.

"But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." When someone who believes in Jesus comes to us in humility as a little child, then we should be careful not to offend them. Just like receiving them is equivalent to receiving Jesus, also, offending them would be equivalent to offending Jesus. A disciple of Jesus should desire very much not to be offensive to Jesus. We should strive to be humble in the kingdom of heaven and to receive those who are humble.

Matt. 18:7-10

Matt. 18:7 "Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! 8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. 10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven."

"Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!" The Greek word for offences means stumbling blocks. The Lord pronounced a "woe" unto the world because of offences. The world throws up stumbling blocks to the children of God in an effort to prevent them from entering the kingdom of heaven. They do not want to see people worshipping God in Spirit and in truth. They will come up with all kinds of excuses and reasons why someone should not be a disciple of the Lord and why they should not press into this church kingdom on earth. The Lord said that "it must needs be that offences come." In other words, the would will bring forth stumbling blocks because that is the nature of the world. However, the disciple must take careful heed that he does not become a cause for a child of God to stumble when seeking to enter into the kingdom of heaven.

"Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire." The offence alluded to in this verse is the causing a little child of God to stumble when they are striving to enter the kingdom of heaven (God's church on earth). The Lord said if ones right hand or foot offend us, then we should cut them off and cast them from us. This is not teaching the mutilation of the body, but rather is being directed to the disciples as members of the church body. Sometimes we may consider some members to be like the hand or foot of the body and thus consider them to be quite needful to the functioning of the church. However, if they begin to act in an offensive way and cause God's little children to stumble at entering the kingdom of heaven, then it is necessary for the church to cut off those offending members unless the witness of the whole body be destroyed. The Lord alludes unto being cast into everlasting fire. This is not the same as the non-elect being cast into the lake of fire in the end time judgement. However, it is referring to suffering timely judgment on earth because of our attitude and actions.
"And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire." The eye is the portion of the body that enables us to see. In the church, the gospel ministry are often used to bring light and knowledge to the body of the church through the preaching of the gospel. They would be equivalent to the eyes of the body. The Lord said that if the eye offends, then the eye is to be plucked out. Offending gospel preachings must be dealt with if they act in offensive ways to drive away little children of God who are striving to enter the kingdom of heaven. The Lord will see to the needs of the church to send forth others to serve as preaches, when it is necessary for the church to take action against an offending gospel minister.

"Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven." The word, angels, literally means messengers. Whether this has reference to the gospel ministry who deliver the gospel messages to the church or whether it has reference to angelic creatures from heaven is debatable. Regardless, we are not to despise the humble children of God who come to us as little children. The Lord does not consider this lightly, but will strongly chastise those who offend God's little children.