January
26th Matthew
18
The greatest
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.
Offences
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. 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.
The
lost sheep
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. 11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be
gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into
the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? 13 And if so be
that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that
sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. 14 Even so
it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of
these little ones should perish.
The
disciples of Christ come to him to ask the question about who will be
the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. This may have been
precipitated by the calling of only the three disciples up the
mountain of transfiguration. Christ uses a little child to illustrate
the sort of attitude that God respects more than any other and which
is the secret of real greatness. Christ does not specifically state
what is the childlike character of the one who will be greatest but
whatever it was it would be important for the disciples to humble
themselves in order to attain to it. Some have suggested the
characteristic is humility, others a simple unadulterated faith and
others the childlike desire to learn. I believe it is the childlike
characteristic of total trust. The lord then turns to the sanctity of
children and of the utmost care in not offending them. He gives us
the fearful sight of a man standing on the precipice with a millstone
around his neck ready to plunge into the depths. His only fear was
that he might offend a little one that believes in Jesus. Christ
speaks in the most shocking terms of the self mutilation of those who
find that their body leads them into sin. The Lord then speaks of the
honour that little ones have in Gods heart and of the protection that
God provides for them. The Lord gives the parable of the one sheep
out of many in which the shepherd cares deeply for every individual.
Then he states categorically that It is not the will of my Father
that one of these little ones should perish.
- What did Jesus mean when he talked about the greatest in the Kingdom of God?
- Did Jesus really mean that men should pluck out their own eyes and cut off their own hands?
- What was Jesus teaching in the parable of the one lost lamb?
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