Jesus and the Little Child

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. (Matthew 18:1-5)

As Jesus prepares in Capernaum for His final trip to Jerusalem, the disciples perceive that important things are about to happen. Like most of us do, they conveniently ignored the times that Jesus predicted He would suffer and die (Matthew 16:21, 17:9, 17:12, 17:22), in order to focus on the amazing things that they thought were about to happen.

The transfiguration, complete with appearances of Moses and Elijah got them thinking about how the Kingdom hierarchy would flesh out. These disciples were not among the ruling class of Israel but were hoping that their proximity to the Messiah would net them special positions in the Kingdom.

So, they asked the question. “Who will be the greatest in the Kingdom?”

It was a general question. We know the disciples had argued among themselves about who, among themselves, would be the greatest. But maybe here they were wondering about such lights as Moses and Elijah.

Jesus responded harshly because a harsh response was necessary. It was the wrong question.

Unless you are converted. You have to see yourself differently.

I don’t think Jesus is talking about conversion here in the sense of being saved. The word used here demands a complete about face in thinking. He demonstrates it with an illustration.

You need to stop thinking of yourselves as great and start thinking of yourselves as babies.

The word “little children” describes very small children, and it is not gender specific.

Jesus could have taken a little boy or girl, sat her on his knee and said you need to become like this. Little children had no status in the ancient world. They did not hold family position, did not own possessions, did not have jobs. They possessed nothing that would give them social status except their relationship to their parents. Even then, with 30% infant mortality rates, parents—especially fathers—did not develop deep attachments to small children until they were past the most dangerous period.

Unless you see yourself this way, you can’t even get in, let alone hold a position of greatness.

This is why Jesus said it is harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom (Matthew 19:24). The only way to come to salvation is to admit utter, complete, absolute helplessness. There is no cooperating with God in the process of your salvation. He has to do it all Himself.

You have to see others differently.

Instead of focusing on how others one day may treat you are regard you. You should focus on how you view others.

They are equal.

With this young child standing in front of him, Jesus demanded they consider how their actions and attitudes were impacting little ones like this. He even acknowledged that these little ones were capable of believing in Him (Matthew 18:6). Faith in Christ makes everyone equal. Jew, gentile, man, woman, adult, child, slave, or free—all stand equal in Christ.

But they are vulnerable.

Causing them to offend is placing a spiritual stumblingblock in front of them. It is possible to hurt them, damage them, or even corrupt them spiritually. Children are impressionable and can me misled, embittered, or sinned against. Jesus says it would be better to be drowned in the ocean than to do this.

They can be neglected.

Neglecting children spiritually is another way this can be done. The spiritual neglect of children, by not teaching them (Deuteronomy 6:7-9), not providing their spiritual upbringing (Ephesians 6:4). Parents should consider the dire potential consequences of such things as choosing soccer over Sunday School, or not bothering to disciple children in the home.

Sacrifice whatever is necessary to avoid damaging others spiritually.

Paul said that our Christian liberty always surrenders to the spiritual well-being of others. Here Jesus says that it would be better to cut off a hand, remove a foot, or gouge out an eye, than allow it to be the means by which others are damaged spiritually. I must be willing to give up any pleasure, any experience, any habit for the spiritual well-being of others.

They have angels.

Jesus takes it seriously. They have angels who have direct access to the Father. I do not know how else to understand this passage (Matthew 18:10-11).

This is what makes certain sins so horrible.

Take the modern scourge of pornography. It lures and entraps children in their most formative years first through curiosity and enslavement. Viewing it as an adult supports an industry that destroys children.

But the people that participate in it are also someone’s children. They are people for whom Christ died. Girls and boys are often lured into the industry at age 18 (sometimes younger) with the promise of incredible amounts of money. The path they take destroys their understanding of the sanctity of the human body, marriage, and family life. For money they allow themselves to be treated like objects rather than human beings created in the image of Christ. The industry has an extremely high suicide rate, substance abuse rate, and when they are done they have nothing. Watching pornography provides the financial incentive for young people to do this to themselves. Yes, it hurts the viewer, it enslaves the viewer, it destroys marriages, but the greatest sin is the destruction it brings on the participants and it s crowd funded by every viewer.

There are other ways adults cause little ones to stumble. Verbal abuse, neglect, wicked counsel, wicked examples, also physical and sexual abuse.

Instead of worrying about how much honor we are receiving or might receive, we need to start concerning ourselves with how our lives are influencing others to draw closer to Christ. We ought to be willing to give up anything to avoid doing damage.

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The audio version of this post is here: Jesus and the Little Child – the Proclaim & Defend Podcast