As Andrew said, this week and next week, we're taking a break from Paul's series in the book of Acts.
This is a one-off in Matthew 18.
And next week, Matthew Roberts will be preaching, Lord willing, at the ordination of Andrew Quay.
Please turn up Matthew 18 again, page 823 in the church Bibles.
Talk of greatness is fairly commonplace today.
The concept of the GOAT, G-O-A-T, greatest of all time, is debated up and down and round and round.
Often that's the case in sport.
The sport I'm most interested in, that case has been closed with the arrival of the French scrum half, Antoine Dupont.
No doubt, the greatest of all time.
But whatever the field, whether it's sport or business or academics or your field of interest,
you know both who you think is the greatest,
and you also know what you think it would take for you to be great.
Greatness is the topic on the lips of the disciples in our passage this morning.
Chapter 18, verse 1.
At that time, that is in the context of a discussion about comparative status.
That's what's been going on in chapter 17.
At that time, the disciples came to Jesus saying, literally,
So, who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
And that's an important question, who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
Because, well, it concerns an important topic.
Greatness in sport or business may be interesting, it may be inspiring,
but ultimately, it isn't a matter of life and death.
Whether LeBron James or Michael Jordan is the greatest in the NBA,
or whether Warren Buffett or Elon Musk are the greatest in business,
that's actually neither here nor there in light of eternity.
We can have a debate, we can have a conversation,
that might be interesting, but it's not important.
And it's certainly not important in the light of eternity.
But who is great when it comes to the kingdom of God?
That's a question that actually matters.
It makes a difference.
Because it relates to how God views greatness.
And when all is said and done,
when everything's been said, when everything's been done,
when history is brought to its culmination,
His opinion is the only one that matters.
The truth is, you can be great in all kinds of fields.
You can be great in all kinds of fields all at once.
You can be wonderful in all those ways.
But if God doesn't care about that,
if God doesn't care about those areas,
well then, you've wasted your time.
Your greatness may actually be a cosmic failure.
To paraphrase our own Rico Tice,
he said this,
the definition of failure is being great at things that don't matter.
Being great at things that don't matter makes you a failure.
So we want to pursue greatness according to God's standards.
And the disciples' question opens the door to the answer.
Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
That question is brought to us via their own ambition.
They've been with Jesus for a while now.
They've heard him talk about the kingdom that he has brought in.
And he has told them that his mission is going to be to die for the sins of the world.
He isn't going to be around forever.
And so the disciples are looking at each other.
And they're wondering, well, who's going to take over?
When he goes, who's going to be the greatest?
Who's going to be the top dog?
Who's going to be in charge?
Jesus has just at the end of chapter 17 had an exchange with Peter.
Is it going to be him?
Is he going to be the man they don't know?
So the question comes.
So who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
And we discover that Jesus' answer turns all our expectations upside down.
He does what he often does.
He uses a visual aid.
He calls a child.
I assume reading it that the child is old enough to walk.
It says that he calls him.
So he says, come over here.
You, little one, come over here.
And I imagine him just leaning forward and lifting him into the middle of the disciples
and saying, you want to talk about greatness?
There's your answer.
Who's the greatest in the kingdom?
There you go, boys.
Verse 3.
Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Some of you may remember back in 1995 at the beginning of the football season,
Alex Ferguson, as he was known then, picked a Man United team full of youngsters.
They lost the first game of the season.
And Alan Hanson speaking to Des Lynham on Match of the Day.
Des Lynham.
There's the greatest of all time when it comes to sports presenters.
But Alan Hanson famously said on Match of the Day that Man United had big problems because, quote,
you can't win anything with children.
You can't win anything with kids.
Now, the young players that Alex Ferguson had picked included Ryan Giggs, David Beckham,
Paul Scholes, and the Neville brothers, who all became legends.
And they actually went on to win the league that year by four points.
I don't like football.
I don't like Man United.
I have no horse in this race.
But it's very interesting.
Alan Hanson is famously known not only as a legend of football playing for Liverpool,
but by that quote, you can't win anything with kids.
Now, ordinarily, although Hanson was proved wrong on that occasion,
he's right, isn't he?
The sentiment is generally true.
Children aren't usually an example to follow.
We don't think, what's the answer to the problem here?
What's the solution?
Let's go to the kids.
Except, that is, when it comes to the upside-down nature of the kingdom of God.
Greatness in God's sight, winning in the courts of heaven,
requires us to go to the little ones.
That's what Jesus says.
Here's our first point.
He tells us, you want to be great?
Number one, embrace the humility of a child.
Verses three and four.
Unless you turn and become like children,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Turning and becoming like children, that sounds a bit unclear.
Are we to become childish?
Is that what he's saying?
Well, Jesus goes on, verse four, he clarifies,
whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
The issue is humility.
And children are the example.
Both because in this culture, the culture that they're in at the time,
children were the lowest social level when it came to authority and decision-making.
They didn't have influence.
Children couldn't open doors for you.
They were socially as well as physically.
Verse six, little ones.
But also, they are the example because little children embody humility in all kinds of ways.
We'll say more on that in a minute.
But can you see the shock?
Talk to us about greatness, Jesus.
Go to the children.
Become like a child.
It is shocking.
The disciples, Jesus sees, need to radically reimagine what it means to belong to the kingdom of God.
All of their desire for authority and for power and for position.
The question was motivated by that.
Who's going to be the greatest?
You only ask that question if you're hoping that it's going to be you.
All of that motivation, he's saying, is totally misguided.
And the truth is, we can easily fall into the same trap.
All the maps for life that our culture lays before us involve some version of go you.
Go you.
Self-promotion.
Push hard to succeed.
Self-belief.
Confidence.
And of course, all the big names online, and you can take your pick, whoever your big name online is,
they are big because we like their confidence.
We like the self-sufficiency.
We like the sense of power that they have, that they exude.
Because we're told that that is what greatness looks like.
It's not that way in the kingdom of God.
Greatness looks like humility.
Matthew has said earlier, the Lord Jesus has said earlier, chapter 5,
It is poverty of spirit.
Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Getting yourself out of the way.
That is how you enter the kingdom.
Verse 3.
And it is to be your posture as a citizen of the kingdom.
Turn and become like children.
Take the bottom rung.
Embrace humility.
It's the example that he gives is the lowest on the social ladder.
And he says, become like them.
Not only because they're down there, but also think about it, children.
Become like them in their trust and dependence.
That's what characterizes children, isn't it?
Children trust their parents.
Children don't try to live self-sufficient lives.
They ask for what they need when they need it.
They're not shy to cry out because they know that their parents will provide.
Give me today my daily bread is a prayer that you often hear from the lips of a child.
They might not use those words, but they might say, I want it now.
I'm hungry.
They don't pretend that they can live without mom and dad.
If we're honest with ourselves, we resent that we're dependent on anyone.
Lots of the way that we live our lives is about getting rid of dependence.
And yet it's unavoidable.
We must depend on God.
We require him for absolutely everything that we have.
Become like children in their honesty and their unfiltered approach to life.
Children, little children, don't worry about what others think of them.
They don't pretend.
They don't pretend either in the demands that they make of their parents
or in the way that they carry themselves in the world.
I want that one and I want it now.
It's very honest.
They're not pretending.
Toddlers generally don't fuss about their hair or their clothes.
For honest with ourselves, so much of adult life is playing pretend
in the personas that we adopt,
the face that we put on to go out into the world
to try and look impressive,
to try and be accepted.
But it's all a persona
in the way that we speak,
even in some cases in the way that we pray.
We've been taught that there are certain things that we should say in prayer
and there are certain things we shouldn't say in prayer.
But in our hearts we feel all kinds of things that we never bring to the Lord.
And so there's a dishonesty.
There's a problem there.
Children aren't like that.
Little children live with an honesty and an unfiltered approach to life.
Be like children in their resilience.
Children can scream with laughter one minute
and scream with sadness and distress the next
and back to laughter again
and back to distress.
Little ones can fall out
and they can make up
and fall out and make up.
There's no emotional baggage
with a toddler, with a little one.
They're resilient.
Become like children
in the way they live in the present.
Little children don't dwell on yesterday
or worry about tomorrow.
Isn't that what Jesus tells us?
That we should live our lives like that?
They don't get twisted up
about having to have the newest things
because they're taken up with whatever is in front of them.
We have lots of little, little,
I'm talking about the tiniest ones,
the little ones,
toddlers and below.
We have lots of them in the church.
Have a look at them,
the way they conduct themselves.
Taken up with whatever is in front of them
and it can be the most simple thing
which is another thing that we should emulate.
We should be like children
in the simplicity of their lives.
Little children aren't worried
about making a name for themselves.
They aren't worried about
what their friends are saying about them.
They live in the moment
and they live with the most simple
and straightforward little things.
They haven't even thought,
it hasn't even crossed their mind
that they have no authority or status.
They enjoy simple things.
And they're content.
If we,
if Jesus is saying
your example for greatness is a child,
we are called to the humility
of at least those things.
Dependence,
honesty,
resilience,
presence
and simplicity.
Where do you need to change?
Where do you need to have the Holy Spirit
break down old attitudes
and desires?
And you might say,
well,
but what if I found myself
actually with status
and authority
in the world?
What if I'm not
actually on the lowest rung?
What if I'm pretty impressive
in the eyes of the world?
Well,
if God has given you that,
that's up to Him.
Praise Him for it.
Thank Him for it.
Recognize Him.
Recognize that it is a gift from His hand.
It's not ultimately
what you've managed to do
by the sweat of your own brow,
however hard you've worked.
It is a gift from Him.
And if He has given that to you,
even though you might have that status
as a follower of Jesus,
as one who belongs to His kingdom,
you must carry those responsibilities
with the same qualities,
with dependence,
honesty,
resilience,
presence
and simplicity.
And you know,
don't you,
that doing that is possible.
Doing that is possible
because you,
as a follower of Jesus,
understand the paradox of a kingdom
where the least are greatest
and the last are first.
Embrace the humility of a child.
Well, having placed a particular child,
He took a real little child
and put them in their midst,
Jesus then moves the point of discussion
to how we should treat others
who have adopted this humble,
childlike posture.
He doesn't just care about
how we conduct ourselves
and how we exercise
our own personal humility,
but also that we do what we can
to help others in this area too.
Now, it could be that He's referring
to children specifically.
Verse 5,
Have a look.
Whoever receives one such child,
although it seems more likely
that His repeated use
in the rest of the section
on little ones
is His way of describing
all of those who have embraced
the humility of the kingdom,
little ones being a nickname,
as it were,
for disciples.
Now, those are the options
that commentators present us with,
but I wonder why it is
that we need to choose, actually.
Are not our children,
born as they are
into our covenant homes,
themselves disciples
of the Lord Jesus?
Jesus has in view here
the whole church family,
as it were.
And so our second point,
Having embraced the humility
of a child,
we must secondly also
embrace responsibility
for others.
Embrace responsibility
for others.
That's verse 5 to 14.
Now, what's happening here
is a challenge
to any sort of sense
of individualism
that we might bring
to the kingdom of heaven.
And Jesus starts
with an encouragement.
You see, verse 5,
Whoever receives
one such child in my name
receives me.
When we receive,
that is,
when we welcome,
show respect for,
care for,
another Christian
in the name of Jesus,
that is,
seeing them as one
who represents Jesus,
we actually receive
Jesus himself.
Jesus so closely
identifies with his people
that the way
that you treat them
is the way
that you treat him.
And in saying this,
he is giving
to the least important
person in the eyes
of others,
the little ones,
those that have
embraced this humility,
he is giving them
a significance
that is completely
out of proportion
with their human standing.
The last,
really,
our first
in his kingdom.
Now,
isn't that a great
encouragement?
It's an encouragement
to us both
to embrace
the humility
that he calls us to,
but also to embrace
others in his name.
When you greet
or serve
or go out of your way
to be a blessing
to another Christian,
not because they can
do something for you,
not to enhance
your agenda,
not to make you
feel better,
not to have you
at the center of you
doing what you do,
but simply because
they belong to Christ,
you are displaying
heavenly greatness
according to Jesus.
And it pleases him.
But he goes on,
and if he starts
with a positive word
about how we should
treat others,
he continues with
a more somber tone,
do you see?
He so cares
about his little ones
that he takes
a very dim view
indeed of anything
that anyone might do
to cause them harm.
The warning is very grave.
Look at verse 6.
It starts there.
Whoever causes
one of these little ones
who believe in me
to sin,
more literally,
to stumble,
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.
Now, I take it here
that Jesus has in mind
stumbling people
specifically for
misleading them
about what it looks like
to belong to Christ's kingdom.
I take it that the theme
of humility
actually runs through
this whole section
1 to 14.
And the warning is
that if you give
the impression
to others,
to other people
in the body of Christ,
that life is actually
about status
and recognition,
that life is actually
about posturing
for greatness,
you will cause them
to stumble,
it will lead them
down the wrong path
and they may wander
away completely.
That's why he takes
it so seriously.
Now, let's think
about this in terms
of how we raise
our children.
If it is literal children
that are in view here,
little disciples,
those that are less mature,
of course,
we would put children
in that category.
Do our children believe
that following Christ,
no matter what it costs,
is more important
than anything else
in the world
and they can invest
their lives
in nothing more valuable.
Are we training them
to understand
that life consists
in cultivating
dependence,
honesty,
resilience,
presence,
and simplicity?
Or have we taught them
that they should have
just the same ambition
as their friends,
just the same values
as their friends,
but with Jesus
tacked on the side?
Because that's actually
how we live our lives.
In what ways
might we be causing
our children to stumble
by the example
that we're setting them
about the values
of the world
according to Jesus?
More widely,
does the way
that we relate to others
or talk about others
reflect the reality
that in God's kingdom,
the great ones
are the little ones?
Or does our example
tell a different story?
Our influence
on others,
our influence
in the context
of the church family
on those around us
is something
that we need
to consider
because causing
another believer
to sin
is very,
very serious.
if Jesus says
a quick drowning,
it would be pretty quick
if you're thrown in
with a massive millstone
tied around your neck.
If a quick drowning
is better
than what will happen
to you for misleading
another believer,
it doesn't bear thinking
about the alternative,
does it?
And so,
we are to take radical action
to ensure that this
doesn't happen.
That's verses 7 to 9.
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.
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.
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.
Again,
I take it the temptation
and view here
as the temptation
to stumble over humility.
To tempt people
to only care about
the bright and the beautiful.
To tempt people
not to treat others
as if they are
more important than you.
Now,
this is commonplace
in the world.
It's dog eat dog
out there.
It's every man
for themselves.
We expect those temptations
to come out there
and God will one day
judge that.
We can leave that to Him.
But we must act
to avoid that judgment
ourselves.
Do you see?
So verse 8,
if your hand
or your foot
or your eye,
it's a way of saying
any part of you
causes you to sin,
take radical action
in order to stop.
Jesus says,
it is better
to be impaired
in some way now.
It is better
to have a worse experience
of this life
but in so doing
gain glory
in the future
than to be fit
and healthy,
comfortable
and happy,
self-sufficient,
completely self-contained
now,
but to miss glory
and to receive
in the end,
look at verse 8,
the eternal fire.
Verse 9,
He repeats it,
the hell of fire.
Don't muck about
with sin.
Don't muck about
with sin.
And don't muck about
with sin
such that others
follow your lead.
It is better
to look foolish
than in your pride
to cause another person
to sin.
It is better
to be thought weird
and eccentric
by others
for the sake
of faithfulness
than to mislead
a brother or sister
into sin.
We live
our Christian lives
in relation to others
and we are to
bear them in mind
in the way
that we live.
And we see here
Jesus makes it
really clear
the stakes
could not be higher.
You might say,
look,
talking about hell
sounds a bit much.
It's not a bit OTT.
Well,
think about it
like this.
In talking about
people stumbling,
Jesus is talking
about people being harmed
and being harmed
spiritually,
which is the worst
kind of harm
someone can experience.
Falling away
from the source
of life
is a desperate thing.
Now,
how would you feel
if someone harms
your little one?
Does them serious
damage in some way?
Parents here,
there's nothing
that you can think of
that would anger you
more,
is there?
Why should God
the Father
be any different?
The extent
of the judgment
that he talks about
here serves
to emphasize
how deeply
God cares
for one of his
children.
When you think
about the nature
of this judgment,
think about
the strength
of feeling
God has
for his children.
In fact,
this is where
Jesus goes next
to make precisely
that point
using the parable
of the wandering sheep.
How deeply
does God
care for
one of his children?
Well,
see that you do not
despise one of these
little ones.
Verse 11,
for I tell you
that in heaven
their angels
always see the face
of my Father
who is in heaven.
What do you think?
If a man has
a hundred sheep
and one of them
goes astray,
does he not leave
the ninety-nine
on the mountain
and go in search
of the one
that went astray?
And if he finds it,
truly I say to you,
he rejoices over it
more than over
the ninety-nine
that never went astray.
So it is not
the will of my Father
who is in heaven
that one of these
little ones
should perish.
He's using the parable
as a picture
of the Father's
love for his children.
God,
the Father's love
for his children.
He's using the parable
here in Matthew
in a different way
than he does
in Luke's gospel.
Here the one sheep
is not yet lost.
It's just,
it's gone astray.
And the point is
that for God
the one matters
just as much
as the whole.
God cares about
individuals.
He cares about you
as an individual.
But he cares about you
as an individual
in the context
of the whole church.
He cares that the
wanderer,
the individual
wanderer
is restored.
But he cares
that that happens
in the context
of the whole church.
That should be
our posture.
The language
in this last section,
10 to 14,
has shifted
from the singular
to the plural.
So he's saying
this is the work
of the whole church.
And he'll say
more about this
in the rest of the chapter.
But we are
to love one another
enough
in the context
of the church
that when we see
another person
wandering off
we care about it.
That we take
one another's growth
in the Lord Jesus
seriously.
Spiritual health
of the body
is something
that we have to take
responsibility for
together.
Don't despise
the little ones.
They are the great ones
in God's assessment.
And if any brother
or sister
has been stumbled
in some way,
tempted to wander
in some way,
if they're going astray,
we don't just shrug
our shoulders
and say,
oh that's a bit
of a pity.
What a shame.
We go after them
to bring them back
because they matter
to their Father
in heaven.
And he has tasked
the church
to embody
the same pastoral care
that he shows
as the true shepherd
of his people.
How is it
that God the Father
goes after the one?
He does it through
his body,
the church.
That is the humility
and the care
that marks out
the kingdom
of heaven.
That is the humility
and care
that in the end
defines
true greatness.
Let's pray.