Childlike (Matthew 18:1-4)

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “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."

- Matthew 18:1-4

 Intro

Children are so precious. Aren't they? I grew up around kids, but never really appreciated them until we had our own. That was a real game changer. Most of you know our son, David, and our daughter, Grace. Man, they're cute. David is a headstrong ball of joyous energy, either laser focused on the task at hand or giggling hysterically as he runs right into a wall or couch or other large, stationary object. Grace is our little cuddle bug. I mean, she will straight up cuddle all day. She has a good time playing (particularly with her bubby's toys), but what she really wants is to be held all day long. She has a little, purple bunny that she grasps with all her might when she sleeps. She's the epitome of adorable. Sometimes, we just look at them and wonder if we're going to wake up and find out they're just a dream... they just seem too good to be true. Children are so precious.

Did you know that God sees you like that? I mean, even more so. The way I feel about my children - the way you probably feel about your children - God feels that way about you. When he looks at you, even on your worst day, he sees you like you see your little, sleeping child, all cute and quiet and ready to be picked up and squeezed really tight (but you can't, because that'd wake them up, and then the scene changes dramatically). But really, that's how God sees you. That's the kind of love he has for you.

 Context

Anyway, I digress. Back to the story at hand. A little context here...

This conversation takes place towards the end of Jesus' earthy ministry. He's been traveling all around the countryside with his disciples, preaching, teaching, and performing miracles. He's garnered a large amount of notoriety, with great crowds following him. In a couple of chapters, he's going to enter Jerusalem and begin the events of Passover, culminating in his public execution. The author of Matthew spends a lot of time on those last few days of Jesus' life, so it seems father off than it really is. However, it's probably quite close chronologically. But before we get into that last week, before we celebrate palm Sunday and Jesus' triumphal entry into the city that will so quickly turn shouts of "Hosanna in the highest!" into cries of "Crucify him! Crucify him!," Jesus has a few more things he wants his disciples to hear. And, subsequently, he wants us to hear.

This passage marks a transition. We're going from some very active, action oriented ministry into a series of teachings. The book of Matthew has five major teaching sessions, which the author modeled after the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible). This little dialogue is Jesus' introduction to his fourth major sermon of the book. So, let's walk through that transition.

Chapter 17 starts out very big, with the transfiguration (some of you will remember the event, where Jesus takes Peter, James, and John with him up a mountain side to witness a guest appearance by Moses and Elijah, and then the Father speaks audibly to everyone). Continuing on, they then go on to heal a child from his demon-induced epilepsy and then, when confronted by some agents of the IRS, Jesus has his disciples go fishing and find all of the tax money required of them inside of a fish's mouth. I'm not sure how many of you have ever gone on a missions trip of some kind, but that's not exactly how the ones I've been on have gone. Lunch with God and some ancient, dead prophets, healing the sick and casting out demons, getting in trouble with the local authorities and then getting bailed out by a fish... whew. Quite the day.

Coming out of this, I know I'd be on a bit of an emotional high. Feeling pretty good... maybe a little prideful, as if I were in anyway responsible for all of the crazy stuff I just saw. You know, just feeling bigger than life. Is that just me, or could you imagine yourself maybe, possibly, potentially, theoretically, in the slightest way feeling something somewhat resembling that? Right. So, the disciples come out of chapter 17 feeling like hot snot. Understandably, they ask Jesus what must have seemed like a great question at the time, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" Because, you know, we're all pretty awesome, so it's a matter of debate. Peter's like, "John might be able to outrun me, but I'd totally take him in the octagon." Now, most scholars won't use that exact wording, but virtually everyone agrees that's the sort of question the disciples are asking. There would have been nothing wrong with asking God how we are doing (am I making progress, am I becoming more Christlike, what do you see I need to work on, in what areas can I rely on my Christian brothers and sisters for strength and in what ways can I be a support to them). But that's not what's going on. It's more like a competition. In passing, I would notate that if you live your life as a competition against others, you are in a losing battle. You may make a little ground one day, but you will lose it all the next. That's a fight you will never win. Life is meant to be a relationship, and relationships make for horrible competitions. Just throwing that out there. 

Anyway, back on track... the disciples are having a debate over who among them is the greatest. Jesus, in his kindness, doesn't rebuke them. Instead, he decides it's time to tend the flock. He sits them all down, and welcomes over a young child. We don't know exactly how young... the Greek word (teknon) is used to describe children even as young as still being in the womb. He was probably old enough to walk and talk, maybe following Jesus for the couple of days he's in Capernaum. This is probably a pretty big surprise for the boy, who would have been use to following along and not receiving a lot of attention from adults in public. I imagine him grinning ear-to-ear. Inviting him to sit with him and his disciples, Jesus beings talking about the coming kingdom...

“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."

Jesus spends the rest of the chapter unpacking the nature, character, and conduct that exists within the kingdom of heaven - the culture of the kingdom. This includes some teachings you'd probably recognize, like the parable of the lost sheep and the parable of the unforgiving servant. Jesus talks about how God sees and interacts with us, which is then how we should see and interact with each other. In all of this, the whole teaching excursion, Jesus begins by speaking of this young boy... "Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." I believe that Jesus wants our views on all of these things to be back-dropped by the image of this little child. I believe Jesus wants us to understand that in God's kingdom, unlike all of the other kingdoms and cultures and prevalent ideologies of this world, greatness is not a matter of money or influence or social status or intelligence or power or position, but of childlikeness - and that should inform everything we see, think, and do.

Message

There are three main points that I think God wants us to take from this passage today:


1)  Seek childlike humility

- towards others
    - True forgiveness is rooted in humility
    - Worldly forgiveness (conditional) vs Biblical forgiveness (unconditional)
    - Biblical forgiveness is gospel-centered. It comes from understanding who we are in Christ (what we've done and what God has done for us through Jesus).


2)  Grow childlike faith 

- faith is humility towards God
- not the same as childish faith (ignores the circumstances)
- trusts God above the circumstances

3)  Protect those with childlike vulnerability

- socially vulnerable, physically vulnerable, emotionally vulnerable, spiritually vulnerable