A Messiah Who Values the Child Within
Text: Matt. 18:1-14
Introduction
1. Illustration: The more we know of God, the more unreservedly we will trust him; the greater our progress in theology, the simpler and more childlike will be our faith (J. G. Machen).
2. No one loves and values children more than Jesus, and He tells us that we need to be more like children in our faith.
3. When it come to Jesus He...
a. Values the Heart of a Child
b. Protects the Heart of a Child
c. Rescues the Heart of a Child
4. Read Matt. 18:1-14
Proposition: If we want to be a part of the Kingdom of God we need to develop childlike faith.
Transition: Jesus...
I. Values the Heart of a Child (1-4).
A. Become Like Little Children
1. The life of a small child is pretty simple; they eat, sleep, potty, and cry when one of those things isn't going right.
a. They don't care what they look like.
b. They are not really concerned with success.
c. They don't worry about how to pay the bills.
d. They not exactly bothered by their place on the social register.
e. Jesus wants us to be more like that in our daily lives.
2. Our text starts out with, "About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”
a. "At that time" refers back to the incident of the temple tax and the coin in the fish.
b. Realize that what had been happening recently with the disciples and Jesus.
c. Things seem to be revolving around Peter. Jesus had referred to him as a "rock," he had accompanied Jesus, along with the other two disciples to the Mount of Transfiguration, and Jesus had performed a miracle that paid for both his and Jesus temple tax.
d. The other disciples were getting a little jealous. They wanted to know where they stood in the pecking order.
e. It is obvious that they still didn't understand some of the things that Jesus was trying to teach them (Horton, 373).
3. Jesus, being the master of the illustration, "called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven."
a. Ancient moralists regularly trotted forth models of heroes and statesmen for their students to imitate; Jesus instead points to a child (Keener).
b. Jesus was going to use this child to show what the heart and attitude of disciples should be.
c. More so then than today, children were powerless, without status and utterly dependent on their parents.
d. Yet we must imitate such people of no status, people who recognize their dependence.
e. To "turn" reflects the Jewish concept of repentance (Keener).
f. They were worried about who was the most important instead of focusing what is really important in the Kingdom of God and that is getting in it.
g. The Kingdom is not about who is greatest or most important, but about a free gift that cannot be earned or bought.
h. It is about being totally dependent upon a gracious, forgiving God.
4. Jesus goes on to say, "So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven."
a. In the world greatness is measured by prestiege, assertiveness, and a willingness to do whatever it takes.
b. However, in the Kingdom of God greatness is measured in humility, submission, and seeking the benefit of others.
c. In the Kingdom it's not about me, it's about others.
d. Humility is a word that was coined by Christianity. Before Christ, a humble man was looked upon as a coward: a cringing, unappealing, effeminate type of person.
e. However after Christ, humility was elevated to the most praise-worthy level.
f. When men looked at Christ, they saw the strength of humility through the influence of One Who was perfect in meekness and lowliness of heart (Practical Word Studies in The New Testament).
g. This is what Jesus values and a trait that He desires of all of His disciples.
B. Humble of Heart
1. Illustration: “Pride is so subtle that if we aren’t careful we’ll be proud of our humility. When this happens our goodness becomes badness. Our virtues become vices. We can easily become like the Sunday School teacher who, having told the story of the Pharisee and the publican, said, ‘Children, let’s bow our heads and thank God we are not like the Pharisee!’”
2. God hates pride!
a. Proverbs 8:13 (NLT)
All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech.
b. Pride will keep you from God.
c. Pride will cause division.
d. Pride leads to arrogance.
e. Pride will enthrone you as a god in your own mind.
f. It leads us to a place where we think we no longer need God.
3. God loves humility!
a. 1 Peter 5:5-6 (NLT)
And all of you, serve each other in humility, for “God opposes the proud but favors the humble.”
6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.
b. Humility recognizes that we are totally dependent upon God.
c. It lead us closer to God.
d. It causes us to see ourselves as God sees us.
e. It brings us closer together.
f. It puts God on the throne where He belongs!
4. Humility helps us see what's really important.
a. Philippians 2:3 (NLT)
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
b. Humility helps us to see that God is more important than ourselves.
c. Humility helps us to see others as more important than ourselves.
d. Humility helps us to see that it is better to give than receive, to serve than to be served, to love than to be loved, and to have joy than to be important.
Transition: Jesus also...
II. Protects the Heart of a Child (5-10).
A. It Would Be Better
1. God shows just how much He values those who are children at heart by declaring His protection of them.
2. He says, “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me."
a. In Jesus day children were regarded as unimportant or insignificant.
b. However, Jesus said that whoever welcomes those who are insignificant or unimportant on His behalf welcomes Him.
c. Receives means "to deliberately and readily take something or someone to oneself."
d. The term was often used of welcoming honored guests and meeting their needs with special attention and kindness.
e. Jesus' primary point here is that the way a person, believer or unbeliever, treats Christians is the way he treats Jesus Christ (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 16-23).
3. Jesus further illustrates His love for the pure at heart when He says, "But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea."
a. The phrase "these little ones" refers to anyone who believes in Jesus.
b. He is saying that anyone who intentionally causes anyone who believes in Him to turn away from faith puts themselves in grave circumstances.
c. In fact, they maybe putting themselves in a position to not be forgiven (Horton, 375).
d. Fall Into Sin: cause to sin, with the probable implication of providing some special circumstances which contribute to such behavior (Louw and Nidda, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Symantic Domains).
e. The cruelest legal punishment in Jesus' day was crucifixion, but this image of drowning represents a Roman punishment more horrifying to Jewish hearers than crucifixion and one only rarely tolerated among them.
f. When people in a community had much grain to grind, they took it to the community mill, pouring it between an upper and lower millstone.
g. Jesus refers here not to the lighter millstone turned by a woman's hand but to the heavier community kind turned by a donkey-heavy enough to take one quickly to the bottom of the sea.
h. Jesus says this punishment would be an act of mercy compared to what is in store for those who turn little ones from Christ's way (Keener).
4. Jesus makes this proclamation even stronger when by saying, “What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting."
a. Jesus tells us that these temptations are inevitable in a world that is controlled by Satan.
b. Nonetheless, those whom allow themselves to be used by Satan to do the tempting will be held accountable.
c. "It is a terrible thing to become an agent to sin and Satan by enticing others to sin or destroying their faith in God and His Word" (Horton, 377).
5. Next Jesus warns not only those who would tempt another but anyone when He says, "So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet."
a. Because Judaism abhorred self-mutilation, this is an especially stark image of the cost one must be willing to pay to avoid spiritual death.
b. Jesus here shows the extent which we should be willing to go to avoid falling into sin.
c. The "hand," or "foot" deal with actions of behavior (Horton, 377).
d. Enter life was standard shorthand for "enter the life of the coming age."
e. The language of losing limbs was reminiscent of the price martyrs paid for their devotion to God.
f. According to a common Jewish belief, a person with missing members would be resurrected in that form before being restored (Keener).
6. Jesus goes on to say, "And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell."
a. The "eye," on the other hand, deals with issues of desire and covetousness.
b. In order to avoid self-destruction and becoming a stumbling block to others we must be willing to give up what they selfishly want to do or what they selfishly desire (Horton, 377).
B. God's Protection
1. Illustration: When Daniel was a little boy, his favorite movie was The Mighty Ducks, which was the story of a pee wee hockey team. Their goalie, who's name was Goldberg, was afraid of the puck and anytime it would come at him he would run away. So the coach duct taped him to the goal and had the rest of the team shoot on him at will. Once he learned that his equipment protected him from the puck he was no longer afraid of it.
2. God protects His children from Satan.
a. Psalms 91:2-4 (NLT)
2 This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.
3 For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.
4 He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
b. He will protect us from the Devil's lies.
c. He will protects us from the Devil's tricks.
d. He will protect us from the Devil's flaming arrows.
3. God protects His children from temptation.
a. Matthew 6:13 (NLT)
And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.
b. He will protect us from temptation.
c. He will always give us a way out.
d. He will always give us the strength to resist.
e. He will always give us the power to overcome.
4. God protects His children with His armor.
a. Ephesians 6:10-11 (NLT)
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.
b. It will protect us.
c. It will shield us.
d. It will prepare us for battle.
e. But we have to put it on!
Transition: Furthermore, Jesus...
III. Rescues the Heart of a Child (12-14).
A. Search For the One That Is Lost
1. Jesus then uses a parable that expresses the Father heart of God.
2. He says, “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?"
a. Higher-status urban people generally looked down on shepherds, but biblical heroes like Moses, David and Amos had been shepherds, and the Bible especially portrayed God in these terms.
b. From this parable we see that Christ's love, illustrated in that of the shepherd, is personal and individual.
c. It does not matter which sheep goes astray.
d. The Lord is equally concerned for any one of them (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 16-23).
3. Jesus not only says he would search for them, but when He found them, "I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away!"
a. There is special joy expressed for the sheep that is found not because it is more valued or loved than the others but because its danger, hardship, and great need elicit special concern from the caring shepherd.
b. In this verse Jesus demonstrates that His love for us is personal and individual.
c. His care for us without limit.
4. He further illustrates this by saying, "In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish."
a. Jesus drives the lesson home: the heavenly Father is unwilling for any of "these little ones" to be lost.
b. This love for the individual sheep is not at the expense of the entire flock but so that the flock as a whole may not lose a single one of its members (Carson, Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM).
B. He Will Come For You
1. Illustration: "I need You, Jesus, to come to my rescue. Where else can I go? There's no other name by which I am saved. You capture me with grace, I will follow You."
2. The message of the Gospel is that God doesn't want to lose anyone.
a. John 6:39-40 (NLT)
39 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day.
40 For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”
b. He not only will protect us but come after us if we stray.
c. He will not rest until he has found us.
3. He will go even after the worse cases.
a. 1 Timothy 1:16 (NLT)
But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.
b. There is hope for the wayward sinner.
c. We have a God who we seek for them.
d. We have a God who can restore them.
e. We have a God who loves them.
f. He has a plan for them for God and not harm.
g. He will seek and save those who are lost.
Transition: Jesus is the Good Shepherd and he cares for His sheep.
Conclusion
1. When it come to Jesus He...
a. Values the Heart of a Child
b. Protects the Heart of a Child
c. Rescues the Heart of a Child
2. Do you need to develop the heart of child? Is pride an area that the Lord needs to work on in your life?
3. Do you need His protection from temptation?
4. Do you know someone in need of being rescued?
