“An Upside Down Kingdom”
Main Passage
(Matthew 18:1-4 ESV) “… 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 (little) children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this (little) child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Body
This morning as we explore this passage of scripture I will do my best to answer two questions. First, what does it mean and second, why does it matter. In examining this passage we find that there are two main elements involved; children and the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus said that we must become like little children. What does it mean to be a child? Am I supposed to go back to kindergarten to enter the kingdom of heaven? Are we supposed to abandon all that we have learned throughout our lives which makes us adults? To answer these questions we have to look at what it means to be a child.
Some of the characteristics of children are that they are little, they are short, some of them wear diapers, they drool, some of them suck their thumbs, and they fall down a lot.
Jesus is not telling us that to enter the kingdom of heaven we must be short, wear diapers, or drool. No, Jesus is not talking about external characteristics of children… but internal nature of children.
Children are sincere. A child will come to you with no agenda. Children are not cunning. When a little child says “I want cookie!” they mean exactly what they say.
Children are dependant. Babies are helpless. A child needs protection, love, and safety.
Children are full of love for others. I don’t know if there is anything better than a slobbery wet baby kiss. Children are little cups just waiting to be filled with love. And when the jar is full, it spills out to others.
The disciples were bickering about which one of them would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. They were trying to interpret the message of the kingdom of God according to what the world had taught them.
They were confusing the kingdom of heaven with the many kingdoms of the world.
Adam Clarke, in his commentary on the Bible writes, “Be as truly without worldly ambition, and the lust of power, as little children are, who act among themselves as if all were equal. The following saying of the poet Saady is very appropriate. “The hearts of infants being free from greed, what care they for a handful of silver more than for a handful of dust?”
Jesus is telling the disciples, and us, that in the kingdom of heaven it is not great stature, accomplishments, possessions, or achievements that matter most.
(1 Samuel 16:7 ESV) But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."
The kingdom of heaven is an upside kingdom. If we are to truly grasp the message of being like little children, we are going to have to reject much of what the world has taught to us.
The world tells us that only the strong survive. The world tells us that beautiful people matter most. The world tells us that physical power is what matters most.
Listen to the words of the small and young David as he speaks to King Saul about the giant Goliath after all of the King’s most powerful warriors had been too afraid to face the giant.
(1 Samuel 17:32-36 ESV) “And David said to Saul, "Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth."
But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God."
Fulton J. Sheen, quoted in Men of Integrity says, “God does not love us because we are valuable. We are valuable because God loves us.”
God is not impressed with our power. God is not impressed with our accomplishment. All of our pride and ambition does little more than hinder God’s ability to use us.
God can do so much more with a humble person who is genuinely yielded than he can with a person who is swollen with pride.
The Kingdom of Heaven is an upside kingdom. The disciples were part of a Jewish culture that was looking for an earthly messiah who would deliver them from Roman oppression. They had lived for years under the rule of foreign invaders and they were looking for an earthly ruler who would deliver them.
This is why many of them would ultimately reject Jesus Christ. They were not looking for “a man of sorrows” who would die for their sin. They were looking for a Davidic King who would restore Israel to its former earthly glory.
(Isaiah 53:3 ESV) “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
Just like the disciples, so many of us have an inaccurate picture of Jesus. We often picture him with blue eyes and beautiful curly locks of brown hair. And in our minds he somehow rests gloriously on the cross as he suffers and dies for our sins.
Listen to the words of a modern Christian song that I recently heard and have fallen so deeply in love with.
Which Jesus do you follow? Which Jesus do you serve? If Ephesians says to imitate Christ Then why do you look so much like the world?
Cause my Jesus bled and died He spent His time with thieves and liars He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant So which one do you want to be?
Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part Sometimes I doubt we’d recognize Him
I want to be like my Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!
This message gets right to the heart of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. The kingdom of heaven is an upside-down kingdom where the king dies for his subjects.
A kingdom where the humble are exalted, a kingdom where to be like a little child is to be great.
In the kingdom of Heaven our very citizenship has been secured by the blood of the King. The one we worship is the same one who loved us enough to die for us.
It the ancient near east it was common for kings to give decrees. They would declare how great a king they were and they would tell the citizens of their kingdoms what it meant to be a citizen in that kingdom.
Most of us are familiar with the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.
(Matthew 5:2-12 ESV) And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
This passage is most often referred to as the Sermon on the Mount. But we would do well to understand these words of Jesus in light of the historical context in which they were spoken.
The hearers of Jesus would have understood that he was putting forth a series of kingly declarations. Jesus was telling those who listened about his power and what it meant to be a citizen of the kingdom of heaven.
If only we could return to the innocence and wonder of youth before the world bombarded us with images of wealth and success. If only we could learn to be like little children.
If only we could learn to be sincere seekers of God. If only we could learn to be dependant on God.
If only we could learn to be free from all manner of greed and selfish ambition.
Perhaps then we could truly understand the message of Christ when he says, “Whoever humbles himself like this (little) child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
This morning I encourage you to turn and become like a little child. Stop trusting in the accomplishments of the past and reach out for the hand of God.
Conclusion
A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck.
One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master’s house.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made.
But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.
"I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."
"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"
"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load
because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this
work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts," the pot said.
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.
Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the
sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some.
But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.
The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on
your side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side?
That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it.
I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table.
Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."
Each of us has our own unique flaws. We’re all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, the Lord will use our flaws to grace His Father’s table.
Jesus came to save those who are lost. He suffered and died on our behalf. He paid the price of sin… for you and for me.
He has not called us to be perfect; he calls us to himself and then clothes us in his perfection.
Our God is the God who uses the wheelchair bound to run marathons and the blind to paint masterpieces…
This morning as we bring our time of study to a close, be encouraged if you are imperfect. Be hopeful about your weakness.
God does not call the proud or the perfect; he calls the little children and calls us to be like little children.
