Jesus is showing the disciples that humility is not only about how we present ourselves before God. It also has to do with our love and service to the least among us.
In last week’s Gospel reading, Jesus turned the disciples’ world upside down with a single sentence. “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25). They did not get it, of course. Their minds were set “on the things of man” (Matthew 16:23). To help discover the mind of God, Jesus kept teaching them. In fact, in this and the next two weeks’ Gospel readings, Jesus teaches the disciples with more specific and explicit details about what it looks like. Since His disciples are the audience in each of the next three readings, and since disciples of Jesus in every age struggle to make sense of this paradoxical life in Christ, you might consider a three-week series that explores what present-day disciples lose when we find life in Christ.
The reading this week starts as the disciples ask a question. “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” The question itself betrays how they are thinking like humans (this was not the first or the last time such thinking would come up; see Mrs. Zebedee in Matthew 20:20). It is not unreasonable that they would wonder. They are people, after all. The impulse to rank and judge ourselves (and others) is not exclusive to our day and age, even if social media has enabled our comparisons to reach new heights. Further, Jesus gave them reason to speculate about their positions in the previous chapter. There, He extended only three invitations to the Transfiguration. It is easy to imagine the disciples looking around at one another and sizing each other up.
But Jesus sees life differently. To find life in Him is to lose the kind of life they thought they knew. In this particular situation, it means letting go of the world’s standards for what makes someone great. To make His point, Jesus lifts up the least among them (18:2-4). “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.”
It is helpful, at this point, to remember that in Jesus’ day children were not treated as they are today. They were not considered innocent or pure or blank slates waiting to be shaped by conscientious parents. They were not provided the privileges (and pressures) of private lessons and personal tutoring to gain the necessary edge for college admission. Then, there are the realities of infant mortality and childhood labor. Life for children was very different in those days than it is now. Which is why “the modern, Western fascination with children and the modern sentimentalizing of childhood ought not be read back into the Gospels.”[1]
If we are not supposed to read modern thoughts back into Jesus’ message about children, what should we take away from His living object lesson? Several things, and both have to do with humility.
When Jesus speaks of humility, He is speaking about His own heart.
First, Jesus emphasizes humility as the defining characteristic for those who enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This makes sense, for humility is the defining character trait of the one who brought the Kingdom of Heaven near. There are many passages in the Gospels and the epistles on this point. In John 13, Jesus washes the disciples’ feet. In Matthew 20:26-28, He insists He came to serve, not to be served. Paul is clear about Jesus’ humble obedience all the way to a cross (Philippians 2:5-8), as well as His willingness to become poor so others might be rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). When Jesus speaks of humility, He is speaking about His own heart. He is making explicit what His actions implicitly reveal about God and His love for His sinful and lowly creatures.
Second, Jesus does more than call His disciples to emulate children. He also calls them to welcome and serve such as these. “Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me” (18:5). “See that you do not despise one of these little ones” (18:10). Notice the location of the following example about the lost sheep (18:12-14). When Jesus tells about a shepherd searching for his lost sheep in Luke’s gospel, the audience is religious leaders who refused to welcome sinners. In this case, Jesus is showing the disciples that humility is not only about how we present ourselves before God. It also has to do with our love and service to the least among us.
What might you do with these ideas in a sermon? You could imagine your task as reminding your hearers. Take what they currently think about greatness and follow Jesus’ lead by helping them lose such things as pride, ego, comparisons, and the impulse to puff themselves up by pushing others down. Instead, invite them to give thanks for the down-to-earth Son of God who brings Himself low for us, and calls us to join Him in His humility. From there, He promises to exalt us in His perfect timing and provide for those among us who would never be mistaken for being great.
--------
Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out 1517’s resources on Matthew 18:1-20.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Matthew 18:1-20.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
[1] The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, ed. By Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, I. Howard Marshall. IVP, 1992. 100.
