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About-Him.Com Devotional 06-19-2004
140: Lesson in Humility and Forgiveness - Mt. 18:1-22; Mk. 9:33-50; Lu. 9:46-50
Luke 9:46 Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest.
47 And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him,
48 And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.
49 And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.
50 And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.
While in the area of Capenaum, an argument broke out among the twelve as to who would be the greatest in the kingdom of God. Peter, James and John had been privileged to be with the Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration. It appears that Jesus was staying at Peter’s house. When the question of paying taxes arose, Jesus had provided the necessary money for both He and Peter by means of a miracle.
Perhaps Peter was exploiting his closeness to the Lord. It appears that seeds of jealousy were growing among them all. They still did not grasp the fact that the kingdom was spiritual rather than political. They did their best to hide all of their arguments from Jesus, however in this they failed. Jesus knew all about it without hearing a word.
Later, Jesus asked them what they had been arguing about earlier. They were unwilling to answer. Taking a child into His arms, Jesus sat the twelve down for a lesson in humility and servanthood.
Matthew 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
“Except you make a change and become as this little child, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” A little child has complete trust and faith in it’s parents To enter God’s kingdom, we must lose all sense of self and submit totally to our Lord’s will. If we will do this we will receive a reward at the throne of God, where it matters. We should not be swayed by the recognition that we receive in this world. We want our reward to be there, not here.
The context of the narrative likens the new believer to a little child. If we offend them and cause them to stumble, there are dire consequences to be paid. The text of Matthew 18:1-7 should be read carefully and not glossed over. The context is that Jesus came as the Good Shepherd, seeking the lost. He left the ninety nine upright folk, and went out seeking for lost lambs. When He found the lost sheep He rejoiced, more than for the ninety nine who are safe in the shelter.
If in the process of seeking status and station in the kingdom, we offend the weak believer and cause them to fall, we are going against the purpose of the One who died for us all. It is not His will that any should perish. Using the analogy of plucking out our eyes if they offend us, Jesus is saying that we must go to extraordinary lengths not to offend our brother.
Matthew 18:7 ¶ Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!
8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
13 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones
should perish.
Disputes will arise between brethren, but Jesus gave us the procedure (vs.15-22) for settling disputes and gaining out brother, rather than destroying him. If we have a grievance, we go first to our brother. If it is not settled we take witnesses to hear the argument. As a last resort we take it to the church.
Conclusion and Application:
The kingdom operates on a principal that is completely foreign to our nature. If you want to be exalted humble yourself and be a servant of all. God will exalt you when He sees fit (Micah 6:8; James 4:10).
Mark 9:35 And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
The Pharisees valued the praise on men higher than the praise of God (John 12:43). Sadly, this is very prevalent in the church today. They did their good works to be seen of men. (Matthew 6:2,5,16), and the praise of men will be their only reward. How sad!
Jesus gave His life to save mankind. May we ever be of the same mind.
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Don & Marie Spooner
About Him! Ministries
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