Who is Greatest?
Matthew 18:1-4 opens with the disciples asking who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus pointed out a little child who came and joined them. He told them that unless they became as a little child, they wouldn't enter the kingdom of heaven.
I suspect that even little children have changed a great deal between Christ's time and our time. In Christ's time, if you were a woman, you knew, even as a little child that you were likely to end up a wife and mother. There were exceptions, but they were rare enough in Jewish culture that you had no expectations of being someone great. If you were a man, it was likely that you would follow in your father's profession. There were more paths to something more for men, but since they were under Roman rule and they weren't Roman, greatness was probably beyond their reach.
Now, there are more options in some parts of the world to escape these limits and become much greater on your own work and merits. But even now, the family you are born in can make this much more difficult or easy.
But dealing with the time period Jesus lived in, what I think He was saying was that if you were out trying to become the greatest in the kingdom, you were disqualifying yourself immediately. If you were desiring power, money, and prestige, and to lord it above everyone else, you had a fatal character flaw that would prevent your ascension to eventual power in His kingdom.
You needed to be like little kids who by their nature don't differentiate between the status of each other. That isn't to say all kids treat each other the same, but when little kids do take on airs it is usually due to the influence of the adults around them and not due to their own inclinations.
As kids age, they do tend to notice the differences between themselves and others, and frequently this does destroy the equality that little kids start with. But again, the cliques and groupings that tend to form in middle school and later frequently result in what parents can afford to provide for their children. Children pick up on the attitudes of their parents toward others.
Christ declares that if you want to be great in God's kingdom, you need to adopt the same attitudes. First you need to be saved or converted, and take up walking with God and being led by the Spirit. Then you need to change your attitude and realize that nothing Christians do is done alone. God does most of the work, but anything that we do is done as part of a team that started in the New Testament and has been built up over generations of Christians.
There probably isn't any Christian author or preacher, and that certainly includes me, whose words aren't shaped by what we have learned by all those who have gone before us and those we are interacting with on a regular basis. Many of my thoughts come from notes in my Dake bible. I don't know the Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic languages. I'm not a Latin scholar. So if there is a word that seems strange in the KJV, there is usually a note for the original word and notes about the various ways it was translated and places used in the Dake bible.
For example, in the previous chapter Dake noted that the coin Christ spoke of that would be in the mouth of the fish was the greek stater, worth about 64 cents as of the time Dake did the New Testament notes. His price conversions were written in the sixties, and are horribly out of date with rampant inflation.
So Christianity at all levels is really a team effort. The majority of the team are deceased. But their words, preserved through the ages, starting with the gospels, and continuing through the letters of Paul and others, form the basis of our understanding of Christianity. Many writers have added to them over the centuries and the number of Christian books is still growing. Online writers and pastors are adding their words on the Internet. But the reality is that no matter who you are in Christianity - a great pastor or evangelist - or the Pope himself - your position depends on a vast number of other individuals who have gone before or who are working with you now.
Don't be deceived by greatness. God still wants your heart to be that of a little child, treating everyone the same and playing together on the same team without favoritism. If you're looking for a starting point to be the team player God wants you to be, if your denomination practices closed communion, change that to be fully open. Then look for other ways to be united in the church of Christ. Fix what is broken and work hard to not break the church in new ways.
In the world, people seek to rise to the top to be great. But Christ says to be great in the kingdom of heaven, you need to go back to your roots in humility of spirit, deed, thought, and heart. It is certain that most looked up to the great Jewish leaders. The Pharisees and scribes did have a special place. But the people responded more to the heart and attitude of John the Baptist and then Jesus and the disciples. This, of course, led those who were previously esteemed to lash out at what was threatening them. But ultimately the people judged and Christianity was born, through much travail and martyrdom.
On Offense
Matthew 18:5-10 continues and gives a warning about offending little children. He says that if you receive a little child and do so in Jesus name, showing acceptance as Jesus would, it is just the same as if you were doing it to Christ Himself.
Giving offense to a little child so that they would turn away from God at a young age is such a bad offense that it would be better that you put a millstone around your neck and drowned yourself in the sea. Jesus admits that Satan is out trying to tear apart Christianity and getting someone turned against God from a young age is a win for him. But He declares woe on the agent of Satan who does it.
He declares that hell is a horrible place that you should do everything in your power to avoid. It would be better to be maimed or blind join Christ in heaven than to be full bodied and end up in hell fire. In that day and age, physical infirmities were much more difficult to live with than now as there were fewer options for jobs that didn't require you be full bodied or mechanical devices to help you navigate life. So His comment was much stronger then than it may be considered today.
Jesus says that the angels who watch over little children are always with the Father in heaven. Don't despise the little ones, as God will soon know.
Jesus isn't advocating actual dismemberment. But He is emphasizing that removing sin from your life is ultimately the most important thing you can do, short of accepting Christ's sacrifice to bridge the gap between you and God. Nothing else will do it. Repentance is important after salvation. Nobody is perfect, but do the best you can and rid yourself of everything that would drag you back to sin.
And ultimately, teach children about God and His love and mercy. Teach them about the truths of the Bible. Don't block them or keep them from learning. Don't treat them as unimportant or unteachable. Many of us in this day and age have older children who have been turned off by the church and who don't attend. If we have done all we can to bring them up in the knowledge of God, all we can do is answer any questions they have to the best of our ability, encourage them when the Spirit prompts, love them, and trust God that He will bring them back.
Offenses happen easily, and for many reasons that are often unexpected. If there is offense that has happened, continue to love and pray for the hearts of all parties to be changed. It will probably take God's hand to fix major ruptures in families or communities. I'm not sure what it will take to heal the political ruptures happening in our country today. But with God, all things are possible [Matthew 19:26]. I know that this is talking about salvation, but salvation is the start of healing all offenses.
The Lost Sheep
In Matthew 18:11-14, Jesus continues speaking of little children, likening them to sheep. He declares that He came to save the lost. If a shepherd of the day had 100 sheep and lost one, he would live the 99 behind to seek the one that was lost. It isn't stated here whether he would be leaving the sheep in a safe place like a sheep fold, guarded by another shepherd or dog, or whether he was relying on safety in numbers.
But that one that was lost had his full attention. He would go into the mountains or wherever else he though tit might have wondered to find the lost sheep. If it is found alive, he rejoices in finding it more than the others who were safe.
Just like that, God doesn't want anyone to perish. That especially includes the little children. Once a childlike innocence is lost, it is hard to regain. It isn't impossible, to be sure. Many do come to Christ at a later point in their lives. But once Satan has let doubts and criticisms of established churches grow and fester, it is much more difficult to overcome. Sometimes, it takes you hitting rock bottom to realize you need help. No parent wants that for their children. God isn't any different.
On Trespass
So what happens if offense happens? In Matthew 18:15-17, Christ asks that if offense or trespass happens that the direct parties try to resolve their differences. If you are successful, harmony or at least mutual respect can be restored and the church isn't weakened.
If the person won't agree to talk with you to resolve the issue, then take one or two people with you to serve as witness. If that is rebuffed, take the matter to the church. If the person refuses the correction in front of the church, treat him as a heathen or publican.
It is unfortunate that the church isn't totally harmonious. Unfortunately, God's church on earth is made up of people, and there will always be problems and disagreements. The church has split apart many times in history due to them. There are still disagreements today. There are parts of scripture which people have differing opinions about, and which don't involve doctrine or salvation, that will probably never be resolved until we get to heaven and can consult with someone who's been there a long time or perhaps an angel. I doubt most of us would dare to ask God Himself.
Some differing opinions will sort themselves out as history progresses. We'll all know more about the tribulation period which is the source of many questions and discussion as it happens, and I hope all of us are taken in the rapture before it happens (apologies to the mid and post tribulation rapture folks - yet another example of differing opinions).
But splits over these things shouldn't happen. They don't affect salvation or doctrine. How the earth was created is an interesting subject, but we can all agree that God had an active hand in it, because He says He did and we believe He is [Genesis 1:1].
There are real issues that do need to be addressed, though, even in the modern 21st century church. Sin, false doctrines, disorderly conduct and disobedience, apostasy, and heresy need to be dealt with. These things still plague denominations today. Christian Science, Jehovah's Witnesses, Theosophical groups, Baha'ism, and Mormonism are all examples of doctrines about Christ which are not according to scripture. Other denominations are fighting sin issues in their midst.
The goal should always be unity, but not unity at the cost of accepting sin, false doctrine, or other things listed above (at a minimum) into a unified body. Christianity needs to stand for certain basic things that aren't open to compromise. The world will always be out there, and it seems that it is getting worse every year (unless you're a student of history and read how bad things really were in the past). The church must remain a light that isn't dimmed by becoming like the world.
Binding and Loosing Revisited
In Matthew 18:18-20, Jesus first repeats to the disciples that they should follow the practice of allowing the Holy Spirit to show what was bound (or forbidden) in heaven and to follow likewise on earth. They should also seek to know what was loosed (or permitted) in heaven and guide the church to also permit those things. Man doesn't have the capacity to force God to make changes. That isn't to say that prayer can't change God's heart to do things that He wasn't planning to do or planning to do just then. But it won't make God act against His nature. Trying to loose something on earth that God has explicitly bound or forbidden isn't going to fly, in my opinion.
Going against those prohibitions may cause you to create a division in the church. Look at what was being done by the Pope and his officials which caused Martin Luther to break the church into Catholic and Protestant divisions. Earlier in 1054, Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism split apart over theological, cultural, and political divisions.
I doubt that God wanted any of those breaks to happen. But individual church leaders weren't listening to the Holy Spirit well enough to resolve the differences and keep the peace. Everyone needs to be careful to not create further division and to try to mend and restore unity where it is faulty today.
Christ then gives a promise that if two agree on earth in what they are asking God about, they would receive an affirmative response from God. He further says that where two or three are gathered together, Jesus would be in their midst in spirit.
It should be noted that Jesus was speaking to the disciples, who would be Spirit filled in a short time, and were already operating under the Spirit in fact. While this is written as an absolute, we need to realize that just as in James epistle, it is possible to ask amiss [James 4:3]. When two Christians are led by the Holy Spirit to seek a particular result that each has been prompted by the Holy Spirit to look for, then I think they can assume the promise of this verse, whether fulfilled quickly or at a later time. God does want His church to grow and be strong.
But I think that many prayers that even two Christians might get together to pray would fall under the prohibition of James 4:3. So we need to seek a balance, and that balance will only be seen if all parties are being led by the Holy Spirit in what they pray for. If I ask my Christian brother to help us to win a lottery, for example, I don't think our agreement would necessarily cause God to act. He might, but James 4:3 would seem to be a brake on that.
Regardless of these differences, Jesus tells them that he would be with them, no matter how small their group was. It wouldn't take a minyan (or ten men aged 13 or older) like was prevalent in orthodox jewish communities to form a public prayer quorum (although some modern groups will take either men or women in the count). Jesus promised to be present in spirit with even two or three. Since the church was just starting, I'm pretty sure this was comforting to the disciples.
On Forgiveness
The end of the chapter [Matthew 18:21-35] gives a discourse and parable on forgiveness. Evidently the common expectation that a person should forgive seven times for an offense. I'm not sure why Peter was asking, but for whatever reason he was. Jesus replies not seven times but 490 times (or so many that you lose count).
Jesus gives the parable of the king and servant who owed him 10,000 talents. It isn't stated if they were talents of gold or sliver. If of gold they might be worth around 35.5 billion USD. If of silver, it would be around 1.25 billion USD. So the debt was huge. Clearly, few today could pay such a large amount, and I can't imagine what would have led to such a large debt in the first place. The king ordered the man and his family sold, along with all he had for payment.
The servant pleaded for mercy, the king had mercy, took his bonds off and forgave him the debt. After his debt had been cleared the man went out and found someone who owed him around 200 USD. He took him by the throat and ordered him to pay up. When that person begged mercy, he threw the man in prison till all would be paid.
When people who knew both parties saw what was done, they went and told the king, who then called the original servant to account. He told him how much he had been forgiven and asked why the man didn't have similar compassion on the one who owed him money. The king was mad and delivered him to tormentors until the man was able to pay back his original debt - which, considering the amount, was a life sentence.
Jesus tells us to use this as an example, warning that God would in effect do a similar thing to you if we didn't forgive those who trespass against us. We have all been forgiven by God through the blood of Jesus a great debt that we did not have any capacity to pay. We need to truly understand this and forgive those who trespass against us. It doesn't matter to God how big the trespass against us is. It is tiny compared to the forgiveness we have received. We need to forgive completely and freely all.
Forgiving a person or a group of people doesn't guarantee that they will forgive you and all will be back to normal again. Forgiveness is a two way street. But the requirement that you forgive isn't conditional on their reciprocation. Forgive, and mean it. Apologize, and mean it. Life's too short and eternity is too long.