Sermon Summary
When the disciples asked Jesus who was “the greatest in the kingdom of heaven,” they expressed a desire for status that is still almost inescapable today. All of us are taught by our instincts and our surrounding culture to believe that if only we achieve a certain level of status, we will be fulfilled.
Yet the search for status turns out not to yield the results it promises. Even by purely human measures, status and fulfillment are not correlated. We know many stories of the disappointment that comes of what is often a pride-driven quest for status. From a spiritual perspective, status-seeking is looking for position or achievements to provide the meaning and value that we are meant to receive as a gift from God.
Jesus answered the disciples by pointing to a child and telling them that unless they changed and became like little children, they would not enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus here is calling for two things: (1) a turn away from the quest for status and (2) a new disposition that resembles that of little children. These are the negative and positive sides of the same coin: rejecting the promise that worldly status equals value and accepting that our value lies in God’s judgment.
Children had no status in the ancient world. Yet Jesus says that they are the model that will lead us to finding the kingdom of heaven. Because children didn’t have status (and to some extentstill don’t have much status today), they must depend on and trust others. Jesus is pointing us to the importance of depending on and trusting God.
In the cross, Jesus divested himself of all claims to status. He did not look to “achieve” in the sinful world’s terms, instead living for God his Father and for the human family he had come to rescue. Jesus’ loss of status did not result in ultimate disappointment, but rather the exaltation that God bestowed upon him in the resurrection. Jesus’ death and resurrection exposes the false promises of the world and its often-prideful quest for status. His story is an invitation for us to become like little children as we look to God alone for our worth.
Discussion Questions
Exploring the Idea
1. How much has the search for worldly status impacted your own decisions throughout life?
2. Can you think of examples of this quest for status turning out in negative ways for people in your life or in the public awareness? Read Proverbs 16:18. Do you think this statement is generally true? What makes you think so?
Engaging the Text
3. Read Matthew 18:1-3.
a. When Jesus says that the disciples must “change” (literally, “turn”), what is he saying about their current state of mind and perspective?
b. What do you notice about what the disciples ask in verse 1 and what Jesus tells them will never be if they don’t change in verse 3? What are the disciples missing in their evaluation of things?
4. Read Matthew 18:4.
a. What might it mean, practically, to take “the lowly position of this child”?
b. Does Jesus statement remind you of some other things that are said in Scripture about lowliness and greatness? See Matthew 20:1-16, Luke 1:46-55.
5. Read Matthew 18:5. Why do you think Jesus says that welcoming children (or childlike people) is a way to welcome him?
Going Deeper
6. Read the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its interpretation in Daniel 4. What does this story have to say about the danger the disciples (and we) are facing? (Especially see verse 4 and verses 28-37.)
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