Matthew 18:1–14
18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
Causing to Stumble
6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
The Parable of the Wandering Sheep
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. [11] [a]
12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.
Disciples of Jesus must be willing to be of no importance. Then they will be really great. At this time in Jesus’s ministry, the disciples had much to learn. They still wanted to be important and to have power. This was why they asked the question in verse 1. Jesus used a little child to teach two lessons.
Little children do not relate to people in the same way that adults do. Status (to be important) or color do not mean anything to them. But they often see a person’s real character. Adults learn to judge other people. Children ignore the standards that adults use. In the ancient world, children did not have any worth. But they often came to Jesus. It did not matter what a child might be like. Jesus always welcomed each child. And he expected his disciples to do the same (verse 5).
Jesus taught another lesson in verses 6–9. We should have attitudes like little children. Jesus had just been speaking about this. So, he could be warning about when one Christian causes another Christian to stumble. That is a serious matter! Jesus gave a severe warning against all those who do this to His children. The fire of hell waits for all those who cause His children to stumble. (Read verses 8–9.)
How terrible!
Someone can do bad things to a ‘little person’. That ‘little person might then lose his or her faith in Jesus. There will be an awful punishment for a person who causes this. Jesus described what it would be like (verse 6).
First, Jesus spoke about a millstone. It would be round that person’s neck. A millstone was a huge stone. It had a hole in the middle. It was so heavy that a large animal must move it. Then Jesus spoke about that person when he would be drowning. For a Jew, to drown was one of the worst ways to die. It was even worse if it happened far from Jewish land. So, it would be a terrible death. That person would not be able to escape it. Jesus even said that this kind of death would be better than his punishment!
Jesus said, ‘ Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! ’
Jesus ended his teaching with a story. He told a parable about sheep. He wanted real disciples to show the character of God. God’s gentle care is for all ‘little ones’.
Jesus said that children have angels as their friends. In those days, people thought that children had no worth. But this was wrong. (Read verse 1.) The Jews of Jesus’ time believed that nations had angels. But they had never suggested that children had them too. This included one child or a group of children.
In the parable, God is like a shepherd. (A shepherd is someone who looks after sheep.) God looks for any sheep that is lost. He is very, very happy when he finds it. In just the same way, he does not want to lose any ‘little ones’. Real disciples should have the same attitude as the father in heaven.
Questions
1. Do you want to have an important position among your Christian friends? Think about ways in which you try to become more important. How can you avoid these ambitions?
2. How could you cause someone to lose his or her faith in Jesus (18:6)?
3. A non-Christian might visit your church. Would he or she want to become a Christian?