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(A) At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the realm of the skies?” 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 the children, you will never enter the realm of the skies. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the realm of the skies. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever may cause to stumble one of these small ones who trust in me, it would be better for him that a donkey-sized millstone may be hung around his neck and he may be drowned in the depth of the sea. Sorrow to the world for stumblings! For it is necessary that stumblings come, but sorrow to the one by whom the stumbling comes! (B) If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and let it go away from you. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be let go into the eternal fire. If your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and let it go away from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be let go into the waste incinerator. See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. (C) What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” Matthew 18: 1-14 |
Last week we caught a glimpse of a young child in the centre of a room full of adults – totally vulnerable – but with Jesus alongside. The year was AD 30 and the men in the room had just asked Jesus, “Who is the greatest – the megas - in the kingdom of the skies?” (A) above.
Jesus said that it was this young child who was the greatest in the heavenly realm. Why? It seems that this was because the child – Jesus used the word mikron to describe it - was minute in its own eyes, and in the eyes of others and, maybe for that reason, totally trusted in this Son of Man, Son of God. |
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‘Trust always shows itself in the whole personality.’ (D Martyn Lloyd Jones, preacher and writer, 1899-1981)
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No wonder Jesus warned these men about causing small people to stumble away from trusting in Him. “Sorrow to the world for stumblings! For it is necessary that stumblings come, but sorrow to the one by whom the stumbling comes!”
But look now at (B) above. In Matthew’s biography of Jesus, this incident didn’t end there. And I’m so pleased it didn’t. Jesus was deeply concerned that these strong men should be aware of grave dangers to themselves. They’d been asking about who, among themselves, was greatest – megas – in the kingdom of the skies. Could this stumble them in their trust in the Most High? What was then dangerous for Jesus’ followers? What still is?
He says, “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and let it go away from you… If your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and let it go away from you.” If something that is part of you begins to take you away from trusting in my name, thrust it away. Let those stumbling blocks go away – even a hand, a foot, an eye - because it’s better to enter the life that is in my name without that, than eventually for the whole of you to be let go away into the eternal fire of the waste incinerator. |
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‘Trust God even when the pieces don’t seem to fit.’ (John Hercus, surgeon and writer, 1912-1986)
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You probably know some Christians. Do the Christians whom you know tend to be stumbled away from Jesus by hand, foot or eye – by what they achieve (hand) and where they go (foot) and their appearance (eye)? In short by seeking greatness and not life trusting in Jesus? Might they have stumbled themselves out of the kingdom of the skies?
Look then at (C) above. Jesus, with the child still there, trusting him, told a story to encourage anyone who had not trusted in his name or, trusting it, had stumbled away from him. “What do you think?”, He said…
“… If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.”
Is God like that man - concerned about one individual? Is he deeply concerned that a stray or stumbled sheep return to, and continue to, trust in his name – the name of Jesus? Is he deeply concerned that his sheep don’t stumble others from that trust – or themselves? |
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