THE RULE OF GOD OPPOSES THE PROUD
BUT SAVES THE HUMBLE
Matthew 18: 1-14
INTRODUCTION
When I was a teenager I had a crush on a girl who was a year younger
than I. I would often see she and her friends at school and other places
hanging out and laughing, enjoying each others company. I remember feeling
like such an outsider. I wanted so desperately to be included in her group
and to be noticed and affirmed by her and yet I was not. I was resentful
of her friends, especially the other boys. At times I even hated them.
I would guess that all of us who are over 10 have felt this way at some
time. We want to be part of the "in" crowd. We yearn to be loved
and admired and accepted by those we consider important. We want people
to notice us. When we are not noticed, when we are not part of the "in"
crowd, we are not only hurt but we become jealous, resentful and angry.
This is what is happening to the disciples at the beginning of chapter
18.
Throughout chapters 16-17, Peter has clearly been the most conspicuous
of the disciples. He is the one who first identified Jesus as the Messiah
and Jesus commended him for his insight. Peter takes it upon himself to
correct Jesus. He, John, and James were specially selected by Jesus to
accompany him up the mountain to see Jesus in his divine glory. Then,
right at the end of 17, Jesus has a private conversation with Peter and
arranges a miraculous fishing trip by which Peter pays the temple tax
for himself and Jesus. Who paid the tax for the other disciples? Why was
Peter singled out for this special treatment? Whether Peter was flaunting
his privileges or not, I don’t know. However, it is quite apparent that
the other disciples have a problem with what they are observing. They
come to Jesus with a burning question. "Who is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven?" Their question reveals two things. First, as
we have seen repeatedly in these chapters, the disciples do not understand
that the "kingdom of heaven" refers primarily to a future condition.
They are expecting Jesus to bring heaven to earth, not make them fit for
heaven. They are expecting Jesus to take over the world and make them
princes over various chunks of real estate. This is why they cannot comprehend
Jesus’ talk of suffering, dying and rising from the dead. In 17: 23 they
are full of grief when Jesus talks about his suffering because a dead
Messiah can’t give them anything that they value.
The second thing their question reveals is the condition of their hearts.
They believe they are part of Jesus’ company because they deserve to be
part of Jesus’ company. They deserve to be treated well. It is wrong that
Peter is being treated better then the rest. They are hurt, jealous, resentful
and angry. They deserve to be treated like Peter. In fact, their question
shows that they believe they deserve to be treated like the king. Who
is the greatest in any kingdom? The king is the greatest. The answer to
their question is obvious. Jesus is the greatest in the kingdom. However,
they find no happiness in Jesus being king. Each one of them is demanding
to be treated like the king. They are demanding this from the one who
is the king. Jesus understands exactly what is going on in their hearts
and seeks to help them face themselves and flee from their sin. They are
asking this question because they are proud men. They are convinced that
they deserve to be treated well. They deserve to be admired and to be
made part of the elite, inner circle. They will not tolerate being left
out in any way. If they are not treated like a king, they are going to
make someone pay. They are just like us. How much of the misery in our
lives is because we demand to be treated well. If we are not treated as
we want, we get mad, we fight and we complain. Our conflicts are merely
the sign that we are proud people.
MAIN POINT
You should flee from pride because…
I. Only the humble will go to heaven (vv. 1-5)
One of the repeated descriptions of God in the OT is that he is slow
to anger. How clearly that trait is revealed in Jesus. While he often
rebukes these disciples, he never scolds them and berates them the way
human parents often do their children. If you read the gospels from God’s
point of view, you will often feel like yelling at these men. However,
Jesus is the model of restraint, even when asked such a blasphemous question.
He stands a child in the midst of them and tells them that unless they
turn and become as this child they will never enter into heaven. They
presume they are already a part of God’s kingdom. They are arguing about
which of them will be greatest, not which of them will get in. Jesus,
however, warns them that unless they turn from their current condition
they will not enter the kingdom. They like all humans, cannot think of
any reason why God would not allow them into heaven. They can think of
many reasons why God should be happy to have them as part of his kingdom.
Jesus says, unless they turn away from their self-centered, proud way
of thinking and acting and become like this child they will not go to
heaven.
In what way are they (and we) to become like a child? Jesus tells us
in v. 4. They are to humble themselves like this child. The greater the
humility the higher place in God’s kingdom. Here we see the upside down
nature of God’s kingdom. If you want to become great, become small. If
you want life, then die. The path of Jesus to glory is the path of betrayal,
suffering and death. So it is with all who follow him. What does it mean
to humble yourself as a child? Jesus is not referring to some innate innocence
in children. He is referring to an objective reality, not some natural
virtue that all children possess. All of us know that children are just
as self-centered as adults and demand their own way sometimes more than
adults. Children are humble in this sense; they are never consulted about
the plans of adults. They have no say in politics. Their lives are run
by others. It is a fact of their existence, not a virtue in them. Also,
for the most part, they don’t care that politicians don’t ask their opinion.
As long as their needs are met and they get to play with their friends
and enjoy the security of their family, they don’t care that they have
no say in the affairs of society. They don’t care about belonging to the
country club. They don’t care who is the President. They don’t care who
is the CEO of the company. They don’t care if their best friends dad is
rich or if he is poor. In the broader society, they are nobodies and
they don’t care they are nobodies. They aren’t impressed with the
things that impress adults.
The only people who are going to heaven are people who become nobodies
on purpose and don’t care they are nobodies. This is exactly what Paul
says in Philippians 2 when he tells us to have the same attitude that
Jesus had. He did not demand to be treated as God but made himself a nobody.
He made himself a slave and identified himself with the lowest of the
low; he became a human and willingly allowed himself to be treated as
a criminal. Having faith in Christ doesn’t simply mean acknowledging that
you’re not good enough to go to heaven and so you need Jesus to escape
hell. Faith is a desperate longing to be like Jesus. That means I want
to be like him in his suffering and his death. He voluntarily humbled
himself. He determined that his happiness was not going to come by being
treated as he deserved but he banked all his hope on the joy of the glory
of God that followed the cross. In the same way, the Christian wants to
give up all hope of finding happiness by being treated well on earth and
desires only to have Jesus think well of him or her. Human pride is revealed
in our demand to be treated well. We are offended when people don’t treat
us like kings or when life doesn’t go the way that a king’s life ought
to go. Those who are going to heaven don’t expect to be treated like kings.
They are happy to be loved by their Father and to live in the security
of his family. They volunteer to be treated like nobodies.
Beginning in v. 5, whenever Jesus talks about "this child"
or "little ones" he is not referring to human children but to
humans who have become as children, i.e. to Christians (We know this because
v. 6 identifies the "little child like this" as a "little
one who believes in me". See 10: 40-42 & 11:25). Therefore, in
verse 5 he says that the way you feel about and treat Christians is how
you feel about and treat him. The disciples are not welcoming one another.
They view each other as competitors. They demand to be respected and treated
well by one another. They don’t think about one another as brothers, who
are loved by Jesus, like themselves, contrary to what they deserve. The
only people who are truly able to love others are those who don’t need
you to love them back. Only humble people are able to love like this.
Humble people renounce their demand to be treated well in this life and
are happy to be loved by God. Therefore, they are free to love others
for the sake of Jesus. They love because they are loved by Jesus. They
rejoice at treating others well for the sake of Jesus and at being treated
well for the sake of Jesus. Those who have renounced their rights to be
happy in this life and are happy simply to be loved by God are the freest
people in the universe.
You should flee from pride because…
- Only the humble will go to heaven
- And because…
II. God destroys the proud (vv. 6-9)
Verses 6-9 are such hard verses. We are not used to thinking about Jesus
talking to people like this. These verses become even more difficult because
he is not talking to his enemies but to those whom he has chosen to be
his disciples. The warning of v. 6 is for the disciples and all who profess
to be Christians. I think most of us read vv. 6 & 7 and cannot imagine
that we can be people who cause others to sin. Yet, it seems to me that
Jesus sees a clear connection between the attitude of the disciples and
being a person who causes others to sin. What is the relationship between
demanding to be treated like a king and acting in such a way that you
are causing Christians to sin? Before I answer that question, let’s be
clear, nobody makes another person sin. The word that is translated
"cause to sin" means to put a stumbling block in somebody’s
way. It is what Peter did to Jesus when he told Jesus that there was no
way he would let him be killed (16:23). Peter didn’t cause Jesus to sin,
rather he was encouraging Jesus to sin. He was not encouraging Jesus to
follow the will of his father, but to avoid suffering and pursue pleasure
in this world. It means placing temptation to sin in a person’s way, or
giving people cause to abandon Christ by what you say or do. The other
thing we must note here is that Jesus is talking about what happens in
the church. While the "anyone" of verse 6 includes both those
outside and inside the church, he is talking to the disciples. It is so
easy to think that the only temptations to sin are "out there".
That is just not true. You cannot eliminate temptations to sin by simply
isolating yourself from all those bad people out there in the world.
The relationship between the demand to be treated like a king and being
a stumbling block works like this. I’m basing this upon what Jesus says
to Peter in 16: 23. Peter was being a stumbling block to Jesus by encouraging
Jesus to seek his pleasure on earth, not by following God’s will. Peter
had no interest in a suffering Messiah and so he didn’t want Jesus to
be a suffering Messiah. Peter’s view of happiness was Jesus taking over
the world and he getting to be top banana next to Jesus. Jesus’ view of
happiness is knowing, loving, trusting, obeying God and enjoying the glory
of God forever. Like he said in John 4, "My food is to do the will
of him who sent me and to finish his work." When we, by our words
and actions encourage others to believe there is more happiness in a pleasant
life on earth rather than more happiness in following Jesus, then we are
being a stumbling block to them.
There are many ways that we can entice people to seek their happiness
on planet earth rather than in the will of God. Obviously, pastors, other
religious teachers and parents are in a very precarious position. All
who speak for God are either encouraging people to seek all their joy
in Christ or enticing them to seek their happiness in a pleasant life
on planet earth. This is the particular warning Jesus has in mind for
these men. The question that every pastor, leader and parent must ask
is this, "Am I, by my life and my words encouraging people to seek
their happiness in knowing Christ or in pursuing pleasure in this world?"
Pastors and parents who abuse their authority by requiring of people things
that God never required can be a stumbling block to others. I think of
the pastor of a Christian sect who refused to allow anyone to see a doctor,
who publicly spanked people accused of sin, who forbid people to marry
without his permission. He was finally thrown in jail for spanking a young,
diabetic child who died. I do not know of a single person from that church
who is currently walking with Christ. All have abandoned Christ because
of this pastor’s abuse and false teaching. I can’t tell you how many I’ve
met in Janesville in the past 4 ½ years who have rejected Christ because
of abusive pastors and churches.
But average people can be an enticement to sin as well. We entice others
to sin when we use anger and intimidation to force people to do things
they don’t want to do or think is wrong to do. We entice others to sin
when we don’t encourage others to pray or seek Christ but spend all our
time with them in frivolous pursuits. We put obstacles between people
and Christ when we profess to be Christians but live as though Christ
never existed. We are stumbling blocks when we by our actions or words
teach that behavior God clearly condemns in his word is OK for
Christians to engage in. We are stumbling blocks when we seek to get people
to agree with us that all of our preferred behaviors are God’s preferred
behaviors and so either bring others under the yoke of legalism or cause
them to do things that violate their own conscience.
In v. 6 Jesus puts before us two life experiences and he says that one
is better than the other. First, you can be a person who does not cause
others to sin and be drowned in the sea. Or you can be a person who tempts
others to sin and is not drowned in the sea. Being a person who tempts
others to sin is a worse fate than having someone tie a huge rock to your
feet and throw you into the sea. How can that be? The reason is because;
in v. 7, Jesus declares woe upon the whole world because it is full of
temptations to disobey God and woe in particular upon those individuals
in the world who are the agents of temptation. "Woe" is the
opposite of "blessed". It is an OT word that means a person
is under God’s judgment and facing his wrath. It is used over 90 times
in the OT. Here is one example from Isaiah 3: 9-11, "…they parade
their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! They have brought
disaster upon themselves…. Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! They
will be paid back for what their hands have done." The world is characterized
by an overwhelming amount of temptations. It is impossible to live in
this world without being tempted to sin. But God is not letting anyone
get away with anything. The entire world and especially those individuals
who tempt others are under his judgment. They will be paid back for what
they have done.
I want you to think for a moment about the comparison that Jesus draws.
To face God’s judgment upon your sin is worse than having someone tie
a block of cement to you and throw you into the sea. What can be worse
than that? There are many who refuse to believe in hell as a place of
eternal, conscious torment. They want to say that God’s judgment is simply
you cease to exist. Ceasing to exist is not worse than being drowned.
The only way to understand why God’s "woe" is worse than drowning
is to believe what Jesus says in v. 8, it is eternal fire. God’s
judgment is to send those who cause others, especially Christians, to
sin into eternal, conscious suffering.
Being a proud person, a person who demands to be treated like a king
on planet earth not only leads you to be an agent of temptation to others
but also causes you to lead yourself into sin. Pride brings ruin into
the lives of others and into your own life. Because we are by nature people
who demand to be treated like kings we naturally use our human capacities
to get a king’s life. We use our capacities to satisfy our longings and
desires for happiness on earth. We use our hands, our feet, and our eyes
to fulfill our lusts and desires and demands for happiness here. Now Jesus
tells us that if a particular human ability is leading me into sin, then
I should cut it off, pluck it out and throw it away. He is using hyperbole,
or exaggeration to make a point. How could it be better to be crippled
but not sinning than to be physically whole but sinning? The answer is
because if you don’t perform this radical surgery you will be thrown into
the eternal fire of hell. But if you will perform this surgery, than you
will enter into eternal life. He is appealing to our self-interest. He
is saying that it is a happier thing to deny yourself the pleasures of
this world and to gain heaven than it is to enjoy this world without restraint
and be sent to hell.
What does it mean to cut off a hand or foot or pluck out an eye? It simply
means that I am in a war with my sin. What Christians fear most of all
is sinning. Christians hate to sin and engage all their ability in fighting
sin. We’re like a person who has gangrene in their leg. If you keep the
leg, you will die. So in order to live, you get an amputation. Amputation
is not pleasant but you do it because life is better than death. Fighting
against your sin, against your lust to be happy in this life is painful
but it is nothing compared to the pain of eternal fire. The pleasures
of sin are nothing compared to the pleasures of eternal life. You fight
sin by confessing it to other, mature Christians so they can pray for
you. You fight it by developing strategies to overcome it. You fight it
by continually dwelling upon the joy of belonging to Christ and the horror
of living forever without him. My dear friend, you will not go to heaven
if you do not engage in this painful warfare.
You should flee from pride because…
- Only the humble will go to heaven
- God destroys the proud
- And because…
III. God only preserves the humble (vv. 10-14)
"These little ones" in v. 10 are every person who humbles himself
or herself like a little child, who believes in Jesus (This is not talking
about literal children.). In other words, Jesus warns the apostles and
us not to treat with contempt any other Christian. The reason we should
not do so is because every Christian has angels assigned to him or her
who stand in the very presence of God. The angels are mentioned several
times in Matthew as the agents of God’s wrath. In 13: 41 the angels are
going to go into the world and gather up everything that causes sin and
all who practice wickedness and throw them into the eternal burnings.
So when you treat with contempt those who are being watched over by the
angels, you are placing yourself among those they will gather up and destroy
in the final age. Jesus is simply saying what John says in 1 John 3:15
"Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no
murderer has eternal life in him." There is an infallible connection
between being a Christian and loving others, especially other Christians.
The link is so infallible that the Scriptures teach that the absence of
that love or the presence of hatred calls into question your profession
to be a Christian.
How are you feeling? If you’ve been paying attention and you believe
what I’ve been saying is true, then you ought to feel a little troubled,
a little fearful. There isn’t a person in here that always welcomes other
Christians for the sake of Jesus. There isn’t anyone in here that can
say he never has and never will again be the agent of temptation in another
person’s life. There isn’t anyone that is cutting off every opportunity
to sin. There isn’t anyone here that has never treated another Christian
with contempt. Frankly, I think that at this point in his conversation
with these disciples there are a lot of drooping heads and shuffling feet.
Jesus has just laid their hearts bare and threatened every one of them
with hell. He has just said that anyone who becomes an agent of temptation
is under God’s "woe" and it wasn’t that many days ago that Jesus
told Peter that he was an agent of temptation. What hope is there that
anyone will escape the eternal fire and gain eternal life?
Jesus looks at these men with their heads hung low and He asks them to
think with him about the situation of a man who owns one hundred sheep,
and one of them wanders off. The verb for "wander off" is usually
used to describe people who have gone astray from God’s ways or who have
been led astray from God’s ways. In other words, Jesus is saying that
those who truly belong to God, who are true Christians, sometimes go astray
and sometimes are led astray. Now how do shepherds respond to wandering
sheep? They leave the ones who haven’t wandered off and go in search of
the one who has wandered off. Verse 13 begins with "if he finds it".
The grammatical construction of this verse is called a condition of fact
statement. It isn’t saying that the shepherd may or may not find the sheep.
It is saying that the two halves of the verse always go together. When
a good shepherd finds his wandering sheep, he always rejoices at finding
it. The point of the contrast with his joy over those who didn’t wander
isn’t to say he loves the lost sheep more, but rather to show that the
joy we experience when someone we love is delivered from danger is very
great. Then Jesus tells us the point of telling the story. God is just
like that shepherd. He is determined that none of his sheep, his humble,
believing little ones will ever be lost. The word for "lost"
is the word most often used for perishing in hell. Verse 14 is an ironclad
promise that all those who belong to Christ will be saved. Though we may
wander off or be led astray for a time, the great shepherd will always
come, find us, and bring us back to the safety of his fold. The emphasis
here is that God himself will exert all his power on our behalf to enable
to us to repent, believe, and remain humble.
I want for us to feel here the love and kindness of God. Jesus loves
these men in spite of who they are, out of the freeness of his grace.
He doesn’t love them because of who they are, but because of who he is.
Therefore, nothing can keep him from pursuing them and doing everything
that is necessary to preserve them into eternal life. This doesn’t mean
that we are passive. We must believe, we must confess our sins, we must
seek to not be a stumbling block, we must fight against our sin. But,
what we discover is that the reason we want to do these things and have
the ability to do them is not because of some goodness in us but because
he is the good shepherd who always tracks down his lost sheep and brings
us home. We live with that continual sense of how hopeless our condition
is in ourselves but of how secure we are because of Christ. He has done
everything necessary to secure our salvation by his suffering and death.
He has sought us out by his Spirit, convicts us of our sin, and assures
that we have a safe and secure home in his flock.
So we pray like the great hymn, "Come Thou Fount" prays:
"Oh to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be! Let
thy grace, Lord, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee. Prone
to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love. Here’s my heart,
Lord, take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above."
You should flee from pride because…
- Only the humble will go to heaven
- God destroys the proud
- God only preserves the humble
© Copyright 2002
John Swanson.
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