Matthew 18:1-6
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
OK, here it comes… Once and for all (even if only in my own mind) I have to set something straight that I have heard misinterpreted my whole life… When discussing the question the disciples posed about greatness in Matthew 18, I have heard many people dive into a discourse about the humility of children and how we need to mirror it. And then I became a parent of children. (Enter theme music here: Dum-du-dum-dum-dummmmm!) Now, unless my children (and the 20 or so children of close friends around me) are unique in the entire world, I can tell you with CERTAINTY that humility is not an innate feature of these little jewels… In fact, to say so would allude to the belief that children are born without sin which is completely contrary to what the Bible teaches. I’m not really going there now, but just in case a question mark went off in your brain just then, here’s a Scripture: “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” Romans 8:23. There is never an age distinction in the Word of God for the total depravity of man without the Savior. Every heart is amiss without Jesus, EVERY ONE. So there… Moving on…
So, if Jesus wasn’t referring to innate humility in kids, what exactly did He mean? Let’s think about this particular child in Jesus’ lap that day… We don’t know anything about him. Or do we? We do know that he is a kid (under the age of autonomous responsibility for that day, so probably under 13). Stay with me… I don’t know what your kids like to spend their days doing, but chances are sitting on a hill and listening to an “old guy” with a beard speak about “the Kingdom of heaven” probably doesn’t rank at the top of the list… My boy would probably be scouring the hillside for long sticks he could make into swords and then fight an invisible enemy while the guy Jesus carried on with his teaching… He would not be sitting and listening quietly, unless his father or I required him to do so. And there’s my simple point: the child attended the hillside meeting for one reason. And that is his father required him to be there, and he obeyed. His father was doing what all (or most) fathers of that day would’ve been doing: training the child. Unlike the day we now live in, fathers of that day were acutely aware that “a child left to himself brings shame to his mother,” Prov. 29:15. Even if only for economic purposes, parents of that day needed their children to learn wisdom young so that they could help with and then take over the family farm or business. And so they took care to train the children all day every day until the job was done. That boy on the hillside learned what his father deemed valuable that day: the teaching of a wise man “who spoke with authority.” He learned that sometimes you need a day off from work to sit at Jesus’ feet. The boy was in his process of being trained by his father.
Earlier in the ministry of Jesus, we are told a story about a teacher named Nicodemus who knew a whole lot. He came to Jesus in the night to ask about divinity, and Jesus gave him a riddle that blew his trained brain… “Unless a man is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Nicodemus, dumbfounded by the image of a nursing, spitting-up, pooping-at-will, totally reliant newborn, presses Jesus further… Jesus becomes incredulent and throws it back to him, prodding his heart as to whether or not he is qualified to teach the Jews if he can’t work out in his mind how to become small. Jesus asks for a blank canvas, and Nicodemus brings his qualifications. Don’t we all?
I can hear the disciples in Matthew 18 now, name-dropping and throwing out individual accomplishments… Peter: “I’ve owned a successful fishing business, so clearly I should lead this team.” Matthew: “Oh, yeah? Well I collected taxes for Ceasar, so I know how to run the books.” Philip: “I’m pretty sure sound theology is what we need, here, I should lead.” And John: “I’m Jesus’ best friend, so I should definitely be in charge.” It’s almost comical until I think about all of the “assets” I bring into my prayers before the Lord (I know you would never pray these things)… “Jesus, you know you gave me the ability to do this, shouldn’t I have this open door? Lord, don’t you think I should have a little more favor in this area? I mean, I have done some pretty hard yards…” Funny, but the resounding theme between the disciples’ one-ups and mine is this: I. Me. Yours truly. So Jesus basically gives them a living illustration and says “forget what you think you deserve and become like this kid who came here today out of simple obedience.” That’s humility defined. The little boy didn’t show up on the hillside to be seen with Jesus, he just followed his dad. And to me, that’s Jesus’ point in saying “humble yourself like this child…” He’s asking you to show up in your faith today without your list of accomplishments and letters of recommendation. Show up before the Lord today and say “where are we going today, Lord? Is there anything you want to teach me? Are we going to the hillside or the workshop today, Jesus? Whatever you say, I’m in.” True humility is having no other agenda than to please your Father. Be like a kid in training for life. Be born again every day, so that your desire is no longer greatness but the security of an unbroken relationship with the only person whose opinion really matters.
