Matthew 18:1–20

¹At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" ²And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them ³and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵"Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, ⁶but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. ⁷"Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! ⁸And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. ⁹And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire. ¹⁰"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. ¹¹¹²What 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? ¹³And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. ¹⁵"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. ¹⁶But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. ¹⁸Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." (Mat 18:1 ESV)

How little we understand! The disciples asked Jesus, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" They were expressing the same false notions, the same misconceptions and errors that all of us have today. They were expecting Jesus to say, "You are the greatest."

But that's not what Jesus said. Once again, he turns our human understanding and paradigms completely upside down. His answer is just as shocking for us today as it was for the people back then. We too think the answer should be, "We are the greatest." Like them, we think of greatness in human terms. To us greatness is power over others. It is authority. It is wealth. It is success. It is status or position. We think greatness in the kingdom means being involved in church activities, having the highest ranks, the highest positions.

But Jesus surprised everyone by placing a child in front of them. He said, "Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." He even added a little threat, "Unless you humble yourselves and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Let me ask you, how many of us sitting here today are pretty smug and confident that we are going to heaven? How many also are pretty sure that you are rather important in the kingdom of God, that God is particularly fond of you, or that you are greater in God's eyes than those who aren't as active or involved in church, or those who are poor and can't put as much into the offering plate.

Well, Jesus warns us here that if we think we are more important to God than someone else, there is no reason to think that we will be in his kingdom. These two just don't go together. Just thinking that you are more important or greater than someone else makes you disqualifies you for the kingdom of God. In is in itself a sin against the first commandment. It will cost you your salvation and eternal life if you don't repent.

So just what does Jesus mean by making a child the role model for greatness in God's kingdom? At that time the society considered a child to be anything but a role model. A child was untrained, unwise, unlearned. A child was considered needy, dependent, weak, in need of training and discipline. He was completely dependent on others for his nourishment, safety, protection, shelter, and needs. So making a child the role model for adult disciples was a shocking and disturbing statement. It shocks and disturbs us as well. We are repulsed by the idea that we are to become dependent, weak, and in need of training and discipline. We may even look down on children and snub our noses at them and consider them not important. "No way you are going to call me a child or weak and dependent!" we shout. But that's exactly what Jesus says we must be in order to be considered great in his kingdom. "Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives a child in my name receives me." That is how closely Jesus identifies himself and attaches himself to a child. There is not one of us here who wants to be equated with a child and be weak and dependent. We are all sinners. Jesus says we cannot possibly enter into the kingdom of heaven. "If you say you have no sin, you deceive yourselves and the truth is not in you."

So then, who can possibly become like a little child? None of us wants the job. Who is it that can humble himself like this child? We are too proud to do it. Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Not you! Not me! But Jesus himself. For he did humble himself and become a child: weak, defenseless, dependent. Jesus was born a baby, in a barn, and slept in a feed trough. He was completely dependent on Mary to feed him and care for him. He was completely dependent on Joseph to save him from king Herod. He was completely dependent on his heavenly Father. "He made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men..." "He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Phil 2).

Jesus took on our humanity. He took upon himself our sin. He took our guilt and shame. He placed himself under God's wrath and punishment. He bore the guilt of our sins. He bore the sins of the world on the cross and paid for them so that you can be forgiven. His death atoned for your sins. His death is the expiation for you sins. His death made peace between you and God and has saved you from the burning hot wrath of God. All because he was not too proud, not too haughty to become like a child for your sake.

And by doing so, he was exalted by his Father and became the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is the child who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. He became a child in order to save you and me from the punishment of our sins and give us eternal salvation.

By his humility he has exalted us. In Baptism he made you a child—God's child. You are completely dependent; completely dependent on Jesus to forgive your sin and give you eternal salvation. You are the weak and needy; the untrained and unwise. You need the Christ, the Son of God to teach and discipline you. You need the blood of the Son of God to wash you of your sin and give you life. You need his mercy. You are totally dependent on the mercy of God and his grace poured out for you on the cross. You are a child; a child of God; the greatest in the kingdom of heaven because Jesus humbled himself and became like a child for you.

Therefore, Jesus instructs us in how to care for the child of God, the greatest in the kingdom. "whoever receives one such child in my name receives me." But, "whoever offends one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." Woe to the one who does not receive the little child. Woe to the one who does not receive the poor and needy, the dependent, the untrained and unwise. Woe to anyone who causes offense to one of these children of God. Woe to anyone who causes a person to sin. Woe to the one who places a stumbling block in the way of another child of God. Therefore, do not despise one of these little ones. Their angels are always before the face of the Father in heaven. Do not despise that person who comes through the door bearing a load of sin. Do not turn away the poor, the needy, the homeless. Do not despise these little ones, for their angels are always before the Father in heaven. They are the greatest in the kingdom, possible greater than you!

Rather, if any one goes astray, search for him and bring him back to the fold, as a shepherd who goes in search of the one lost sheep. That means, if someone is falling away from the Word and Sacrament the rest of us in the church are to go search for that person and bring them back. If there is anyone who is starting to miss worship services; or anyone who is not studying God's word; anyone who is going astray and falling prey to sin, it is everyone's job to encourage him and bring him back to the fellowship of Christ. As a brother or sister in Christ, it is your responsibility to lift up and support one another; to encourage and strengthen each other in the faith. That is why, as you notice in your bulletin, September 18 has been designated as the day for everyone to encourage your brothers and sisters in Christ to come to church; call those who have not been in church for a time and encourage them to return to worship. There is no salvation apart from Jesus, and Jesus is not present apart from his word and Sacraments. As he says in our text: Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Why is it necessary that a child of God be in worship? So that Christ can be there to give you his gifts of forgiveness and faith. Here is where you receive the saving word of the gospel and the body and blood of Christ. For it is the blood of Christ which is shed for the forgiveness of sins that gives you forgiveness and salvation. This blood you are about to receive in just a few moments when you come to the altar; the very blood that Jesus shed on the cross, so that your sins may be washed away.

How do we minister to the one who sins against us? That means, the one who is fallen into sin and in danger of losing his faith. We minister to this weak one by forgiving him and making every effort to bring him back to faith in Christ. If a brother is in danger of falling from faith by unrepentant sin, go, talk to him and if he repents, you have won your brother back. Do everything possible to bring the sinner to repentance and back into the flock, even if it takes the involvement of the entire congregation to do so. That is your number one task; your first priority, to being people into the fold of Jesus by repentance and faith.

This is how we serve the greatest in the kingdom. The greatest in God's eyes is the one who has the greatest need. The one who needs the most forgiveness. The one who is weakest. The one who is most dependent.

Who is the one most dependent who needs the most forgiveness? Ultimately, it is you! You are in need of forgiveness. You are the week, the poor, and the needy. You are the untrained and unwise. You are a child. So it is you, the child who believes in Jesus, that is the greatest in the kingdom. You, when you are weak in faith, fighting temptation, when you are ashamed of your sins, then, rejoice in Christ, the true Son of God, for the you are the most important in the kingdom. You are the one Christ cares about most. You are the one God gave his most valuable possession to die for you. You are the greatest in God's kingdom.

Amen.