“Christ and His Little Ones”
St. Matthew 18:1-21
10 September 2017
Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Millstones around the neck. Bodies drowned in the sea. Hands chopped off. Feet amputated. Eyes plucked out. This text sounds more like Zombie Apocalypse or The Walking Dead than the Word of God. I’m sure these words of Jesus have never been in a Sunday School lesson. So much for Jesus the tender Shepherd. In this text is Jesus the growling mother lion protecting her little ones.
Would you set out on the path of parenthood if at every baptism the pastor spoke these words of Jesus? What if the baptismal font was decorated with a millstone and an ax to give you an object lesson to Jesus’ Words?
Would you agree to be a Sunday School teacher if the fine print of your job description said, “Should you speak any false doctrine or harm the faith of your students the Board of Education will bind a millstone around your neck and cast you into the depths of Quarry park?”
So what can we do with these strong words of Jesus? We cannot deny them for they are His Word. They come from the very mouth of God. St. Matthew under inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote them down for us. Jesus loves His little ones. He cherishes the littlest among us – the tiny infants who are made His brothers and sisters in the waters of Holy Baptism. He loves the little child with downs syndrome or a cleft palate or the one whose father doesn’t want to be a father. He loves those who have rebelled and wished their heavenly Father dead – He loves you.
… calling to him a child, [Jesus] put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Mt 18:2-4
There are many aspects about the humility (the littleness) of children that we could discuss today, but I want to focus only on one, because it seems to be the one Jesus emphasizes throughout this text and is most appropriate for this Rally Day Sunday.
In their humility (their littleness) children will take you at your Word. If you say, “When we get to Coborns I’ll buy you Skittles” your son will believe you and hold you to your promise. If you say there’s a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow guarded by leprechauns he will start looking around for little green people after every rain storm.
But here’s the rub – you know what happens when your children grow up. There are competing voices going into their ears. You didn’t keep every promise you made so they have reason to doubt your word. They may not say it to your face, but your children will eventually know you are a liar. You didn’t walk five miles to school, barefoot, uphill both ways. There’s no leprechauns or gold at the end of the rainbow. They’ll question your politics, your religion, and your parenting. All of your words will be scrutinized – including your teaching about God, His Word, His Church, Jesus, the cross, forgiveness, the Lord’s Supper, etc.
The devil’s temptation is that we grow up, that we strive for independence from our Father, that the last thing we want to be is His “little ones” taking Him at His Word, believing everything He says about us, about life, about His Kingdom. The Devil always preaches a seemingly better word, a more helpful word, an easier word.
Adam had only one commandment – don’t eat the fruit of that tree. But Satan preached a sweeter sermon which Adam swallowed along with the fruit and he died. God has given us Ten Commandments. Ignore them at your peril. Don’t teach them to your children at their peril. St. Paul underscores the reason the Ten Commandments are as bothersome as rap music in some of our ears – they teach us to love – not ourselves, but God, not ourselves, but our neighbor. What is the last word a rebellious and independent child wants to hear? Get off yourself. It’s not about you. That’s God’s Law. The world won’t tell you that. Your friends won’t tell you. Your teachers and professors and co-workers won’t tell you. God loves you so much that He will speak the truth to you – even if it hurts. You’re sinful and on your own you will die.
Because God calls us to take Him at His Word teachers of the faith (that’s parents first, then teachers in the church) must speak God’s loving word of law. It is a sin to skip church. It is a sin to daydream during the sermon. It is a sin to roll your eyes at your mother and mock your father. It is a sin to hate another human being. It is a sin to watch porn, to lust after women, to have sex before marriage, to dress immodestly. And so it goes. If you don’t think you’re a sinner, speak to me after church – we’ll fix that.
If you don’t know your sin, you won’t know how little and helpless you are and how much you need Jesus. You’re not big enough to handle life or death or sin and the Devil. In your sin you’re a little helpless child, a lost lamb.
Thankfully God did not stop speaking at the commandments. His final Word for His little ones is Jesus. Jesus, the Good Shepherd does something unthinkable – He leaves the 99 sheep to search for the one little lost one, for you. On the one hand it’s not that unthinkable when you consider a father or a mother’s love for a child. How far would you go for your child? On the other hand it is unthinkable – would a father sacrifice his A honor roll, pre-med, captain of the varsity team son for his drug addicted, rebellious, I hate you dad and wish you were dead son? Because our Father in heaven does not desire the death of any of His little ones, because He does not desire your death, Jesus became a little One for us – that little One in a manger, that helpless One on the cross, that lifeless One in the tomb. Jesus made Himself little, the least in the Kingdom by becoming the worst in the Kingdom – bearing the sin of the world, bearing all of your sin. Jesus made Himself little so that you could be great in the Kingdom of God – a forgiven and favored child of your heavenly Father. You have His Word on it – the word of Jesus.
So what are we to do with these words? Hear them. Repent of our sins. We have not taught God’s Word as we should. We have not always sought our sinful brother (or child) nor have we been eager to forgive them when they repented. We have taught our children to love the world more than God’s Word. What shall we do with these words? Hear them, repent of your sins, and then take Jesus at His Word “it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” (Matthew 18:14, ESV) There is no millstone for you because the grave stone was rolled away. There is no cutting off for you because Jesus was cut off at the cross. You have entered life and the resurrection, because Jesus departed the tomb and left your sin buried there. That’s God’s Word for us to hear, to believe, to teach, and to confess on this Rally Day. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Pr. Bruce Timm
9 September 2017 anno Domini