Little Ones are Great in their Need
St. Matthew 18:1-11
Why do you think the disciples asked that question? Each of them likely thought he was the greatest. It would not be hard to imagine Matthew saying, “Look at me Jesus!” Aren’t I the greatest? I left a lucrative job with the Federal Government to follow you. I could have retired early.” James and John could have asked, “Aren’t we the greatest? We left our fishing business. We were one season away from winning top honors on the Deadliest Catch.” Peter could have exclaimed “No. I’m the greatest I walked on water. I was with Jesus on the mountain.”
What makes you great? What do you hold before God to convince Him that you are worth His time? I may not be great, but I’m a lot better than fill-in-the-blank – a child molester, an adulterer, a meth addict, or that person down the pew from me. You think you’re more loving than your spouse, smarter than your parents, better at your work than your co-workers. I never complain about my own driving, but I sure see a lot of bad drivers in Saint Cloud. I must be one of the few great drivers (just don’t ask my wife or children about that.)
The Devil (a rebellious angel who took a beating at the hands of Saint Michael the Archangel) has been thrown down out of heaven. He rules this world in anger at God. His chief goal is to have you look down on others and look up at yourself. You’re great He says. You deserve more than you have. God your Father is holding out on you. The Devil is the Father of Lies and that lie is his first and forever favorite lie.
To teach you that God has not withheld anything from you, Jesus holds a little child before his disciples. “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.”
This little child. How little? Well, this word was used of Jesus on his 8th day of life. So it could have been an 8 day old baby, or an 18 month old toddler, or an 8 year old. What does Jesus say to emulate of this little one? Innocence? No. It doesn’t take too many weeks or months of life for your child to prove you didn’t just pass on blond hair and blue eyes. Your little one is as sinful and selfish as you are. Are we to emulate a child’s love? No. If children were born full of love then their most common word would be “yes” instead of “no,” and “yours” instead of “mine.”
Think of your own little child on one of those nights. Your 14 month old daughter has an ear infection. She’s screaming. She cannot be comforted. Then her diaper explodes all over you. She cannot help herself. She needs you. Little children need help, all the help they can get, even when they don’t realize it. Jesus wants you to realize that you need a lot of help and that He alone is your help.
Right before the text Jesus preached these words to His disciples, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” (Matthew 17:22–23, ESV) Why is God’s Son going to be killed and raised from the dead? To help the helpless, to forgive sinners, to clean up the mess you’ve made of yourself, to love you when you aren’t that lovely. What is that little, messy, infant? She is needy. She is dependent. All she can do is cry out for help and, thanks be to God, God gives children to mothers and fathers to help the helpless little one.
One pastor said it this way, “Unless you are willing to let God change your diaper you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven.” Unless you are willing to confess your mess, let Christ take all your filth, and let God clean what you thought were private matters, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven.
The Kingdom of heaven is not for great people. It is a nursery for sick children. It is the neonatal unit of the dying. It is the changing table for messy little ones. It is the only help for the helpless. The Kingdom of heaven is where the great and only Son of God wears a diaper in a manger so that you can be robed in His righteousness and enter into the heavenly mansions. The Kingdom of heaven is where the pure and holy Son of God is immersed in the stench of our sin at His baptism and cast into the depths of hell so that you could be cleansed of your sin in baptism and raised from your grave on the last day by the angels. The Kingdom of heaven is where the Son of God is orphaned at the cross so that we runaway orphans can become children of the heavenly Father. The Kingdom of heaven is where the Lord becomes a slave so that we slaves to sin, death, and the devil, might be free. The Kingdom of heaven is where those who know they are the least rejoice the most in Jesus. The greatest in the Kingdom of heaven is you because you know the Lord has forgiven you more than anyone else in your family, in your pew, or at your work. You don’t know their sins, but you know yours and they are all forgiven.
Oh my, we’re 8 minutes into the sermon and we’ve barely talked about the angels. Well, 10 minutes to go and we’ll be done. The little ones of the Kingdom of heaven are so needy they need angels. Note that Jesus doesn’t use the angels as a promise, but as a threat. “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.” You mess with a little one – watch out, their angel might come after you. The angels are God’s army, His Sabaoth, His heavenly Host, His special forces who fight against the Devil and his demons. If you wouldn’t want to tangle with a Force Recon Marine, then you’d better not mess with God’s little ones.
There is one last thing about angels to remember. If some book or song or story about angels isn’t about Jesus then it isn’t true. The angels are spiritual beings who belong to and proclaim Jesus. They serve us by serving Jesus. They proclaimed His birth, cared for Him in the wilderness and the garden of Gethsemane, proclaimed His resurrection, and preached His return. They care for us by keeping their face toward the Father who gave his Son for our salvation. They take all their cues from Him so that we little ones hear and believe in the name of Jesus. Amen.