LITTLE CHILDREN
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By John W. White
Matthew 18:3-4
"And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and
become as
little children [paidi>on], ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this
little child [paidi>on], the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 18:1 “At
the same time came the disciples
unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven?" The kingdom of
the heavens is the rule of the heavens over the earth. The present
administration in the kingdom of the heaven is Satan and the angels that
followed him when he desired to exalt his throne above the throne of God. The
fallen angels that are with Satan in the heavenlies are called "...
principalities, against
powers, against the
rulers of the darkness of this
world, ... " in
Ephesians 6:12 Satan has authority over the kingdoms of the earth at
the present time. Satan offered the kingdom of the heavens to Jesus Christ in
the wilderness in Matthew 4:8-9
"Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and
showeth him all the kingdoms of the
world, ...; 9. And saith ...,
All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me."
If Jesus Christ accepted Satan's offer, then Satan would be over Jesus
Christ and that was not possible. Satan and his angels will be cast out of
heaven in Revelation 12:7-8 "...
Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and
his angels, 8. And prevailed not;
neither was their place found any more in heaven." This seems to be in the
middle of the tribulation. Just before Satan and his host are removed from
heaven we see the change in command in
Revelation 11:15 "... The
kingdoms of this world are become the
kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and
ever." The good and faithful servants will rule over many cities.
Luke 19:17 "And he said
unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very
little, have thou authority over ten
cities." John saw those that were ruling over many cities in
Revelation 20:4
"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto
them: ... they ...reigned with Christ a thousand years."
Revelation 2:26-27 "And
he that overcometh, and
keepeth
my works unto the end, to
him will I give power
over
the nations:
27. And he shall
rule them with a rod of iron..."
Matthew 18:3
"Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not
enter into the kingdom of heaven." Jesus was teaching his disciples
about entering into the kingdom of heaven and not just seeing the kingdom of
heaven. If a person is born into the family of God then he will be able to see
the kingdom as promised in John 3:3
"... Except a man be born again, he cannot
see
the kingdom of God." The apostles
were learning what it meant to enter into the kingdom of heavens. Jesus was
teaching them about this in Matthew
18:3 "I say unto you
[disciples], Except ye be converted, and
become as little children,
ye shall not enter into the kingdom of
heaven." The disciples were learning that entering into the kingdom of
heaven had to do with position in that kingdom. They debated among themselves
who would be the greatest in the kingdom and they finally got up enough
courage to ask the Lord about this issue in
Matthew 18:1 "At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who
is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" We see this again in
Mark 9:33-35 "... he asked them,
What was it that ye disputed among yourselves ...? 34. But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed
among themselves, who should be the
greatest. 35. And he ... called the
twelve, and saith ..., If any man desire to be first,
the same shall be last of
all, and servant of all." To be
great in the kingdom means that in this life time that we have to "...be
last of all and
servant of all." This is also confirmed in
Luke 22:26, 27 "But ye
shall not
be so: but he that is
greatest among you, let him be as the
younger; and he that is
chief, as he that doth
serve. 27. For whether is
greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth?
is not he that sitteth at meat? but
I am among you as he that serveth." If we expect to be promoted in
the coming kingdom of our Lord we must be willing to demote ourselves in this
present age. The choice is ours to "be as the younger" and to be "as he that
doth serve." We have to humble ourselves to become a servant of servants. The
choice is ours to make. The question is "Are we willing to pay the price of no
recognition in this present age for recognition in the age to come?"
Matthew 18:4 "Whosoever therefore shall
humble himself as this
little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 18:3
"Except ye be converted, and become
as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." The plural
pronoun "ye" is a reference to His
disciples. Jesus wanted his disciples to be converted and become as
little children. Disciples are those who have been saved and are growing in
the Word. John 8:31 "Then said Jesus to those Jews which
believed on him, If ye
continue in my
word, then are ye my
disciples indeed;" The phrase
"Except ye be converted" is not an invitation to his disciples be saved, but
an invitation to a change of direction. The word "convert" is translated "turned
about" in
Luke 7:9 "When Jesus heard
these things, he marvelled at him, and
turned him about, and
said unto the people that followed him..."
For Jesus to face the crowd that followed him he had to "To twist, i.e. turn
quite around or reverse." (Strong) The Greek word for "convert"
is not the same Greek word for "repent."
Matthew 18:3
"Except ye be converted, and become
as little children, ye shall not
enter into the kingdom of heaven."
The Lord does not want us to become childish in our behavior but become as
little
children in our attitude and rank. We are to be men as found in
1 Corinthians 14:20
"Brethren, be not children
[paidi>on] in
understanding [thought]:
howbeit in malice be ye children [paidi>on], but in
understanding [thought] be men
[te>leiov, mature]." He wants us to be strong in doctrine.
Ephesians 4:14 "That we
henceforth be no more children (nh>piov, not able to speak), tossed to and fro, and
carried about with every wind of doctrine." The Lord wants us to grow from
being a child with very little to say, to one who is able to teach.
Hebrews 5:12,14 "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ..."
[who] 14. "...are of full age,
even those who by reason of use have
their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."
For the disciples to become as little children by
turning around this implies they have matured beyond being little children. It
is interesting to note that the Greek word for "little children," [paidi>on], is the diminutive of the Greek word [pai~v] which carries the thought of maturity. To become
a little child implies spiritual maturity on the part of the one turning
around and becoming as a little child.
Becoming a little child is a conscious decision made by someone who has
matured in his spiritual life and sees the value of becoming as a little child
in their spiritual life. The value of becoming a little child is realized
when we hear the Lord teach us to become
as little children; and that
becoming as a little child provides
the believer with a greater benefit of
entering into the kingdom rather than just
seeing the kingdom of the heavens.
We are not to become little children but become
as little children. Strong suggest
that one of the meanings of the word as
to be " in that manner." The manner of a little child is to be willing to
be less in rank. Matthew 18:3 "...
Except ye [may] be converted, and [may]
become [for yourself] as little
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Both of the verbs
"converted" and "become" are subjunctive and therefore the words "should,
or may" should be in the translation. The subjunctive implies the
possibility of failure. The middle voice of the verb "become" would have the
extension of the phrase "for myself" which implies personal choice, as in this
case the disciples.
What does it mean then to become as little
children? To become a little child is to become less than being an adult, but
only in the area of attitude.
Philippians 2:3 "...in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than
themselves." Romans 12:10 "... in honour
preferring one another;" To be a little child one must chose to be in
lowliness of mind. Philippians 2:5, 7-8
"Let this mind be in you ["Have this attitude." NASV], which was also in
Christ Jesus: 7. "But
made
himself of no
reputation, ... a
servant, ... 8. ... he
humbled
himself, and became obedient
unto death,..." Philippians 2:6
"[Jesus]... thought it not robbery [something to be grasped or to be held on
to] to be equal with God:" Hebrews 2:9
"But we see Jesus, who was made a
little
lower [in rank] than the
angels for the suffering of death, ..." Jesus was willing to be made a
little less in rank than the Angels and was willing to be less than equal in
rank with God so that He could Hebrews
12:2 "...for the joy that was
set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the
right hand of the throne of God." (Ref. 1 Corinthians 15:21-28) The same
joy is set before us also. If we
are willing to be less in rank than our brothers in Christ today and endure
our cross, we will hear Matthew 25:23
"Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few
things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the
joy of thy lord."
Matthew 18:4
"Whosoever
therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest
in the kingdom of heaven." The question that caused strife among the
disciples was who would be the greatest or have the highest rank in the
kingdom of heaven. Luke 22:24-30
"And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be
accounted the greatest. 25. And he said
unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise
lordship over them; and
they that exercise authority
upon them are called benefactors.
26. But ye shall not
be so: but he that is
greatest
among you, let him be as
the younger [last, as in Mark 9:35]; and he that is
chief, as he that doth serve
[servant of all, as in Mark 9:35]. 27.
For whether is greater, he that
sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is
not he that sitteth at meat? but I
am among you as he that serveth. [The mind of Christ] 28. Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations.
29. And I appoint unto you a
kingdom, as my Father hath
appointed unto me; 30. That ye may
eat and drink at my table in
my
kingdom, and
sit
on thrones judging the
twelve tribes of Israel." The context is that of sitting upon thrones and
judging the twelve tribes of Israel. This will be the time when Jesus Christ
will be reigning over the earth.
Matthew 19:28 "And Jesus said
unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the
regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also
shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." In
Matthew's account Jesus responds to Peter's question "We have forsaken all,
... what shall we have?" Jesus concludes that portion of the lesson in
Matthew 19:30
"But
many that are
first shall be
last; and the last
shall be
first."
Matthew 18:3-4
"And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye [may] be
converted, and [may]
become [for yourselves] as little
children, ye shall not [may] enter
into the kingdom of heaven. 4.
Whosoever therefore shall humble
himself as this little
child, the same is greatest [mei~zwn, elder] in the kingdom of heaven.” The verbs that
have "may" in brackets before them in Matthew 18:3 are in the subjunctive
mode. The subjunctive mode expresses the possibility of failure. There is a
possibility that one may not want to humble themselves and become child like
because the cost is too high. The cost of stepping down in rank or stepping
back to be last might be too high of a price to pay. Just as the rich ruler
went away sorrowful because the cost was too high to enter the Kingdom of the
Heavens. The verb "become" is in the middle voice. The middle voice is
translated with the phrase "for myself." We do not ask God to humble us, but
we humble ourselves by our own volition.
Matthew 23:12 "And whosoever shall
exalt himself [now] shall
be abased [reduced in rank in the coming kingdom]; and he that shall
humble himself [now]
shall be exalted. [promoted in rank in the coming kingdom]" Those who will
humble themselves will have rank in the coming kingdom of our Lord. The choice
is ours to make now in this present time. 1 Peter 5:5-6
"... be clothed with humility:
for God resisteth the proud, and giveth
grace to the humble.
6. Humble yourselves therefore
under the mighty hand of God, that he
may exalt [promote] you in due time:"
There are those today that want to be seen of men
and to be honored by their peers. They
Matthew 23:6-7 "love the uppermost
rooms at feasts, and the
chief
seats in the synagogues, 7.
...to be called of men, Rabbi..."
Jesus taught Luke 14:8-11 "...sit
not down in the highest room; lest
a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him;
9. ... and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with
shame to take the lowest room.
10. ... sit down in the lowest
room; that ...he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have
worship [glory] in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.
11. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be
abased; and he that humbleth
himself shall be exalted." Little
children do not expect to have
those places of honor today and neither should we if we desire to be exalted
in the kingdom of the heavens.
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