Matthew 18:3

DEVELOPMENT OF THE HUMILITY THEME

I. YOUR POSITION IN, AND RELATIVE IMPORTANCE TO, THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MEASURED BY YOUR HUMILITY. (Matthew 18:3-4)

A. ENTRANCE INTO THE KINGDOM DEPENDS UPON HUMILITY. (18:3)

Matthew 18:3 Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. Only the humble need apply for entrance! In one breath-taking motion He swept these ambitious aspirants out of the throne-room and clear back to the gates of the Kingdom! Their question had been framed as if they were quite certain to be a part of that Kingdom, but He must warn them that, unless they reverse their position completely, they would be entirely excluded from it. Entrance into God's Messianic Kingdom is absolutely blocked to everyone who refuses to submit to His requirements. Jesus-' double negative in Greek makes this absolutely certain. Citizenship in the Kingdom means loyal deference to the King, not the insubordination of arrogant self-exaltation, selfish contention, power-grabbing, enjoyment of personal prestige. We must feel the shock and scandal caused by anyone who would dare suppose that he can take his pride, lust and rebellion into God's Kingdom or refuse to bow before His gracious will. (Cf. Matthew 18:8-9; esp. Mark 9:47) This is why Jesus so emphatically insisted that His discipleship clearly involves denial of self, since this self is an idol of the most blasphemous character. He smashes all our hopes of keeping our treasured idol and worshipping the true, living God at the same time. There can be no double-minded servants in God's Kingdom. (Matthew 6:24)

This explains why the only exception admitted for entrance into God's Kingdom is the requirement of repentance (Except ye turn) and humility (become as little children). If one's aim is individualistic self-fulfillment at the expense of others, he is aiming for the precise opposite of all that the Kingdom stands for. So long as he regards his ego-fulfilment as this world's most precious prize, he has his back to the Kingdom, and only complete conversion (turn) can save him. But, unless he willingly acknowledges the sentence of God upon all that in his self-exalting he holds dear, unless he surrenders to God's revealed will and trustingly depends on God to make him what he must become, he has no hope at all of participating in God's Kingdom. But to refuse Jesus-' conditions for entrance into the Kingdom is to take the consequences. Refusal to repent and place oneself at the subordinate level and gladly eliminate anything objectionable in his life leaves only one alternative: an eternal Gehenna of fire! (Matthew 18:8-9)

In a sense, the turning and the becoming as little children are the same thing (hendiadys), because together they refer to what is elsewhere called conversion, the new birth and repentance. (John 3:1-10; Acts 11:18; Titus 3:5) Unless rebirth takes place, a person will not even comprehend God's Kingdom, much less get into it! To the Twelve here, as to Nicodemus earlier, Jesus must demand that they start all over. What is this but the admission that all their righteousness and worthiness and merit to be at the top, key posts of the Kingdom is in reality filth, and their sin is so great that they cannot possibly hope to pay their debt to God and society. However, with a fresh start, thanks to the forgiveness and mercy from God, they can begin again. (See on Matthew 18:23-35.)

Become as little children: what the child is by nature the Lord demands that we freely and deliberately choose to be. But what is Jesus-' specific point of comparison as He indicates children per se as the standard of excellence?

Since no specific character qualities of little children can be pointed to with certainty (like teachability, docility, trust, devotion, desire to serve, etc.), we must interpret Jesus as meaning little children as such in their natural inferiority to everyone else. While it is true that this subordinate position may involve other qualities such as those mentioned above, what is uppermost in Jesus-' mind and most in harmony with His context is the littleness of the child, his inferiority, his relative unimportance in contrast to adults in making decisions, his dependence upon others, and his subservience as one who must come to terms with adults more often than vice versa. The problem with little children is that their very size and lack of experience makes almost anyone bigger and better than they are. The vulnerable situation of childhood with its frustrations with being civilized leads the little person to feel inferior to all the (apparently) successful bigger people around him. He is considered least in importance in a society where respect increases with age. Worse yet, the little child is totally dependent. His survival depends on others, because he is not self-sufficient. His nourishment, clothing and care come from his parents.

In fact, one might argue that little children IN RELATION TO OTHER LITTLE CHILDREN are not especially more humble, teachable, docile, trusting, devoted or willing to serve, than are adults with their peers. (Proverbs 22:15; Proverbs 29:15; Proverbs 29:17; Hebrews 12:7-11) Just give one toy to two children and you have problems! Whereinsofar each little child is an adult in miniature, i.e. developing as an individual, he demonstrates many of the same foibles seen in older people. So, Jesus-' point of comparison is not children's character qualities, but what it means to be a little child in contrast to being a grown-up.

This is sheer genius to establish the child as the model, instead of, for example, a brutalized slave or an ideal disciple or an oppressed citizen or something else, because, although some people have been or would be some of these at one time or another, hence would know something of these experiences, ALL of them, without exception, know perfectly well what it means to be a child in terms of subordination, imperfection, submission to others and lack of experience in almost every field. (This does not mean that Jesus cannot use slaves, disciples or citizens as models, for He does that too. Matthew 10:24 f; Matthew 18:23-34; Mark 9:35)

The Apostles had failed to remember that any concept of hierarchy, rank or status necessarily involves RELATIVE position in-the pyramid for everyone but the one at the top to whom EVERYONE IS SUBORDINATE. There are absolutely no citizens superior to the King in God's Kingdom. But this means that even the highest possible ranks just beneath the King are still subordinate positions, even if relatively superior to everyone below them. But, if subordinates, then servants; if servants, they must learn humility! This means that, unless the highest, most honored subordinates of the King possessed the heart of a true subordinate who really knows how to serve, they were unfit for such honors and must with shame begin to take the lower positions. (Cf. Luke 14:7-11; Proverbs 25:6 f) This explains why beginning again as a little child is actually the fastest route to greatness!

Paul communicated literally what Jesus is saying symbolically here: Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Then he furnished the supreme example of what he meant, by pointing to the self-emptying of Jesus who submitted Himself to the death of a human servant on a cross! (Philippians 2:3; Philippians 2:5-8)

See Matthew 18:22-35 for Fact Questions.