Matthew 18:1-9

In chapter 18, Matthew again gathers together various sayings and teachings of Jesus.  This time, the focus of the teachings is on how to deal with issues that might cause dissension and strife within the Christian community.  Jesus tells us how to treat each other and what to do when someone doesn’t treat us right.

Matthew 18:1-5 Seeking status versus becoming like a child and welcoming the child

What is the disciples’ question to Jesus?

What do you think they are thinking about, and how does it show that they don’t understand Jesus’s ways yet?

Notice that he doesn’t answer their question.  Instead, he calls a child into their midst.  What do you think it is about a child that shows what it takes to enter the kingdom of heaven?

What does it mean, when Jesus tells us to humble ourselves like a child (verse 4)?  In what ways is a child “humble”?

Why does Jesus say that those who do this are “the greatest”?   Greatest in what way?

Why would Jesus say (in verse 5) that when we welcome (NRSV) or receive (NABRE) a child in his name, we welcome or receive him?

Fr. Daniel Harrington tells us: “in ancient society the child had no legal rights or standing and was entirely dependent on the parents. . . .  Likewise, no one through rank or status has a real claim on God’s kingdom” (Harrington, p. 74).  Harrington explains that the Qumran community from whom we have the Dead Sea scrolls seated people at meals according to their rank within the community because “[t]he meals were supposed to mirror what would happen when God’s kingdom comes” (p. 73).  This focus on status was apparently not uncommon in the time of Jesus.

How does our society give attention to status and elevate some people over others?

In what ways do people seek status in our society?

How are people asking today a modern-day equivalent of “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

How are we infected by that kind of thinking?

What does Jesus say in response?

How is a child’s dependence and lack of worldly status a model for us?

In the context of the rest of the passage, Jesus is not just talking literally about children.  They represent all the people at the bottom of the social ladder.  The disciples want to know who is greatest – who has highest rank.  Jesus says, those who appear to have the lowest rank, the least claim, the lowest status are the ones who, in the kingdom of God, have the highest status or who are the greatest.

If this is the criterion for greatness, what does it say to us about ourselves?

What does this tell you about God and about God’s thinking?

Jesus identifies himself with the children, the people with the lowest status.  This is not the only time Jesus identifies himself with someone else.  In Matthew 25, in the story of the sheep and the goats, he identifies himself with the hungry, sick, etc.  What does this tell you about Jesus?

What does this tell us about the importance of looking out for the vulnerable: children, the poor, people with mental or physical disabilities, and others who have no claim to greatness?

Jesus appears to be saying, I will measure you not by whatever status you think you have, but by how you treat the people who don’t have status, the people who are not considered the greatest.  Who are the people who lack status in our community and nation, and what must we do differently to respond to this challenge from Jesus?

Harrington sums up this verse by saying that Jesus is saying that “He dwells in them in a special way” (p. 74).  What is this special relationship between God and the least among us?

What does that relationship challenge us to do?  How can we welcome those with the lowest social status?

This passage starts out talking about status in the kingdom of heaven.  But by the end of the chapter, we will realize that Matthew is thinking in part about the church on Earth and the struggles between people within the church.  In that context, who are those with low status that your local church should be showing greater concern for?

Matthew 18:6-9 Don’t lead the little ones astray

In this passage, Jesus refers to “these little ones,” and most people interpret it as not just talking about children.  Who are “these little ones”?

Harrington suggests that this term describes “a simple and good-hearted member of the community who can be lead astray” (p. 74).  The one other place where Jesus uses the term is in Matthew 10:42, where it means a disciple as Jesus praises anyone who gives one of “these little ones” a cup of cold water.

The word Jesus uses to describe the offense committed by someone who leads others astray is a word we have seen before: the Greek word is skandalon.  When Jesus calls Peter a “stumbling block” or “obstacle” in Matthew 16:23, it is this word.  When Jesus says in Matthew 17:27 that they should pay the Temple tax so that they will not give offense (Matt. 17:27), the word for “offense” is the verb form of the same word.  Here again it is the verb form of that word.  To be a stumbling block, to give offense, to scandalize  – these are all situations where one person might trip up another person so that their faith is shaken or they are led into sin.

How can one person lead another person to sin?

Jesus says that the perpetrator would be better off if some pretty bad things happened to him or her.   What are those things he warns us about in verses 6, 8, and 9?

What is his point in making these comparisons?

In verse 7, Jesus addresses the common rationalization: it’s going to happen anyway.  What is his warning?

How might we be a stumbling block for others if we are not careful?

Take a step back and consider this:

Matthew is selecting various teachings of Jesus and arranging them in the order he thinks might have maximum benefit for the Christian community.  He could have chosen any story to tell first.  It is worth considering why he chose to start with these teachings about how to treat children and the “little ones,” before dealing with what to do when a member of the community sins against you and how often you should forgive people (which are coming next).

By starting here, Matthew provides a bigger-picture perspective with which to consider the rest of the teachings in this chapter.

If you think of yourself as a big deal, you may be more tempted to get angry when someone does something you don’t like.  You may be more tempted to try to exclude them or cut them off.

If you think of yourself as a humble child, you might choose a different way to deal with disagreements.

In every age, there are people in prominent positions who identify themselves as Christians but aren’t living up to the “high calling” or “upward call” we have in Christ (Phil. 3:14).  They may be too focused on power, or on what they can gain from their prominence.  They may have a tendency to lord it over other people or act as though they think they are more important than others.

We too sometimes get off track.  Maybe we get too focused on ourselves and our own desires.  Maybe we start treating others as underlings whom we expect to help us accomplish our desires.  Maybe we start treating people as means to our ends, rather than as important in themselves.

Matthew 18:1-5, can be an antidote to that.

How can viewing ourselves as simply a child in the kingdom of God help us maintain the right perspective and not act like we and our agenda are more important than everyone else and their agenda?

How can viewing the world through the eyes of a child help prepare you to forgive others when they hurt you?