THE GREATEST IN THE KINGDOM
Matt. 18:1-4
Morning Meditation 4/3/2014
Verses 1-4 say, “At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
The question “who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” sets forth the dominating interest of flesh. It seems that everyone wants to be the greatest. In denominational circles, there is a political aspiration for power that must embarrass the angels of God. The word “aspire” means, “To desire with eagerness; to pant after an object, great, noble or spiritual.” —Noah Webster. I have seen this in my life time over and over again. It is disgusting in the light of what the Bible plainly teaches. The disciples were no different than we are today. Flesh is flesh if it is flesh two thousand years ago or the modern flesh of our day. Flesh makes no progress. It is as bad as it can be to start with.. It’s desires are the same in any age. Jesus had to train the disciples in the principles of the Kingdom of God and it was not what they wanted to hear. Men of the Bible read thought this passage while they take a nap. It just doesn’t register. And when it does, the price is just too great to pay.
There are two important truths that Jesus brought out in His answer to the disciples question. The first has to do with ENTRANCE into the kingdom. The second has to do with BEHAVIOR after we enter the kingdom. Let’s notice first, what Jesus says about ENTRANCE:
Verses 2-3: “And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus is the greatest teacher of all time. He does not just declare truth, He illustrates truth. He called a little child. They understood little children. He knew how to get His message across to the understanding. Then He said, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children . . .. ” The word “except” means “if not, unless.” It is “unless or if you are not” converted. He is stating an absolute necessity. The word “converted” translates the word strepho and means “to turn, turn around, i.e., to turn one's self from one's course of conduct.” It is speaking about a complete change.. It is a verb and is an aorist passive subjunctive. The aorist tense speaks of a point of time. Salvation does not happen over a period of time. It happens at a point of time. I was saved as a nine-year-old boy in the home of my grand parents. When did it happen to you? You say, “I have always been saved.” I’m sorry to have to be the one to “bust” your bubble, but no one has always been saved. Jesus was never lost, so you can’t use Him as an example. If you say, “I have always been saved” where did your conversion take place? The aorist tense of this verb says it takes place at a point of time. Jesus says in our text that “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” He is speaking about those who are not in the kingdom. It is not only aorist tense but it is also a subjunctive mood. This means it is potential. It can happen but it has not happened yet. Jesus came to be the Saviour of the world. He died for all. All can be saved. All won’t be saved. It is a choice. Many refuse to make the choice to become as little children in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. They refuse change, i.e., to be converted. Don’t let anyone tell you that salvation is not for all. It is potential for all because Jesus made the provision for all: “And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again” (2Cor. 5:15). John says, “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). It is a subjunctive mood which means that it is potential for all. It is a passive voice verb. The passive voice is where the subject is acted upon. It does not act (that is active voice) it is acted upon. Conversion is the work of God upon the spirit of man. God uses His Word, His Holy Spirit and His gospel to bring about conversion. It will happen every time to the man (the subject) who humbles himself and becomes like a little child and accepts by faith God’s terms of salvation. The passive voice means that conversion happens to a man from an outside source. It is not man’s efforts. It is not an inner development. It is the miracle of the new birth. This part of the Lord’s answer has to do with ENTRANCE into the kingdom. If you have not entered the kingdom of heaven, humble yourself and receive Christ by faith. He will save you. Your preconceived ideas are not worth sacrificing heaven for. You cannot come before God as the “learned.” You must come as a child.
Then, He speaks to them of BEHAVIOR. Verse 4 says, “Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” The words “Whosoever therefore” is setting the stage for the next statement. He is going to tell His disciples that THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS TO BE LIVED AS IT IS ENTERED. Paul teaches this same truth in Colossians: “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him” (Col. 2:6). Growth in grace is not a development from the attitude of a little child into an adult so far as our relationship to the Lord is concerned. We are always little children to Him. You will never learn enough to act in His presence like you are a SCHOLAR. Don’t go to God in prayer and tell Him, “Lord, this is Dr. so and so!” He won’t be impressed at all!
The words “shall humble” translate tapeinoo. This word means “to make low, bring low, to level, reduce to a plain.” This verse is an aorist active subjunctive. Again, the aorist tense means “at a point of time.” It also suggests a once for all act. The active voice means we must do this ourselves. We must take the action to do this. The subjunctive mood is the mood of possibility, i.e., maybe you will, maybe you won’t.. God does not force you to be “great” by forcing humility on you. It is a personal choice. If you “reduce yourself to a plain” you had to be sticking up somewhere in order for that to take place. Are you a hill or a mountain? When you reduce something to a plain, the word has no meaning unless there was something there in the way that needed to be done away. When you see a bull dozer out on a piece of property leveling it, you know something is going to be put on the property that can’t be built until the humps are leveled. This is the way Jesus is answering the question about greatness. He says greatness in the kingdom is accomplished by those who are willing to deal with self and level the humps of pride in personal accomplishments and become like a little child in relationship to the Lord.
Notice the words “the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” The word “is”translates esti and is a third person singular present indicative verb. Now I said all that to say that Jesus is not talking about a future kingdom. Probably most of these had already entered the kingdom. They had experienced having to give up all preconceived ideas and becoming like a little child. Now as children of God, they were interested in advancement. This is a perfectly natural desire. But they were to discover that the kingdom of heaven has different rules. The humblest saint is the greatest in God’s sight. Have you noticed there are not many great men and women around?
May God bless these words to our hearts.
In Christ
Bro. White
