.......................................
The Greatest In The
Kingdom Of God
Coming as
a Child
Story 109
by jennygrace777
An
argument had started to rise up between the disciples. They were debating over
which one of them would be the greatest in the Kingdom of God.
In
the Jewish culture, rank and status were very important. Everyone knew their
place in society. They knew who they owed honor to, who it was a shame to be
seen with, and everything in between.
Jesus
was going around breaking all of those rules.
He
came to the earth as the son of a carpenter.
The
friends He chose were fishermen and tax collectors. Much of the Lord’s ministry
was to the poor, the broken, and the diseased.
Jesus
showed them the honor of His careful attention and care… far more than He was
giving to the elite religious leaders of His day.
The
signs of Jesus’ amazing miracles meant He was receiving great honor and power
from God. Yet this same Jesus rejected the ways of the Sadducees and Pharisees.
He
didn’t seem to care whether they approved of His ministry or not. He even
seemed to think He had authority to tell them when they were right or wrong!
The
religious leaders weren’t used to that. They were used to holding the places of
unquestionable honor and praise in their nation.
Their
hearts were not devoted to the God of the Old Testament, they were devoted to
their own positions.
How
enraging Jesus was to them! He had no regard for their status or power, and
spoke in ways that shamed their leadership before the people of
Israel. The truth hurt.
The
disciples had spent all their lives in Jewish society, and so it was natural
that they would slip back into the ways of the leaders of their nation. They
had been their role models.
As
they discussed life in the coming Kingdom, they longed to know who would be
held up for honor and prestige.
Was
it Peter who had stepped up to answer the Lord’s most challenging questions?
Jesus had already said He was going to build His church on the rock of Peter’s
faith.
Or
was it Peter and James and John who were invited to see the Transfiguration?
Who
would be the greatest of the disciples in the Kingdom Jesus was going to bring?
As
they headed towards Jerusalem, they were beginning to expect that something new
was going to happen.
What
was Jesus going to do? And who would He honor when He did it?
When
they came into the house together in Capernaum, Jesus asked them what they had
been talking about.
None
of them wanted to say anything. Jesus already knew. He called a little child to
Himself and held him by His side;
“‘I tell you the truth,’ He said, ‘Unless you change and become like
little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever
humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And
whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me.’”
Ouch.
Jesus didn’t just teach a good idea here. He told His disciples directly that
they had to change.
They
were developing all sorts of competitive ambitions in their hearts. Jesus
wanted them to come to Him with the trust and openness of a child that knows
nothing about worldly posturing over rank.
“Then John
said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told
him to stop, because he was not one of us.’”
“Jesus said to
him; ‘Do not stop him. No
one who does a miracle in My name can in the next moment say anything bad about
me. For whoever is not against us is for us. I tell you the truth, anyone who
gives you a cup of water in My name because you belong to Christ will certainly
not lose his reward.’”
John
attempted to stop someone that was doing a work for Jesus, but Jesus stopped
him. He could have asked John to introduce him to the man.
He
could have gone to the man and questioned his theology to make sure it was
correct.
Jesus
had a kind of wild freedom to allow things to stand as they were. As long as
the miracles were in His name.
Yet
there was something that Jesus said He was very careful to watch over.
If
anyone took care of one of His servants, Jesus would make sure they would
receive their reward.
What
kind of wonderful world might it be in Christendom if all the servants of God
sought to serve and protect each other rather than find ways to correct each
other and tear each other down?
It
seems that this, too, was part of the question of who is the greatest in the
Kingdom.
Rather
than elevating the best critique, Jesus will reward the meekest servant.
Jesus
went on:
“But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to
stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his
neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”
A
millstone is a large, heavy rock that has been rounded into a circle so it can
be rolled over grain. They are used on a farm to grind the grain and prepare
the harvests.
If
someone had a millstone tied around their neck and they were thrown into the
sea, they would sink very quickly into the water and would never rise again.
That
is an extreme punishment. It is an image to show how serious God’s anger is
against people who treat “little ones”
poorly or who lead them to believe things about God that aren’t true.
These
are terrible sins, but in this world, the powerful “big” people often forget
this because nobody on earth will punish them. But God will.
There
is no better example of this than the religious leaders of Jesus’ day.
Who
do you think the “little ones” are?
Are they actual children?
Or
do you think maybe Jesus meant anyone who was a child of God, no matter
what age they are or how wealthy and powerful, poor or weak?
Jesus
was trying to help His disciples understand the tremendous value that His
followers have to Him.
It
doesn’t matter how much power or influence someone has, they never have the
right to hurt a “little one.”
And
if they do, it means they have come against the goodness of the Most High God,
Who sees all things.
JENNYGRACE777
There are many things about Christianity that are so
arrestingly beautiful...a God who came to die for His people, for example, that
I have never been able to move away from a love for Jesus. However, I had a
number of years when many parts of the Bible were terribly confusing, even
angering to me. How could God tell Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? How could God
command the Israelites to commit genocide against the Canaanites? At times I
used these questions as a reason to walk away from the faith entirely. Then I
had the privilege of going to a university with scholars who understood God's
story. They helped me see His goodness and justice as he has worked over
thousands of years to reach a dark, fallen, sinful race of humans with His plan
of salvation. My deep desire is to give others a chance to see God's glory in
His story...the story that is our story...as well.
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