A sermon based on Matthew 18:1-20, Rev. J. Orlando Flahn
INTRO: Throughout history greatness is often measured by power, privilege, position, prestige, and possessions.
Who doesn’t want to be first? Who doesn’t long for recognition and the spotlight? Truly, our sinful human nature craves to come first and to be served.
ILL: This reminds me of a story I heard about a mother who was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin, age 5, and Ryan, age 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their wise mother saw an opportunity for a moral lesson. “If Jesus were sitting here,” she said, “He would say, ‘Let my brother have the first pancake; I can wait.'” Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, “Ryan, you be Jesus!” (Source unknown)
Yes, you be Jesus: you take the last place… you take the insult… you suffer humiliation… Yes, you be Jesus—but I want to come first. I want to be the greatest!
In today’s Gospel lesson, the disciples ask Jesus, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” In other words: Who gets the highest rank in God’s kingdom? Who receives the power, recognition, privilege, and prestige? Who is the first? Or as we might say in Nigeria, “Who is the Oga?”
We don’t know what prompted this question, but Mark’s gospel says, ( 9:33-37), the disciples were engaged in a dispute about who among them was the greatest…..This is a common human tendency…..the desire for recognition, status, and superiority. …..Don’t we see that all around us today?
There is a fundamental human urge to want to be the greatest. James and his brother John truly represent all of us. They asked Jesus, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” Jesus replied, “What do you want me to do for you?” They answered, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
You see, the disciples had always assumed that Jesus would set up a physical kingdom and that they would hold positions of prominence. So they asked, “Master, who will be the greatest?”
As we will discover, Jesus completely upends their worldview about true spiritual greatness in God’s kingdom—True greatness in God’s kingdom is countercultural to the world’s!
EQ: What is true spiritual greatness in the kingdom of God?
T/S: Jesus points out a couple of key implications that define true spiritual greatness in God’s kingdom. Here they are:
I. True Spiritual Greatness Is Rooted in a Childlike Humility (vv 1-5)
Rather than condemning their desire for worldly greatness, Jesus redirects their perspective by teaching that the way up is down in God’s kingdom—that true greatness is achieved through humility and service to others.
They were shocked by what He did. Jesus brought a little child before them and pointed to him: “If you want to be great, you must become like little children!” This was both radical and strange. In Jesus’ time and culture, children were considered insignificant and unimportant. But Jesus taught a radical principle: greatness is not measured by position or power, but by humility and service. He brought a child into the center of the room to challenge His followers’ obsession with power and positions.
We learn a lot from little children: they have an amazing ability to forgive. They are naturally eager to learn…. Why? ….. and they have a remarkable capacity to trust—they are not afraid to depend on their parents……adult caregivers……And generally, children are humble and vulnerable.
ILL: Abraham Lincoln and the Muddy Boots
During the American Civil War, a proud visitor walked into the White House and found President Abraham Lincoln personally shining his own dusty boots.
Shocked, the visitor exclaimed, “Mr. President, you shine your own boots?” Lincoln calmly looked up and replied, “Yes, whose else do you think I would shine?”
APP: The highest office in the nation did not make Lincoln too important to do a menial task. In the Kingdom of God, rank goes downward, not upward. The greater your authority, the deeper your willingness to stoop and serve others.
And naturally so, children are blunt…..they tell you as it is…they speak their minds. Many of us adults want God to use us for greatness, yet we sometimes hold on to animosity and hatred in our hearts. Kids tell you exactly what they think and feel about you; there are no false smiles.
ILL. Dr.Billy Graham tells of a time early in his ministry when he arrived in a small town to preach. Wanting to mail a letter, he asked a young boy where the post office was. When the boy had told him, Graham thanked him and said, “If you’ll come to the Baptist Church this evening, you can hear me preach about how to get to heaven.”
The boy replied, “I don’t think I’ll be there… You don’t even know your way to the post office, but you want to show me the way to heaven.”
Children often say what’s on their minds, and sometimes it can be very blunt. May the Lord grant us grace to walk in childlike faith, not childishness, in our behavior.
II. True Spiritual Greatness Regards Influence As a Serious Matter (vv 6-9)
God’s Word warns us about the danger of becoming a stumbling block. We must be vigilant that our words, deeds, and actions never cause others to stumble or be harmed. True spiritual greatness means having a positive influence—especially on children. Jesus warns that if anyone harms or prevents a little one from coming to Him, it would be better for a millstone to be tied around their neck and for them to be thrown into the deepest part of the sea.
Millstone was used in mills to grind all the grain for the community…..They were huge, requiring several men or a donkey to move them. To have one tied around your neck and be cast into the sea was a severe punishment.
Jesus’ warning shows His deep love for children and the high value He places on human life. God takes our character and our influence over others very seriously. If we want to walk in true spiritual greatness, we must examine our behaviors and habits so that we do not lead others away from His grace and righteousness, but instead draw them closer to Him.
III. True Spiritual Greatness Is Revealed In a Heart That Is Relentless in Pursuing the Wandering (vv 10-14)
We see the Father’s heart in Scripture as one that actively seeks those who wander away from His truth and love. True spiritual greatness is marked by possessing the heart of the heavenly Father—a heart that pursues the lost and those who have strayed from God’s love, longing to see them restored into fellowship with Him and with fellow believers.
Relentlessly pursuing the one wandering sheep—leaving the ninety-nine behind—demonstrates the heart of someone truly great in God’s kingdom. To God, no one is insignificant. When you are filled with passion for lost souls, praying and seeking to connect people to Jesus so their lives may be transformed, you embody true spiritual greatness. Souls matter deeply to God, and so they must matter to us as well.
IV. True Spiritual Greatness Is Reflected in a Desire to Reconcile With Others (vv 15-20)
In Christ Jesus, God reconciles the world to Himself. He heals our brokenness, and in His love, He restores our relationship with Himself through the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul says, “For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, ‘Come back to God!’ For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (2 Cor. 5:18–21).
Jesus teaches in verses 15–20 of today’s lesson that when someone hurts you, you should go to them and seek to restore that broken relationship, even when you have been hurt, abused, mistreated, or slandered. Peter writes: “He (Jesus) is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone.He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.” (vv 24–27)……God reconciles us to Himself, and true greatness requires we seek to reconcile with others and to restore broken relationships in the way God has taught us.
CONCLUSION: Jesus is forever our true example and model….He is the greatnest in God’s kingdom…That’s why reminds us, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it [b]robbery to be equal with God, but [c]made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Phil 2:5-8)
ILL:. In a grand theater production, the lead actor receives the standing ovation at the final curtain call……But the production only works because an unseen stagehand in a black jumpsuit works frantically in the dark. They change the heavy sets, cue the lights, and make sure the lead actor doesn’t trip in the dark.
APP: In God’s kingdom, everyone wants to be the lead actor on stage. True spiritual greatness is being a faithful stagehand. You work in the dark, expecting no applause from the crowd, knowing the Director sees your work. Jesus said the greatest among you shall be your servant (Matthew 23:11).
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