Matthew 18:1 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
Jesus disciples came to Him and said, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” We’re told by Mark that the disciples were arguing about it on the road. Jesus was in front walking, and the disciples lagged behind, but Jesus could hear them.
Will it be Peter, James, or John? They got to see Jesus transfigured. He changed before their eyes, and they heard God speak in that cloud…they literally heard the voice of God.
Will it be Peter? He walked on water…not far…but he did.
Will it be John? He’s the one who seemed to have real spiritual insight. He was the one who looked in the tomb and believed Jesus had risen.
Who will be the greatest in the Kingdom for you or me?
Will it be that person in your church who has a spiritual gift of working with people. He loves people and works well with them…will he be the greatest?
Will it be that prayer warrior? For some reason, God has given him a heart and an ability to just pray all the time, and not gossip. He keeps prayer requests to himself.
Will it be that great teacher? He is able to teach Bible studies. He has a supernatural ability to communicate the Bible.
The disciples were arguing over who will be the greatest among them. They were expecting Jesus to set up His Kingdom, throw the Romans out, and sit on the throne and rule and reign. They thought they would be working with Him on His earthly kingdom.
Here was the answer Jesus gave them. He called a little child unto Him and set the child in the midst of the twelve, and He says, “Truly I say unto you, except you be converted (changed or turned around) and become as little children, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.” The person who humbles himself like this little child will be the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
Consider little children. They are sincere, sensitive, and simple.
God is telling His disciples and you and me to humble ourselves like little children. Think about what’s going on in churches today. I am the greatest…I’m a prayer warrior…. I’m a teacher… I’m a singer. I’m a… leave it blank. Fill in what who you think is the greatest. Christians need to get stop fighting over who is greatest. That is the main reason for most church splits, hurt feelings, and many misunderstandings.
God wants us to grow up and humble ourselves as little children. I heard a preacher once say, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself…it is not thinking of yourself at all.
Many times, when churches give altar calls, children will be the first to go forward. It’s sad when adults don’t see the importance of children in churches.
Years ago, there was a Scottish preacher who stood up before his congregation and resigned. The church was shocked that he was resigning. The pastor had been there for years. He told the congregation that in the past two years, I have only seen one conversion and one person give his life to the Lord. That one child’s name was Bobby Moffett. The pastor said, “I am resigning because I have seen no fruit in this ministry, and I am not fulfilling the call and the Commission that God has given to me.” That pastor walked away from ministry for the rest of his life. Little Bobby Moffett grew up to be the great missionary Robert Moffett. He was the missionary who opened the entire continent of Africa to the gospel.
DL Moody came home from a meeting he preached, and his family asked as he came in through the door, “How did it go?” He replied, “God really blessed. Two- and one-half people came to the Lord tonight.” His wife said, “That’s really cute…a couple of adults and a child.” Moody answered, “No two children and an old man. The old man may have a year or so to serve the Lord, but those children have the rest of their lives.
There’s much talk in the world today about who’s the most successful, who’s the most powerful, or who’s the greatest. If we want to be great in God’s kingdom, we must seek to become like little children.