Exposition of Matthew (Matthew 18:19:13-15)

October 22, 2021 

(Jesus’ last days of earthly ministry)

Questions to be answered in this study

1. What does it mean to be like a child?
2. Why is the song “I have decided to come to Jesus” not good theology?
3. What is the essential prayer of a believer?
4. How is the only way we will ever be useable in God’s kingdom?
5. When believers come before the Father in prayer, He only accepts them because of something He sees. What is that?
6. Believers have a fundamental goal for being alive. What is it?
7. Everything you do in life pales in comparison to one thing. What is that one thing?
8. What is our one most significant responsibility in life?

Introduction 

Today we move on to a new subject that is easier to understand than  marriage and divorce we studied last time. Today’s study centers again on the kingdom and how we as believers have a place of involvement in it.

The text begins at the moment when Jesus finishes His conversation with the Pharisees concerning marriage and divorce:

Matthew 19:13-15, “Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. 14But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. 15And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.”

What does it mean to be like a child? Children during the time of Christ had a hard time. They had a high infant mortality rate, often dying before the age of 12. Parents who were having a hard time making it sometimes abandoned their children. Children were powerless to care for themselves and depended entirely on parents or others to care for them. Considering all the hardships surrounding children, parents brought their children to Jesus in hopes that He would bless them and make their lives easier.

These little children had no political influence nor anything that could help the cause of Christ. The disciples were still very immature and unconcerned with the welfare of the children. They did not want to waste the messiah’s time on them, but Jesus had another view of them. His attitude toward these children was compassion and recognizing their capacity for love and devotion surpassed even the closest disciples of Jesus. Jesus said, “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them and departed thence.” Jesus took the opportunity to bless the children, probably hugging them and praying over them. What a lesson in compassion this was for those disciples who had no time for these little ones.

Jesus added concerning the children, “…for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Now concerning the question: what does it mean to be like a child? These children came to Jesus with absolutely nothing to offer but their faith in Him as Lord. That is how we all should approach Jesus to become part of the kingdom. They needed the love Jesus had to offer, and Jesus gladly gave it to them along with His blessings.

Jesus wants us to come to Him also. He has a blessing for us and wants to fill our needs, but we, like those children, need to come selfless and emptied of self, humbly in recognition of who Jesus is, the almighty God of the universe. We sing the song, “I have decided to come to Jesus,” as if somehow, we are an essential part of redemption. Nothing could be further from the truth; we come powerless to Jesus in humility at His invitation, just as He invited the little children into His presence. It is because Jesus provided the opportunity for anyone to come to Him and because one day we just up and decide to come to Jesus. Salvation is by invitation only.

It is only when we, like a little child, come to Jesus powerless, selfless, and humble that He willingly takes us in His saving arms and blesses us with His love and compassion. Our prayer should be, “Lord make me powerless so you can fill me with the power of the Holy Spirit to enable me to serve you in your kingdom.” That is the only way we will ever be useable. We have nothing to offer; everything that goes to heaven comes from heaven. In other words, every good thing we do comes to us from God. 

Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 18:3-10: “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. 4Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. 6But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! 8Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. 10Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”

When we come to Jesus with nothing, that is when He is ready to give us everything. Our surrender to Him enables Him to make us that person He created us to be, and our vital purpose in life is to glorify His name. He gave us His love through grace when we were yet sinners and deserved nothing. He blessed us with everything we have. When we come before the Father in prayer, He accepts us because of the imputed righteousness of Jesus. Let our prayer be that we shall not die but live to serve Him, not by our power but by the power of Him that is within us. He is our God who deserves the praise and the glory forever. He is the Alpha and the omega; let us praise Him and give Him glory and honor and our love for who He is, our Lord and our Savior.

We read in James 1:27, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” We, believers, are in the world, not of the world; we are here to serve our Lord, and James says when we direct our service to those who are suffering, and in need, we are genuinely honoring our Lord. We help those who can offer us nothing in return; therefore, our only motive is love; this is what it means to do the work of the Father and not that of our desire. May the Lord help us to avoid a service to Him that expects something in return.

The Pharisaic way of thinking was to get not to give. That was the very thing that the disciples were doing by shooing these women and children away. They had nothing to offer, so Jesus is correcting their attitude by pointing out that these are the very people we are to serve. It is good to study and know God’s ways concerning divorce, etc., but we should not miss the forest while looking at the trees. Our purpose is to learn more about God to live like His Son, Jesus, and serve His purpose in our life.

Our purpose on earth is not to promote ourselves and our needs above everything else; if that is all we do, then we have failed. Building His kingdom by reaching others with the good news of Jesus and helping those in need is every believer’s true purpose. Building His empire is honoring our Lord and doing the things He values; that is the key and the fundamental goal for living.

The short-sighted approach to ministry is to be so busy doing church work that we fail to do that which Jesus called us to do. The Church can hire a large staff of people to carry on the management of the Church at a considerable expense and only see an insufficient number of converts for an entire year. At the same time, the members think the responsibility of evangelism is entirely to be left up to the hired staff. That is an ever-present temptation for the Church that is seen everywhere.

There are important organizations within the Church, but they are not the primary purpose of the Church. “But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:14; that is the purpose of the Church. The kingdom of heaven is being built when we bring in those like little children coming to Jesus and trusting Him for salvation. Presenting the Gospel is fulfilling God’s purpose; everything else pales in comparison.

Sometimes Jesus used the faith of a little child as a metaphor to illustrate how true faith works, but the incident in verse 15 goes beyond that as we see Jesus laying hands on the children and healing them. A metaphor is figurative but what Jesus is doing here is literal. He is tending to the needs of children and including them in the kingdom. Children between ages 4-14 account for 85% of those who are saved. The point is that we are not to be selective when inviting others to Jesus. When building the kingdom, those we consider the lowest in our society are just as important as anyone else. The kingdom is primarily made up of the ordinary.

Paul distinguishes for us in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 (KJV) those likely to respond to the Gospel: “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29That no flesh should glory in his presence. 30But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 31That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the LORD.”

Therefore, everyone needs to hear the Gospel, for among them are God’s selected ones for salvation. How does God determine who will be saved; that is God’s business of election; not a subject we have time to take up here, but I assume it is those whose heart is receptive to the Gospel. Our one most significant responsibility in life is to spread the Gospel to everyone and leave it up to God to save those whom He will.

God knows who His children from eternity past. David is an example: “Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast. 10From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God,” Psalm 22:9-10 (KJV). That does not mean that we skip the profession of faith; that happens when we are old enough to understand the Gospel. David could have been five when he trusted in the Lord since babies were not generally weaned until five years of age in those days.

In an extraordinary situation, God can save someone in the womb as was the case with John the Baptist; although, that is an exceptional case: Luke 1:13 (KJV), “But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 14And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. 15For he shall be great in the sight of the LORD, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. 16And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the LORD their God.” John was filled with the Holy Spirit and given his mission while still in the womb. If that shocks you, don’t be. We cannot limit God; He does as He pleases. John did not choose his purpose in life; God did it for him because God had an essential purpose for John. Never rule out the possibility of a person being saved at any time.

Who would ever have thought that Saul of Tarsus would have been saved and become an apostle of Jesus Christ, a man who persecuted believers? The point is, God can save whomever He chooses at the time He chooses. Yes, I know we are not David, John the Baptist, or Paul, but we are saved for a purpose in God’s kingdom. Have you found your purpose?

I hope you will be motivated by the study today to find your purpose in life, your mission and begin your part in building the kingdom of God. If you have not done that yet, make it a matter of daily prayer until you know.