The Least of Us is the Greatest of All - Matthew 18:1-20

Zion Lutheran Church
Mission Valley, TX

The Least of Us is the Greatest of All
Matthew 18:1-20

This morning’s Gospel lesson is probably going to make you uncomfortable. And that is good. Sometimes we need the Scriptures to make us uncomfortable because we have gotten too comfortable in our modern, North American lifestyle and culture which does not always line up with where we should be as children of God. We need to be shaken up a bit, stirred up a bit, so we can be re-focused and cross-thinking. But doing that – necessary though it might be – can sometimes be uncomfortable.

You have been warned.

It begins simply enough with the question, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom?” It’s asked by disciples wanting to know who’s the best disciple, who has bragging rights, who gets to wear the #1 on their Team Jesus jersey.

I can relate to that. After all, “Who’s the greatest?” is all around us. When I go up to the school, I can’t park in that spot – it’s for the Teacher of the Month. Look above the water cooler at the store – there’s a photo of the Associate of the Month. The University of Alabama each week announces at a post-game press conference who the offensive and defensive players of the week are, and those are coveted announcements, I assure you. I walk into a pastor’s conference and look around and wonder, “Who’s the best preacher here?” It’s all around us. So we argue about who’s the greatest Dallas Cowboy quarterback of all time, or the greatest pitcher in baseball; we wonder who is the greatest cook or the greatest CEO; we ask ourselves who’s the greatest mom at the PTA meeting; we wonder who the best student or child is.

What makes the greatest? In football, it’s yards or touchdowns or tackles. In baseball it’s strike-outs or home runs. Cooks compete for coveted Michelin stars. Mothers compare mother’s day flower bouquets. Dads, it’s tacky ties. Pastors, it’s the fewest snores on a Sunday.

Ah…to be labeled the GOAT – the Greatest Of All Time… It’s a human desire, a need, to be the best of the best. Just ask Mohammed Ali.

So, apply the logic to the disciples’ question. Who’s the greatest disciple? Peter…now there’s a contender, right? Big, bold Peter…the spokesperson of the disciples. “You are the Christ the Son of the living God,” Peter said; Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah…You are Petros, and on this rock I will build my church.” Peter - he’s a lock, right? Or at least a contender? Nope…it’s not him. He’s not the GOAT. He’s just a rock.

How about John, after all, he’s the disciple whom Jesus loved, right? Da Vinci paints him leaning against Jesus’ chest in his painting of the Last Supper. Or Luke, who writes the first history of the Church in the book of Acts? Or maybe James, who will become the first bishop of Jerusalem?

When Jesus is asked the question, “who’s the greatest?” you better be ready to get a big surprise because it’s not going to be who you think it will be.  He doesn’t name Peter, or James or John, or Mary or Martha. Instead, St. Mathew records, “² He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. ³ And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”

To understand this, I need you to set aside our modern, Romanticized Western idea regarding children. We view children as innocent; we see them as precious little ones who need to be protected, coddled and preserved. We picture them with cherubic, angelic innocence floating on clouds. I need you to take all of those romantic notions and toss them out. Instead, I need you to see children as they were in Jesus’ day: children were tolerated, and not much more, while parents waited for them to grow up to start working or get married and have babies. Children were not coddled; they were not seen as cute or innocent; they were not precious. They were at almost the same level as a slave.

With that understanding, Jesus choice of the greatest should be shocking. The greatest wasn’t the strongest; it was the weakest. The greatest wasn’t the most eloquent; it was the simplest of speech. The greatest wasn’t the most boastful; it was the most humble. The greatest wasn’t the bravest; it was the most afraid. The greatest wasn’t the toughest; it was the neediest. The greatest wasn’t the most giving; it was the most needy.

In other words, the greatest was actually the least. This little child - who is the lowest in society, who is tolerated and not much else, who is needy and weak and insignificant – the child is the greatest in the kingdom.

To be the greatest in the kingdom, you must become like a child – not in age, not in “innocence,” but in the complete inability to do anything to help, rescue, save, or redeem yourself. The least are the greatest, not because they can offer anything to the kingdom. In fact, that inability is what makes them great! They are great because they have complete and total reliance upon Jesus. In the rest of the Gospel lesson, Jesus explains they are great because they are in the greatest danger of wandering from the faith, or being seduced by the devil, or being lost into eternity not even realizing the danger they are in. They are great because they are in the deepest physical, emotional and especially spiritual need.

This is who Jesus came to save: the weak, the broken, the wounded, the ones despairing of their sins, the ones repenting and crying out “Help us, O Lord.”  Don’t misunderstand me – Jesus did indeed die for the world, John 3:16 is the simplest proof of that, “For God so loved the world…”, but Jesus identifies the weakest – or, the greatest as Jesus says – as those who realize their need for Jesus. “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick,” He said earlier (9:11). But those who look to themselves, to their own greatness, to their own strength, to their own worthiness, they deny the need for Jesus. They miss the point: the can’t save themselves anymore than Peter or James or John could. Instead, to humble onself under the cross of Jesus is to be as a child who trusts in Christ alone.

With this new understanding of who the greatest is in the kingdom, who do you know who fits the example of the child?

You saw one this morning: Baby Harper. A newborn child of God through water and word, the devil will do his best to lure her into temptation and deny Jesus, already at this early infant age. That is why the church has sponsors who will help the parents rear Harper in the faith, remember her in their prayers, and encourage the parents to teach Harper the good news of Jesus.

But who else do you know may be the greatest? Close your eyes for a second and think who it might be. Let me help you… It’s not the friend who just got the promotion, but the friend who just got laid off of work and doesn’t know how they’ll make it. It’s not the man who just found out that the cancer is in remission, but the woman who is afraid to go for her next doctor’s appointment to get the latest test results. It’s not the athlete who scored the winning point in the game, but the one who has worked hard all summer long just to sit on the bench without a second of the coach’s attention. It’s not the mother who’s child will make the honor roll for the 12^th consecutive time, but the mother who cries because her child is in prison for twenty-to-life. It’s not the child who is elected most friendly and most outgoing, but the child who tries to hide in the shadows of shame at what’s been done to her. It’s not the pastor who preaches in front of hundreds of people on a Sunday morning, but the pastor who stands in the rubble of what used to be his church in Rockport, TX, without anyone gathering for Word and Sacrament, and who weeps “Lord, have mercy.” It’s the child of God who thinks God has abandoned him just like everyone else and doesn’t see any benefit in trusting in this Jesus who seems so far away. Who else? Close your eyes for a moment and think…until this moment, who did you think are the least important people in your world? Now, open your eyes, so that the next time you see them, you see them as the greatest in the Kingdom. 

They are great because they may be in danger of losing faith – whether it is stumbling because of life’s struggles, wandering amidst temptation, or in danger of completely turning away from Christ’s baptismal gifts – these are the greatest. It is tempting for a church to look to the strong ones and consider them to be the greatest. It is easy and, perhaps natural, for our attention and focus to be drawn to people with powerful personalities, strong voices, great wisdom, and gravitas. Those are the people our world admires, and it carries over to the church as well. But Jesus would have our attention turn elsewhere: from whom the world considers great to whom He considers great -- to widows and widowers; to the poor and unemployed or underemployed; to the children and youth; to the aged and infirm; to the sick and depressed and broken-hearted.

Repent of the times you overlooked these brothers and sisters in Christ. Repent of the times you did not show the mercy of Jesus to these who needed to see and hear of Jesus’ love for them. Repent of the times you passed by with not as much as a glance or a prayer or a word of hope. Repent, and change your thinking; change whom you see as the greatest.  And show the love of Jesus to these who are least in the world but greatest in the kingdom. Don’t just say, “Gimme a call sometime,” – you pick up the phone and call; don’t just say “Swing by one afternoon,” – you stop by and visit them at home, or at the hospital, or at the nursing home; if you can’t do that, drop a note in the mail; remember them in your daily prayers; seek them out on a Sunday morning and offer a word of encouragement; resist the temptation to walk by and say nothing; offer a loving hug (if appropriate) or a gentle handshake; remind them in simple words, “Jesus loves you and so do I.”

Now, I know, sinful minds being what they are, someone is thinking to himself or herself right now, “But when is it my turn to be the greatest?” Just wait. Something will come along and it will humble you, it will shock you down to your socks and it will leave you reeling. And you will cry out, “Lord, have mercy.” And He will answer. And we will come along-side you in the name of Jesus.

This was written with deepest of appreciation to the teaching of Rev. Dr. Jeff Gibbs, both in his commentary on Matthew and the video Bible study he did at Concordia Seminary called, "Who is the Greatest: It's Not Who You Think."