At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. (Matthew 18)
The disciples were full of questions for Jesus. So are we. They asked. Sometimes we don't, but should. Maybe we are afraid He will give us more than we want to hear - like here. The disciples were feeling pretty good about themselves: they knew more than anyone else; they themselves had done some miracles; a few had even seen Moses and Elijah and heard the voice of God. So, they wanted to know, which of them was the greatest? One of the key three? They wished they never asked. Jesus chose some random child instead of them. But then He goes on and challenges them on how they view children, and their responsibility to draw them to God, and not set a sinful example in front of them. And then, with the lost sheep, we get the idea He is not just talking about physical children, but spiritual ones, who need to be sought out and won to Him. That's a lot of responsibility - it's not what the disciples were looking for, or that we are looking for. We want glory without the responsibility. But they asked; sometimes silently we ask in our complaining; we need to ask "what does it mean to be His disciple?", then set out to follow His instructions and example.
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