The Greatest in the Kingdom

Mat 18:12-14  What do you think? If someone has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go and search for the stray?  (13)  And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over that sheep more than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.  (14)  In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

The eighteenth chapter of Matthew begins with a question from Jesus close companions, one of his chosen twelve disciples. Here is the question: Matt 18:1 CSB  "At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “So who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” We live in a world that measures greatness by accomplishment. The same is true with the church culture for the most part. One of the concepts that plays out in the legalistic mindset is using the metaphor's of babes and seasoned saints. When I use the term legalistic mindset, I am referring to the read and do mentality that stems from a legal constitutional reading of scripture. There is a lot of evidence that this passage of Matthew can be enlightened by a different understanding than is traditionally understood. While that is true of most passages of scripture it is especially true with the way evangelical dogma has framed and presented Jesus message with respect to a legal constitutional read and do mindset. The reason is that it appears that this passage refers to sin and hell when it is really speaking of religion verses faith. It is important to realize that Jesus often used hyperbole to get his points across and this passage is an example. Verses 18 and 19 explain that one should pluck out ones eye or cut off ones hand or foot. So when Jesus answers the question about the greatest in the kingdom he is not literally saying that children are preferred over adults as you can see in Matt 18:2-4.

So let's get back to the idea of babes and seasoned saints. The greatest in the kingdom of heaven then are those according to Jesus, that humble themselves like a child. They are the so called "babes" and not the seasoned saints. The seasoned saints, by implication, in this passage are those who are steeped and studied in religion and take offense to the radical aspect of Jesus message as it criticizes the status quo theologically. Let's look directly at this passage. Mat 18:2-4 CSB  "He called a child and had him stand among them.  (3)  “Truly I tell you,” he said, “unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  (4)  Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." What is the point in His analogy? One must have child like faith. Children accept much of what they hear from the adults around them on blind faith. This is the criteria for being the greatest in the kingdom.

If you read Hebrews chapter three and four carefully, it will become apparent that faith is obedience, and unbelief and sin are synonymous. So then, the seasoned saint is only the greatest in the kingdom if they hang on to their child like faith and allow God to prove himself over time. It is not a seasoning that comes from reading and doing. It is a seasoning that comes from believing and being. Yet, this is not the common belief within evangelical Christianity. It becomes instructive then to read Matthew chapter 18 with this view in mind. The warning that is given to the one who would cause one of the little ones to sin/stumble is a warning against destroying child like faith in the gospel in favor of reading and doing and growing in a legalistic way. It is a warning against those who would try to get people who had believed in Jesus to turn away from their belief in Him based on religious interpretation of the sacred texts. Furthermore it is to cause the so called "babe" to question the sufficiency of the initial simple gospel message.  It is the attempt to link faith in the gospel to a read and do mentality that proves the efficacy of the gospel message by the "babe's" ability to read the text and adopt "correct" behavior and response to the gospel reality.

It will take additional posts to unpack Matthew chapter eighteen, but for this one, the ninety nine are not the lost souls of the world per se, but rather those who have fallen away from the simplicity of the gospel by alleged more enlightened teaching. The ones who are causing the little ones/babes to stumble are the religious establishment the "seasoned saints."