Matthew: Protecting from Sin (18:1-9)

This sermon was preached to Grace Church Guildford on 19 November 2023. The audio recording of the sermon can be found below along with the transcript.

Cockerpoo. Labradoodle. Cavachon. Over the last few years, those are the kinds of dog breeds that have become increasingly popular. The reason is that they are crossbreeds, and so blend together desirable qualities from two different dogs. For example, you can have the personality of a Labrador, without a shedding coat. Or the intelligence of a Poodle, in the small body of a spaniel. By bringing together two different breeds of dogs, you get the best of both worlds. Why am I talking about this? Well, last week, we heard that Jesus does a very similar thing when speaking about his people on earth. Believe it or not, but the church is a lot like a Labradoodle. We too are an amalgamation of two different things.

Back in Matthew 16, at Caesarea Philippi, Peter confessed Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, the King. And we were told that this King had a Kingdom, made up of Peter and all those who, like him, take Jesus as their Lord. And since that moment, this concept of the kingdom has dominated the discussion, shaped what Jesus has said of his people. At the end of Matthew 16, we learnt that those who belong to this kingdom must be willing to suffer, for Christ’s kingdom is a sacrificial kingdom. At the start of Matthew 17, we heard this kingdom will come in power, through weakness, by faith, as we work for Jesus in this world. However, last week, at the end of chapter 17, in a short yet significant story, Jesus taught us a truth that shapes all that he says here in Matthew 18. For we heard that this kingdom is not merely made up of subjects, but of sons. It is a kingdom where the king’s citizens are also the king’s children. And so, it is not just a kingdom. It is also a family. And that truth is exactly what we see throughout Matthew 18.

It is clear that this chapter is all about Christ’s kingdom. As I mentioned last week, it is the fourth of five sermons, five extended teaching sections that Matthew includes in his book. And it begins with that question in 18:1: [...]. It also ends with a parable about a king, which begins in 18:23: ‘the kingdom of heaven is like...’. This chapter is all about Christ’s kingdom. And yet, another concept is even more evident. For the dominant language in Matthew 18 is not actually kingdom language: it is family language. Again and again, Jesus likens the citizens of this kingdom to children. He calls them God’s little ones. He speaks not of the king in heaven, but of the Father in heaven. And he repeatedly refers to the subjects of this kingdom as being brothers and sisters. Here in Matthew 18, we see that the kingdom of Christ is also the family of God. In the church, the two great building blocks of all human civilisations, the nation and the home, come together. In the church these two controlling concepts of a kingdom and a family are connected, just like two breeds of dogs are brought together. When you mix a Labrador with a Poodle, you get a Labradoodle. A beautiful dog with both a fluffy coat and a friendly personality. And here we see that when you mix the concept of a kingdom with that of a family, you get the church. It is the place where Christ rules and reigns, as in a kingdom. But it is also the people who he provides for and protects, like in a family.

Tonight is the first of three sermons in Matthew 18, and we will be considering two characteristics of this kingdom, talking about two family traits. After all, every family has certain traits, characteristics they all share in common. It could be a physical similarity: a certain kind of nose or certain height (or lack of it). They might all be musical, or competitive. Well, here in Matthew 18, we learn that there are two characteristics of this kingdom, two traits that the members of this family all share in common: (1) Humble Children (18:1-5); (2) Holy Siblings (18:6-9).

1.     HUMBLE CHILDREN (18:1-5)

Our sermon starts in 18:1, with the disciples bringing Jesus a burning question There we read: [READ]. We don’t know what caused the disciples to ask this question. Perhaps Peter’s recent prominence, and the fact he was given a foundational role in the church, made the other disciples wonder where they might fall in this pecking order. However, whatever caused them to consider this question, it displayed a deeper problem. Questions are often like that, aren’t they? They can be very revealing. If we ask what is for dinner, it’s probably because we are hungry. If we message to see if someone is OK, it shows that we are thinking about them. And here, this question reveals what these disciples are thinking about. They are thinking about prominence, position, power. They are trying to work out how to rise up, gain greatness, in Christ’s kingdom. Later in Matthew 20, John and James will even ask if they can sit on the right and left of his great throne. They wanted places of honour, positions of power, in his new regime. And so, in 18:2, Jesus responds to their question with a very obvious object lesson. For in 18:2-3, we read: [READ].

Interestingly, Jesus doesn’t immediately answer their question. Do you see that? They ask who the greatest in the kingdom is, and Jesus tells them who simply gets into the kingdom. They ask about the top table, but Jesus reminds them who it is that actually just gets in the front door. I think he is rebuking them for getting ahead of themselves, overlooking the fact this kingdom is a family, and so pride and lust for power, competitiveness and self-promotion, are entirely inappropriate. They are acting like competitors. But Jesus says that unless they become like children, they will never even enter this kingdom, never mind excel in it! For the kingdom of Christ is the family of God. And so, if you want to come into it, you need to humble yourself, realise your lowly position, become like a child.

Here in 18:3, Jesus says the doorway into this kingdom is so small, only children can get through it. It is a bit like one of those measuring boards beside a rollercoaster in a theme park, you must be of a certain stature to get in. But here it is not that you must be spiritually tall, but rather that you must be spiritually small. You must recognise your sin, realise your childlike helplessness, and run to your heavenly Father for salvation, just like a little child might to into the arms of their parent for safety. Jesus says the way to enter his kingdom is to become God’s child.

If you are here tonight, and you have grown up in church, perhaps you are a teenager growing up in this church, then the main thing I want you to see in our text tonight, is the difference between being the child of a Christian and being the child of God. You see, as a child of a Christian, you are family of the church. However, it is only when you become a child of God that you are in the church family. What do I mean?

Well, if your parent is a member here at Grace Church, then you are family of this church, and you experience many benefits because of that. One of those is that you are here this evening, listening to God’s Word. Another, is that you’ve probably went to our youth groups over the years. Another blessing is that members of this church regularly pray for you. Did you know that? Six times a year, the name of your parent comes up in the prayer diary, and your name is right beside it. And so, when members of this church pray for your parent, they also pray for you by name. That is one of the blessings you have because you are family of this church. And yet, there is a difference between being family of this church and in this church family. It is one thing to be the child of a Christian, but another to be a child of God.

I trust this was very clear to you last Sunday afternoon. For last week, while your parents were in here, celebrating communion together as a church family. You were next door enjoying Communion Club. Why were they in here and you over there? Well, it is because, although you are family of the church, you are not yet in the church family. While you are the child of a Christian, it seems that you are not yet the child of God. For the Bible is clear that none of us start life as children of God. No, we are born as enemies of God, sinners who reject his rule and run away from his love. That’s why Jesus says in John 3:3 that we must be ‘born again’, or as he puts it here in 18:3, we must ‘change and become like little children’. For even if we are born into a Christian family, we still need to be reborn into God’s family. No matter who we are, or are parents are, we must change and become as humble children. We must admit that we are wrong, and God is right. That we have done wrong and deserve to be punished for our sins. Like a little child, we must look to Jesus for salvation, believing in him and following him as Lord. And until we do that, until we personally repent of our sins and believe in Jesus, we may be the child of a Christian, but we will never be the child of God. We may be family of the church, but we will not be in the church family. For to be in God's family, you must become his child, to enter the kingdom of heaven, you must humble [...].

In 18:3, we are told that unless we change and become like little children, we can never enter this kingdom. And yet, in 18:4, we learn that even after we enter we must remain humble children. Here in 18:4, Jesus answers the question of the disciples, explaining ‘whoever takes the lowly position of this child [i.e. the one he has set in their midst] is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’ In this way the kingdom of heaven is a bit like the Neverland of Peter Pan. It is a place where children never grow up. Now, in God’s family we do grow. We mature and develop. But such growth is not a growing up, it is a growing down. It is increasing in humility, deepening our dependence on God. And so, the greatest in this kingdom is the one who thinks least of their position, is most conscious of their need. In this way, childlike humility, is both the doorway and the stairway of this kingdom, both how you enter and excel.

We have seen to illustrate this to his disciples, Jesus used an actual child that day as an example in 18:2. However, if they weren’t so wrapped up in their own selfish interests, the disciples would have realised that they already had a perfect example right in front of them. For even as they were arguing over who was greatest in the kingdom, the one who had existed from all eternity, shared in the glory of the Father, enjoyed the splendour of Heaven, was right there with them. Jesus had laid aside his glory, to come and rescue his people. Even as they asked their question, this king was on his way to Jerusalem, where he would lay down his life, suffer at the hands of men, endure the wrath of God, to save them from their sin. The son of God became the Saviour of men. And in doing so, Jesus shows us what true greatness looks like.

As we read from Philippians 2, at the start of our service, it was because Jesus made himself nothing, that he was raised up to the highest place, given a name above every other name. Jesus achieved greatness, by stooping low, being the humble child of his Father, being obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. And in both Philippians 2 and Matthew 18, we are told that as his disciples, we too must become like humble children.

Christian, see here there are no big people in God’s church, there are only ever little ones. No matter what ability or experience somebody has, no matter what worldly prominence or professional position someone has, inside the church, we are only ever children, nothing more than God’s little ones. And the littler we are, the greater we are. If you think greatness in the church is gained by being at the front on a Sunday, whether it is playing in the band or preaching in the pulpit, or if you are tempted to think greatness in the church is found at the elders meeting on a Tuesday night, then you are measuring greatness very differently to how Jesus does. For we see here that you are as likely to find the greatest members of the church sitting in creche, playing with our children, as you are preaching from this pulpit, or at the elders meeting. Indeed, it is this very attitude of humble godliness that should characterise those who teach us God’s Word or serve us as elders. Grace Church, that is why it was so encouraging, in our recent members meeting, when we elected a new elder, to hear people repeatedly refer to that brother’s humility and meekness. For that is how it should be. Those who lead us, should in one sense be the littlest among us. For the greatest in Christ’s kingdom, is the one who is most like a humble child.

2.     HOLY SIBLINGS (18:6-9)

I don’t know about you, but sometimes people can have unrealistic expectations for family life. For example, as Christmas approaches many might get excited about seeing relatives and spending quality time together. And as we begin to plan our family gatherings, we can begin to imagine them resembling a TV advert: a fire crackling in the background, someone gently playing the piano, a golden turkey sitting on the table, lots of laughter and memories. And yet, every year, it never seems to turn out this way. Instead, there is relational tension between certain family members, and so things are a bit awkward and quiet. One of the children has a stomach bug, and so spends half of Christmas day in the bathroom. Sometimes we can expect much from our family gatherings at Christmas, only to be disappointed when they don’t work out how we imagined.

However, here in Matthew 18, Jesus does his best to ensure that we cannot harbour unrealistic expectations about life in God’s family. For in 18:6, he immediately begins to discuss the difficulties that we will face together as we live in a world of sin. If you glance through the chapter, you can easily see this. Here in 18:6-9, Jesus talks about how we must protect each another from sin. Next week in 18:10-20, he explains how we should pursue a sibling when they fall into sin. And then, in 18:21-35, he teaches us how we must pardon one another for our sins. Yes, Matthew 18 is all about a family, but this is clearly a family that still stumbles and struggles with sin. Lest we get the wrong impression, Jesus shows us here that family life, church life, can be difficult, can often feel like hard work. A bit like our family gatherings at Christmas, yes, we will make memories, but it may also get a bit messy.

And so, as we live alongside each other, Jesus says we must not only be humble children, we should also be holy siblings. In 18:6-7, we read: [READ]. The image Jesus uses in 18:6 is alarming. The millstone he refers to is not a small stone used in a house by hand, but a large stone found in a mill, which needs several donkeys to turn it. Having one of those tied around your neck and being cast into the sea would mean certain death. And yet, Jesus says that such a gruesome fate would be better for us than what will happen if we cause one of God’s children to stumble into sin.

If you are a parent here tonight, I trust you understand something of this. For if you were to find out that someone was hurting and harming your child, your little one, you might feel drowning was too quick a death as well. As a society, we recognise this too. Why was it that the news about Lucy Letby was so horrifying early this year? Well, it was because she killed seven babies, seven little ones. Here in the United Kingdom today, the greatest crimes that someone can commit are all against little children. And here we see this is also true in God’s Kingdom. As a parent, God does not take abuse of his children lightly. And so, we must live alongside each other accordingly. Instead of competing with each other, these disciples should be caring for each other. For in the church, we must live considerately and carefully, as if we are caring for little children, for that is exactly what we are doing! We can’t go barging around, tripping each other up with our words or our actions. We must look after our little brothers and sisters, be good, careful, responsible siblings.

Grace Church, we can do this by giving up our rights and preferences for each other, just as Jesus did last week. In Matthew 17, we saw that although he did not need to pay the temple tax, he did so anyway to avoid any offence, to make sure nobody stumbled into sin because of it. Brother or sister, I wonder what rights or preferences you could give up for the good of the wider church family? Perhaps your preference for a more contemporary worship style? Or maybe it is your inclination to be in a smaller church? We all have preferences about church life, and yet we see here that we must be willing to set such things aside for the good of our family, to care well for God’s little ones.

However, here in Matthew 18, Jesus highlights the best way you can help your brothers and sisters, is to grow in personal holiness yourself. In 18:8-9, we read: [READ]. Remember this whole paragraph is ultimately about caring for others, making sure that we don’t cause each other to stumble into sin. However, here Jesus seems to say that one of the best ways to promote the holiness of others, is to pursue holiness ourselves. As the Scottish minister, Robert Murray M’Cheyne, famously put it, “My people’s greatest need is my personal holiness.” As we all grow in personal holiness, uprooting pride and selfishness, lust and envy, from our own hearts, we will all collectively grow in corporate holiness. It will be holy siblings that will make this a holy family.

Here, in 18:6-9, Jesus teaches us how to avoid stumbling into sin and flee from temptation ourselves, by returning to the same argument that he used back in the Sermon on the Mount. In 5:29-30, Jesus told the disciples to gouge out their eye and cut off their hand if it caused them to stumble, and here he says something very similar. And when we read such language, we can be very quick to rationalise and sanitise it by saying, ‘Well of course, Jesus gets a bit carried away sometimes, he doesn’t really mean that we should go about amputating limbs.’ And there is, of course, some truth in that, for the primary way I think we apply this principle today is not by cutting off our limbs, but by taking radical action to practically remove sources of temptation from our lives. And yet, we must avoid any suggestion that this lightens the weight of Jesus’ words here. For I really do think Jesus means what he says. It really would be better to gouge out your eye and enter life, than use your eyes to lust and so sentence yourself to the fires of Hell. It really would be better to remove your hand or foot and enter eternal life, than allow them to carry you into sin and so be thrown into eternal death. Thankfully there are all kinds of things we can do short of gouging out eyes or removing hands, but if it actually came to it, if that is what it took, it really would be better to cut off vital body parts to save our soul. Indeed, doing so should be a rather obvious, entirely sensible decision.

Around 20 years ago, Aron Ralston was climbing in a canyon in Utah, when a boulder was loosened, rolling over and pinning his arm against the canyon wall. He immediately knew he was in trouble. He couldn’t free his arm, he had told nobody about his plans, and he was in a remote location where he was unlikely to be found. However, he decided to ration the little food and water he had, so he could stay alive as long as possible, in the hope of being found. Five days passed, and he was out of food and water, and was falling in and out of conciousness, he knew he faced certain death. The only option he had was to do what would otherwise be unthinkable. And so, breaking his arm, he took out his cheap multi-tool and began to slowly saw through his flesh. It took an hour for him to cut off his arm, and it is hard to imagine the pain and trauma he experienced while doing so. And yet, had he not taken such drastic action, he would have certainly died. And it was this certain reality of death, that drove him to do it.

Brothers and sisters, here Jesus says it is the same with us in our fight against sin. For if we believe there really is a Heaven and a Hell, eternal life and eternal death, then that must drive us to drastic action, to remove temptation from our lives in even the most radical costly ways. If Jesus here tells us that it would be better to lose an eye or a hand, than to sin, then surely nothing in our lives is off limits. Surely, it would be better to get a different job, break off that precious relationship, disconnect from the internet, move to a different location, if that is what it takes to avoid temptation, stop stumbling into sin. For as one writer puts it, it is better to go limping into life than leaping into Hell. Sin is so serious, eternity is so long, and Hell is so real. That whatever you gain from such things, they are never worth it. No matter what it costs you to cut sin out of your life, it is always better than the alternative. It was better for Aron Ralston to live with one arm than die with two. And it is the same for us when it comes to sin.

Brothers and sisters, what sin are you currently struggling with? Think about where temptation for it comes from? What are the things that commonly trip you up? What is it that regularly causes you to stumble? For those are the things you need to cut off, even at great cost. If you aren’t sure how to do that, talk about it with a more mature Christian, after the service tonight, or at Fellowship Group on Thursday. For we see here that Jesus tells us we have a very simple choice: we must either pursue holiness or prepare for Hell. As the writer to the Hebrews puts it in Hebrews 12:14, we must pursue holiness, for without holiness no one will see the Lord. As John explains in 1 John 5:18, ‘We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin.’ Christian, God’s family is a family that fights sin, flees temptation. And so, as Jesus says here, if you are part of this family, you must cut sin out of your life on earth, or it will cut you you out of life for all eternity. As the Puritan John Owen put it, you must ‘be killing sin, or it will be killing you’. And we see here in Matthew 18, that it may well end up killing others through you as well.

Here we see that the kingdom of Christ has two characteristics, that the family of God all share two traits. They are both humble children and holy siblings. Let us all strive to increasingly be so together here at Grace Church.