Dear Friends,

I hope you can join us tonight for Bible study. We are studying some of Jesus' hard-hitting words about children, our responsibility for them, and about those who would cause them to sin. The Scripture is Matthew 18:1-14. Notes are attached.

LIVING THE CHRISTLIFE

WAYNE BARRETT

FEBRUARY 11, 2026

Matthew 18:1-14

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.

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v 1 – “At that time …”

This was well into Jesus’ ministry, after the Transfiguration.

more lit. “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens?”

The question was not “What should we do to enter the kingdom of the heavens

The disciples’ concern was “Who is the greatest …?” This question could be understood as

“What specific person, which one of us, is greatest …”

v 2 – “And calling to him a child …”

This was a very unexpected response—however familiar it may be to us.

The disciples were not sentimental about, or particularly concerned about, children, cf their

seeking to prevent children from “bothering” Jesus.

Their mindset needed correcting, the question that emerged from that mindset needed correcting,

and this is the way Jesus chose to correct it. Jesus was in dead earnest. We should pay

attention.

v 3 – “Truly I say to you …”

truly – Amen

more lit. “Truly [Amen, emphatically] I say to you, if you might not be turned and [therefore]

might [have] become as the children, no not shall you enter into the kingdom of the

heavens.”

“might not be turned” – strephó, aorist subjunctive passive; “might become” – ginomai – aorist

subjunctive middle

2

Jesus did not say that the disciples were not going to enter the kingdom of the heavens, but this

corrective response warns them that proud people, jostling for position in the kingdom of the

heavens are wasting their time, because they will not even be able to enter it.

v 4 – “Whoever humbles himself like this child …”

more lit. “So whoever will humble himself like this child, this [one] is the greatest in the

kingdom of the heavens.”

“will humble himself” – indicating that a person’s own actions and decisions are consequential

humble – to be low, more specifically, to place others before oneself

This is the opposite of what our culture encourages us to do

“like this child”

The child was not considered the most important person in the room—not even close

The child was not empowered over other people

The child was under authority

The child was probably loving and anxious to please his/her parents

v 5 – “Whoever receives …”

A direct continuation

more lit. “And whoever, if [he/she] might receive one such child in my name, receives me.”

Jesus’ teaching appears to have more than one application.

It applied to the treatment of children, as such

It applies to those who have become like children—those who are servants of Christ

It applies to those who are overlooked by the world and in need of care

“The call is not to patronize children but to embody an open-armed stance toward the

seemingly insignificant—an attitude Christ identifies with receiving God Himself.”a

cf. Mark 9:33-37

v 6 – “but whoever causes one of these …”

A dire warning

more lit. “but whoever might cause to stumble one of these little ones believing in me …”

stumble – skandalizó, to set a snare, to trip up

Multiple applications “little one” (mikros) – but perhaps here children, specifically, are more the

focus.

“it would be better for him” – Gk. “it is better for him …” – present tense

The meaning is that even such a death as this is to be preferred over the punishment that person

will receive

We are to nurture faith in children, to teach them, and protect them. This is a major calling upon

the Chapel.

v 7 – “Woe to the world …”

This seems to a concluding and reinforcing statement to the previous teaching.

more lit. “Woe to the world from the skandalōn [stumbling blocks, snares]! For it is necessary

for the skandala to come, but woe to the man by whom the skandalon [singular] comes.”

vv 8-9 – “And if our hand or your foot …”

Jesus is teaching (in unforgettable ways) about fleeing from sin, while also addressing the types

of excuses people make

a from the Topical Lexicon, 1209. dechomai, Biblehub.com, https://biblehub.com/greek/1209.htm, retrieved 2-11-2026

3

He is making it clear that the punishment for sin is far worse than any sacrifice we make not to

sin.

The word for “sin” continues to be versions of skandalon.

Here Jesus mentions the eternal fire and the hell (Gehenna) of fire.

vv 10-14 – “See that you do not despise …”

This appears to be about children specifically (mikros)

more lit. “their angels in [the] heavens …” – an insight into things beyond us, indicating how all

children are known to God and that angels are connected with their care

We often think of the search for the sheep that went astray as Christ’s search for a lost adult—

and it certainly applies!

But here is an application to children, reminding us that everyone begins as a child. God desires

every child born to be in his kingdom—it is not his will that any of them should perish

(apollumi). This must also be our compelling desire.