Week 34: Don't Despise Youth
We've gotta set the stage before we get right into the next command that Jesus gives on our list. We're reading in Matthew 18:1 and it starts by the disciples asking a question that is so human - it is such a part of the human experience and the way we think about things in this world - but it had to be a question that frustrated Jesus on some level making Him think - "Eh. They still don't get it." We read -
About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?"Matthew 18:1
Now if you remember - the Kingdom of Heaven, a phrase used interchangeable with the Kingdom of God, was a Kingdom that was being established on earth by Jesus and His followers AT THAT TIME. This was not a question about - when we get to heaven - like - who's got the biggest mansion? Who's the head cheese besides you and your dad, of course, Jesus. No - this is a question about status in the present time. WHO IS THE GREATEST?
We live in a world that constantly keeps score. We want rankings. Who's the best athlete? Who makes the most money? Who's the highest paid actor? Who has the most awards? Who as the most status and prestige.
And this question that the disciples come to Jesus with is not as innocent of a question as it sounds. Because at the heart of the question is 'self.' They want to know where they stand - not just with Jesus but on a scale with one another. Who's where on the hierarchy list? See - we can take this question and ask it in a different way to still find out what they were asking and it helps us understand the heart of the question a little more - Instead of
Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?Matthew 18:1
- what if they just straight up asked what they wanted to know? "Who's the greatest disciple?" "Which one of us is Jesus' favorite?" "Who's building up the most treasures in heaven?" "What's our rank - like is Peter the Senior Pastor… the Teaching Pastor… or is he just louder than everyone else?"
And what Jesus does - instead of reprimanding them or saying, "I thought we've been over this before" - it's actually one of my all time favorite moments in scripture. We read - Jesus called a little child to Him and put the child among them. Matthew 18:2
Alright - this is important. He didn't just call the kid over to be on the side. He didn't just point out the little child. He calls the child right to Jesus and He places the child in the center AMONG THEM. He makes the kid the center of attention. The child is now THE focus right next to Jesus.
Now - the ancient world and the modern world had some things in common when it came to kids - children were NOT the center of society. They may have been loved within their own families and communities - but children had no power, no status, no authority, and this sounds harsh, but again - this is from the world's perspective - no economic value. Kids were the lowest of the low on the social ladder. They were probably not even on rung #1. They were holding the ladder or watching other people on the ladder. But Jesus calls this little child over - puts them in the center among them and
Then he said, "I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven."Matthew 18:3-4
Now this whole interaction, the things that Jesus says - this whole chapter - there's so many layers, it works and operates on so many levels - but the first thing that we can take away is
PRIDE HAS NO PLACE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Worrying about status - has no place in the Kingdom of God. Wondering if you're a better Christian than the person next to you - whether you give more than the person next to you, whether you're more pious than the person next to you - whether you know more scripture. None of that matters to Jesus. Not for rankings or status. Not in the way the world thinks about it. I mean, let's be honest - we live in a world that is always encouraging - climb higher, hustle more, be stronger, keep reaching, dominate, be recognized… somewhere deep down many of us want to have that Muhammad Ali moment where we shout "I am the greatest!" At something…
(Winner of the chicken McNugget challenge)
We want to be recognized… we want to be treated not just like we matter - but like we matter MORE. It's been a while since I dropped a professional wrestling reference into a message - let's rectify that today. One of the biggest stars in WWE is Roman Reigns - and what started as 'heel behavior' when Roman was a bad guy - He called himself - the "head of the table" and when he would come to the ring he would demand that the WWE fans "Acknowledge Me."
That's the world's systems. But Jesus told His disciples that in the Kingdom of Heaven - the Kingdom of God - which again - is NOW… it doesn't work that way. He says - you want to be the greatest? You need to
becomes as humble as this little childMatthew 18:4
It's something we need to remember. It's something we need to remind ourselves of over and over again because of our human nature and the way the systems of the world and sin can creep in and make us forget…
HUMILITY IS GREAT
HUMILITY IS WHAT JESUS WANTS FROM US
But this isn't the end of the conversation. Jesus continues -
And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.Matthew 18:5
Now - I said - this conversation, this interaction, this whole chapter - it plays on multiple levels. And it's important to realize it - and I kind of want you thinking about it and being aware of both of the ways this plays out. The first way is very straightforward and literal -
YOUTH HAVE A PLACE AMONG US IN THE KINGDOM
CHILDREN & YOUTH MATTER TO JESUS
And that is something that I have always believed. We have a quiet room, a cry room - whatever. We have a Children's Ministry most weeks where we're meeting kids on their level and teaching the love of Jesus and truths of scripture to them. BUT kids belong in here worshipping with us and singing and dancing with us. And if we have young kids - babies who cry or make noise - let me tell you something - that doesn't bother me at all. Those are the sounds of a healthy, multi-generational church and families being around. Kids make noise. We can deal.
anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.Matthew 18:5
Now - those are some of the literal, straightforward, let's not give this a second thought takeaways from this passage. BUT these are not the only takeaways from this passage. We need to know what comes next in the discussion in scripture. We need to understand how Jesus uses parables and illustrations and examples to teach on multiple levels. Now I'm gonna skip ahead and tell you that this whole discussion and illustration with
Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.Matthew 18:5
leads into the parable of the lost sheep - where the man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, and the man leaves the 99 to go out and search for the one that is lost. And Jesus even references back to the 'little child' 'little ones' at the end of that parable - I'll just read it to you now - "If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won't he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search of the one that is lost? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn't wander away!
Alright now here it comes. Here's the tie in -
In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father's will that even one of these little ones should perish."Matthew 18:12-14
The parable of the Lost Sheep - is not just about kids. It's not just about children as in literal children. Children and Youth matter to Jesus and you better believe that they have an important place in the Kingdom - but according to context clues - Jesus is probably talking about more than just children - He's probably also talking about who they represent -
The overlooked. The vulnerable. The least of these. Those who are left out. On the outskirts. Those who have no power, no status, no authority, and according to some people's way of thinking - no value. Those who some people might even think have no place in the kingdom…
Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.Matthew 18:5
Put a different way but very much in line with the example Jesus is giving - and remember, this started out as a discussion about 'status' -
WHEN WE WELCOME THE LEAST POWERFUL PERSON IN OUR WORLD, WE ARE WELCOMING JESUS HIMSELF
WHEN WE WELCOME THE OUTCAST WE ARE WELCOMING JESUS HIMSELF
WHEN WE WELCOME THE FORGOTTEN WE ARE WELCOMING JESUS HIMSELF
Now - reading along in Matthew 18 - Jesus gets super serial here - it's the flip side to
Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.Matthew 18:5
but he says -
But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.Matthew 18:6
Whoa. A millstone - as in the giant wheel that beasts of burden would turn to mill or grind the grain or flour. If you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin.
Now - this is interesting - if you cause one of these 'little ones' to fall into sin… folks, I believe that in context it is perfectly acceptable to translate this as 'if you cause a little child who trusts in Jesus' to fall into sin… but it is also acceptable to translate 'if you cause those who are LIKE little children - the humble, the outcast, the forgotten, those who see God and the love of Christ in the simplest of terms - which by the way IS HOW WE SHOULD SEE IT!
We make things so hard and complicated. We think everyone needs an Mdiv and 40 year disciple course to understand how to be a disciple of Christ but when you actually examine Jesus' interactions in scripture - people get it in record time - one afternoon, one interaction in many cases… we just spend the rest of our lives trying to BE like Christ.
So today, I want to invite you to see Matthew 18:6 in a little bit of a different light than in the ways you may have read it before. And I'm gonna use a couple of different translations that I think help us get to the heart of the matter more on this verse - Matthew 18:6
but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.Matthew 18:6 (NASB)
Many other translations also translate this as 'stumble' but I want to use the Amplified here - it tries to reveal the nuanced, deeper meanings of the original languages within the text when a word-for-word translation might not capture the whole point. Amplified can be good for clarification in some cases. This is one of them, I believe.
But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble and sin [by leading him away from my teaching], it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone [as large as one turned by a donkey] hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.Matthew 18:6 (AMP)
Anyone who causes 'one of these little ones' - could be children, could be youth, could be those who are LIKE little ones - the least powerful, the forgotten, the outcast, the humble, the least of these… who causes them to stumble and sin BY LEADING THEM AWAY FROM JESUS' TEACHINGS… it would be better for them to get their neck broken and thrown into a lake where they glug glug glug until they sleep with the fishes than doing that…
So the word that gets translated for the 'stumble' part of the verse - it's a Greek word σκανδαλίσῃ (skandalisē) a form of skandalon. It is where we get the modern word - "scandal" from. A skandalon was literally a 'trap trigger' - something that causes someone to fall - and this phraseology can be translated not just to fall into sin - but to fall into apostasy… apostasy is
"The abandonment of one's faith" "Fading away" "standing away" "Rejection of belief."
This hits especially hard for me. For a couple of reasons - first… I love what I do. Most days. Honestly - leading people to Jesus - trying to show people the love of Jesus - trying to help us demonstrate that love not just to our church but to our community - Loving God, Loving People - getting to come up here and give you a book report on the most important and amazing things ever said by the most important and amazing Savior and friend ever? I genuinely cherish that. Truly. But every single day. Every. Single. Day. I am reading at least one story if not ten stories… about pastors and those in the "so-called" Christian communities who are doing things that are causing people to be led away from Jesus' teachings. You know, here's a pastor who's having an affair with multiple church members. Here's yet another youth pastor who's diddling little kids. Here's a pastor who is saying the most un-Christlike stuff possible. Just scandal after scandal. And I know some of it makes the news when its big enough, but because this is my job, I get trade publications and email lists and behind the scenes stuff and it just I have gone from wanting to cry to wanting to throw things to just being so disheartened… there is something almost every day that I read or hear about that makes me want to quit - because I don't want to be associated with this stuff. Here are people who should be showing the love of Jesus - but they are doing evil and actively causing people to stumble in big ways. For every one of these scandals - you think that doesn't affect people in their congregations? You think that doesn't affect people who were maybe interested in knowing more about Jesus and following Him, but then who go - well here's the guy who was preaching Jesus, but if this is what they were doing - then what power does Jesus have? Maybe this is all a scam, a sham, a myth… no power to this - no life-changing power, because why wasn't this guy's life changed…
Now look - I want to make something clear - we all sin. All have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God. Okay - and anyone - ANYONE - can have a bad day, can be tempted, can make a bad decision… but when we are talking about repeated behaviors where harm is being done to others and the reputation of Jesus name IN Jesus name - where vitriol and venom are being spoken in the name of Jesus instead of love - that's not a bad day, that's operating in bad faith. That's not a mistake. That's malpractice.
In my lifetime - I have been watching the dismantling of the church - more and more people around the world claiming no faith at all, church attendance and affiliation going down every single year - worldwide - and I'll tell you what, I don't think it's because the power of Jesus is any less life-changing or transformative - I think its because a lot of people who would be better off having mill stones tied around their neck and drowned in the depth of the sea have been terrible representatives of a Jesus whose name they exploit but whose teachings they don't follow. And whether it be the Spotlight scandals in the Catholic Church, the non-stop exploitation of women and children within Evangelical circles, the rise and attachment to political movements and Christian nationalism, or just religious leaders more concerned with status and money than humbly representing the Kingdom of God - it has made generation after generation - large swathes of the world's population to say "Eh - I don't want anything to do with Jesus" thinking that somehow this is what Jesus was about.
I'm not playing holier than thou either guys. I already said I mess up. And I said some things back in my youth group days - when I didn't know better - when I thought I knew, but I didn't understand - when I was just parroting somebody else's puffed-up pride or repeating talking points from 'inside the bubble.' And I was guilty of causing someone to fall away or fade away… or at the very least snuffing out their enthusiasm for the persona and love of Jesus Christ because of its association with myself or the program or the church. I didn't mean to. But I screwed up. And it eats away at me to this day.
All of this to say - if we read this passage without context and especially versus 7-9 which we'll do on another day - but it's the 'if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off…' passage - it's a metaphor! Nobody go and recreate the SAW movies please… Josh did not tell you to do that. But I think we often read this as 'don't tempt people into sin…' Which - I mean, okay are there those people, can we be those people "Hey man, wanna get high?" Kay. Hey - I found out how we can exploit this loophole and make fractions of a penny at a time and yes were stealing, but it's a bank and they'll never find out…" Are there those who would tempt people into adultery or or bad decisions - or have you ever been the spouse that's suggested cheating on your taxes… "Wasn't that a business dinner?" "Pizza Hut?" "Yeah. Weren't we discussing our budget?" "I distinctly remember you saying that you didn't have any quarters so I could go and play Galaga." "See…?! Write it off." "I'm not sure the IRS will agree with your creative assessment." But that's not subtle. That's obvious. That's that choice - bad faith, malpractice - but this started by talking to Jesus' own disciples about status and wanting to be great and these TRAPS that we can fall into. And these 'trap triggers' (skandalon) that we need to be so careful about avoiding - how about we make the strongest effort possible to be humble and say - "I don't want to do anything that chases people away from Jesus' teachings." "I don't want to do anything that causes people to get a bad taste for Jesus or the Kingdom in their mouth." And it's not just the big scandals.
We've come up with this phrase in the church world - admittedly we got it from scripture - "stumbling block." And we've kind of created this narrative where being a stumbling block is being the temptation into sinful behavior like we were just talking about… you're playing the role of the devil in the temptation in the wilderness - except now it's the temptation in Torrance or whatever.
But you know what the main focus of this passage that Jesus is warning us about?
DON'T BECOME A STUMBLING BLOCK TO SOMEONE'S FAITH
Especially someone who is young or a spiritual youngster. Especially someone who is approaching Jesus like a child.
Maybe here's a better way of saying this -
DON'T BECOME A BARRIER TO SOMEONE'S FAITH
And that is way too easy to do. It doesn't take a big scandal to do that. It doesn't take a personal moral failing like the ones that make the headlines to do that. Truthfully, I have observed that some of the biggest barriers to someone's faith in Jesus - they don't come from outside the church. They come from inside it.
When the church decides to ignore certain people or groups of people.
When the church dismisses people.
When the church chooses to shame people instead of loving people.
When the church acts holier than thou rather than like sinners saved by grace.
When the church is filled with pride instead of filled with love.
When the church becomes about preference instead of mission.
When the church excludes people instead of welcoming them.
These are the things that are barriers to faith. In fact, these are the things that can cause people to lose their faith entirely… and fade away. And you better believe - that makes Jesus angry. Because each one of these 'little ones' - matters deeply to Him.
As a community - Jesus calls us to
PROTECT THE VULNERABLE
That's not just caring for new believers - that's welcoming the overlooked and the unwelcome -especially in the church world.
Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.Matthew 18:5
The Kingdom of God and therefore the institution of the church - should be the place where the weakest person in the kingdom feels safe and loved by Jesus and embraced by Jesus and His people and like they have a place. Where the lost sheep matters and the forgotten people are placed in the center of the community and loved.
Jesus says this about the little ones before He goes on to tell the story of the Lost Sheep -
Beware that you don't look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.Matthew 18:10
And that is #32 on our list of FIFTY THINGS
#32 - "DON'T LOOK DOWN ON THE LITTLE ONES"
Took us a while to get there. But we had to get the context right and understand how this works on multiple levels. Speaking of - you may have seen this verse as
See that you do not despise one of these little onesMatthew 18:10 (NASB) (LSB) (BLB) (NIV)
But again - the Amplified version gives us a turn of phrase that I think we can relate to here even more -
See that you do not despise or think less of one of these little ones…Matthew 18:10 (AMP)
Folks if we are thinking less of literal children or youth or the little ones who are forgotten or even despised by some of our peers who put up stumbling blocks, we are not living up to the standard of humility that Jesus set and we are not welcoming people into the Kingdom the way Jesus asks us to.
No matter who they are - don't disregard people. Don't think less of them. Don't dismiss people. Don't despise them. Don't treat them as less important. And don't look down on them.
That's a serious takeaway - but just as an aside - cause sometimes these things get lost in translation - Jesus was funny. He very well have been making a joke as he illustrated that last point - "Don't look down on any of these little ones" as the adults were literally looking down at the children because they HAD to look down at the children. Jesus had jokes. I'm telling you. So many of His parables and stories and turns of phrases and responses - He was loving, He was funny, He was welcoming. He was kind. He was safe. He was joyful. He was approachable. You know - all the things that make kids… little ones… comfortable. These are the traits that make people run TO Jesus… not AWAY from Him.
And if we want to have a chance to bring people to Jesus - we need to display those traits not only collectively as a church when we gather, but also as individuals. At the end of the day we have to ask ourselves - if little ones felt comfortable being around Jesus - do they feel comfortable being around us? That goes for kids and the other way Jesus meant 'little ones.'
Here's something to consider - do WE feel comfortable around 'the little ones?' As a youth pastor for 16 years of my life and now a father for 6 years - I can say unequivocally that kids… youth… little ones… can be chaotic. It's true. They're messy. They can break stuff. They can ask hard, uncomfortable questions. They can challenge positions you thought you were rock solid on. And they can also make you rethink things that you thought you already had all figured out. To welcome little ones - to embrace little ones - to connect with little ones - it takes extra effort, extra energy, you may start investing in band-aids and drywall patch… which might be why some folks are uncomfortable around "little ones" and quick to dismiss them. Spiritually speaking - little ones can be 'messy' too. You may have your nice, clean, neat patterns of everything that you've done for the last thirty years. We do this. We get things the way we like them and we get sideways when people disrupt even a small part of what we're used to… our neat little systems and traditions and patterns and preferences… and sometimes we're more concerned with protecting our comfort and our schedules and our preferences and the way we like things than we are about protecting the "little ones."
In Luke chapter 18 we're given this little snippet where we read One day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so He could touch and bless them. But when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering Him. Luke 18:15
Remember - kids in that society - lowest rung on the social ladder. Even below the lowest rung. Way beyond the old 'children should be seen and not heard.' So the disciples are like - get out of here with this, can't you see Jesus is busy? But here's what Jesus did -
Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.Luke 18:16-17
The disciples - who knows, maybe they were trying to protect Jesus' schedule. What they thought was His agenda. What they considered His important work. The disciples were trying to protect Jesus. But Jesus said 'nuh-uh'
JESUS PROTECTED THE LITTLE ONES
He got mad at the disciples and scolded the disciples for trying to hinder them. That's another translation -
Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as theseLuke 18:16 (NIV) (BSB) (NASB)
The Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like children.
I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.Luke 18:17
That really ought to wake us up to what Jesus finds important. That ought to wake us up as a church to jettison and abandon a lot of the world's trappings that the church has added to its' institution and teachings because it was chasing status and establishing hierarchy.
Anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.Luke 18:17
Well what does that mean, exactly? Well - kids… they ask honest questions. They tend to see things more clearly and in simple terms than we as adults like to complicate things and obfuscate things. Kids aren't all tangled up in politics, power games, hierarchies, social rankings… they tend not to racist or sexist or exclusionary unless someone in their lives teaches those things to them. They're quick to forgive, they're quick to include. They are curious and joyfully discovering the wonders of God's creation everyday. And they are seeking to give love and receive love and connect and be welcomed.
You know, despite all of the politics and propaganda and distractions and pollution of this world - a lot of "little ones" are able to cut through all the noise and still see God clearly. Much more clearly than some of us who dismiss them or look down on them.
We have a tendency - whether it's "little ones" as in children or "little ones" as in those on the outside of our little circles - we dismiss them saying things like "what do you know about theology? You're just now coming to Jesus. I've been a Christian for 40 years. Don't tell me about following Christ, I'll tell you about following Christ. "What do you know about the world, let me tell you how the world works…" And we can do that… to our own detriment. If you assume that "little ones" don't understand, can't understand, are too naive, or they should just listen and not contribute… then all that is going to accomplish is have generations talking past each other and entire groups of people and individuals feeling like they have been hindered from coming to Jesus instead of taking their place where Jesus put them - next to Him, in the center of our community and our love.
You know what - maybe we do know more about 'the world…' than these little ones, but maybe we could learn a lot about The Kingdom of God from these little ones.
Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.Matthew 18:5 (NRSV)
#32 - DON'T LOOK DOWN ON THE LITTLE ONES
And whether those little ones are new believers, people seeking answers, the weak, the forgotten, the overlooked, those left out by religion or looked down upon by so-called religious people, those dismissed by society, those who are forgotten or struggling, those who are vulnerable, or literal children… allow me to humbly say on behalf of my Savior Jesus and on behalf of SeaCoast Church - you… are welcome here.
Thank you for letting me share with you today. We'll be back with another installment of Fifty Things next week. Until next time - may you leave here today with the humility and joy and young hearts of the little ones that Jesus bids come unto Him. And may we never neglect the little ones but instead welcome them, learn from them and protect them as God gave them into our care. God bless you, have a great week!