The heart of a child and care for God's little ones

The disciples ask a question

1) At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

The disciples were often concerned about the question of greatness; they ask this question anticipating that Jesus has already chosen one of them as greatest.

It doesn’t take a lot of insight to figure that the disciples seem to be on some kind of ego trip.

Notice the patience that Jesus has.

Jesus sets a child as an example of humility

2) He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3) And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4) Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Children, by nature, are unconcerned about their own status, and in Jesus' culture, they were never the center of attention.

Woe to the one who causes one of these to stumble!

5) "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6) But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

A severe punishment is described here; it would be better for the offending one to receive this punishment of the millstone.

Little ones include children, but also those who humble themselves as children.

Innocence is something to be highly prized; we are responsible to preserve it in ourselves and in those around us, especially children.

Offenses are inevitable, but we are to have no part in offending

7) "Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!

The first woe is a cry of pity for a world in danger of offenses; the second woe is a denunciation of the sinner as being responsible for all the evil which he introduces.

Evil and offense are in the world, but this never justifies our participation with evil; we are our brother's keepers.

In light of the judgment awaiting those who cause others to sin, It is worth it to sacrifice in the battle against sin

8) 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 maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9) And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

Some people only keep from sin if it is easy or convenient to do so; Jesus warns us that we must be willing to sacrifice in fighting against sin, that nothing is worse than God's wrath.

There are significant problems in taking these words as literal instruction instead of conveying an attitude; not only from the obvious physical harm that one might (and have) bring upon themselves, but more so in the fact that bodily mutilation does not go far enough in controlling sin; we need to be transformed from the inside out.

Another reference to our responsibility to guard God's little ones

10) "See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.
 

Their angels is often taken as a reference to guardian angels; we certainly do have angels watching over us and ministering to us (Hebrews 1:14), but there is no need to limit it to only one.

Are Children Saved? Are small children saved if they die before the age of accountability?

One can build a strong Biblical case supporting this idea. 2 Samuel 12:23; Romans 7:9 (scholars generally believe that Paul is referring to his childhood before the age of accountability.) Also see verse 14.

[However, nothing in theology is free of controversy.]

Disciples must share Jesus' heart and care for individuals

12) "What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13) And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14) In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.
 

This story demonstrates the value God places on individuals, and we should reflect the same care.

Some take verse 14 as an assurance that, before the age of accountability, children are saved; but this is absolutely certain only of the children of believers (1 Corinthians 7:14), for the rest, we must trust in God's mercy.

Relating to one another in the Kingdom Community

If you are sinned against, go and confront the guilty party directly

15) "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.

It is essential that we go to the offending brother first - not griping and gossiping to others (especially under the guise of prayer), but speaking to the party directly.

If one among the church is adamantly unrepentant, they are to be removed from fellowship

16) But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' 17) If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
18) "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
 

 The circle of people in the situation only becomes wider as the guilty party refuses to repent; if the unrepentant attitude remains, they are to be refused fellowship. This sense of being refused full standing and participation in the body of Christ is what Paul meant when he said to deliver such a one to Satan (1 Corinthians 5:1-8); there is a sense in which the unrepentant one is chastened by their being placed outside of the "protection" of fellowship.

Even so, the unrepentant one must be treated just as we should treat a heathen and a tax collector: with great love, with the goal of bringing about a full repentance.

If this process is done according to the Word, this is quite binding in the eyes of God, even if the unrepentant just go to another church.

The power and blessing in fellowship that is denied the unrepentant

19) "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20) For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
 

There is real power in agreement in prayer and in the presence of Jesus; this is exactly what the unrepentant miss out on. Agree is literally "to symphonize"; Jesus wants us to complement each other like a great orchestra.

We must take advantage of the power of agreement, which works on the principle related in Deuteronomy 32:30, where one sets a thousand enemies to flight, but two set ten thousand enemies to flight; there is real power in getting together in prayer!

Gathering in the name of Jesus means gathering according to His character and will, gathering in a manner Jesus would endorse. This is when Jesus is really present. 

Forgiveness

Forgiveness: One of the prerequisites for forgiveness is repentance on the part of the person who is to be forgiven. Forgiveness is always based on the repentance of the offender. The underlying idea is that we should forgive as God has forgiven us (Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13).

Peter's question about forgiveness and Jesus' answer

21) Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"
22) Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
 

Peter, in light of what Jesus has been saying about agreement and unity, tries to sound extremely loving by suggesting forgiving a repentant brother up to seven times when three times was the accepted limit taught by the Rabbis.

Jesus' answers unexpectedly, saying that we are to forgive the repentant an unlimited number of times (surely He didn't mean to have us count to 490).

70 X 7: Jesus’ way of saying a lot more than seven? Yet, on four occasions of Israel’s history she is forgiven 490 times and then comes “the axe.” 2 Chronicles 36:21. For 490 years Israel failed to keep the Sabbath year of the land. The Sabbath for the land was six years to cultivate, the seventh to rest. Since they failed to keep the Sabbath of the land for 490 years, the Lord said you owe me 70 and sent them into captivity in Babylon. He forgave them for 70 X 7 times and then called what was due.

Four 490-Year Intervals in History

From Abraham unto the Exodus in Egypt 75+430= 505. (75 from promise in Genesis 12:4; Galatians 3:17 says 430). Except there are 15 years there were there was a usurper with Ishmael. 505 - 15= 490 years. 

From the Exodus to the Temple (1 Kings 6 is 591 years; 1 Kings 8 dedicated Temple with another 10 years involved. = 601 years.)

However, if you go through the servitudes in the Judges; it was under Mesopotamia for 8 years; under the Moabites for 18 years; under the Canaanites for 20 years; under the Midianites for 7 years; under the Philistines and Ammonites together for 18 years; and under the Philistines later for 40 years: The 6 servitudes in the Book of Judges add up to 111 years. 601-111=490 years.

From the Temple dedication (1 Kings 8 roughly 1005 B.C.) to the edict of Artaxerxes (Nehemiah 2:1 in 445 B.C.). 1005-445=560 years. But also included is the 70 years in Babylon. 560 -70=490 years.

From Artaxerxes to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is 490 years, but counting only those years that Israel is under God’s directive (and not dispersed or in captivity).

The parable of the unforgiving servant

23) "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24) As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25) Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26) "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27) The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28) "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.
29) "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
30) "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31) When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32) "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33) Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34) In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

Though commentators list the modern value of 10,000 talents as anywhere between $12 million and $1 billion, the figure clearly represents an un-payable debt.

The master would sell the man and his family who could not pay, but this would do virtually nothing to pay off the debt, because slaves, at their top price, brought a talent apiece.

The master shows mercy, prompted by compassion, forgiving a debt that obviously could never be repaid, no matter what promises the servant made.

The forgiven servant confronts another man about a debt of 100 denari (which was equal to 100 day's wages), which was not an insignificant amount, but nothing compared to what was forgiven him by the master.

The man who owed 100 denari uses the exact same plea that brought man forgiven the great debt mercy; but to no avail, because the forgiven servant puts the man into a debtor's prison.

The master hears of this and is angry; he then gives the first servant what he deserves - justice instead of mercy.

Jesus applies the story: genuine forgiveness, from the heart, is required of all who have been forgiven

35) "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

God has forgiven you such a great debt, that any debt owed to you is absolutely insignificant in comparison. No man can possibly offend me to the extent that my sins have offended God; this principle must be applied in the little things done to us, but also to the great things done unto us.

In context, Jesus is speaking only of forgiving the repentant; when a person is unrepentant or unaware of their sin against us, we can't really forgive them, though we can (and must) make a promise of forgiveness to God (as Jesus did in Luke 23:34), keeping our hearts open for reconciliation at the slightest true repentance and keeping ourselves free from bitterness.

However, we are under strict obligation to forgive the repentant, and without judging the validity of their repentance (Luke 17:4); when we do not, we pay a terrible price for our unforgiveness. Much of the chastening that we as Christians undergo can be traced to our hard and oftentimes relentless attitude toward those who have offended us; who knows how much blessing and fruit is hindered among us because of unforgiveness? They may not deserve forgiveness, but for your sake, it is best to forgive. You are the one hurt by your unforgiveness!

Can we lose our salvation from unforgiveness? Unforgiveness is not the "unforgivable sin", but forgiveness is the mark of one forgiven; habitually unforgiving heart shows a bitterness that may mean that such a person's heart has never really been touched by the love of Jesus. Our salvation may be sure, yet we may be "tortured" by our own unforgiveness towards others.

The basic issue is if you have been forgiven much, He is expecting to forgive those with trespasses against you.

Forgiveness:

• Never remembers our sin (Hebrews 10:17)

• Restorative forgiveness (1 John 1:9)

• Discipline retained (2 Samuel 13, 14)

• Forgive others (Colossians 3:13)

Degrees of Punishment:

• Luke 12:47, 48

• John 13:7

• Rom 2:12

• 1 John 5:17

Chapter 19

(Subscribe to Prophecy Updates)