Matthew 18:1-20 ‘How much do you matter to Jesus?’

During the Vietnam War, Daniel Dawson’s plane went down and he was listed as lost.  His brother sold all he had and went to Vietnam to find him.  He wandered through enemy controlled jungles and became known simply as ‘the brother’.  He even spent four months in prison during his search. 

We have an older brother who cares for us.  Jesus will come looking for us when we go astray.  Even though we get ourselves into all sorts of messes, he does not give up on us.  I want to look at Jesus words about the sheep and the shepherd, but I realised in my preparation that the words that surround this little parable also reveal how much we matter to Jesus.

1.     Jesus wants you despite your sin.

2.     Jesus loves you so much that he will punish those who damage you.

3.     Jesus cares enough to warn you.

4.     Jesus seeks you when you go astray.

5.     Jesus gave his life for you.

He wants you despite your sin

Our passage begins with a childish question.  ‘The disciples came to Jesus saying, ‘who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’  This question is of the ‘my dad is bigger than your dad’, immaturity level.  But while immaturity in an adult is nothing to be celebrated, there are ways in which we are to be childlike.  ‘Unless you turn and become like a child you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’ 

Children are what we call ‘dependants.’  They can’t look after themselves.  They need their parents.  They don’t pay rent.  They don’t earn their keep.  They simply depend on your loving care.  That is the way to enter the kingdom.  That is why one American preacher in Dublin used to say that ‘good people are enemies of the gospel.’  Because if you come to God on the basis of your own goodness you won’t get into the kingdom.  You offer him nothing but your spiritual bankruptcy.  You are to come to him helpless or you do not come at all.  You come to accept the forgiveness and life that Jesus wants to lavish on you.

In terms of been great in the kingdom, it is about true humility.  Greatness is about never forgetting that you are utterly dependant.  We will never know who many of the greatest ones are because they won’t be boasting about themselves.  ‘Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’  Think of the apostle Paul, pointing out that he is the least of the apostles (1 Corinthians 15:9) and the greatest of sinners (1 Timothy 1;15).

Jesus wants you despite your sin. 

He loves you so much that he will punish those who harm you

‘Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me’.

Do you feel welcome in church?  Do you feel that here is a place that you can be real with people?  Can you be vulnerable in this community?  That should be one of our aims.  As you walked in to this building you passed by a standing banner that included the word ‘grace’ as a statement of what we are about.  Are we gracious to each other?  The Lord does not treat us as our sins deserve, but according to his loving kindness (Psalm 103:10).  That must be the way we treat each other.

‘Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for them to have a millstone fastened around their neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea’.  He is pointing to one of the most dreadful forms of punishment that was carried out by the Romans.   These little ones he is talking about are Christians—those who believe in me.  It is a terrible thing to lead God’s people into sin.  If your influence of God’s people is to cause them to sin then clearly you are not a Christian.  Be careful if your conversations stir up division.  Be careful if your example encourages people to sin.  Be careful if you are a free thinker who is happy to ignore what the Bible teaches is right and wrong—what a terrible destiny awaits those false teachers who redefine such things as Biblical sexuality.  Christ loves his people so much that he says that terrible things will happen to those who bring them into sin.

3.      He loves you enough to warn you.

‘It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the hell of fire.’

Why does Jesus speak so much about hell?  He talks about it more than anyone else in the Bible?  It is because he loves us.  He warns people because he does not want people to go there.  The evangelist, Rico tice, writes, that when it comes to sharing our faith, ‘we say enough to salve our consciences—we talk about church, or Jesus’ love, or how great a joy it is to pray—but we don’t say enough to help people be saved: we don’t talk about death, or sin, or hell, or salvation.’  If we saw that a friend was standing on a road with their back to the traffic and a bus was hurtling towards them, we would surely scream and warn them of the danger.  We wouldn’t be worried about disturbing the peace.  Our non-believing friends are in a terrible eternal danger.

Here is a warning that is particularly relevant to those who say that they love Jesus.  John the Baptist had already told people to keep fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:8).  The fruit of a changing life shows the evidence of God within you.  It you act like sin does not matter then you are not born again.  Christians still struggle with sin but they cannot live in sin.  Jesus shows how serious this struggle must be with some shocking metaphors.

The Christian man who struggles with porn will not struggle alone.  He will humble himself and talk to another Christian man for support and accountability.  The Christian struggling to forgive won’t excuse their bitterness but will cry out to God to give them more grace.  The Christian with a harsh tongue will see more filling of the Holy Spirit—whose fruit includes kindness and self-control.

When it comes to dealing with sin the New Testament gives us the principle of taking off and putting on.  When you try to leave a sin behind fill the vacuum where it used to be.  That will make it harder for the sin to return.  If you are struggling with lust, start appreciating your wife (or if you are single start realising that women are precious in the eyes of God and not just an object to be drooled over).  If you are trying to forgive, don’t forget to preach the gospel to yourself—we forgive as we have been forgiven.  Replace critical words with encouraging words, harsh words with thanksgiving and gossip with prayer.

He loves you so much that he warns you.

He seeks you when you stray

The talk of the shepherd looking for the lost sheep seems to be slightly different here than the famous parable in Luke’s gospel.  In Luke it was focused on those who had not yet become Christians.  Here it is focusing on those who profess to belong to Christ.  When you go astray Christ comes looking for you!  If you really belong to him you will be restored.  When you turn for home you don’t need to come with your tail between your legs, for you are going to receive a joyous welcome.

Note that this passage goes on to speak about the person who claims to be in Christ but is in serious sin and will not let anyone challenge them about it.  Such a person is to be treated as a gentile or a tax collector—they are to be treated as if they are not a Christian.  They are not to be invited to share the Lord’s Supper and if you love them you will not act as if things are normal.  They are in great spiritual danger, so you won’t be happy to talk to them about the weather, you will want to challenge them about their sin.

But here is the thing.  When they come home they are to be welcomed with open arms.  We see this in 1^st and 2^nd Corinthians.  There a man was involved in a scandalous sin and the church was commanded to act (1 Corinthians 5:1-2).  But then he repented and the church was commanded to welcome.  ‘Forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overcome by excessive sorrow.  Reaffirm your love for him.  We do this that we would not be outwitted by Satan’ (2 Corinthians 2:7-11).  If we don’t welcome the repentant we are actually in danger of tempting them to give up! 

5.  He cares enough to die for you.

Finally, above all else remember that Jesus cares about you so much that he was willing to lay down his life for you.  This theme runs the whole way through Matthew—from the giving of the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21), right through to when the risen Jesus restores and commissions the disciples (Matthew 28).

We began by thinking of the amazing love showed by the brother of Daniel Dawson, who sold everything and came looking for him.  We have an infinitely more loving older brother, who left the glory of heaven, lived the life of a servant, and died on the cross, to bring us home.  Never doubt that you matter to Him!