For Each One Of Us
-
Greg Waybright
- Matthew 18:1-4
- The Church Becomes Flesh
- 30 mins 12 secs
- Views: 1287
Pastor's Note
Jesus said that children's "angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven." Do you think children actually have an angel watching and representing them to God? Why or why not? I'm convinced God places churches in neighborhoods so that, in christ centered communities, people might become complete in Christ. That includes children. And you.
Study Notes
For Each One Of Us - Week 4 - Study Notes
For Each one of us
Matthew 18:1-4, 10-14
I’m firmly convinced that God locates churches like ours in communities for a reason, i.e., to further his beautiful purposes in this world he made. And today, I want to show you that he places us here to do a healing and transforming work in you! And in me too! In fact, in each one. God knows how hard it is for us to break from the patterns of the world and of our own habits and to grow in our walk with him. He plants churches in neighborhoods for many reasons – but one of them is so that each one of us who trusts Jesus will become “complete in Christ” (Col 1:28).
On this Mothers’ Day, what we’re going to focus on just one group whose growth in Christlikeness God is particularly concerned about. In Jesus’ world, this person would have been an unexpected recipient of God’s special love – and therefore should be a special focus of our love and nurture here at LAC. We’ll look at is one of those stories in which Jesus took a person who was usually ignored or rejected by almost everyone around him, and then focused his love and attention on that very person. If you’re new to the reports about Jesus in the New Testament, you may not know that he did this over and over again. So, if you’ve come today and wonder whether the Jesus who is the head of this church would welcome you and make a commitment to your personal growth, then know this: That’s what Jesus does! Jesus has a way of turning our normal human values upside down.
The one Jesus welcomes in Matthew 18 is a little child who was being excluded by the male adult population. The men in Matthew 18 may not have even noticed the child was there. Or, if they noticed, they didn’t think the child should have any role to play. It's hard for us nowadays to understand how any civilized society could devalue a child. But throughout history, many societies doubted the importance of children.
In Jesus’ day, the two main cultures were the Romans and the Greeks. 1) Roman law gave no protection to a child whatsoever. A Roman father could kill his offspring without any fear of prosecution. 2) Among the Greeks, a letter that has been discovered written by a 1st C. Greek traveling merchant to his pregnant wife ended this way: "When the child is born, if it is a girl, throw it away."
Those were the days that Jesus was living in. That’s what made an episode recorded in Mt. 18 so shocking. As he did throughout his life, Jesus taught that people, all people at any age or in any situation, have value. In Matthew 18, Jesus doesn’t just voice humanistic platitudes about the importance of children. He gives us foundational reasons why our little ones are so important. I’ll focus on but two of them:
1. Our children teach us about going to heaven (18:1‑4).
2. Our children teach us about who is important to God (10‑14).
Reason 1: Our children teach us about going to heaven – or -- God often teaches us the most important lessons of life through the most unexpected people (18:1‑4).
Jesus called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (18:2‑3). Jesus is saying here that he brings children into our lives and into our churches not only so that we may teach them but also that they might teach us. In general, I think most people don’t really believe that – not deep down. We think that when we’ve had a lot of formal education or have had success in our career, we become the ones who do all the teaching. Of course, we who are older do have a teaching role. But, let me warn you: The moment you enter into any relationship thinking that you have nothing to learn from the other person, then you’ll be the ones who will miss the most important lessons about life.
Here’s what Jesus suggests: The person who has no interest in people like the child in vv. 1-4 ‑‑ in being with them, in talking to them, and even in learning from them ‑‑ that person will not even grasp how to go to heaven. It really is as serious as that. Why? Let me first tell you two reasons what Jesus is not saying:
Misconception #1: That some people – like this child – are completely innocent before God. That’s nowhere in this text, and it’s nowhere in the Bible. All people need God. Children are not perfect before God with no need of salvation simply because they are children. I'm quite sure that children are not as innocent as some want to believe. I wonder whether any parents of young people agree with me about that!
Misconception #2: That we should be as unquestioning as a child.
I'm not at all sure that children's faith is really as unquestioning as some think. If you have been asked some of the questions I have been asked by children, you might think that they are the most profound theologians in the world. But that aside, I don't think the Bible generally does commend naivety in matters of faith. God’s Word calls us to be constant learners both of God’s Word and God’s world.
So, what is the lesson Jesus says we need children to teach us? It is a lesson about faith. Jesus’ Lesson: If we will enter God’s kingdom at all, we must turn the entirety of our lives over in personal faith to the King who reigns over the universe. The older we get, the harder that kind of surrender becomes. As long as we try to stay in control of our lives and think we don’t desperately need God’s mercy, we won’t ever surrender to God. As Jesus put it, “You won’t even enter the kingdom of heaven” – because we’ll hold on to a part of the control ourselves. Little infants are people who don’t pretend that they don’t need help. Their size and lack of resources declare to all that they are dependent on others. As we get older, we still desperately need to fall on God in faith and dependency but we often find countless ways to cover that up – even to deny it.
If we're going to grasp what Jesus is getting at here, then we're going to have to notice very carefully that this whole exchange about children is prompted by a question the disciples ask Jesus in v. 1: Who is the greatest? That’s the kind of question grown ups like to ask today as much as they did back then. We become habitually obsessed with status and prestige. Jesus' response to that trait is to put the one person in the crowd that the others didn’t even notice into the central role of teaching the others about saving faith.
Jesus is saying that the values of heaven are the reverse of the values of this world. All the things this world pursues ‑‑ fame and status and honor -- will tend not to lead us toward heaven but away from it.
So the pathway to heaven always involves a radical new beginning. It's a "new birth", as Jesus calls it elsewhere. It means going back and, like a child, starting the process of growth all over again, but this second time with Jesus in charge. We must let Jesus direct our lives as an infant is directed by parents.
As long as we can pretend that we have everything under control, we will find it is hard to repent of our sins and start all over with God in control -- because we have so many years of self-centered patterns and so many ambitions to be abandoned in order to let God be God. Jesus knows what he is talking about. He knows how hard it is to begin again – but this time in utter dependence on God. And that's what entering the kingdom requires of us. Jesus said that, if we have eyes to see, our children will teach us this. Unless we become as trust-filled and dependent upon God as they are, we will not enter the kingdom of God.
On this Mothers’ Day, Jesus says almost shockingly, “Care for a child – watch a child – and you will learn how to please the God of the universe. As that infant depends on you, you depend upon God in faith. God often teaches us the most important lessons in life through the least expected people – yes, even our littlest ones.
Reason 2: Our children teach us about God’s values – or – All people are important for an absolute reason: because we all matter to God (18:10‑14).
V. 10: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” These are mysterious words, aren’t they? Do you think a child is so important to God that he assigns a guardian angel to them in heaven? This phrase, “always see the face of my Father”, was usually used in a King’s court. When the king wanted to provide special care for one of his subjects, he sent a representative who had direct access to the king and who possessed all the king’s authority in matters related to this subject. Only the most valued subject had such a regal guardian. Jesus said, “Those who seem to be ‘the smallest and the least” are of that much value in the eyes of God.”
I can only take a moment today to address the issue of little children’s standing before God. It’s very important to me – to many of us who have lost our children in infancy. But let me say this: This passage is central to my understanding of how God sees the children of this world. It's on the basis of texts like this one that I join with many theologians and Bible students to say that it's wrong to think of little children as being in immediate danger of hell. According to Jesus, it isn't children who are in immediate danger of hell. No, from 18:5-9, it's those who put stumbling blocks in the way of children who should fear hell ‑‑ not the little ones. Isn't that the clear thrust of the passage? The child is the one who teaches us how to go to heaven.
The implication of this, of course, is that we can, on the authority of Jesus, offer words of comfort to those who have lost children in infancy. It's my personal belief that God keeps infants kept safe in their standing before Him -- so I never hesitate to give grieving parents that assurance. Notice 18:14: "It is not the will of your Father in heaven that any of these little ones should be lost," says Jesus.
But the main point Jesus makes here is the value of “each one” to God. Little as they are then, children should matter to us because they are the clear objects of God's watch care. So, if God finds them so precious and values them so highly, how dare we ignore them or treat them as if they are of little account. "See that you don't look down on one of these little ones," Jesus declared. Children didn’t matter much to those who were with Jesus that day but they did matter to him. And, of course, Jesus is saying to us that if people like this matter so much to God that He provides angelic protection, then they had better matter to us as well.
As the Bible so often does, it asks if we have the same values as Jesus did. Do we see people the way Jesus sees people? How many times have I said it in sermons: When we surrender in faith to the Lordship of Jesus – to the kingdom of God – everything has to change. One of the most basic changes is in our eyes. Those who have fallen in faith-filled dependency on the grace of God given in Jesus have new eyes. We long to see as Jesus sees. Lake Avenue Church has been placed by God here in this location for many reasons – but one of them is that among us, you should experience how much God loves and values you. This church is here so that God can do his life-transforming work in you until you are complete in Christ.
And, specifically today, God places children in our midst so that he might accomplish his work both in them and through them in us. I hope you see the relevance of this for parenting. To make a commitment to invest sacrificially in the nurturing and caring of children seems, in the eyes of some, to be much less important than many other things we might accomplish or set our minds on. The eyes of God see differently. If you are now a parent, you could not now have a more significant stewardship entrusted to you by God than a child.
Matthew 18 is a clear and powerful lesson of how Jesus sees. He values “the least of these.” In his day, among the “least of these” in the eyes of the world were the children. But Jesus told us never to harm them but, instead, to love them. Even more, he told us to learn from them. With God’s help, we here at LAC will do exactly what Jesus told us to do. That’s one of the main reasons we have invested so sacrificially in our children’s facility. That’s why we call you to serve and to teach our children. When you do, you’ll find the children are not the only ones who will be blessed. No, you will be too.
To His glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2015, Lake Avenue Church
Chinese Translation
For Each One Of Us - Week 4 - Study Notes - Chinese Translation
教會成為肉身：為了我們每一個人
馬太福音18：1-4，10-14
我深深地相信，神將我們這樣的教會放在社區之中，有祂的美意。祂要在祂所創造的世界中更加顯出祂美好的旨意。今天，我想告訴你，祂將我們放在這裏，是為了在你和我，乃至每個人的裏面進行醫治和改變的工作！神知道，我們要想從世上的模式以及我們舊的習慣中分離出來、與祂同行會有多麽困難。祂在四周建立教會，有許多原因，其中一個原因，就是為了讓我們每個人都信靠耶穌，“在基督裏成為完全”。（歌1：28）
在這個母親節，我們要專門看看一群人，神特別地關註他們在基督裏的成長。在耶穌的世界裏，這群人是神特殊的愛的意外接受者，因此，他們也應當成為我們教會中彼此間的愛與培育的特別焦點。我們要看的，是一個通常被周圍所有人所忽略與拒絕的人，然而耶穌看顧他，將祂的愛和關註集中在他的身上。如果你對新約還不熟悉，你可能不知道，耶穌有許多時候都在重復地做著這件事。所以，如果你今天來到這裏，不知道教會的元首耶穌是否會歡迎你，關註你的成長，那麽你需要知道，這正是耶穌所要做的！耶穌有辦法將我們屬世的價值觀翻轉過來。
在馬太福音中，耶穌歡迎的是一個小孩，一群成年男子正要趕他出去。在馬太福音第18章中，那些男子可能並沒有留意到那個孩子在那裏。或者，即使他們註意到了，也不認為那個孩子應該參與任何事。在今天，我們很難理解，任何一個文明的社會，會貶低一個孩子的價值。但是貫穿歷史，許多社會都懷疑孩子的重要性。
在耶穌的時代，羅馬和希臘文化是兩個主要的文化。1）羅馬的法律完全沒有保護兒童的條例。一個羅馬的父親可以殺死他的後代，而根本不用懼怕刑事責任。2）在希臘文，人們發現了一封寫於一世紀的信，是一個希臘商人寫給他懷孕的妻子的，信的結尾說，“如果孩子生下來是一個女孩，就扔掉她。”
那是耶穌所生活的時代。這正是馬太福音所記錄的事情這樣令人吃驚的原因。正如祂一生中所行的那樣，耶穌教導人們，所有的人，包括任何年齡和境況，都有自己的價值。在馬太福音第十八章，耶穌沒有按照慣例從人性的立場說明孩童的重要性。他用基本的理性來說明為什麽孩童是重要的。我主要講講其中的兩點：
1. 我們的孩子教導我們關於天堂的事（18：14）
2. 我們的孩子告訴我們，神看重的是誰（10：14）
原因之一：我們的孩子教導我們關於天堂的事，或者說，神常常通過一些意料之外的人來教導我們最重要的道理。（18：14）
耶穌叫一個小孩子到祂面前來，讓他站在眾人面前。祂說: “我實實在在地告訴你們，你們若不回轉像這小孩子的樣式，就斷不能進天國。”（18：3）在這裏，耶穌是在告訴我們，祂將孩子帶到我們的生命之中，不光是為了讓我們教導他們，也是為要讓他們教導我們。我覺得人們在內心中通常都不肯相信這一點。我們認為，我們受過許多正規的教育，或者我們事業上很成功，我們理當成為教導別人的人。當然，我們作為年長的人，應當擔負起教導的責任。但是，我要警告你，當你進入一個關系之中，而認定你從對方不會學到任何東西時，你就會錯過人生最重要的功課。
耶穌這樣建議：對孩童沒有任何興趣的人，就像1-4節所說的，對於與孩童們在一起，和他們談話，甚至從他們身上學習都毫無興趣，那麽他也不會知道如何去天國。後果就是這麽嚴重。為什麽？讓我先來告訴你兩個並非耶穌本意的錯誤概念：
錯誤概念#1：有一些人，像這個孩子，在神的面前是無罪的。在這段經文中，包括整本聖經中，都沒有這個意思。所有的人都需要神。孩童在神的面前並不是無罪的，並不是說因為他們是孩童，所以就不需要神的救恩。我很確定地說，孩童不是像有些人所相信的那樣完美無瑕。我想知道年輕人的父母是不是同意我的說法！
錯誤概念#2：我們應該像孩童一樣沒有疑問
我一點都不確定，孩童的信仰是否真的想有些人所想的那樣沒有疑問。如果你曾經像我一樣被孩童問過一些問題的話，你可能就會認為，他們是世上最深奧的神學家。而且，我也不認為聖經在信仰上贊同天真。神的話語呼召我們不斷地學習神的話語和祂的世界。
耶穌所說的我們需要孩童教導我們的功課是什麽呢？是關於信心的功課。耶穌要我们学习的是：如果我們要進入神的國度，就必須將我們生命的全部，在信心中交托給掌管宇宙的主宰。我們越是年長，就越不容易有這樣的交托。只要我們自己掌控我們的生命，認為我們不是那麽急著需要神的憐憫，我們就不會將自己交托給神。正像耶穌所說的，“我們不能進天國”，因為我們自己有一部分的控制權。小嬰孩從不假裝他們不需要幫助。他們的身量和缺乏資源在告訴所有的人，他們需要依靠別人。當我們年紀漸長，我們仍然迫切需要在信心上依靠神，但是我們常常會找到許多辦法來掩蓋、甚至否定這個事實。
如果我們要理解耶穌所說的話，就需要留意到，這個關於孩童的話題，是因著門徒在第一節中問耶穌的一個問題而引出的：天國裏誰是最大的？今天的成年人就像當年一樣喜歡問這個問題。我們習慣性地著迷於地位和聲譽。耶穌對此的回應，是將那人放在眾人之中，以至於其他人都沒有留意到他而專註於耶穌關於得救的信心的核心教導。
耶穌要告訴我們，天國的價值觀與世上是相反的。這個世界所追求的一切名譽、地位、聲望都不但不會將我們帶到天國，反而會使我們遠離天國。
因此，通往天國的路總是會涉及到一個全新的開始。耶穌在其他地方提到過，這叫做“重生”。意思就是回到從前，就像一個孩童，開始全新的成長過程。但是這第二次的成長是由耶穌來掌控的。我們必須要像一個嬰孩被父母引導一樣，讓耶穌來引導我們的生命。
若是我們假裝所有的事情都在我們的掌控之中，我們就會發現，我們很難認罪悔改，也很難在神的掌控中重新開始，因為我們需要摒棄多年以來的自我中心的模式和許多的野心，神才能在我們生命中成為神。耶穌知道祂在說什麽。祂知道這個開始會是多麽艱難，但是這一次我們需要全然地依靠神。進入神的國度就需要我們這樣做。耶穌說，如果我們有眼睛可以看到，我們的孩子就會教導我們，除非我們像他們一樣信賴和依靠神，否則我們無法進入神的國。
在這個母親節，耶穌的話幾乎是令人震驚的，“關照孩童，看顧孩童，你就會學習到如何討創造宇宙的神的喜歡。正如孩童依靠你那样，你同样在信心中依靠神。神常常通過最出人意料的人來教導我們人生最重要的功課，是的，祂甚至會通過我們的孩子來教導我們。
原因之二：小孩子教導我們什么是屬神的價值觀，所有人都因著一個絕對的原因而變得重要，那就是，神在乎我們所有的人（18：10-14）
第10節：“你們要小心，不可輕看這小子裏的一個。我告訴你們，他們的使者在天上，常見我父的面。”這是很神奇的話語，不是嗎？你真的覺得孩童在神眼裏如此重要，以至於神在天國裏分派給他們每人一個使者嗎？“常見我父的面”這句話通常在國王的宮廷之中使用。當王想要對一件事情提供特殊關照時，他就會派遣一個代表，能夠直接與王溝通，並且被授權擁有王所有的權柄，來處理那件事情。只有最重要的事情才值得委派這樣一個尊貴的使者。耶穌說，那些“看起來最微小的”在神的眼裏就是這樣有價值。”
今天，我只能用有限的時間來談到孩童在神面前的位置。對我個人，也對那些失去了繈褓中孩童的父母來說，這很重要。我想說，在我理解神如何看待這個世上的孩童時，這段經文至關重要。基於這段經文，我贊同許多神學家和神學生的觀點，認為嬰孩面臨著地獄的危險是錯誤的。根據耶穌的話語，面臨地獄危險的不是孩童。根據18：5-9，應該懼怕地獄的是那些阻攔小孩子的人，而不是那些小孩子。
當然，這段經文的含義，就是我們可以靠著耶穌的權柄，向那些失去孩童的人們說安慰的話語。我個人相信，逝去的嬰孩在神那裏與祂同在，安全穩妥，因此，我常在悲傷的父母面前安慰他們，從不猶豫。耶穌在18：14說：“你們在天上的父，也是這樣不願意這小子裏失喪一個。”
然而耶穌在這裏的要點是，“每個人”在神眼中的價值。即使孩童還很小，我們也應該看重他們，因為很顯然，他們是神所看顧和保守的人。因此，如果神看他們如此寶貴和有價值，我們怎敢忽視他們，或把他們當作沒有價值的呢？耶穌說，“不可輕看這小子裏的一個”。在那天和耶穌同行之人的眼中，孩童並不重要，然而他們在耶穌的眼中卻很重要。當然，耶穌是在告訴我們，如果這樣的人在神的眼中如此重要，以至於祂為他們預備天使的保護，那麽我們最好也能重視他們。
聖經在這裏向我們提出問題，我們是否有著與耶穌一樣的價值觀?我們有沒有以耶穌的眼光來看待其他人？我多次在講道中提起：當我們在信心中將自己交托主耶穌和神的國度時，一切都必會改變。一個最根本的改變，就是我們的眼光。那些全然在信心中依靠神恩典的人，會藉著耶穌而擁有全新的眼光。我們渴望以耶穌的眼光來看待一切。神將Lake Avenue 教會放在這個地方有許多原因，其中一個原因就是，在我們中間，你應當經歷到神對你的愛和珍惜。這個教會在這裏，因此神能夠在你的裏面做改變的工作，直到你在耶穌裏成為完全。
特別是今天，神將孩子放在我們中間，好讓祂能夠在他們裏面完成祂的工作，也藉著他們在我們裏面工作。我希望父母們能夠看到這一點。對某些人來說，培育和照顧孩童的工作，遠不如許多其他需要我們去完成或關註的事情重要。然而神的眼光所看的不同。如果你現在是一個家長，那麽就沒有什麽比管理神所托付給你的孩童更有意義的事情了。
馬太福音第18章清楚而有力地寫到了耶穌的眼光。祂看重“這小子裏的一個”。在祂的時代，世人眼中的“小子裏的一個”就是孩童。這也是告訴我們，不要傷害他們，而要愛他們。祂甚至告訴我們要學習他們。藉著神的幫助，Lake Avenue教會的弟兄姐妹們會按照耶穌所說的去做。這正是我們在兒童的設施上有著如此奉獻與投入的一個原因，也是我們呼籲大家事奉和教導孩童的原因。當你這樣做的時候，你會發現，孩童不是唯一被祝福的人，你也會得到祝福。
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2015, Lake Avenue Church