1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
Read Matthew 18:1-6 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Part way through Jesus’ ministry, while describing to the disciples what it means to be the greatest person, Jesus invites a child to stand beside Him. When describing how He wants each of His followers to become more like a child with regards to their spiritual lives and their faith, Matthew’s gospel includes Jesus making one of the strongest, harshest warnings we can find in the entire collection of gospels.
In Matthew’s gospel, we find Jesus telling those present that “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (v. 6)
From what Jesus tells us, children who believe in Him may very well be His most cherished possession. In this verse in Matthew, there are two different ways we can understand the little ones Jesus is describing.
The first and most basic way to understand Jesus’ words is to frame Jesus describing those who are young who have chosen to believe in Him. These “little ones” are little because they are simply young in age, and over time, they will grow in both age and life experience.
The second way we can understand Jesus’ words is by understanding “little ones” to refer to those who are young in their faith – regardless of their actual age or time alive on earth. While Jesus ministered in the first century, people of every possible age came to believe in Him and His ministry, and we could say that many of these people, depending on their backgrounds, could be called “young in their faith”.
Whichever way Jesus means when He references His warning to those who cause others to stumble, we can agree that God does not like to see people causing others to fall away from their faith in Him. This warning does not mean that those who believe in Jesus will never face problems. This warning actually suggests that problems are inevitable for those who believe in Him. However, it does mean that we should be intentional about not being the one causing spiritual or faith problems for others.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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