Matthew 18: The Greatest Have Given Up on Greatness

Introduction

In the world of sport, people talk about the "GOAT," the greatest of all time. Martin Hull, a guest preacher at Grove Hill Evangelical Church, notes with humor that the chart of champions he puts on screen is American: there is not a single cricketer on it. But the British love this topic too. In 2002, the BBC ran a big national poll to name the greatest Briton, and Winston Churchill won, unsurprisingly.

This obsession with greatness is not limited to sport. It reaches the local church too, and it is nothing new. The first disciples of Jesus, that very first community of believers, got it wrong from the start by asking an out-of-place question: "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" Two thousand years later, not much has changed, and we can make the same mistake.

From Matthew 18:1-4, the preacher offers a simple formula: the greatest are those who have given up on the idea of greatness, because they have known Jesus, the greatest of all time. He then breaks it down into three steps toward a child's kind of greatness in the kingdom of heaven.

Outline of the Message

1. A "Foolish Itch for Greatness"

The text does not say what led the disciples to talk about greatness. But Jesus' reaction shows he was not impressed. For Martin Hull, this should ring like an alarm: talking about greatness in the church is not a good thing.
He quotes John Calvin, who saw in the disciples a "foolish itch for greatness."
Our society pushes us to aim high and to be the best. The preacher acknowledges that it is right to use the gifts and opportunities we have been given. But the disciples are not asking who is the greatest on a football pitch, in business or in the movies. They are talking about the kingdom of heaven, and that is another realm altogether, where different rules apply.
He compares it to diving underwater at the swimming pool. Suddenly you have to think differently. You no longer breathe, speak or move the way you do out of the water. You are in a different environment.
"In the kingdom of heaven, in the church, we are no longer in our own castle with our own rules. We are in God's castle, where his rules apply." It is a kingdom where Jesus is king, where the Holy Spirit governs, and where things are done differently.

2. A Little Child in the Midst of the Disciples

To make this difference clear, Jesus calls a little child and puts him in the midst of them. Martin Hull insists: it is a little child. Another Gospel reports that Jesus took him in his arms, like those toddlers that parents were holding in their arms on the front row that morning.
In Jesus' day, little children were not considered important. One author sums it up this way: they were to be looked after, not admired. Jesus loved children and gave them his time, even when the disciples did not want him to. But in society, they did not count.
Even today, although children receive a lot of time and attention, a little child is not seen as "great." As in Jesus' day, he remains dependent, weak, vulnerable and often very aware of how small he is.
Jesus' answer is therefore unexpected. The disciples might have expected to hear: "Moses," or perhaps "David," or "Elijah." Or an assessment: "Peter, you have some qualities that stand out, but John, there are things about you that I particularly like." Or, in a modern version: "Brothers, you are all great, there is greatness in every one of you, let it out." Taking a little child as an example of greatness is revolutionary.
Jesus knows it, since he says: "unless you turn." The word means to turn around, to change direction, to change the way you think, to adopt a completely different perspective. Without this turning, Jesus says, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. So it is not only about how to live in it, but also about how to enter it.

3. Like a Child, Not Childish

Martin Hull makes clear that Jesus is not asking us to become childish. Many childish behaviors have no place in the kingdom of heaven: bursting into tears, throwing tantrums, throwing food on the floor.
It is about being like a child, and it is a matter of status. Little children have no greatness. That is why Jesus says that whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest.
The preacher puts it this way: "The greatest are those who have given up on the idea of greatness." They have seen their vulnerability. They acknowledge their weakness. They are aware of how small they are. They know they are not in control of everything.
How can this change happen? As with every other quality the Bible encourages, humility comes from our understanding of Jesus and of what he does. Hence the full formula: "The greatest are those who have given up on the idea of greatness because they have known Jesus, the greatest of all time."

4. First Step: Rely on Jesus to Enter the Kingdom

A little child can do nothing by himself. The children in the church do not provide their own homes or their own meals. Their parents have to feed them, dress them, and even wash them. They are constantly in need and depend on others. The same is true for us when we enter the kingdom of heaven.
Martin Hull brings up the hymn "Rock of Ages," written by Augustus Toplady. This hymn describes how, as a young man of sixteen, he understood what Jesus had done for him on the cross and that he had to rely entirely on him to enter the kingdom. One verse says: "Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling; naked, come to thee for dress; helpless, look to thee for grace; foul, I to the fountain fly; wash me, Saviour, or I die."
The preacher comments on two of these images: naked, like a little child who comes to Mum and Dad in the morning to be dressed; washed, like a little child who needs to be washed. From beginning to end, these are the words of someone who relies on Jesus and on his greatness.
None of this comes easily to us. We do not like depending on others: it clashes with our self-confidence and our greatness. Martin Hull tells how he never liked going to ask his neighbors for something. In the early years of his marriage, his wife, who has since died, would sometimes prepare the Sunday meal on Saturday evening and realize around 8:30 p.m. that there were no eggs for the Yorkshire pudding or no sugar for the rice pudding. Nothing was open near their home. He was then sent to knock on the door of the neighbors across the road to beg for two eggs or a cup of sugar, and he hated it. What a relief when a supermarket opened not far from home!
Why was it so painful? "It made me feel like a child again, dependent, having to rely on others." Yet that is exactly how we enter the kingdom of heaven. "You cannot go to the supermarket and buy salvation off a shelf." We have to come to Jesus like little children receiving a gift.

5. Second Step: Rejoice in Jesus Every Day

Relying on what Jesus has done for us is not a one-time act, but an ongoing reality, day after day.
Most of our relationships require us to prove ourselves. At work, there is the quarterly, six-monthly or annual review, and everyone has to be told what you do and what you achieve. Among friends, you have to be up to date on movies, music and sports news. At school, you need the right clothes, the right trainers, and not last year's. We live in a competitive society where people want to keep up with the neighbors and keep up appearances.
In the kingdom of heaven, we are dealing with Jesus. He knows everything about us, and yet he loves us. We do not have to wear ourselves out trying to impress him. Martin Hull takes up a saying: "He loves us not because we are lovable, but because he's loving." This is good news we can rejoice in every day.
But this joy will be constantly under threat. We will have to work day after day at reminding ourselves: "I cannot impress this man, Jesus. I simply rely on him, day after day, rejoicing in his forgiveness, his love and his grace toward me."

6. Brownlow North's Letter

To illustrate this, the preacher tells the story of Brownlow North, a Briton who lived about a hundred and fifty years ago. In his younger years he had led a terrible, reckless and dissipated life. As a young man, he became a believer. After a few years of Christian life, he sensed a call to ministry and presented himself to the church authorities, who invited him to come and lead a service.
Before he arrived, someone wrote to these authorities a letter detailing his past conduct. When he learned of it, he withdrew his candidacy. But in the following months, the Holy Spirit did a deep work in his heart and convinced him of Jesus' forgiveness. He felt called again, presented himself a second time, and was again invited to lead a service.
Another letter arrived, this time addressed directly to him, reminding him of the life he had led and of what he had done. As he read it, he was convicted in his heart. Would he back down again? No. He took the letter with him, went up into the pulpit and read it at the start of the service. Then he went on: "I am the man described here. It is a just description of me. But oh, how wonderful must be the grace that could touch me, cleanse me, raise me from such death in trespasses and sin, and make me what I appear before you tonight: a vessel of mercy, one who knows that all his past sins have been washed away by the atoning blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God."
Brownlow North became a remarkably powerful and effective evangelist in the United Kingdom. He could have been considered great in the kingdom of God. He rarely spoke about this letter, but he kept it on him as a constant reminder of who he was and of God's great grace toward him. Someone wrote that these reminders enabled him to "keep stepping down from his pedestal and to walk in humility before the Lord and before men."
The preacher asks the question: do we need something similar, a letter in a figurative sense, to remind us who we are and what we really are? This honest truth about ourselves keeps us rejoicing in Christ, day after day, and brings us down from our pedestal.

7. Third Step: Reflect Jesus in Our Lives

Finally, we reflect Jesus in our lives. He has accepted us: we accept others. He has forgiven us: we forgive others. He has poured out his love on us: we pour out our love on others.
Martin Hull recalls a line from a hymn the congregation sometimes sings, and was about to sing right after the message, "O Jesus, I have promised": "O let me see thy footmarks, and in them plant mine own."
He sums it up: the greatest in the kingdom are those who have given up on the idea of greatness because they have known Jesus, the greatest of all time. They rely on him, they rejoice in him and they reflect him in their lives day after day.
To conclude, he reads Philippians 2 and shows Jesus' greatness in the very way he gave up greatness: "Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant [...]. Therefore God has highly exalted him."
In his closing prayer, he acknowledges how hard the question of humility is, how hard it is to change the way we see ourselves and the way we see others. He asks that, as we look at Jesus, God would humble us and lead us to give up on the idea of greatness, in the church, in our relationships with other believers and with other communities, and that God would train us in righteousness through the gospel.

Key Takeaways

The kingdom of heaven has different rules from the world: the question "who is the greatest?" has no place in it.
Jesus does not ask us to be childish but to take the status of a little child: dependent, without greatness, aware of our smallness.
We enter the kingdom only by relying on Jesus. Salvation cannot be bought, it is received as a gift.
Jesus knows everything about you and loves you anyway: you do not have to impress him, you can rejoice in him every day.
The one who has been accepted, forgiven and loved accepts, forgives and loves in turn.

Personal Application

In what area of your church life do you catch yourself wondering who is the greatest, or wanting to be noticed?
What costs you the most about depending on others? What does that discomfort teach you about how you receive God's grace?
Before whom are you still trying to prove yourself? What would change for you if you knew that you cannot impress Jesus?
What would your "letter" be: what honest truth about yourself could keep you humble and grateful?
Whom do you need to accept, forgive or love this week, as Jesus has done for you?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Jesus ask us to be childish?

No. Martin Hull distinguishes between being childish and being like a child. Sudden tears, tantrums or food thrown on the floor have no place in the kingdom of heaven. What Jesus shows is the status of the little child: he has no greatness, he depends on others and he is aware of how small he is. The one who humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

How do we become humble according to Matthew 18:1-4?

For Martin Hull, as with every other quality the Bible encourages, humility comes from our understanding of Jesus and of what he has done. The greatest are those who have given up on the idea of greatness because they have known Jesus, the greatest of all time. This is lived out in three steps: relying on him to enter the kingdom, rejoicing in him every day and reflecting him in our lives.

Why did Brownlow North keep a letter that accused him?

The letter reminded Brownlow North of the life he had led before his conversion. He read it from the pulpit at the start of a service, declaring that it described him accurately and that grace had nonetheless cleansed him. He became a powerful evangelist in the United Kingdom and kept the letter on him: this reminder helped him step down from his pedestal and walk humbly before the Lord and before men.