1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
2He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.
3And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
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4Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
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"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.- P131
8If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, 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.- P131
The disciples ask Jesus who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Jesuscalls a child and says they must become like children to enter the kingdom.
Whoever welcomes a child in Jesus‘ name welcomes Jesus Himself. He thengives a stern warning against causing little ones to stumble and tells Hisdisciples to remove the things that cause them to sin.- P131
The disciples’ question about the greatest person in the kingdom of heaven reveals their concern for personal status and glory, but that is not the way of the kingdom of God. To make His point, Jesus focuses on little children, who were considered among the least important during Jesus’ time. - P132
We are to be like humble and dependent children, acknowledging our absolute need for our heavenly Father. We are not to trust in our own strength or abilities but in God alone. - P132
Humility prevents us from looking down on others and encourages us to value all people; we begin to look more like Jesus, our humble King, reflecting true greatness in God’s eyes- P132
A millstone is a heavy, wheel-shaped stone tied to a pole that a donkeyturns to crush grain into flour. Imagine such a massive stone being tiedaround our necks! Jesus uses this extreme imagery to talk about the severityof leading innocent and inexperienced believers astray. The world certainlyhas many things that cause people to stumble, but we must not add to it.
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We are to take any and all sin seriously and go to great lengths to ensure thatit does not overtake other areas of our life. If we are aware of the severity ofsin, then we will seek to completely eliminate it from our lives and makesure that others are not influenced by it.- P132
"The devil disturbs the church as much by error as by evil. When he cannot enticeChristian people into sin, he deceives them with false doctrine." - John Stott- P132
Dear God, oh how I need You! I acknowledge my full dependence on You and refuse to trust in my greatest strengths. I ask that You help me take sin as seriously as You do for myself and for those around me. In Jesus’ name, amen.- P133
It is a privilege to know the truth of the gospel,
and we must ensure that we are taking Jesus‘ words seriously as we seek tolead others in the path of righteousness.- P133
