Matthew 18:10-14

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Introduction

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

As a point of review, I just want to remind us, again, that chapter 18’s focus is on how we are to treat one another within the context of the church. And that when Jesus speaks of ‘little ones’, ‘little children’, or the ‘least of these’ he’s referring to his disciples. So at first, Jesus tells his disciples that whoever receives one such child, in his name, receives him; that to receive Jesus’ disciples is to receive him. However, if anyone were to cause one of his little ones, who believe in him, to sin, that it would be better for that person to have a great millstone fastened around their neck and drowned in the sea. Jesus reminds his disciples of the danger of sin, the danger that it presents to themselves and that it presents to the church. That their mindset ought to be to protect one another from sin.
And we also looked at Matthew 25, verse 40, after Jesus told his disciples that on the last day, the day of judgement, when he separates the sheep from the goats, his disciples from unbelievers, that he will use how we treated his people as a litmus test for how we treated him, as a litmus test for whether our profession of faith is genuine. This is why this chapter is so important, because how we treat one another within the church is a key indicator of the genuineness of our faith. If you remember anything from Matthew chapter 18, after we’re finished, remember this, that Jesus cares deeply for his disciples, and cares deeply how they’re treated.

Do not despise one of these little ones

And so it is here today, in verses 10-14, Jesus continues building upon this idea of how deeply he cares for his little ones and how vital it is for us to love one another as Jesus loves us. Read again there in verse 10,

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones.” Now, if there’s any verse within chapter 18 that connects best with the the event that started this entire discourse, it’s probably here. If you recall, back in verse 1, when the disciples are following Jesus on their way back to Capernaum they had this little argument amongst themselves about who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And apparently they didn’t include Jesus in on this conversation, because Jesus had to pry it out of them when they got back to the house, so they sheepishly approach him and ask, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
And of course, without even reading ahead, we know this probably isn’t going to go well - right?. It’s hard to imagine they don’t already know this was an incredibly arrogant thing to ask, and even argue about. So Jesus gives them this object lesson, about a child that he puts on his lap, and says that unless they’re willing to humble themselves like this little child, they’ll never enter the kingdom of heaven, that they must be willing to assume the lowest of status, like that of a child, if they intend to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
So this entire discourse in chapter 18 begins because of their pride and arrogance. So it’s fitting that Jesus uses this as an opportune time to nip this in the bud, to stop this type of thinking dead in its tracks, because he knows that such pride will ultimately destroy the church. In fact, you might say that all of the behaviors mentioned in chapter 18 that Jesus condemns would typically find their root in the very same pride that was behind the disciple’s question in the beginning.
And here, in verse 10, it’s particularly clear. Jesus says to them, “see that you do not despise one of these little ones.” The definition for the word ‘disdain’ from the Oxford Dictionary is this, “the feeling that someone or something is unworthy of one's consideration or respect.” This is exactly what pride breeds, it breeds disdain, it breeds a feeling superiority, it breeds disrespect. John Calvin once wrote that “pride is the mother of disdain.” So the pride that was behind the disciple’s question in verse 1 would ultimately lead to a sense of superiority that would lead them to despise Jesus’ little ones. So Jesus tells them that they must not despise one of his little ones.

Their angels

Then he really lays it on in the second part of verse 10, “for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” In other words, their are angels in heaven, where they behold the face of God, and who charged with protecting God’s little ones, so don’t mess with his little children. John Calvin comments here that “it would be strange indeed that a mortal man should despise, or treat as of no account, those whom God holds in such high esteem.” (Matthew Commentary, Calvin, p. 338)
Jesus’ emphasis here is upon how much his Father in heaven cares for these little ones, so be careful not to despise them, because God certainly doesn’t, instead he cares for them dearly and he loves them fiercely.

Example

I’ve said on more than one occasion to some of children over the years when they’ve mistreated their mother to “watch out how they treat my wife!” I remind them that my love for my wife is fierce, and that when they mistreat their mother they’re mistreating their father’s wife, someone with whom I care about more than any other person on this earth. That to mistreat her is to mistreat me. It’s the same kind of argument Jesus makes here in this text, and throughout chapter 18. The grounds for how we treat one another is found in God’s own love for his people, and if we claim to love God then we must also love those whom God loves. We must love one another.

Parable of the lost sheep

And then in verses 12-14 Jesus uses an illustration to drive home just how much his Father cares for his little ones. He says,

12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

Now, the first thing I want to point out is that this parable does not have a parallel account recorded for us in any of the of other Gospels. However, Jesus does use this same illustration in Luke 15 to make a different point. The audience is different (he’s responding to the Pharisees) and his analogy is different. There his point is concerning evangelism, but here his point is about the shepherding of his disciples.

Jesus’ commitment to his disciples

In Matthew 18 Jesus is illustrating the commitment he has to his disciples - how he cares for them. That even if one of them were to go astray that he’ll leave the rest behind find the one. Now, this isn’t intended to mean that somehow God abandons his other disciples, that would be taking the parable to mean something it wasn’t intended to teach. God is omnipresent, he’s everywhere at all times, his presence isn’t temporal or constrained/limited by time and space. The point here is that God will do whatever is necessary to track down even one of his sheep.
He also says that,

13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.

Here, again, the parable is intended to highlight God’s unwavering commitment to every single disciple, that he’s not willing to lose even one! “The parable reinforces the message that the one matters just as much as the many.” (Matthew Commentary, R.T. France, p. 685) Now, the rejoicing over the one isn’t intended to be at the expense of the 99, but, again, to highlight God’s commitment to every single disciple.
I’m reminded of the famous story of the prodigal son, when the son who has gone astray returns to his father, and his father rejoices! He even throws a celebration in honor of his son’s return. However, the brother becomes jealous and grumbles against him, but their father says,

‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”

This is the kind of joy that God has when one of his little ones has been found after going astray.

That none should perish

Then Jesus wraps up the parable there in verse 14,

14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

I think what I love most about this verse is how many other verses it reminds me of. The imagery of Jesus as a shepherd is everywhere in the Gospels. It’s one of the most well known analogies describing who Jesus is and of his love toward his people.

Ezekiel 34

However, this imagery finds its origin in the OT. In fact, many scholars believe that Ezekiel 34 is where much of this NT teaching comes from. So if you would, turn with me back to Ezekiel 34, and we’ll read the first 16 verses of that chapter. I want you to notice the parallels of what we’ve read here in Matthew and what the prophet Ezekiel writes,

Prophecy Against the Shepherds of Israel

34 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? 3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; 6 they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.

7 “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 8 As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 10 Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

The Lord GOD Will Seek Them Out

11 “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

This is how God feels about his people. This is the fierce love that he has for us. It’s dumbfounding really, and it ought to bring us comfort, and embolden us in this life, that he’ll seek us out when we go astray, that God is not willing that any of us should perish.

Not willing that any should perish

In fact, the Apostle Peter highlights this reality in his second letter to the church. Turn with me to 2 Peter 3:8-9,

8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

What Peter is saying, is that God is patient, not slow to fulfill his promise as some claim, but patient that none of his elect (none of his little ones) should perish. He will not return until all of his sheep have been gathered in, and he is not willing that any of them should perish. This is the same unfailing love God has toward his little ones in Matthew 18, that if any of them go astray, that he is not willing that any of them should perish, that he’ll go out and find them.

That I lose nothing (John 6, 10, 17)

Listen also to Jesus in the Gospel according to John. John 6:39-40 says,

39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Or later in John 10:27-30,

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

Or in Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17:6-12, this text may be the most spectacular of them all, and we’ll end on this text,

6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

Prayer

Lord, we are in awe of your love toward us. We find such great comfort that you will not let even one of us go astray and perish, that you will always bring us back. Help us not to despise any of your little ones (our brothers), rather compel us to love one another as you have loved us. Help us not to become complacent in doing good to one another. May we spur one another on to love and good deeds. Let us not turn a blind eye or close our hearts to our brother in need. Let us not forget that how we treat your body is, in turn, how we treat you. May your Holy Spirit pour the love of God into our hearts that we might love one another as we should.
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