33
And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it
that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? 34 But they held their peace: for
by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. 35
And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire
to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. 36 And he took
a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his
arms, he said unto them, 37 Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my
name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him
that sent me.
Remember,
Jesus is talking to beard wearing, pork abstaining, Sabbath observing, temple
going Jews, who are not born again by believing in His resurrection, which
hasn’t taken place yet.
Matthew
18:1 ¶ At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2 And Jesus called a little child unto him,
and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye
be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the
kingdom of heaven. 4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little
child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoso shall receive
one such little child in my name receiveth me. 6 But whoso shall offend one of
these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone
were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
A
spiritual application to Christians in the Church Age would be quite obvious.
Remember, any verse from any dispensation that does not contradict the Church
Age letters is doctrinal for us. Otherwise, it is in type for us, an
allegorical application is necessary. Remember what I have said about the
verses about invading the land of Canaan and how you aren’t called to kill
anyone for God, however, you do have sins that are squatters in the Promised
Land that God has given to you.
So,
that any preacher applying these verses to you is not wrong. But, if he were to
say that you get into heaven by receiving a child in Christ’s name, he would be
in error; that if you received a child in Christ’s name you received Christ.
We
are to humble ourselves like a little child is humble by virtue of his or her
weakness and inability to comprehend great things. Christ prefers in us the
simplicity, the simple trust of a child. With the way Christ views children
would it surprise us, I wonder, if we are all children in heaven? The answer to
who would be the greatest is who would be the most trusting of Christ in
simplicity and without guile, like a child.
Another
lesson on children is coming up in chapter ten.
In
addition, there are few greater ministries than caring for children and
teaching them the word of God. A Christian is given children for a purpose that
a heathen is not, to teach and instruct, to raise in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord. If you are neglecting that don’t be surprised if God doesn’t take
your child away. There are many ways to lose a child, but one of the most
disheartening is to lose them to the world. When they adopt the
self-destructive passions, the vile entertainments, the vain ambitions, and the
empty values of the world you know you have truly failed.
38
And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy
name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.
39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle
in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. 40 For he that is not against us
is on our part.
Hustlers
like Benny Hinn and Oral Roberts will use a passage such as this to “prove”
that they are working by the power of the Holy Spirit rather than by the spirit
of Satan. Men don’t do miracles in this age. Christ performs miracles at His
will and choosing through specific men at specific times but not like in the
age of the Apostles. We have our miracle in a perfectly preserved Bible,
without proven error.
Let
me say it again, there is no man in this age who has the power of the Holy
Spirit residing on him continually, day in and day out, to heal miraculously,
to speak in foreign languages in which he has not been trained, or to raise the
dead. God can and will use individuals from time to time to accomplish such
things but those who make hundreds of millions of dollars from people who are
desperate and fearful are wicked, evil men who are doing lying wonders and
false signs of Satan.
Who
was this man who was not part of Jesus’ company that was casting out devils in
His name? Matthew Henry reported that some thought he may have been a disciple
of John the Baptist who believed Jesus was the Messiah. He reports that others
assumed there may have been many like this that were not part of Jesus’ inner
circle but believed in Him and were given power as a result.
I am
reminded of this passage in the Old Testament.
Numbers
11: 27 And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do
prophesy in the camp. 28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one
of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. 29 And Moses
said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD’S people
were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!
Let
us not imagine that all things being equal and their doctrine is true and
correct that there are not others out doing the work of Christ who are not part
of our own assembly. In heaven there are no Baptists, Methodists,
Presbyterians, or any other denomination or faith tradition; only those who
have trusted Christ and have been set apart for His purpose.
There
are churches that state quite emphatically to a newly saved person that if they
are truly saved that person will soon be attending that church. These verses
would imply that that church could very well be in error. Remember, Philip did
not hang around to tell the Ethiopian eunuch who he should hang out with to get
the best preaching (Acts 8:26-40).
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