Matthew 18:1 - 5

As a Small Child

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them,

3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.

The disciples still thought of “the kingdom” as being a physical government, not a spiritual one. Thus it was natural for them to wonder who would be the ranking members of this new government.

The small child which Jesus calls to Him is not a baby but one old enough to have some traits of character. He is using the traits of a young child to show the type of attitude a follower of Jesus needs to have to be successful in the kingdom of heaven (church).

To be converted means to be changed, the attitudes of the adults who believe in Jesus needs to be changed to where the desire for greatness is replaced with the desire to learn and serve in the kingdom, instead of wanting to be at the top, it is better to have the feeling of being at the bottom to serve the others in the kingdom.

A small child does not need to become a member of the kingdom because a small child does not have sin. But the adult who believes, is baptized to wash away the sins, and repents of the sins needs to become humble as a small child and willing to learn from God's word the true way to live the life of a Christian.

Receiving a one as a small child means to be friendly and show hospitality to this humble character, it is done in the name of Christ because he is a humble follower of Christ and is trying to live his life following the teaching of Jesus.