Faith Like A Child
The Donut Dilemma
So I'd like for us to kick off this series with all of us sort of taking a mental vacation together, if you will. So imagine with me this morning—imagine this with me: you're walking through this busy, down this busy city street. You can pick whatever town you want, but all of a sudden you catch a whiff of something—it's just irresistible. And you stop right in your tracks. You're like, "Oh my, what is that?" And your nose, it just stops you right where you are. It just guides you right down the block. I'm picturing like Looney Tunes where they smell a pie in the window and they levitate and just float on over.
And you arrive at this just heavenly bakery. And so you peer in through the window now that you're there, and you see it. There it is—it's the ultimate donut. The glaze is just glistening in the morning sun that's coming in through the window. And you're not positive, but if it was possible for a donut to wink, it may have just done it.
Now, even if you have a superhuman iron will, we need to be real here for a second—you're human, and that donut is staring you right in the eyes, and your taste buds, they've already packed up their suitcases going to Flavor Town. And you want that donut.
The Inner Battle
So your inner monologue, it's just starting up, right? You think, "Oh hey, you know what? You've been eating so well. You're even on vacation and you're walking in the morning—like look at you, you're an animal. You deserve this. And what's a single donut going to hurt anyway? Just take it. Like why? You're overthinking it. You always overthink it."
And then another thought: "Okay, well no, remember your goals. Remember how great you've been doing. Remember the commitment that you made. What if that donut leads to another one? What if it leads to two more? Is that worth it?"
Then the other voice says, "No, it couldn't do that. Look at it—little old donut like that. It doesn't want to hurt me. It loves me."
And you're a weirdo. But there you are regardless, caught in the donut dilemma. It's like this mini epic playing out right in front of this random bakery window.
A Universal Plot Line
And you're not alone, because every person who has ever had this sort of inner battle between what you desire because, well, because you want it, and what you know that you maybe should or shouldn't do—but that battle between those things—they're standing right there with you. Every person has ever experienced that.
That's because the donut dilemma, it's more than just a funny, fun little story to kick off this sermon or this sermon series. But it's a universal plot line. Because it doesn't matter if you're in a bustling city or if you live in the suburbs or if you're on vacation on like a serene, solitary beach—when temptation like that knocks, it can feel like it just has the master key to open up whatever doors that we tried to shut in front of it.
So the only difference then is our response. And so as we dive into our text today, let's keep this illustration in mind because we're going to be exploring an exchange between Jesus and his disciples in which we're going to find really just true wisdom. It's a roadmap for navigating all those debates that we've had with ourselves on this allure of something that we know might not be the best choice when that's shining bright and glistening in the sun. Simply put, when our temptations—dealing with our temptations that stem from our own selfish desires.
The Scripture: Matthew 18:1-9
So if you'll read with me, let's start in Matthew 18, and we'll read our whole text for today and then we'll break it down later. So read with me in verses 1-9. I'm going to be reading out of the ESV version. It'll be on the screen as well.
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes. And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire."
Setting the Context
Now, I just want to pause just for a second and say that as we're reading through, if you're reading through Matthew and you get to chapter 18, this account of the disciples' question and this conversation—it could feel kind of a little bit abrupt, kind of just out of left field.
See, the previous chapter, chapter 17, it ends with a very different scene. So just to give you some context here—I encourage you to read this after the sermon today—but so what's happening at the end of chapter 17 is that Jesus, he once again predicts his death at the hands of religious enemies in Jerusalem. And then collectors of this annual two-drachma temple tax, they approach Peter and they ask if Jesus is going to pay the tax. So Jesus explains to Peter why he's exempt from paying the tax, but he says that he'll pay it to avoid just really like causing trouble over the issue. And so he commands Peter to pay the tax for them both by catching a fish in which he will find a coin sufficient for the tax. And it happens. And then boom—chapter 18. And we just kick off with this question. It seems like it seems a little bit out of left field.
The Argument Among the Disciples
But the wonderful thing is that we have other gospels that we can read to get context as well. And so we get that from the gospels of Mark and Luke.
So in Mark 9:33, we get some context around this. It says, "And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, 'What were you discussing on the way?' This is Jesus asking the disciples. But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest." So there's a little more—they're heading to Capernaum and the disciples, they're arguing along the way about who's the greatest leading up to this question.
Then in Luke 9:46, it says, "An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest."
Can you imagine? These great men of God, these men that were chosen specifically by Jesus, they're spending time with him, they're praying, they're seeing him preach and teach and do miracles, and they themselves have done miracles—these wonderful men of God. And what's the topic of their discussion? "Oh, I'm the greatest in the kingdom." Like, "You? Me? See the difference? You? Me? I'm the greatest in the kingdom."
The "Me Monster"
I'm reminded of this great theologian—oh no, wait—comedian Brian Regan, who says, "Beware the me monster."
See, could you imagine if Peter were to chime in here, what he could have said on this if we had this whole conversation? He could have said stuff like, "You guys are nuts. Okay, here's a question for all of you. Out of all of us, who walked on water? Oh, Jesus and just me. Okay, who here saw the Transfiguration? Oh, okay, I see James and John's hands go up, but oh, also me. Here's one: who here did Jesus say, 'Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah'? Who do you say that to? Oh, it was just me. Oh, and lastly, don't forget that Jesus just paid my taxes, not yours. There. So top that. From a fish, by the way."
But see, the point is that these guys, they were having this full-blown argument on who is to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And it's also a glimpse into the very human nature that we all share—a struggle for recognition and pecking order that it really just transcends across time and culture. And there's not always the unity and the harmony that we would like to experience in life, be that in the church, be that in our workplace, in our friendships, in our families, or in our marriages.
And you know, I believe that the message of Matthew 18, it's a message that is incredibly relevant for the church today.
Jesus' Teaching on True Greatness
And so Jesus, he begins to teach them what it means to be great in the kingdom of heaven. So let's break down this whole passage and let's reread verses 1-4 again.
"At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, 'Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'"
One Word: Humility
See, in these first opening verses of Matthew 18, this is the point that Jesus is wanting to drive home. One word: humility.
And so let's continue just a little longer through verse 6. So verses 4 through 6 say:
"Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."
The Child in Their Midst
And so again, Jesus, he's getting this question from them. And again, our context—they're just arguing amongst themselves on the way to Capernaum, and Jesus asked them when they arrive at the house, "Hey, what were y'all talking about on the way? What was going on? What was your conversation?" They don't answer at first, and they basically just say, "Well, we want you to tell us who's going to be the greatest in your kingdom."
See, I also want to note that the disciples, they don't have—they don't for a second show any sort of disbelief that the kingdom's coming. They fully believe that the kingdom could be coming any day. But again, that question: "We want you to tell us who's going to be the greatest in your kingdom."
And you know, it's at this question that we don't really get a response from Jesus immediately, right? He doesn't give this verbal response just right away and just flat out answer their question. He has a little bit different of a tactic. And so he calls this little child over.
I think it's also really amazing and so easily overlooked in passages like this how children just weren't afraid to come to Jesus, right? I think of how many kids are crying in line to see Santa, and then their parents get this picture of them screaming with this man in a red suit and a white beard. But it's not the case with Jesus. They welcome—he welcomes them gladly. The problem wasn't the kids coming to see Jesus. So often the problem was rather getting the disciples to allow the children to come to see Jesus.
The Dichotomy of Greatness vs. Entry
So the child comes to him and he sets him right there in their midst. And he basically says, "Listen, you guys were telling me that on the way over here you were talking about who's going to be the greatest in the kingdom. How about this? Maybe you should be concerned with even getting in the kingdom. Because unless you become like this little child..."
Well, see, there's this amazing dichotomy that we see playing out here where Jesus is basically saying, "You all are worried about greatness in the kingdom when you should be humbling yourselves to even get in the kingdom."
Again, that phrase "unless you turn and become like children." And Jesus isn't talking about some sort of reversion to childhood. That's not what he's saying. And I believe it's important that as Christians that we grow in grace and in knowledge and maturity in the Lord and in our faith. But there are those traits that children have that are wonderful things for us to also have as believers: that simplicity, that sincerity, that trust, that dependence—total dependence upon the Lord.
A Question for Reflection
So here's a question: Are you living a life in which you just trust the Lord? Can be an easy question—you could have just answered it right then. But really think about it. Are you living a life in which you just trust God?
The Wisdom of Sincerity
There's another word that I love from that list. It's this word sincerity—the sincerity that children have. Sincere. And so that word, it comes from the Latin word sincerus, meaning free from pretense or falsehood, or put like in modern language for us, there's no phoniness. That's three years of AP Latin now coming into use in high school.
But they're just honest with you. Notice how I didn't say nice—I said honest. See, a kid, they'll just walk up to you and say something like, "Why does your nose look like that?" Or like, "What happened to your hair?" And you mean like how it looks? "Like no, where is it going?"
Jack Johnson's Story
I'm also reminded of a story I heard the musician Jack Johnson tell in an interview when he would write a new song. He would first play it for his young son and he'd have him invite his elementary school friends over and he'd play it for them because he said that that was like the only way that he would just get actually honest feedback. No one telling him what he wanted to hear. Instead, he said there'd be times they'd be like, "That song sounds bad." He's like, "Oh, which part?" "The song."
The Wisdom of Children
Again, honest. In fact, I found a list online that I was reading preparing for today. So-called, I think the title of it was "Kids' Instructions on Life." I'd like to share a few of those with you. We'll call this like the wisdom of children, if you will. So these are the quotes from these kids on this list that I read:
Heather, age 16, shares this: "When your dad is mad and asks you, 'Do you think I'm stupid?' just don't answer."
Joel, age 12, says: "Don't pick on your sister when she's holding a baseball bat." Accurate.
Laura, age 13: "Never try to baptize a cat." Sounds like there's a story there.
Matthew, age 12, says: "When you want something expensive, ask your grandparents."
Patrick, age 10, says: "Never trust a dog to watch your food."
And then potentially the most true, Michael, age 14: "Never tell your mom her diet's not working."
But again, there's just this simplicity, this honesty in children that we should have in regards to our trust in the Lord—this trusting completely, dependent.
The Root of Pride
Because really, in the context of our verses today, Jesus—and he'll build upon this later in the chapter—but for today, this example of this child, it's just this wonderful example of true discipleship. And really it's a fantastic model for how we should treat others.
Because let's not lose sight of what's going on here. The disciples, their question—it indicates that they in this moment, they're all about status that stems from pride, from selfishness.
Because I'll tell you, pride, it's a slippery slope. It's real sneaky. You might be thinking, "Oh, I don't have pride in my life. I'm good on that front." That's pride. But it rears its head with other thoughts like: "I'm not going to ask anybody else for help." What would that full sentence be? "Oh, I'm too proud to ask somebody else for help." Or "I'm too proud to let someone get away with saying that to me." Or "I'm not working that job—that job is beneath me."
See, pride is often at the root of many of our mistakes.
Pride vs. Humility
I recently came across a quote that encapsulates this contrast between pride and humility beautifully. Zac Poonen, who's a respected pastor from India, he once said this: "Sin came through the pride of Lucifer, and salvation through the humility of Jesus."
So the battle—this battle between pride and our selfish desires and its conflict with humility—it's nothing new. As we wrestle with it, we're really given this really sobering reminder in verses 5 and 6 right from Jesus:
"Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."
I mean, I'll tell you, I love this section because what we get is the disciples asking their question, "Who's the greatest?" And Jesus is saying, "You don't need to be concerned with who's the greatest. You need to be concerned with having the humility to even get in, to expand on that, to be like this child in the way that you trust and love me. Oh, and by the way, whoever causes someone with this kind of faith who believes in me like this to stumble, you'd rather have a millstone fastened around your neck and to be drowned in the sea."
I mean, oh man, if I was holding a mic, I'd drop it right.
The Perfect Response
Do you ever like leave an argument or a situation or something, and you're in the car five minutes after and you think like, "Oh, that's what I should have said"? I mean, Jesus said it then—didn't have to do that. Because his words, they pack really this unmistakable punch.
Our Grave Responsibility
Because in these very few—really few short words—I mean, we're six verses into chapter 18—and so in these really few words, he's highlighting this grave responsibility that we have. And not only to preserve the childlike faith within ourselves, but to nurture and to protect it in others.
And believe me, that's way easier said than done. Because our personal desires and actions, if they're driven by a selfish ambition or pride, we can very, very easily mislead others, right? Just like a child might watch someone who's older than them—might watch an elder—newer believers, I'm sorry, as a child might watch an elder and then follow what they're doing, newer believers or those with wavering faith or those in a vulnerable place in their lives, they could look to you for guidance. And so if we're driven by ego or by self-interest, we can also inadvertently become that stumbling block that Jesus warns against right.
Examples of Stumbling Blocks
Here's some examples. Imagine this: let's say that you're fasting—this personal decision between you and God—but every time you're with your friends, you just make it a point to mention, "Oh, how hungry you are," right? Where does that stem from? Is it from seeking validation? Is it from maybe seeking admiration or sympathy? Even if it's any of those things, then it immediately becomes less about the spiritual discipline of drawing closer to God, and it becomes more about attention.
And what's that communicating to others? I think there's a lot of things that it says, but I can tell you this: a personal desire for attention, it can easily become a stumbling block for another.
Let's take another example. If you're just—we all face life's challenges—and if every time adversity strikes, if we react with anger or blame or even just total despair, what is that communicating to others? We might again inadvertently be communicating that, well, our faith can be fragile, that it doesn't really provide any strength in trying times. So our responses, if they're governed by selfish desire—again, to avoid total discomfort or any challenges—can skew someone else's perception of what faith truly means, of what it truly is.
Your Personal Walk Matters
Or in short, your personal walk with Christ matters. Your personal holiness matters. I think John Owen said it wonderfully. He has a wonderful quote that says, "Be killing sin or it will be killing you."
How to Kill Sin
So how do we go about killing sin? Jesus answers that in verses 7 and 9. If you read with me, it says:
"Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes. And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire."
What This Means for the Body
So what's this saying? It's saying that what we do with our hand, our foot, our eye—personal parts of our body—can affect other believers. That's what Jesus is teaching here. See, how you see things—your eye—can affect how others see. What you do—your hand—can affect what others do. Your walk—how you walk, the foot—can affect how others will also walk.
Ephesians 4:25 says, "Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another."
What Are You Glorifying?
And I once heard a close friend of mine, Pete Wells, he said this in a conversation, and it really stuck with me. He said, "What is it that you were glorifying? Because everything you do is glorifying something."
I think that's incredibly insightful. And see, our actions, our guarding of ourselves—it's not just guarding ourselves. It's also guarding all of—guarding the herd, of guarding the flock.
Immediate, Decisive, Absolute
And so you notice that Jesus' instructions for handling sin, it's also—it's not half repentant. It's not this phrase that we get to say of like, "Oh well, Lord, you can have—instead of taking the whole hand, I'll give you, I don't know, you can have the ring finger and the pinky, but I'm keeping these ones. I'm keeping the other three."
It's not half repentant, and it's not gradual either. It's not, "Okay, Lord, this week I'll give my right hand, but I'm going to wait a week longer to give the left one."
No, the action he's talking about—it's immediate, it's decisive, it's absolute. And that's how he tells us to handle sin in our lives.
The Pain of Change
And if just going around lopping off body parts sounds painful, that's because it is. Let me ask you this: Have you ever started a new habit that would be good for you? Dieting—it's impossible. Exercising. See, dieting. Flossing—it's the last time the dentist did it.
Now, how about breaking a sinful habit? Because that's usually so much harder than doing something that's good for you. Yet again, if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. One word: ouch.
Expanding Beyond Sexual Immorality
See, Jesus, he talked this way a little bit earlier in Matthew as well, in the Sermon on the Mount. He did it in regards to sexual immorality. But here he expands it to every imaginable sin, right?
We have these questions of like: Are you searching for power? Do you rush right away into judgment? Do you easily lose your temper? Do you overstuff your stomach? Do you gossip? Are you just totally unwise with your money, or do you just hoard it all and you need all the money? Do you think yourself so very, very important? Maybe you consider yourself the most humble of anyone—it's also pride.
But cut it off. Cut it out. And so he's saying to us: Cut off pride. Cut off lust. Cut off sloth, anger, greed. Cut off envy and cut off gluttony. Cut off those seven deadly sins and 70 more.
The Stakes Are High
It's better for you to have to enter into eternal life with one eye, a foot, and a hand than to have all those things and not be following Christ. And not only that, but because if we don't do that, then we could also cause the little ones or some of our dear brothers and sisters in Christ to also stumble.
Returning to the Donut
So I want us to think back to that donut that we talked about earlier—not just as a fleeting temptation, but really as a symbol of the desires that we all navigate. See, its sugary glaze does little more than to just mask the emptiness that's inside, much like the facade of recognition or of pride or of gluttony—you name it.
Those things that we often chase, they promise sweetness, they promise wonderful things, and it may seem like that it delivers it momentarily. But then what happens? Every time you're left hungering for more. That's so reminiscent of our own fleeting desires.
When on the other hand, our option is the sustaining and the genuine nourishment that our souls crave, which a relationship with Christ and to be following him with childlike humility and trust. See, that's a choice that although it can be difficult to make at times, it always leads to a deeper satisfaction.
This Week's Challenge
And so as we go into the week, I want to invite you to take a moment and to ask yourselves this:
What am I chasing? What do I desire? And what does God say about it?
Again: What am I chasing? What do I desire? And what does God say about it?
Closing Prayer
Let's pray.
Father, we thank you for your word and for the wisdom that it contains. And we also, we thank you for your son who died for our sins so that we can be forgiven. Lord, we ask that you forgive us and to help us have a better understanding of our own selfish desires and show us how to confront them in a way that honors you. And so thank you that we even can read this passage and talk about it, and thank you for the encouragement that it offers. In Jesus' name, amen.
Communion
And so now as we enter into a time of communion, if you haven't grabbed the elements yet, they're at both sides of the sanctuary. You can feel free to grab—get up and go grab one.
But as you do that, let's take a moment to reflect on our own struggles with temptation and areas in which we may not even realize that we have selfish desires. Let's also remember that it's not just the disciples who faced these challenges—it's something that all of us wrestle with. And really thank God that we can come here as a community of believers and that we can walk through that together.
But more importantly, we can be thankful and rejoice that we have a savior who walks with us and who understands and who empathizes and who offers us a way out—a path of humility, of love, and redemption through his grace and forgiveness.
So let's pray, and then you can take of the elements.
Heavenly Father, our hearts, they're filled with gratitude for the sacrifice of your son Jesus Christ. And in the face of our struggles and weakness, we thank you that we can find strength in your mercy and in your grace, and for your atonement for us on the cross. So as we take these elements, may they remind us of the cost of our redemption and inspire us to live for you and to worship you. In Jesus' name, amen.
