The same road where the disciples had just been arguing in secret about who deserved the highest rank in the coming kingdom ends at a little child set in the middle of them, a warning about millstones and severed hands, a shepherd who leaves ninety-nine sheep to find one, and a parable about a servant forgiven an unpayable debt who could not bring himself to forgive a small one.
A study in Matthew 18 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 27 min read
Except Ye Be Converted, And Become As Little Children
“At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
Matthew 18:1
This site’s own study of Matthew 17 already caught the disciples disputing this very question in secret on the road to Capernaum, while Jesus walked ahead of them grieving over His own coming death. Now the question comes out into the open, and Jesus traces it to a root far older and darker than simple ambition.
“‘If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.’ … The strife for the highest place was the outworking of that same spirit which was the beginning of the great controversy in the worlds above, and which had brought Christ from heaven to die. There rose up before Him a vision of Lucifer, the ‘son of the morning,’ in glory surpassing all the angels that surround the throne, and united in closest ties to the Son of God. Lucifer had said, ‘I will be like the Most High’ (Isaiah 14:12, 14); and the desire for self-exaltation had brought strife into the heavenly courts, and had banished a multitude of the hosts of God.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 435
Jesus does not answer the question the disciples actually asked. He answers the question underneath it, and He does it with a visual aid no argument could have supplied.
“And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 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. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18:2-4
“Calling a little child to Him, Jesus set him in the midst of them; then tenderly folding the little one in His arms He said, ‘Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.’ The simplicity, the self-forgetfulness, and the confiding love of a little child are the attributes that Heaven values. These are the characteristics of real greatness.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 437
A child has no rank to defend and no reputation to protect, which is exactly why Jesus chose one to stand at the center of an argument about rank and reputation. What follows is among the sternest warnings in any of these Gospel chapters, aimed at anyone who would harm that kind of unguarded trust.
“And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. 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.”
Matthew 18:5-6
“Rather than for one to do this, said Jesus, ‘it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.’”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 438
“These little ones” is not limited to children in years; it names every believer whose faith is new, simple, and easily bruised — exactly the kind of soul a proud, self-seeking disciple is most likely to wound without ever meaning to.
It Must Needs Be That Offences Come
“Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.”
Matthew 18:7-9
Jesus is not recommending literal amputation; He is measuring, in the starkest terms available, how seriously He takes anything in a believer’s own life that causes another soul to stumble.
“Why this earnest language, than which none can be stronger? Because ‘the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.’ Shall His disciples show less regard for the souls of their fellow men than the Majesty of heaven has shown? Every soul has cost an infinite price, and how terrible is the sin of turning one soul away from Christ, so that for him the Saviour’s love and humiliation and agony shall have been in vain.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 438
Every soul carries the same infinite price tag, which is why Jesus turns immediately from the language of severity to the language of tenderness — heaven’s own eyes never leave the little ones this chapter has been defending.
“Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.”
Matthew 18:10-11
“Angels of glory, that do always behold the face of the Father in heaven, joy in ministering to His little ones. Trembling souls, who have many objectionable traits of character, are their special charge. Angels are ever present where they are most needed, with those who have the hardest battle with self to fight, and whose surroundings are the most discouraging. And in this ministry Christ’s true followers will co-operate.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 440
The parable that follows puts a face on exactly that kind of soul — not the ninety-nine who never wandered, but the one who did.
“How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.”
Matthew 18:12-14
“If one of these little ones shall be overcome, and commit a wrong against you, then it is your work to seek his restoration. Do not wait for him to make the first effort for reconciliation.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 440
The shepherd does not wait at home for the lost sheep to find its own way back. He goes looking — which is precisely the posture Jesus asks of every disciple toward a brother who has wandered.
Tell It Unto The Church
“Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.”
Matthew 18:15-17
“In the spirit of meekness, ‘considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted,’ (Galatians 6:1), go to the erring one, and ‘tell him his fault between thee and him alone.’ Do not put him to shame by exposing his fault to others, nor bring dishonor upon Christ by making public the sin or error of one who bears His name.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 440
Every step of this procedure is designed to keep the circle of people who know about a fault as small as possible for as long as possible, restoration always the goal and gossip never the method. Only after every private appeal has failed does the matter widen at all, and even then it widens for the sake of prayer, not publicity.
“Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Matthew 18:18-20
“You are acting as the ambassadors of heaven, and the issues of your work are for eternity. But we are not to bear this great responsibility alone. Wherever His word is obeyed with a sincere heart, there Christ abides. Not only is He present in the assemblies of the church, but wherever disciples, however few, meet in His name, there also He will be.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 442
“Two or three gathered together” is not a minimum threshold for God’s attention; it is a promise that no church is ever too small, and no believer ever too isolated, for Christ’s own presence to be fully there.
Until Seventy Times Seven
“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”
Matthew 18:21-22
Peter thought he was being generous. The rabbis of his day taught that three offenses exhausted a man’s duty to forgive; doubling that number and adding one more, to reach the number of perfection, must have felt like real magnanimity.
“The rabbis limited the exercise of forgiveness to three offenses. Peter, carrying out, as he supposed, the teaching of Christ, thought to extend it to seven, the number signifying perfection. But Christ taught that we are never to become weary of forgiving. Not ‘Until seven times,’ He said, ‘but, Until seventy times seven.’”
Ellen G. White · Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 243
Four hundred and ninety is not a ceiling to reach and then stop; it is Christ’s own way of saying the count should never be kept in the first place. The parable that follows explains why.
“Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.”
Matthew 18:23-27
“The pardon granted by this king represents a divine forgiveness of all sin. Christ is represented by the king, who, moved with compassion, forgave the debt of his servant. Man was under the condemnation of the broken law. He could not save himself, and for this reason Christ came to this world, clothed His divinity with humanity, and gave His life, the just for the unjust. He gave Himself for our sins, and to every soul He freely offers the blood-bought pardon.”
Ellen G. White · Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 244
Ten thousand talents was not an exaggeration for dramatic effect; it was roughly the annual tax revenue of an entire province — a debt no servant could ever hope to work off, forgiven in a single sentence. What that same servant does next is the whole point of the parable.
“But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.”
Matthew 18:28-31
“They do not accept the grace of God as a free gift, but are trying to build themselves up in self-righteousness. Their own hearts are not broken and humbled on account of sin, and they are exacting and unforgiving toward others. Their own sins against God, compared with their brother’s sins against them, are as ten thousand talents to one hundred pence—nearly one million to one; yet they dare to be unforgiving.”
Ellen G. White · Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 245
A hundred pence was a real debt, a few months’ wages, and the plea for patience was word for word the same plea the first servant had just used to save his own life. He had heard mercy work. He simply refused to extend it.
“Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”
Matthew 18:32-35
“‘So likewise,’ said Jesus, ‘shall My Heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.’ He who refuses to forgive is thereby casting away his own hope of pardon.”
Ellen G. White · Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 247
The parable never suggests the unforgiving servant’s own debt is restored to him as punishment for being punished; it simply reveals what was true of him all along. A heart that has actually grasped how much it has been forgiven has no room left to withhold forgiveness from anyone — the withholding itself is the proof the first debt was never really understood.
