Matthew (Written)

Thursday, 19 March 2026

Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. Matthew 18:5

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen).

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“And whoever, if he should receive one such child upon My name, He receives Me” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus told the disciples that whoever humbles himself as a child is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens. Continuing His thought, He next says, “And whoever, if he should receive one such child upon My name, He receives Me.”

The context of Jesus’ words is based on the question asked in Matthew 18:1 to which Jesus responded in the next verses. He has used the child as an object lesson of one who is the type to enter the kingdom of the heavens. He, by faith, accepts God’s premise that Jesus is the Messiah who died for the sins of the world.

Hence, His words “one such child” are to be taken metaphorically to indicate any person who has such a disposition. He is not specifically referring to receiving little children, but to any who are like them in their simple faith. Understanding this, His words are about unity among believers. When a true believer is received, it is as if the person is receiving Jesus Himself.

Why would this be? It is because those who have come to Christ are “in” Christ. Jesus’s last words were, “Accordingly, whoever, he should humble himself as this child, he, he is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens.”

Imagine not receiving the greatest in the kingdom! Jesus is the greatest in the kingdom. But He has said that the person who has humbled himself as a child is the greatest. To reject such a person is to reject Him because that person has received Him.

Obviously, Jesus is still speaking to men who are under the Law of Moses. They have not yet seen Jesus die in fulfillment of the law, so their understanding of salvation by grace through faith is lacking. However, Jesus is giving them advanced instruction in this matter. A person who is fixed on his merit for salvation could not properly understand Jesus’ words.

And in fact, they still didn’t get what Jesus was saying after His resurrection. They continued to argue and debate over the significance of the law. And, unfortunately, the church continues to do so today.

Life application: As a Christian, someone will eventually tell you that you need to observe the Sabbath (Saturday worship) because “God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.” How will you respond to that?

The seventh day was the day God rested from His labors. Sanctifying it was an act that anticipates Christ and what He offers us. It is also a pattern for man on earth. There were six days of creation followed by rest. It is a pattern for the seven-thousand-year dispensational model. There are six thousand years of man’s labors followed by a thousand years of millennial rest.

Nothing is said in Genesis of God mandating a Sabbath observance. If Moses didn’t record it as a fact, nobody would ever have known it was so. There was no prescription to observe the Sabbath, and there is no record of anyone doing so until Exodus 16, when Israel was told to do so.

It became a law for Israel, and for them alone. It was incorporated into the Law of Moses. But when the Law of Moses was fulfilled, it no longer applied. This is why Paul says –

“So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, ¹⁷ which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” Colossians 2:16, 17

Other verses from Paul confirm this, and nothing was said to the church in Acts 15 concerning Sabbath worship. In Hebrews 4:3, it says that those who have believed enter into God’s rest.

Think through issues like this. Don’t be fooled by people who want to put you under the bondage of law when you have been freed from law through Christ.

This is important. Jesus spoke of those who are greatest in the kingdom of heaven. He never said such people were law observers, Sabbath keepers, or those who follow the feasts of the Lord. This is because those things are opposed to grace. Trust in Jesus and what He offers, not in yourself and what you can do to supposedly impress God!

Lord God, in Christ, we have entered our rest. Why would we go back to working when Jesus has rested us in Himself? That makes no sense. Help us to be people of reason and sense. To Your glory, we pray. Amen.

Wednesday, 18 March 2026

Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:4

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“Accordingly, whoever, he should humble himself as this child, he, he is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus emphatically told His apostles that unless they turned and became as the children, they would in no manner enter the kingdom of the heavens.

As He has set this forth as an adamant assertion, He can now answer their self-serving question about who the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens is. He does this, beginning with, “Accordingly, whoever, he should humble himself as this child.”

A new word is seen, tapeinoó, to make low or to humble. HELP Word Studies says, “With the believer, …tapeinóō (‘show humility, true lowliness’) happens by being fully dependent on the Lord – dismissing reliance upon self (self-government) and emptying carnal ego. This exalts the Lord as our all-in-all and prompts the gift of His fullness in us.”

One can see in this explanation exactly why people like the Pharisee in the parable of Luke 18:9-14 are such a stench in God’s nose. There is no humility. Instead, he is confident that he has pleased God so much with his presence that God must just stand in awe of him.

It is why Paul speaks so vehemently against law observance. The law brings about feelings of oneself earning what is impossible to earn. No person can merit grace, and he can never earn salvation. It is a gift. The law and God’s plan of salvation found in Jesus Christ are diametrically opposed to one another.

Understanding this, Jesus continues, emphatically stating, “he, he is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens.”

The person who understands he has no merit at all before God but who accepts that what God has done is sufficient for his salvation is accepted by God. The person who has this sense of humility in the greatest measure is, therefore, the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens.

Paul explains this, using himself as an example –

“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. ⁸ Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; ¹⁰ that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, ¹¹ if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:7-11

Life application: Think it through. There is no personal merit in salvation. Based on that, what is happening in the following propositions–

Law says you must do certain things to be right with God.
Preachers tell you that you need to tithe, a principle of the Law of Moses, to be pleasing to God.
Hebrew Roots says you must observe the Sabbath.
Seventh-Day Adventists impose dietary restrictions.
Reformed theology says you must have works to prove your salvation.
Roman Catholicism says, “If any one saith, that justifying faith is nothing else but confidence in the divine mercy which remits sins for Christ’s sake; or, that this confidence alone is that whereby we are justified; let him be anathema.”

We could go on and on with such examples of false and heretical teachings. The theological box of salvation says that we are saved by faith alone through the work of Jesus Christ. To add anything to that, before or after salvation, as a condition for being saved or continuing to be saved, is to deny the all-sufficiency of what Jesus Christ did.

Don’t be caught in this trap. You don’t owe anyone anything in this life as a means of obtaining salvation or as proof of being saved. All you need to do is to trust God through acceptance of the gospel: “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3, 4).

Don’t mar the gospel. Hold fast to the truth of God in Christ. After you believe, then do what is right according to Scripture to be pleasing to God, not for keeping your salvation, but in gratitude to God who saved you.

Lord God, thank You that Jesus Christ our Lord has done everything necessary to restore us to You. May we never place ourselves into the salvation equation except as grateful recipients of Your tender mercies by believing the gospel. Amen.

Tuesday, 17 March 2026

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. Matthew 18:3

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“And He said, ‘Amen! I say to you, if not you should turn, and you should become as the children, no, not you should enter into the kingdom of the heavens’” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus called a child to Him and set him in the midst of the disciples. Matthew continues with Jesus’ object lesson as He provides why the child was presented as he was. Matthew records, “And He said, ‘Amen!’”

The sense here is, “Pay attention! This is a truth that you must understand and accept as I speak it.” Understanding this, He continues with, “I say to you, if not you should turn.”

The meaning is that they are on a path of thinking one way, and they must turn and think completely differently. The path they were on is one of “who is the greatest?” It reflects a self-serving attitude that is incompatible with the humility necessary to accept God’s proposition for salvation in Christ. Jesus continues, saying, “and you should become as the children.”

The turning is from adamant assertion to innocent acceptance. Jesus is speaking about the kingdom. There are various meanings of what ‘kingdom’ signifies, but this one is clearly about the offering that is made by God in Christ based on Jesus’ ministry.

Though that is not yet ready to be offered, and though the disciples have no idea what it entails at this point, Jesus is speaking about how to obtain salvation and entry into what God is doing in redemptive history, of which Jesus is the key.

Children are little people. People do wrong. When a child is presented with his wrongdoing and told how to correct it, the child will accept what he is told. This is because children have not yet processed the world around them enough to form their own ideas about such things.

Therefore, he will believe what he is told by simple faith. Until a child learns when people are lying or kidding, they take what they hear at face value. God, who never lies, is to be taken at face value. This is the point of Jesus’ words.

There is no feeling of superiority or earning what is necessary for restoration. There is the innocence of acceptance. Along with that, there is no thought by the child of how great he is or how he can earn exaltation in mommy’s eyes. There is just the simple desire for restoration. With that in mind, Jesus continues with, “no, not you should enter into the kingdom of the heavens.”

The double negative is an adamant assertion that follows emphatically after the “Amen” previously stated. This is exactly what Paul writes about in Galatians 5 –

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. ² Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. ³ And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. ⁴ You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” Galatians 5:1-4

How does that match what Jesus says, you ask? Because when one rejects Christ’s fulfillment of the law, he rejects Christ’s cross. But the cross is the only thing that can cleanse someone from sin. The law only magnifies guilt before God.

The gospel asks a person to become like a child. The cross demands that a person acknowledge he has sinned (Christ died for your sins, implying you are a sinner), and to accept the avenue God has set forth for restoration. There is no need for a cross for someone who has not sinned.

God has set forth what brings restoration. When we, like children, accept what He has done, it is an acknowledgment that what God has done is sufficient. The simple faith of a child is what God expects.

Life application: Some scholarly comments on this verse show the inability of people to understand what Jesus is saying –

“What was needed was that they should ‘turn’ from their self-seeking ambition, and regain, in this respect, the relative blamelessness of children.” Ellicott. It is true that there is a need for turning from self-seeking ambition, but children are not blameless. When we come to the cross, we do not make ourselves blameless. We come to the cross to be made blameless through Christ’s imputation of His sinlessness.

“…and become like little children — ‘Free from pride, covetousness, and ambition, and resemble them in humility, sincerity, docility, and disengagement of affection from the things of the present life, which excite the ambition of grown men.’” Benson. If Benson is saying that we need to do these things to merit the kingdom, he is completely missing the point. We come to God acknowledging that we are these things, we have offended Him because it is so, and ask to be forgiven in Christ. From there, we can then conform our lives to His expectations. The cart of works must come after the horse of acknowledgment of sin at the cross.

“How many who pass for converted, regenerate persons have need to be converted over again, more radically.” Expositor’s Greek Testament. Are they talking about entering the kingdom after salvation? If so, then they have missed the mark. Salvation is a one-time for all-time proposition. It is true we need to live properly after salvation, but there is no “re-meriting” salvation after it has been granted.

“There is no question here about what is popularly known as conversion – the change from habitual sin to holiness.” Pulpit Commentary. Without explaining how this happens, the words are insufficient and appear to claim we must “fix ourselves.” This is completely incorrect. We come to Jesus as we are with all our baggage, acknowledge we are sinners, and believe He forgives us. Only then do we make an effort to go from “habitual sin to holiness.” If we were to do that first, we would not be like children. We would be “meriting” our salvation.

“The phrase, ‘Except ye be converted,’ does not imply, of necessity, that they were not Christians before, or had not been born again. It means that their opinions and feelings about the kingdom of the Messiah must be changed. They had supposed that he was to be a temporal prince. They expected he would reign as other kings did. They supposed he would have his great officers of state, as other monarchs had, and they were ambitiously inquiring who should hold the highest offices. Jesus told them that they were wrong in their views and expectations. No such things would take place. From these notions they must be turned, changed or converted, or they could have no part in his kingdom. These ideas did not fit at all the nature of his kingdom.” Barnes. Barnes, what are you talking about? Jesus is referring to entering the kingdom of the heavens. If you are born again, you have entered it. The commentary has so overcomplicated what Jesus is saying that there is no hope of reconciling it with coming to Christ for forgiveness, the very thing that will allow the disciples, and indeed all people, to enter.

Life application lesson: Keep the salvation message simple. You have sinned. You need Jesus. Believe the gospel. Don’t try to fix yourself. You can’t. Jesus, we need Jesus to fix us. Believe the gospel.

Lord God, help us to never complicate grace. It is Your offering. If we have to earn it, it is not grace. Help us not to mar the gospel. You have done the work through Jesus. There is nothing we can add to it. Help us to learn these simple, fundamental, and eternity-changing truths. Amen.

Monday, 16 March 2026

Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, Matthew 18:2

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“And Jesus, having summoned a child, He stood him in their midst” (CG).

In the previous verse, the disciples came to Jesus asking who the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens was. In response, Matthew records, “And Jesus, having summoned a child, He stood him in their midst.”

It is the initiation of His response, forming an object lesson for them to consider and remember. In Matthew 17:25, it was recorded that Jesus was in “the house” in Capernaum. This, then, is probably Peter’s house. Matthew 9:33 confirms they are still in the house. As such, this is a child within the house, not an arbitrary child off the street.

He probably called the boy’s name and said, “Come here!” One of the least in the house, as far as understanding, responsibility, etc., a mere child, has been summoned to teach what is on God’s mind concerning greatness.

In this account, Mark will add the thought, “And when He had taken him in His arms…” In other words, this was a very young child who had been brought before the disciples.

Thus, the question of “greatest” is being answered already. Without a word yet spoken, we can see that greatness includes the idea of dependency, something every small child exhibits.

Life application: Without going any further, and while considering the matter of dependency, who do you think God is more pleased with? Will it be a person who goes to a messianic synagogue, observes the feasts of the Lord, doesn’t eat pork and refuses to eat lobster (what a tragedy!), and who is doing his best to merit God’s favor through such things, or will it be a person who so desperately understands his sin that he throws himself solely at the mercy of Christ, asking for the slightest crumb of His infinite mercy to forgive him for the life he has led?

The answer is explained elsewhere in the gospels –

“Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: ¹⁰ ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.” ¹³ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’” Luke18:9-14

God is unimpressed with showoffs and people who think they somehow merit His favor. Rather, those who arrogantly hold to the Law of Moses for their justification are an offensive stench to Him. Why? Because they deny two fundamental truths that are key to salvation.

First, they deny the work of the cross of Jesus Christ and its efficacy in procuring salvation for mankind. The great point of sending Jesus to the cross was to fulfill the typology of the sacrificial system set forth in the Law of Moses. In His fulfillment of it, the law was annulled, nailed to the cross in the body of Jesus Christ, who is the embodiment of the law.

Second, they implicitly deny the deity of Jesus Christ. If He is God, and indeed He is, then to say that we need to do more to procure our salvation means that God failed to procure our salvation. Even if Jesus weren’t God, this would be true, but because Jesus is God, it is an eternal slap in the face of God who came to do for us what we cannot do.

There are many other points of doctrine that such people fail at when they demand works to prove or continue proving salvation. This infection fills almost all churches to some extent. We don’t have to prove anything. We are saved, once and for all time, through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. All we have to do is believe. And in believing, with the mere faith of a child, we are saved.

God is pleased with such simple, complete, and heartfelt faith. Thank God today for His wonderful salvation that you have accepted… by faith.

Lord God, how grateful we are to You for the full, final, finished, and forever salvation that You have provided through the giving of Your Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sunday, 15 March 2026

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Matthew 18:1

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“In that hour, they came, the disciples to Jesus, saying, ‘Who then, he is, greatest in the kingdom of the heavens’” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus’s word finished Chapter 17 as He told Peter to go to the sea, cast a hook, and take the first fish he caught, opening its mouth, and taking out a stater that would be in its mouth. With that, Peter was to pay the temple tax for Jesus and himself. Chapter 18 begins with, “In that hour.”

Mark and Luke do not mention the account concerning Peter and the payment of the temple tax. Instead, they go into Jesus’ words about Him being betrayed and killed (Matthew 17:22, 23) directly into the account now stated. Peter, being the one approached by the tax collectors, may have simply been drawn out of the flow of the narrative, or Matthew may have put that account in there categorically to ensure typology was maintained.

Either way, each account describes this scene a little bit differently, but all agree on the overall tenor of what occurs. Placing the three accounts together, a full picture of how the matter arose is easily seen. This matter is, according to Matthew, that “they came, the disciples to Jesus, saying, ‘Who then, he is, greatest in the kingdom of the heavens?’”

To introduce this account, Mark says, “Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, ‘What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?’” Luke records, “Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest.”

The substance of the matter is that of being great in their hoped-for Messianic kingdom. The disciples argued over who the greatest of them would be. Thus, there is a mark of selfishness and a desire to be recognized above the others. This is a part of the human condition, and few, if any, are exempt from it.

Life application: For the most part, those who appear exempt from feelings of grandeur and self-importance are simply aware of the fact that they don’t have a way of becoming great, or they lack what is needed in whatever they think “being great” means. It’s not that they don’t want it, it’s that they aren’t able to attain it.

This may not be universal, but it generally becomes evident when someone who had no shot at becoming “great” suddenly has greatness thrust upon him. It is a very rare soul who will handle his elevation responsibly and with humility.

But such an attitude is contrary to what is biblically expected of all, much less leaders. Paul says –

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. ⁴ Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3, 4

After saying that, he pens the example of Christ, the One to be emulated –

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, ⁷ but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. ⁹ Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11

Therefore, even if this is not in our nature, we are asked to work on it, until it becomes our nature. The King of the Universe was willing to unite with humanity and take on the lowliest form of man, serving others. This is what God esteems in us. It is akin to the example that Jesus will set forth to His disciples in the verses ahead in Matthew.

Let us have this mind in us, to the glory of God who called us unto Himself.

Lord God Almighty, may we be willing to set aside our pride, lustful desires, and the earthly temptations that we are constantly bombarded with to pursue a life of humility and honoring others. Above all, may our actions be done to glorify You. You alone are truly worthy of all praise, glory, and honor. Amen.