Our journeys through the life of Christ as Mark has written it down under the inspiration of spirit here in this gospel. Today we're going to read for our text verses 30 through 37. Mark chapter 9 verses 30 through 37. Scripture here reads, and they departed thence. passed through Galilee, and he would not that any man should know it. For he taught his disciples and said unto them, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him. After that he's killed, he shall rise the third day. But they understood not that saying, and were troubled, and were afraid, rather, to ask him. And he came to Capernaum, being in the house, he asked them, what was it that you disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace. For by the way they had disputed among themselves who should be the greatest. And he sat down and called the 12 and saith unto them, if any man desired to be first, the same shall be last of all and the servant of all. 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, whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name receiveth me. Whosoever shall receive me receiveth not me, but him that sent me. This chapter, Mark chapter nine, is full of lessons that Jesus taught his disciples. These are good, good lessons for them. They're good lessons for us. And that's who they're for. When we realize that in context, Jesus has pulled aside his church, his flock, to teach them privately. And as we consider today, these words were not spoken to the multitudes. These words were not spoken to the crowds. These were for his church. So we think about that. We realize in context that this is for, originally it was for his first church, the church that he started during his earthly ministry. We also know that gathered here today is Sovereign Grace Baptist Church. Though there be 2,000 years or so separating us, there is a reason why that this is recorded for us to study and to look at. This particular lesson that we read about here has to do with humility. And if I were to put a title on this sermon, it is the greatest, the greatest. At first, as I began to study and to think about how I was gonna preach this, my first thought was to take and just preach verses 30 to 32, and just preach that. as a separate sermon and then take and preach the rest of it, verses 33 through 37 in another sermon. But I didn't feel as I studied it and the more that I read and the more that I meditated on this, I feel like that in the context, all of this is connected. So I didn't want to do damage by splitting this up. These verses are connected with each other. And as we shall see, there is a good reason to keep them together in a sermon. If I had time, I would take and preach even further than where we're going, but for time's sake, we won't go any further than down to verse 37. In verses 30 and 31, They departed thence and passed through Galilee, and he would not that any man should know it, for he taught his disciples and said unto them, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him, and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day. The Lord is teaching them, again, his 12, his disciples. He's teaching them what's going to happen. He's preparing them in plain language. The Son of Man is delivered in the hands of men. They shall kill him, and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day. We know that this is what's on his mind because this is what comes out of his mouth. He's preparing them for his coming death on the cross. Now, we know that it had been prophesied in the Old Testament, but he's speaking in very plain language. We've got it here, a translation in English that's he's going to be killed, that there's no question this is what's going to happen. And he's reassuring them that he will rise again on the third day. What a blessing it is for them to get this information. What a blessing it is to be his disciple. How thankful they should have been and how thankful we ought to be that this is all recorded because you and I are privileged to go along with him on his private lessons. This could have all been lost to history. No one might have ever known about any of this, but the Holy Spirit determined that this is something that needs to be recorded. And indeed, It is recorded, not only here in Mark, but Luke and Matthew also. Thank God He was preparing them for this. We look at it and think, well, what's the problem? But we've got to remember that we're on this side of the cross. We're on this side of the resurrection. We're on this side of 2,000 years of church history. But take yourself back to where they were and understand that this would have been earth shattering for them. Jesus the Messiah is with them. They've got a lot of hopes and dreams and expectations of all of this. And their world was about to come crashing in on them. Indeed, in verse 32, but they understood not that saying and were afraid to ask Him. What was the problem here? Didn't they have great clarity as to who Jesus was? If you remember back in chapter eight, in Mark chapter eight, verses 27 through 30, It says this, and Jesus went out and his disciples into the towns of Caesarea Philippi. By the way, he asked his disciples saying unto them, whom do men say that I am? They answered John the Baptist, but some say Elias and others, one of the prophets. And he saith unto them, but whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, thou art to Christ. And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. So they had great clarity as to who he was, they knew. While the rest of the world was saying things like, well, it's John the Baptist, it's Elijah, it's some other prophet, these fellows, they knew this is Messiah. Messiah has come. Jesus, you are the Christ. So what was the big problem? Well, we get a clue over in one of Paul's epistles. If you go with me to 1 Corinthians chapter one, 1 Corinthians chapter one, verses 23 and 24. Paul says, but we preach Christ crucified. Under the Jews, a stumbling block. Under the Greeks, foolishness. But under them, which are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. Paul says, to the Jews, the death of Christ, the crucifixion of Christ, is a stumbling block. Indeed. that early church, these apostles were Jews. There were some things that they couldn't wrap their mind around. As they read and they studied the Old Testament, they knew, hey, Jesus, you're the Messiah. The death of Christ on the cross didn't quite fit in with what they thought they knew about the Old Testament. Indeed, even post-resurrection, when Jesus is about to ascend, look there in Acts 1, Acts chapter one and in verse six, it says, when they therefore were come together, they asked of him saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? He said unto them, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the father hath put in his own power. So they were still having trouble wrapping their minds around this. They were looking to be liberated from the Roman Empire. Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? So it is 2,000 years. The Jews still have a problem with this. They're still saying that the Messiah has not yet come. They still have trouble with the death of Christ on the cross. The crucifixion was a stumbling block to the Jews, and these guys were Jews here in Mark chapter nine. These apostles. I mean, go to Matthew chapter 28, the Great Commission. When Jesus gave his commission to the church, look what happened there. In verse 16, it says, then the 11 disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. See, they still had these doubts, fears. They still were troubled. They still didn't understand. And we get a glimpse of this here. They weren't quite sure how this was all gonna fit in. I mean, We've got the entirety of the Bible, which is something that they didn't have. And even though we as Christians on this side of the cross, this side of the resurrection, even though we can pride ourselves and say, well, we understand it better, Do we really? A lot of our infighting, squabbles over social media, Facebook, and indeed between churches, and sometimes in churches, happen over in times prophecy. And where does Israel fit into this? But if you're a Jew, that becomes a big problem, right? And so they're in the middle of all this. They say, if Jesus is the Messiah, how does all this fit in, right? It's a stumbling block. Over in Luke's account of this, in Luke chapter nine, Luke chapter nine, verse 44, Let these sayings sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man shall be delivered into the hands of men." In Luke's account here, he says to them, let these sayings sink into your ears. Let these sayings sink down into your ears. Jesus knew their hearts. He knew that they would have some issues with this. There are some sayings, some truths in the Bible, before we're too hard on these disciples, before we're too hard on this early church, let us remember and consider that there are some sayings in the Bible that even though they're clear, even though they're in plain English, and translated in our language. Jesus spoke them clearly. They were written clearly, whatever it may be. We have some issues with them. And while we may not say, well, I know the Bible says this, but sometimes that's the way we act. My grandfather used to say, some say the Bible says it, I believe it and that settles it, but that's not quite right. The Bible says it and that settles it whether we believe it or not. Whether they understood it or not, whether they accepted that Jesus was gonna die on the cross or not, that all of this was about to happen, whether their pride, and this is where it all comes down to, a nationalistic type of pride, they wanted Jesus to come back and set up a kingdom, not to die on the cross. They didn't want that. They didn't want to hear anything about that. Whether they understood everything about it or not, the reality is, It was gonna happen. And they needed to let it sink down into their ears. The Son of Man was to be delivered into the hands of men. Now we can say, All right, a big part of their problem is pride, and I believe that is a part of their problem. As we get on down in the text, we see that. But there's also something else at work here. And I want us to not move forward in this until we look at this. And while we're here in Luke chapter nine, look at verse 45. But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, and they perceived it not. And he feared to ask Him of that saying. Now, I understand truth is plain. And I understand words are plain. And I understand that as God's people, All of God's people ought to be able to take the Bible and just believe everything that's written therein. What was spoken was plain. And it's easy to sit in judgment of these guys. But the Holy Spirit reveals something that you and I don't see sometimes. In fact, we never see it, but it's there. And I want us to notice what he says here. They understood not this saying, and it was hid from them. It was hid from them. The truth was spoken to them by Jesus. He spoke it plainly and clearly. There was no issue there. But the disciples could not handle it at the time. And so it was hidden. Now later it would come back to them as they remembered, oh yes, Jesus did tell us that this was gonna happen. But they couldn't handle it. They couldn't deal with it. They couldn't deal with the implications of it here at this time. And so it was hidden from them. Nationally, they couldn't deal with it. Theologically, they couldn't wrap their minds around it. Biblically, they couldn't get it all figured out. They couldn't sort it out. And so it was concealed. It was spoken. They didn't understand it and they did not want to know anymore. Our text says that they were afraid to ask and God did not reveal any more to them. You know, we see that as it happens. And we sometimes talk about God revealing truth, but you know, sometimes he hides it too. I don't understand it. Like I said, I don't understand every bit of it. This is God's business. But I can tell you that it's that way in my life and it's been that way in your life too. Have you never read through the Bible? And maybe you've read a text a thousand times before. And you say, well, I never noticed that before. Why is that? Because things get revealed in the right time at the right place. As the Holy Spirit works in our lives, same as he does with other people's lives. Let us remember that as we work with people and understand that not everybody's on the same level that we are. That there are some things that we've been revealed that maybe others haven't. God does not sit in council with me or with you to determine who knows what and when. But this text tells me that we ought not to have superiority over anybody else. That we've got to be patient with people. This was very, very plain. They should have known that. At least I would think so, but they didn't. They didn't. Jesus does not thump them over the heads. He does not say, I'm finished with you guys. Right? He just moves on. He just moves on. He knew. He knew. And our business is to simply sow the seed, preach the truth, And if people don't get it the first time, that's okay. Just keep on being faithful. And not feel like that we're superior because you know what? There's some things that we're learning in life as well. There's some things in the Word that we're learning also. Indeed. We're to be teachers. So the pastor's to be out to teach. The older men are to teach the younger, and the older women teach the younger, and all those things. But at the same time, we're all to be students of the word, all through life. And that never ends. That never ends. And back into our text in Mark chapter nine, Mark chapter nine and verse 31. As we back up just a little bit, he says, the son of man is delivered into the hands of men. They shall kill him. After that he's killed, he shall rise the third day. Jesus does not get into any great theological arguments about the death of Christ. What he's telling them is from a human perspective. He says the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of men, right? This is what they could see, what they will see as Jesus will be delivered into the hands of men. John MacArthur says this word delivered is a technical term. It's used for criminals being handed over to judgment and punishment. He's explaining to them what's going to be happening. Indeed, something that leads to execution. It's a legal term. And the use of it here hints at the fact that the execution of Jesus will be in some measure a legal act. It's bigger than that. It's broader than that. But this is the word that does refer to that kind of turning over a guilty criminal for judgment. Matthew used the same term, and so does Luke. Now the question comes, who's gonna turn him over? Who's responsible? Who's guilty? They didn't understand. They didn't ask these questions. Later, they would. You know, he talks about his betrayal. He said, well, is it I? You know, that sort of thing. But go through the Gospels. Be an investigative journalist, seeking through the Gospels and say, who delivered Jesus? Was it Judas who delivered him? Was it the Jews who delivered him to the Romans? Was it Pilate who delivered Jesus to the executioners? Did the Romans deliver him up as they hung him on the cross? The answer to all those questions is yes. They all had a part in it, didn't they? Those are all good questions and you can search them out and you can find the answers. But the answers are all yes, they all played a part in it. But understand something about the death of Christ. In the book of Acts chapter two, Acts chapter two, Verse 23, there on the day of Pentecost, look at what was in that sermon. Him being delivered by the determinate counsel for knowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be holding of it. Peter, why'd you have to go in and preach this way? Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken. That's some tough preaching. That makes you nervous when the preacher starts going there. You know, it would have been a lot easier for him to say, the Romans, they did Pilate. But he said, ye have taken. What is this? Well, in Acts 2.23, we see the sovereignty of God and human responsibility. Delivered, that same word is used here, by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Who delivered him? the Jews, Judas, the Romans, Pilate, yes, yes, and yes, but none of that would have happened except for the fact that God delivered him up. We all know it, John chapter three, John chapter three and verse 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life." God gave him up. God delivered him. You see, this was a great act. The Godhead was involved in this. Nothing took God by surprise. Jesus had come for this purpose, to die on the cross for sinners. He would be buried and rise again. You see, these guys, they'd seen it. They'd seen it all. They'd seen people rise from the dead. They'd seen all these great miracles. But the one who had done these is telling them he's going to die. Well, what's going to happen? How is he going to be risen from the dead? All of these questions may have come in their minds. Praise God, he was delivered. Praise God, it did happen the way that he said it would. In Mark chapter nine, as he told them that he would be delivered into the hands of men, they shall kill him. After that he is killed, he shall rise the third day, and you and I sit on this side of the crucifixion, on this side of the resurrection, and we have life and hope and peace, forgiveness of sins because of what Jesus did there. And so they continued on their journey, Jesus and the apostles. Verse 33, Mark records not the whole journey, but he says, then he came to Capernaum. Being in the house, he asked them, what was it that you disputed among yourselves by the way? As they journeyed, they got into a discussion. Now you would think that it would have been a discussion about the crucifixion. That it would have been a discussion about, well, I wonder who's going to deliver him up to be killed. And maybe they would have discussed, well, if there's any way for us to protect Jesus, maybe we can get together and try to protect him. Or maybe they would have discussed, I wonder what it's going to be like to be there at the tomb. when Jesus comes back alive. Oh, can you imagine? We've seen crucifixions before. The Romans didn't invent it, but they perfected it. And they'd seen and heard of crucifixions before. They had to have. Why weren't they talking about that? Saying, you know what? Peter, James, and John, guys, let's plan to set up watches to be there when Jesus comes back. when that body comes out of that grave. Can you imagine what's gonna happen? No. Jesus knew what their discussion was about. He knew everything. He knew their hearts. But he asks this to get their attention. So in verse 34, they held their peace, for by the way they had disputed among themselves who should be the greatest. It had been on the mind of Jesus to talk about the crucifixion. His death, His burial and resurrection. It had been on the mind of the Savior to talk about the gospel. These guys were squabbling over who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. On the way to church this morning, I had a phone call from another preacher. We were talking about what we were going to preach this morning. I told him about this text, my thoughts about it, and I said, you know, if there's proof that there were Baptists in the New Testament, this is proof. How often do we get sidetracked and squabble and quibble and argue? over things like they did. My music, my Bible, my preference, disputing over who's going to be the greatest. Some things don't change, do they? Jesus had been teaching them about the cross. Going back and you see it's about self-denial, taking up their cross, following Him. They wanted to bicker about who's better. They were ambitious. They were selfish. They were competitive. Why were they silent? And Jesus asks what they were doing. They surely had a lot to talk about on the way. Well, they were ashamed. They should have been united around the cause of Christ, but there was division in the midst. And pride, pride destroys unity. It's a heart issue, but it comes out. It doesn't stay in the heart, it comes out. Over in John chapter 13, look what he taught his church there. John chapter 13, beginning of verse one, Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come, that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own, which were in the world, he loved them unto the end, supper being ended. the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him. Jesus, knowing that the father had given all things into his hands, that he was come from God and went to God, he riseth from supper, laid aside his garments, and took a towel, and girded himself. After that, he poureth water into a basin, began to wash, the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter, and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now, thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, if I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, he that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but as clean ever went. You're clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him. Therefore, said he, you're not all clean. So after he had washed their feet and had taken his garments and was set down again, he said unto them, know ye what I've done to you. Ye call me master and Lord. And ye say, well, for so I am. If I then your Lord and Master have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I've given you an example, you should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If you know these things, happy are ye if you do them. This is the example of Jesus. He washed the feet of the disciples. The creator of the world, God of the universe, humbled himself to wash the dirty feet of the disciples. I've not seen all of your toes, all of your feet, but being in Southeast Georgia, I've seen a lot of feet. And I know that there's some nasty looking things that happen on people's feet. especially get to walk in without shoes, walking with sandals, a lot of dirt, grime, other things that are on there. And yet, Jesus got a towel and began to walk in a basin and began to wash the feet of these men. Peter's feet, the one who had been so quick to speak sometimes out of context and things like that, and he did here. But Judas' feet, knowing Judas Iscariot, knowing that he was the one who was setting out to betray him, knowing that he was a hypocrite, knowing that he was a troublemaker, knowing that he was not one of his own. You see, doing the work, doing the dirty work, for each other, and it's in this context that if you go on down, and again, he keeps preparing them. Verse 31, therefore when he was gone out, meaning Judas left at this point, now is the Son of Man glorified. God is glorified in him. He's preparing them. Things are happening. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself and shall straightway glorify him. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You shall seek me, as I said unto you. The Jews, whither I go, you cannot come. So now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." It's a beautiful thing what he does here with this group. He doesn't say to them, you know, when we think of the things that held them together and made them different, he doesn't say that by John's baptism, God, that the world will know that you're my disciples. John's baptism was important, but he doesn't say that. He doesn't say the world will know that you're my disciples because you followed me and you've been with me. That was important, but that's not what he says. He didn't say all men will know that you're my disciples because you were the charter members of the true church. They were. Praise God for it. But look at what he says here, beloved. He says, they will know that you're my disciples if you have love one to another. And his example was the washing of their feet. His example is that he will go straight to the cross and die for the sins of all his people. If you study religions enough and if you talk to your friends and your relatives, you'll know that there are some, maybe even some Baptists, who make foot washing into an ordinance. It's not, it's not supposed to be that way. I believe they've missed the point. The point is here, that we ought to be willing to humble ourselves down to even the most troublesome. Jesus washed the feet of Judas Iscariot. Think of that. He knew his heart. We don't know people's hearts. Judas was the treasurer. I'm not saying anything about treasurers, brother. I'm just saying. He was the treasurer. He was a preacher. He was an apostle. By outside appearances, he fit in really well. That's why at the supper, when it all began to come out, They were all saying, is it I? Nobody suspected Judas. Nobody suspected him. But Jesus knew. Jesus knew. And he humbly grabbed that basin and towel and washed his feet. He didn't stand up in the pulpit and say, all right, church, I'm getting ready to leave and I just want you, I've got water and here's the towel. I want everybody to come up here and get some water and a towel and go wash each other's feet. He practiced it. He showed them. Peter says, you're not gonna wash my feet. Jesus said to him, what I do thou knowest not now, thou shalt know hereafter. What do you think came to their mind after all of this? Well, they knew their own heart. They're thinking about, well, Jesus washed my feet. Y'all I can't I just can't imagine this Jesus the the Messiah washed my feet. Yeah, he washed my doing He washed Judas's feet You see There's no brother or sister who has wronged any of us to the point that's any worse than what Judas Iscariot did to Jesus, that we can't humble ourselves down to wash that person's feet. We're not better than Jesus, you see. He said, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you're my disciples, if you have love one to another. Charles Spurgeon had a way of saying things much better than I can. He said, I am told that Christians do not love one another. I'm very sorry. if that be true. But I rather doubt it, for I suspect that those who do not love each other are not Christians. Where the Spirit of God is, there must be love. And if I have once known and recognized any man to be my brother in Christ, the love of Christ constraineth me no more to think of him as a stranger or a foreigner, but a fellow citizen with the saints. These fellows in Mark chapter 9, they were arguing over who's going to be greatest in the kingdom of heaven. There's no real humility there, no real love. It was pride. It was a pride issue. There's a pride issue in Our culture, too. There was a pride issue in their culture. There's a pride issue in our culture. It carried on beyond the first church at Jerusalem. The Church of Corinth got caught up in it in 1 Corinthians chapter three. Verses one through five. And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with meat, for hitherto you were not able to bear it, neither yet now are you able, for you are yet carnal. For whereas there is among you envying, strife, and divisions, are you not carnal? and walk as men. For all the winds saith, I am of Paul. Another, I am of Apollos. Are you not carnal? Who then is Paul? Who is Apollos? But ministers by whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to every man. I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. They were squabbling based off of hero preachers. They were ranking themselves based off who baptized them or who's preaching they like better or whatever. And Paul says, y'all are just carnal. You can't handle the deep things of God because of it. Where Christ and his gospel are not preeminent, the question becomes, who will be? And I dare say that had Jesus not stepped into this in Mark 9, that there would have been an issue. Indeed, he did step in. In Mark 9, in verse 35, there was no big issue that happened there except for their disputings. In verse 35, Scripture says, and he sat down, called the twelve. This was the position of teaching for the Jewish Teachers. Often we see that in the scriptures. But he sat down and he called the 12. Gather around. And as he sat down and called the 12, he saith to them, if any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all and servant of all. J.C. Ryle, in his expository thoughts on the Gospels, he says this, he said, these words are deeply instructive. They show us that the maxims of the world are contrary to the mind of Christ. The world's idea of greatness is to rule, but Christian greatness consists in serving. The world's ambition is to receive honor and attention, but the desire of the Christian should be to give rather than to receive and to attend on others rather than to be attended on himself. In short, the man who lays himself out most to serve his fellow man and to be useful in his day and generation is the greatest man in the eyes of Christ. And so what's he do? I love the style of Jesus in his teaching. In verse 36, 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, Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name receiveth me. Whosoever shall receive me receiveth not me, but him that sent me. He took a child. Now remember, he's been traveling with the apostles. Some speculate that this child Might have been one of the children of the apostles. Maybe it's Peter's child. We don't know for sure, but very good possibility. Remember, they had wives, children, no doubt. But I think a good point to realize is that it's good to have children around when you're having preaching, Bible study, instructions. Don't send them away. They should be around where these things happen. I remember in my early days, being very young, learning not only from the preaching of God's Word, as it was preached from the pulpit of King's edition, but also being around as the preachers and the adults sat around and discussed the scriptures. No, I didn't add anything to the conversation. Children should know to be quiet when they need to be quiet, but to listen, to learn. And yes, maybe sometimes be a good sermon illustration. And that's what Jesus did here as He took this child and took him in His arms. What a compassionate Savior that we have. And what's He do with this child? Well, He says to them in verse 37, Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name receiveth me. Whosoever shall receive me receiveth not me, but him that sent me. Let us not misunderstand what he's teaching here. In the context, he's comparing this little child to a spiritual child. In Matthew's account, he gives more detail in Matthew chapter 18. Matthew chapter 18. Beginning in verse one, at the same time came the disciples unto Jesus saying, who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Jesus called a little child unto him, set him in the midst of them, and said, verily I say unto you, except you be converted, become as little children, he 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. 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, that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. So you see, he's not teaching infant baptism or anything like that, nor is he teaching that it's our job to drown heretics in the bottom of the ocean. People take things way out of context sometimes in the religious world. There's no Nowhere in the Bible does it teach baptism of babies, nor are we ever taught to put millstones around people's necks and drown them if they do something terrible. But what's he teaching here? Well, verses three and four, humble yourself as a little child and be great in the kingdom, right? That's what he's talking about. Very, very simple. Verse 5, and we're going through this very quickly for time's sake, but verse 5, receive even the smallest of believers in his name. That includes the most immature, childlike believers. There are some who, for one reason or another, Maybe their mental capacities aren't quite there or whatever. It doesn't matter. Receive them. There are some who maybe they've been going to church for years and years and years. And they just don't seem to grow a lot. That's okay. Receive them. Right? Be patient with people. receive them in his name. Why? It's the same as receiving Christ. You see, that's how he feels about this. This is his teaching on this. While his disciples are over here squabbling over who's greatest, he says, no, no, no, you got to understand something. You see, receive them and receive Christ. It's the same. You say, well, that's kind of awkward there. Remember Paul on the road to Damascus? Jesus met him that day and he said, Paul, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou my church? No, no, that's not what he said. It was Paul. Saul, was he persecuting the church? Yes, he was. But what did Jesus say to him? Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? In Matthew chapter 25, if you hold your place there in Matthew 18, in Matthew 25, Being verse 31, it says, when the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory, and before him shall be gathered all nations. He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand, come you blessed to my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I, notice this, Jesus is speaking, I was in hunger and you gave me meat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. Naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. Then shall the righteous, Answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee and hungered and fed thee, or thirsty and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger and took thee in, or naked and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick or in prison and came unto thee? And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto the one of the least of these my brethren, You've done it to me, okay? And we could keep reading on there, but he'll say to the goats, depart from me. And he goes on the opposite. But notice the wording here. He says, I was sick and you took care of me. I was thirsty, you gave me a drink and all. And the sheep, God's people, say, wait a minute, when did that happen? We never saw you. We never took you in. We never visited you in prison. He says in verse 40, and as much as you've done it to the least of these, my brethren, I want you to focus in on these two words, the least, okay? We're no different than the apostles. They were squabbling over who's gonna be the greatest. We rank people in our minds too, right? The least, and it might be spiritually least, it might be the smelliest least, because let's face it, not all of God's people know how to use a bar of soap. It's just the reality. Whatever it is, whatever your prejudice is, sometimes people get all bent out of shape about the color of skin and all this, whatever the least is in your mind, right, this applies, applies to me, whether it's spiritual, physical, mental, whatever it is, the least of these my brethren. Notice that word, my brethren. It's not just your brethren. Even though it shouldn't be different, we're all in the family of God. But there comes a time when we get into a certain clique Y'all are much easier to preach to and to be around than, let's say, the Presbyterians. They wouldn't be too happy about me picking on infant baptism. But if they know the Lord, You see, that's the thought here. Church affiliation or not, God's people are united to Jesus in a covenant bond that's not separated. And what is that? Through Christ. Through Christ. Back to our text here. Well, not back to our text, back to Matthew 18 here. Verse six. Whoso shall receive, well, but whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, who were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. It's a terrible thing to think about, to offend one of those little ones. Yes, we have to be careful about the physical little ones, the children, right? But what about the spiritual little ones? Someone who believes in Christ. What's the context here? Let's avoid falling into the pride that these fellows fell into. The greatest. Who's the greatest? It might be, you know, whatever, pick a topic. Happens all the time on social media. It may be well-intentioned. Just be careful not to carry it to the point of being something like I'm the greatest, right? Keep it to the point of being God gets the glory. I think of right now, there's a lot of things going on in the world with war in the Middle East and in Israel. And so there's a lot of questions, discussions. that are coming up on Facebook and Twitter about the timing of the rapture and whether or not these signs, and of course we just had the eclipse and all that, there are some people out there that have some pretty wild ideas. There's a fine line between arrogance and being confident in the Scriptures. And what is that fine line? It's humility. It's humility. You and I have nothing except the grace of God and what He's revealed to us in His Word. If it becomes to the point of being, well, I'm better than you, and you're just a spiritual ignoramus because you can't read plain English, then that becomes a problem. And Jesus says if you cause one to stumble into sin and this pride, the person who does this, it'd be better to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea. It's a terrible crime and a terrible way to die, but Jesus is trying to illustrate in two ways how we ought to treat each other and other believers and how terrible this pride really is. You know, I'm thankful for what God has given us. I'm thankful for his death on the cross, for the resurrection. I'm thankful to be a blood-bought sinner saved by grace. But what am I? I'm just a beggar showing another beggar where to find bread. That's the reality of it. I'm thankful to be a member of one of the Lord's churches. But is it really helpful for me to go into the social media and say, if I wasn't a Baptist, I'd be ashamed? It's not helpful at all to the discussion. I know what I am. I know what I am by God's grace. We gotta watch out for pride, like these guys did. They could have been having a great discussion over the teaching of our Lord and what was about to come with the death of Christ on the cross. They missed out because they were squabbling over who was gonna be greatest in the kingdom. Let's be careful we don't get distracted on these sorts of things. God will bless. So we sow the seed of the truth and present it in places that we can. He does bless. We may not see it right away, but oh, how He does bless. May God add a blessing to the preaching of His Word. Thank you for your attention.