The Greatest in the Kingdom: Returning to the Posture of a Child - Matthew 18:1–6

Title: The Greatest in the Kingdom: Returning to the Posture of a Child

Subtitle: In a world that rewards self-promotion, Jesus tells us to kneel.

Date: May 24, 2025

Watch the Full Teaching Here

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for taking a moment to explore this scripture together.

This week, we enter a powerful new section of Matthew’s Gospel — a Kingdom discourse where Jesus begins to teach directly and deeply about community, humility, and how to handle power.

The disciples ask a bold question:

“Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

But instead of answering with a title, a rank, or a spiritual achievement…

Jesus calls a child into the center of the room.

And what He says next changes everything we think we know about spiritual greatness.

Because in the Kingdom, the goal is never to become more powerful — it’s to become more dependent.

More trusting.

More humble.

More like a child.

Recap of Last Week’s Lesson (Matthew 17:24–27 & Romans 14)

Last week, we watched Jesus pay a temple tax He didn’t owe — not because He had to, but because love sometimes lays down what it doesn’t owe to protect someone else’s faith.

We learned:

• That sons are free, but they still move in love
  

• That submission can be the most strategic move when the mission is more important than the moment
  

• That when humility has a cost, the Kingdom will cover it
  

We also explored Romans 14, where Paul teaches that freedom isn’t about proving a point — it’s about protecting people.

Now, as we step into Matthew 18, Jesus continues this teaching — shifting from systems to identity, and showing us what real greatness looks like in the eyes of God.

Scripture Reading – Matthew 18:1–6 (ESV)

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.”

Context & Background

The disciples’ question — “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom?” — may seem petty, but it wasn’t random.

Jesus had just predicted His death again (Matthew 17:22–23), and the disciples were starting to realize something: He wouldn’t always be with them. So the question begins to form — Who’s next? Who’s highest? Who’s most important?

It wasn’t just about ego — it was about security.

And in a moment of quiet jockeying for status, Jesus responds in a completely unexpected way:

He calls a child to stand in the middle of them.

Children in First-Century Jewish Culture

In ancient Jewish society, children were not sentimentalized the way they often are today.

• They were considered socially insignificant — without status, wealth, voice, or influence.
  

• A child had no legal rights and was often grouped with women and slaves as dependents under the authority of the household’s male head.
  

• Children were deeply loved by their families, but they were not seen as models of faith, wisdom, or strength.
  

• Rabbis and teachers did not use children as illustrations of greatness — they used elders, scribes, and scholars.
  

So when Jesus pulls a child into the center of a conversation about greatness, it would have felt shocking — even offensive.

He wasn’t just being cute.

He was making a point:

“You want to be great? Become like the one you overlook. The one with no power, no platform, and no pretense.”

In that moment, Jesus redefines leadership in the Kingdom.

He takes someone invisible — and makes them the model.

✨ Key Lessons & Takeaways

1. Power in the Kingdom Isn’t Taken — It’s Trusted

The disciples came to Jesus with a question of rank:

“Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1)

But behind that question was a desire for positional power — the kind that elevates one person above another.

Jesus doesn’t rebuke their ambition, but He redefines their assumptions by placing a child in the middle of the room (v.2).

A child, in that culture, had no legal power, no social influence, and no authority to make decisions.

And that’s the point.

“Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (v.4)

In the Kingdom, power isn’t grabbed — it’s entrusted.

God doesn’t empower those who posture like kings — He entrusts those who posture like children.

It’s not about climbing to the top. It’s about kneeling low enough to be trusted with God’s heart.

Takeaway:

The power of the Kingdom isn’t for those who chase control — it’s for those who can carry it with dependence, softness, and trust.

Real authority starts where ambition ends.

2. Status in the Kingdom Is Measured by Surrender, Not Significance

Jesus doesn’t just say, “Be like children.”

He says:

“Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom.” (v.3)

That word “turn” — straphēte in Greek — is the same word used for repentance.

It doesn’t mean slight adjustment.

It means reversal. Redirection. Reorientation.

In other words, Jesus was saying:

“You’re already heading the wrong way. You’re facing the direction of rank, titles, visibility, influence.

But that road doesn’t lead into the Kingdom. Turn around. That’s not the path.”

Children in that culture were invisible. They couldn’t teach, vote, testify, or hold status.

And yet Jesus lifts one up and says:

“Be like this.”

Why?

Because children know how to receive.

They don’t posture — they depend.

They don’t climb ladders — they reach for hands.

They don’t impress — they trust.

Takeaway:

If you want to rise in the Kingdom, you must first turn.

From control to surrender. From visibility to humility. From earning to receiving.

Because the greatest in the Kingdom are the ones who’ve stopped reaching for the top — and started reaching for the Father.

3. Security in the Kingdom Is Found in Belonging, Not Control

When Jesus places a child in the center, He’s not just making a point about greatness —

He’s reminding us where real security comes from.

Children don’t survive because they’re strong.

They flourish because they belong to someone stronger.

The child Jesus placed in the center had no clue what was being discussed — but he knew this much:

“I’ve been called close to Jesus. I’m safe here.”

And Jesus continues:

“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.” (v.5)

That’s not just tenderness — that’s identity.

Jesus so identifies with the small, the unseen, and the dependent that He says:

“To welcome them is to welcome Me.”

That means the safest place in the Kingdom is not the top of the ladder…

It’s in His arms.

📍 Takeaway:

Children don’t survive by controlling their world — they thrive by trusting someone stronger.

Jesus invites us into that same security:

Not in knowing more.

Not in achieving more.

But in resting in our identity as children of the Father.

Challenge for the Week

Let this week be a turning point — not just in behavior, but in posture. As you sit with this passage, carry these three questions with you into your rhythms, your conversations, and your quiet moments with God:

1. Where is Jesus asking me to turn — not just slightly adjust, but fully reorient my definition of greatness?
   
   Maybe it’s how you lead, how you pray, or how you think about spiritual maturity. Don’t just modify the direction — ask God to flip it completely.
   

2. Have I confused boldness with control — and overlooked the power of soft, dependent trust?
   
   What would it look like to embrace childlike faith again — the kind that doesn’t posture, but simply believes?
   

3. Is there someone I’ve overlooked — someone smaller, quieter, or less “impressive” — who Jesus is calling me to honor, protect, or receive as if it were Him?
   
   Who have I passed by that God is calling me to center?
   

📍 This week, let your strength show up in softness.

Let your boldness take the form of humility.

And let your pursuit of greatness look like kneeling low before the Father.

Final Word

In a world that tells us to climb, to build, to prove, and to rise —

Jesus whispers something different:

“Turn. Become like children.”

This isn’t about regression — it’s about returning.

Returning to dependence.

Returning to trust.

Returning to the heart of the Kingdom, where the small are centered, the overlooked are welcomed, and the great are those who never forget how to kneel.

The world defines greatness by what you achieve.

Jesus defines it by how you receive.

The world tells you to build your identity on being seen.

The Kingdom invites you to build it on being held.

So this week, may you turn — not just with your behavior, but with your heart.

Turn from posturing to presence.

Turn from self-importance to childlike wonder.

Turn from climbing ladders to reaching for the Father’s hand.

Because at the center of the Kingdom… is a child.

And Jesus is still calling us to come low enough to find Him there.

Grace, humility, and kingdom softness to you this week,

— Michael