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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Matthew chapter 18. Matthew chapter 18, specifically 
this context, the fourth discourse in Matthew's gospel, dealing 
with relations within the church, the people of God toward the 
people of God. Very specifically, the people 
of God are to be humble, verses 1 to 4. The people of God are 
not to cause others offense. verses 6 to 9. The people of 
God are not to despise other people of God. Verses 10 to 14. The people of God within the 
church of God are to exercise faithful church discipline and 
reconciliation. Verses 15 to 20. and the people 
of God are to be a forgiving people." Verses 21 to 35. We 
take up this morning the section in verses 10 to 14, Jesus' warning 
against despising believers. And we may think this to be a 
no-brainer, certainly We wonder, why are we commanded not to hate 
people? We are commanded not to hate 
people. Probably implies the susceptibility 
that is in our hearts to do the very thing that Jesus commands 
us not to do. There is that tendency, there 
is that temptation to cause others offense. Well, there's certainly 
that tendency or that temptation to hold others in contempt. And 
so it is with this in mind that we approach verses 10 to 14. 
asking the Lord God to take these things to make them clear to 
us and to keep us from this horrible sin. But I do want to begin reading 
in chapter 18 at verse 1. At that time the disciples came 
to Jesus saying, who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 
Then Jesus called a little child to him, set him in the midst 
of them, 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. Therefore, whoever humbles himself 
as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever 
receives one little child like this in my name receives me. 
whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin. 
It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around 
his neck and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe 
to the world because of offenses, for offenses must come, but woe 
to that man by whom the offense comes. If your hand or foot causes 
you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for 
you to enter into life lame or maimed rather than having two 
hands or two feet to be cast into the everlasting fire. And 
if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from 
you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye 
rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. Take 
heed that you do not despise one of these little ones. For 
I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of 
my Father who is in heaven. For the Son of Man has come to 
save that which was lost. What do you think? If a man has 
a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, does he not leave 
the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that 
is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, 
I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than the other 
ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so, it is not the will of 
your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones 
should perish. Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go 
and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears 
you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take 
with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three 
witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, 
tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear 
the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. 
Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound 
in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 
Again, I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning 
anything that they ask, it will be done for them by my Father 
in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, 
I am there in the midst of them. Amen. Let us pray. Our blessed 
God and our Holy Father, we thank you for this fourth discourse 
in the Gospel of Matthew. We thank you for our Lord's instruction 
specifically to the church. Give us ears to hear and give 
us hearts to receive this, your word. We know these are not suggestions 
for happy church life. They are the command of the living 
Christ. Give us grace, Father, to receive these things. Give 
us grace to root out the pride and the selfishness that certainly 
lay in our heart. Give us the Holy Spirit so that 
we may conduct ourselves in a manner that is worthy of your gospel. 
and grant us grace now, Father, to worship as we receive your 
truth. We confess our sin and iniquity. 
We know, God, that we have not lived according to your holy 
law. We know that we have departed from that path that is upright 
and godly. So we confess our iniquity to 
you and trust that you are faithful and just to forgive us and to 
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. As well, God, we pray for the 
ministry of your Holy Spirit. We know that we come to this 
word with hearts that are, in some senses, predisposed against 
it. We pray that you would soften 
our hearts and the Spirit would illumine our minds and that you 
would cause us to receive with gladness the implanted word. 
And for any and all who have come here this morning outside 
of Christ, may they see in this passage the display of God's 
mercy, the display of God's kindness, the display of God's power to 
save to the uttermost. And we pray that you would exercise 
that in our midst, Most High God, and bring glory to you, 
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in the salvation 
of sinners. And we pray these things through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, as I said, in some 
sense this particular passage in verses 10 to 14 The primary 
emphasis, of course, is not to despise believers. It's so self-evident. It's so obvious. And yet, the 
Lord Jesus Christ, in his teaching here, took the time and thought 
it essential and necessary to set forth this particular word 
to his disciples. When we look at the Apostle of 
Love, specifically John, in his first letter, he has several 
warnings against those who hate their brothers. And so it is 
something that we need to take heed to. It is something that 
we need to recognize might be in our hearts. I'm not saying 
it is necessarily, but there's a lot of us in the church that 
struggle with pride and we struggle with selfishness and we struggle 
with the sorts of things that God prohibits us from engaging 
in. So I would ask this morning that 
you pay close attention. I think if we pray for unity 
in our church, it is certainly requisite or necessary that we 
love the people in our church. I don't believe that Jesus thinks 
or Jesus decrees or Jesus says that all of us are going to be 
each other's BFF. We're not going to necessarily 
be best friends forever, but we certainly must not despise 
one another. We must certainly love one another. We must certainly try to live 
without causing offense toward a brother for whom Jesus Christ 
died. So let's look at our passage 
verses 10 to 15 under three considerations. First, the prohibition given 
by Jesus in verses 10 and 11. Secondly, the parable concerning 
the straying sheep in verses 12 and 13. And then thirdly, 
the purpose of God concerning his little ones in verse 14. 
And basically what we have is Jesus says do not despise little 
ones and then he gives us a multitude of reasons, a multitude of incentives, 
a multitude of things that we are to consider so that we don't 
fall prey to this particular sin of despising others. But let's look first at the prohibition. Note, in the context, I've already 
mentioned, it's community relations, it's how we deal with one another 
in the Church of the Lord Jesus. In the preceding section, in 
verses 5 to 9, the issue was causing offense. And specifically 
in verses 8 and 9, Jesus says, if it is the case that you are 
going to cause a little one for whom Jesus died to be offended, 
you need to cut off hands, you need to cut off feet, and you 
need to pluck out eyes. You want to promote the well-being 
of your brothers and sisters, you do not want to tear them 
down. You don't want to scandalize them. You don't want to put something 
in their pathway that is going to cause them to possibly make 
shipwreck of the faith. The church is not to be like 
the world. Verse 7, woe to the world because 
of offenses. For offenses must come. We expect 
offense from the world. We expect that the pagan is not 
going to treat the believer well. We expect that the pagan is going 
to parade all sorts of things before the eyes of the believer 
and try to cause them to stumble. But we certainly ought not to 
expect such behavior in the church. If we are strong brethren, we 
need to defer to the weaker brethren. If we are weak brethren, we need 
to make sure that we don't judge the stronger brethren. We need 
to learn to get along the way that the Apostle Paul tells us 
in the book of Romans and in 1 Corinthians. And I'm convinced 
that what Paul is doing has as its backdrop our Lord's words 
here in Matthew chapter 18. We are not to cause offense. 
We are not to scandalize others. We are not to promote the ill 
will of a brother or sister for whom Jesus died. But we are to 
make it our aim. We are to seek, by the grace 
of God, to pursue these things, to try and facilitate another 
believer's walk to heaven. That's how we ought to view the 
life and ministry of the Church. We're here to help each other. 
We're here to encourage each other. We're here to be a means 
to stir one another up to love and good deeds. I think that 
sometimes people say, well, I'm not going to go to church today 
because I won't be missed. You will be missed. First and 
foremost, you're not worshiping God with the corporate people 
of God. But you're not with brethren that your very presence at times 
stirs up or encourages or causes them to find great help. Brethren, 
we are in this for each other. We are here to help one another. 
We are here to facilitate each one's walk onto the heavenly 
Jerusalem. We're not to throw scandalous 
blocks in front of them or stumbling blocks before them. We're not 
to try to trip them up along the way. We want to open doors 
for them. We want to open gates for them. 
We want to try and make their pathway pleasant so that they 
will find that security and that blessedness in the New Jerusalem 
that Christ has afforded through His Gospel. You see, it is reprehensible 
that the Church, first of all, needs to be warned about these 
things, but secondly, even in light of the warnings, still 
do it. Still causes offense? Still despises 
or holds others in contempt? Look at what our Lord says. Take 
heed that you do not despise one of these little ones. In 
the context, these are believers. Verse 6. They were illustrated 
in verses 1 to 4 by a little child. A real, live, breathing 
human child was the illustration of humility that is requisite 
in the kingdom. The disciples are asking, who 
is the greatest in the kingdom? Jesus says, the one that's humble, 
the one that's faithful, the one that doesn't ask the question, 
who then is the greatest in the kingdom? The one who minds his 
own business, like a little child, and the one who pursues the prize, 
like a little child, and the one who does what he's supposed 
to. Don't be worried about who the greatest is. Seek to be the 
faithful one. The little ones, in the context, 
are believers. Verse 6, whoever causes one of 
these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better 
for him if a millstone were hung around his neck. The believer 
is to be on guard. In light of verse 10, take heed 
that you do not despise one of these little ones. The believer 
is to be on guard because there is a susceptibility in us to 
doing this very thing. Now, you may be the exception 
to the rule. You may be that one that approaches 
the law of God with an impeccability. I love God with all my heart, 
soul, mind, and strength, and I love my neighbor as myself. 
But I don't think so, because there was one man in the history 
of the church, or in the history of the world, that ever did those 
two things always, and that's Jesus. It's because of Jesus 
we have everlasting life. We have the imputation of righteousness 
received by faith alone. We have cleansing in his precious 
blood. But even if you aren't perfect at it, you may be really 
good at it. Love to God and love to men. 
So maybe you don't need to listen to what I'm about to say, but 
the most of us, probably a bigger majority within the Christian 
Church, struggle with these things. We struggle with these things. 
And the idea of despising probably doesn't mean we have their picture 
on our closet door at home and we put X's on their face, or 
we draw mustaches on them, or we belittle them publicly, or 
we say things that are vicious or unkind or ill toward them. The despising here is rather 
to hold them in contempt. Gundry defines it this way, despising 
connotes both an attitude of disdainfulness, you know, I don't 
really like that person, A person really isn't my cup of tea." 
And again, we're not going to be everybody's cup of tea. But 
just because we're not everybody's cup of tea, it doesn't mean we 
ought to hold them in contempt. Doesn't mean we ought to disdain 
them. Because what happens when we 
form those opinions, when our mind thinks through it in this 
particular way, what typically happens is that it's fleshed 
out by our actions and our attitudes. So Gundry again, despising connotes 
both an attitude of disdainfulness and injurious acts growing out 
of that attitude. Jesus says don't. He says take 
heed, beware, be on guard, be on the lookout. Station a sentinel 
over your heart. Make sure this never happens 
to you. Take heed that you do not despise 
one of these little ones. He's talking to the disciples. 
He's talking to the believer. He's talking to the Christian. 
He's talking to the church. And he is prohibiting us from 
going down this path where in our minds or in our actions we 
hold other people in contempt or we disdain them. What is the response that the 
believer is supposed to evidence? It is in verse 5. Whoever receives 
one little child like this in my name receives me. If the little 
child represents the kingdom citizen who is not concerned 
for status but is rather humble, then other kingdom citizens will 
recognize that fruit in him. Other kingdom citizens will see 
that he is in fact a kingdom citizen and instead of despising 
Instead of rejecting, instead of disdaining, what do kingdom 
citizens do with their own? They receive them. And in so 
doing, it is to receive Jesus Christ himself. You see, the 
church is vital in God's plan. The church isn't take it or leave 
it. The church is treated like that 
today. The internet certainly hasn't 
helped. I mean, why go to a church to hear some guy ramble on, when 
I can download Piper, or I can watch Mahaney, or I can watch 
my favorite preacher. Why would I want to be in a church? 
I mean, I have to get out of my jammies. I have to put down 
my Cheetos. I'd have to go bump into people 
I really don't care a whole lot about. So I'll just log in. For 
free, no less. I really don't have to give that 
out. Am I going to put it in my internet? Am I going to put 
it in the computer? I'm just going to get it what 
I want. The church isn't supposed to be like that. The church is 
the community of God's people. The church is the apple of His 
eye. The Lord God Most High loves the gates of Zion more than all 
the dwelling places of Jacob. Psalm 87 too. He loves it. He loves the gates of Zion. He 
loves the corporate body of God's people. What's the implication? 
And we'll see this fleshed out through angels, through Christ, 
and through the Father. If the angels, Christ, and the 
Father are bent on promoting the little ones, then should 
other little ones despise them? Disdain them? Hold them in contempt? Eat their big fat porterhouse 
right in front of the weak brother and say, you gotta knuckle under 
and just deal. With a weaker brother actually 
judging his strong brother because he ate a porterhouse? You know, 
there's a lot more bigger fish to fry in this world than whether 
a Christian eats a porterhouse. So you see both strong brother, 
and I'm trying to be even-handed. I think I'm strong and weak all 
at the same time. I think all of us are. We're 
all strong on those liberties that we think are okay. We're 
all weak on those liberties we don't think are okay. And heaven 
itself forbid there be any contrary assumption by one of the other 
little ones. You've got to see it my way. I've been quite encouraged since 
this last little bout of sermon. Others have said they're going 
to buy shoehorns for their homes. It's good news, brethren. We 
need more shoehorned houses. For those of you who do not know 
what I'm talking about, all our sermons are online. and you can 
listen to them at your leisure. See, life is more about joy and 
peace and love and camaraderie than whether persons have shoehorns 
or eat porterhouses or do something different than I do in the exercise 
of their Christian liberty. I believe. I can't prove this, 
but I believe. All of us are strong and weak 
all at the same time. We're strong with the liberties 
that we approve of, and we're weak with the ones we disapprove 
of. Because how in the world could a brother ever do anything 
that compromises what I think is into liberty? Jesus' words 
are for us, that we do not offend, and that we do not hold in contempt. 
Note the gradation involved. Chamberlain points out, the one 
who causes him to sin, the verb scandalizo, 18.6, despises him, 
treats him with contempt, the verb cataphroneo, in 18.10a. You see, there's a gradation. 
It's porterhouses and shoehorns, or it's diapers, or it's schools, 
or it's this, or it's that, and then it becomes contempt for 
a brother for whom Jesus died. It becomes disdaining someone 
because they don't dot I's or cross T's on liberty issues the 
way you do. Brethren, have no chalk with 
the denier of the Trinity. Have no personal communal church 
relationship with the denier of the deity of Christ. Have 
no camaraderie with one who denies justification by faith alone. 
But whether or not a person has a shoehorn or eats a porterhouse, 
don't let that formulate your opinion on whether you will hold 
him in contempt or disdain or despise him." Notice the reasons Jesus gives. We're still in 10 to 11. I think 
the other two, the rest of the verses are reasons as well, but 
we'll approach them as we move. In 10 and 11, there are two reasons 
given. First, the position of the angels, 
and secondly, the mission of the Son of Man. the position 
of the angels. Notice in verse 10. He says, 
therefore, or take heed rather, that you do not despise one of 
these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels 
always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. Now, this passage 
has been understood as teaching that each believer has a guardian 
angel. I remember being a young boy 
at a papist school and either a nun or a layman telling us 
that we all had our own personal guardian angels. And I seem to 
recall my friend and myself scooching over in our seats so that our 
guardian angel could take up occupancy next to us. I don't 
think that's what Jesus means, personally. I think that was 
a later development in Jewish writings, and I think it's a 
later development in Christian writings. The statement could 
be a collective. There are angels for the church. 
It doesn't necessitate an individual angel. Acts 12, 15 is pulled 
out in support of such a view. When the girl saw, I think it 
was Rhoda, saw Peter, she supposed it was Peter's angel. That gives 
some credence to this idea that Peter had his own angel, Jim 
has his own angel, Bill has his own angel. I don't think that's 
the point. I think the point is simple. What is the purpose 
and the function of angels in the New Covenant? The purpose 
and the function of the angels, I mean I'm sure they have other 
purposes, but toward the elect of Christ in the New Covenant. 
Summarized in Hebrews 1.14. It says, Are they not all ministering 
spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? See, see Jesus' argument. Do 
not despise one of these little ones. Why? Because they're angels 
who hold a prominent position. They behold the very face of 
my Father. They do so on behalf of these 
little ones that you are despising. You see, if the angels do what 
they do, from this vantage point of prominence, this underscores 
or indicates or highlights or demonstrates something of the 
dignity of these little ones, doesn't it? I mean, if we've 
got angels functioning in order to facilitate our salvation, 
then certainly we ought to expect that lesser than angels will 
help too. When you see the argument, if 
there are angels who behold the face of my Father in heaven, 
and they have a regard for a little one in the church, how are we 
to treat those little ones? By offending them? By scandalizing 
them? By despising them? It's an argument 
given to us as a reason for the prohibition in verse 10. Calvin 
says it this way, he says, we are therefore to beware of despising 
their salvation, which even angels have been commissioned to advance. 
Matthew Henry says, let not earth despise those whom heaven respects. It's beautiful. You see, Verse 
10 is not given in the Bible to teach the doctrine that everybody 
has a personal guardian angel. If we come to verse 10 in Matthew 
18 and we spend our time talking about whether every individual 
believer has a guardian angel, we have most assuredly missed 
the point. do not despise little ones. Why? Because their angels who 
behold the face of God do not despise them. Their angels who 
behold the face of God are ministering spirits sent to help them along 
the way. They don't need your frown. They 
don't need your scandal. They don't need your content. 
Are you better than the angels? Are you more to be trusted than 
the angels? But note the second reason again 
in verses 10 to 11. Now verse 11 is absent from the 
ESV. It is absent from the NIV. It 
is bracketed by the NASB. The reason is because some of 
the older manuscripts, Greek manuscripts, did not include 
verse 11. The Byzantine tradition, which 
the New King James and the King James are founded on, include 
verse 11. Verse 11 says exactly what Luke 
19.10 says. And it fits this context beautifully. So I'm going to preach it as 
it is in the New King James. Notice, do not despise one of 
these little ones. Why? Because their angels don't. Why? Because the Son of Man doesn't. Look at what the Son of Man's 
done. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. How dare we disdain or despise 
or hold into contempt or cause an offense to someone that the 
Son of Man left heaven above to come into this world to redeem? 
You see, it just doesn't make sense, brethren. Again, think 
Paul. Give up meat. It's better to 
give up meat than to eat meat and cause a brother for whom 
Christ died to stumble. We are to esteem the people of 
God. We are not to despise them. The 
Son of Man and His redemptive mission came for them. Read Hebrews chapter 2. He does 
not give aid to angels. The angels that fall bear no 
redemptive privilege. The angels that fell are doomed. But man who falls in Adam has 
a Redeemer, and His name is the Lord Christ, and He takes on 
our flesh, and He comes in the fullness of the time, and He 
submits Himself willingly to that perfect, beautiful, holy 
law of God, and He does all that the Father ever gave Him. And 
then the Son goes to the cross, not because He was a sinner, 
not because He was a political malefactor, not because He was 
a rabble-rouser, but because God the Father made Him, God 
the Son, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might 
become the righteousness of God in Him. As we, because of creation, 
have inherited the original sin from our Father Adam, What we 
receive by the grace of God is that blessed righteousness because 
of the second Adam, even our Lord Jesus. This is his mission, 
this is his purpose, this is his task. The next time you want 
to parade a liberty, strong brother, The next time you want to get 
angry at a strong brother, weak brother, think about it. He left 
heaven above. He left the glory of his Father 
and the Spirit. He left the praise and anthem 
of praise from the angels. He left all that to come into 
a sin-cursed world. And what happens when he gets 
here? He comes to his own and his own receives him not. What 
happens when he gets here? He says, the birds have nests 
and the foxes have holes, but the Son of Man has nowhere to 
lay his head. Instead of hearing, holy, holy, 
holy, praised by the angels to Him, he hears the crowd chant, 
away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him. He's delivered up 
on behalf of all those whom the Father had given Him, to be punished 
in our stead, to pay the penalty for our sin. And in light of 
that, Are we going to parade our liberties or judge somebody 
for exercising liberty? Don't do that. Do not despise 
one of these little ones. Do not hold them in contempt. 
Do not cause an offense. It's better to cut your hand 
off. It's better to cut your foot off. It's better to gouge 
an eye out than cause one of these little ones for whom Jesus 
sought and saved to be offended, to be scandalized. Calvin again 
says, it is in the highest degree unreasonable that we should disdainfully 
reject those whom the Son of God has so highly esteemed. So do not despise the prohibition 
given by Jesus with two supporting reasons in verses 10 to 11. Now, 
to draw out the implications of verse 11, Jesus tells the 
parable concerning the straying sheep in verses 12 to 13. You 
see, this sort of amplifies verse 11, sort of illustrates or fleshes 
it out. There is a bit of difference, 
however. We find in Luke's gospel the telling of the same sort 
of parable in that context where The tax collectors and the sinners 
come near to Jesus to hear Him. The scribes and the Pharisees, 
they grumble, they murmur, they complain, they whine. They say, 
this man receives sinners and he eats with them. So Jesus tells 
three stories to illustrate the reality that he does, in fact, 
receive sinners and eats with them. He talks about a shepherd 
who leaves the ninety-nine and he finds the one. He talks about 
a woman who loses one of her ten coins and she sweeps the 
house and she goes through the drawers and she finds that coin. 
And then he tells about those two sons, the one of which says, 
I want my share of the inheritance. Father, you're better off to 
me dead than alive. Give me my share of the dough, 
so I can go out and sow, so I can go out and do, so I can go out 
and engage in all manner of wickedness." So you see, Jesus gives that 
parable in the context of the salvation of sinners. And here, 
as we've argued is correct, He gives it in the context not of 
salvation for sinners, but recovery of straying saints. Well, if 
we ask the question why, Jesus was an itinerant preacher, wasn't 
he? He went from place to place to 
place to place. He probably used the same sorts 
of illustrations. He used conceptions or metaphors 
or ideas that were very obvious to his hearers. And as well, 
if we had more time to draw this out, he used ideas and metaphors 
and stories that were very, very much in line with the Old Testament. 
You see, God, the Father, reveals Himself, or the Yahweh of Israel 
reveals Himself as the Shepherd who comes both to save that which 
was lost, but He also comes to recover Israel, the covenant 
people, and they've gone a-whoring from Him. when they have violated 
the Law of His Covenant, when they have done those things that 
are wicked. So for Jesus to talk about a shepherd coming after 
someone, the audience here would have thought, oh, this sounds 
like Psalm 77, or this sounds like Psalm 89, or this sounds 
like Jeremiah 23, or it sounds like, specifically, Ezekiel 34. You see, Jesus used the illustrations, 
but as we look at the particular context, I think what Frantz 
says is absolutely correct. He says, to oversimplify the 
difference, Luke's parable is evangelistic. Matthew's is pastoral. You see the difference? Luke's 
purpose is evangelistic. The tax collectors and the sinners 
draw near to hear him. The scribes and the Pharisees 
complain, and they say, this man receives sinners and eats 
with them. They're looking down their noses at this godly one. 
And so what does Jesus do? He illustrates the truth that, 
in fact, he does receive sinners, and he does eat with them, and 
he illustrates it with those three stories. Well, here it's 
not the same exact context. Here it's not causing little 
ones offense. Here it's not causing other ones 
or holding them in contempt. And here it serves as another 
illustration of why the church ought not to do this to one another. Chamberlain says, Jesus speaks 
in Luke of lost persons who have never been saved. In Matthew, 
of persons once rescued who are in danger of being lost again 
and who are therefore the father's special concern. Now let's look 
at this particular parable, verses 12 and 13. What do you think? Jesus uses this in other places 
in Matthew's gospel. Now the answer is obvious and 
he knew that they would know that it was obvious. He's not 
actually saying, what do you think? I'd like some feet. Of 
course it's an obvious thing. This is a rhetorical device to 
get them thinking. I don't want you to despise others. 
Why? Because the angels don't. Because 
the Son of Man doesn't. And to further illustrate the 
Son of Man's love for the saints, or for these little ones, He 
tells verses 12 and 13. Again, the background. Especially 
Ezekiel 34. You can read this some other 
time. We don't have time to open it up. But basically God is condemning 
the false shepherds in Israel for neglecting the weak and despised 
sheep. They are scattered on the mountains, 
He says. Same stuff that we find in this 
passage. Jesus is a religious teacher 
in Israel. He's full of the Old Testament. When He speaks to 
these people, He speaks in Old Testament ease. That's what He's 
doing to illustrate the salvific purpose and the recovery mission 
of the Son of Man Himself. What do you think if a shepherd 
has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, doesn't he leave 
the ninety-nine and go seek the one? This has actually caused 
commentators a bit of consternation. Would they really? I mean, really? Would a shepherd leave the 99 
secure ones and go find the one that wandered away? I don't think 
we're supposed to press these parables to their economic and 
financial implications. Notice that it's even hypothetical 
whether the shepherd recovers this one. And if he finds it, 
Would he take that gamble? Would he go that route? Would 
he venture this particular cause? Some have said, well of course 
he would have because he names 99. That must mean they were 
recently counted and penned. This is really what you get in 
commentaries. They were recently counted and 
penned so they were safe and secure so he could go after the 
one. Or, to manage a flock of a hundred 
would certainly require more than one shepherd. So they were 
still... That's not the point! It's the heart of the Savior! 
The heart the church is supposed to emulate! The heart the church 
is supposed to imitate! The heart that we are supposed 
to display on a Lord's Day and every day. This is what Jesus 
does. Jesus leaves the 99 and he seeks 
out the one. Again, not because the one is 
more important, the one is more valuable, it has golden fleece, 
and somehow it will bring us more and more. That's not the 
point. Spurgeon says the lost one is not better than any one 
of the others, but it is brought into prominence by its condition. It's strange. It's out there. It's gone. It's not in a safety 
place. It's unstable. It's away from 
the trodden path of Christ's people. What does our shepherd 
do? Does he count his losses and 
write it off at the end of the year? No, he seeks. He recovers. He saves. When he finds it, he 
puts it on his shoulders and he rejoices over this. Again, 
not because he disdains the 99. Spurgeon again says, that sheep 
after wandering is found, gives the shepherd more immediate joy 
than all the rest, just because it had caused him more present 
concern. You've probably known this in 
your own house. You've probably known this with 
people you love. You love all your family. You 
love all your brothers and your sisters. But you rejoice when 
that one that was lost is now found. You rejoice when that 
one that was dead is now alive. We need to guard against the 
attitude of the older brother or the other brother in Luke's 
gospel. You see, in the telling of the 
parables in that particular situation, Jesus not only wanted to encourage 
the tax collectors and the sinners, that yes, in fact, I do receive 
sinners and I eat with them, but he wanted to rebuke the ones 
who grumbled, the ones who moaned, the ones who whined, the ones 
who said, this man receives sinners and eats with them. How does 
Jesus end the parable of the lost son that's been found? with 
the grumbling, whining brother. I've always been with you. But 
this brother who's gone out and wasted your money on profligate 
living, he comes back and you throw a party? What does Jesus 
say? I've always loved you. I've always 
been there for you. You are my flesh and blood. But 
this brother of yours, this brother who was dead is now alive. This brother who was lost is 
now found. Shall we not make merry? Scribes 
and Pharisees in first century Israel should have been rejoicing 
that tax collectors and sinners were entering the kingdom of 
heaven, but they weren't. We don't want them to enter the 
kingdom of heaven. Because they judged things in 
terms of a financial transaction. Scribes and Pharisees do righteous 
things, therefore they will go into the kingdom of heaven. Isn't 
this the posture of the man in Luke 18? Thank you, Father, Lord 
of heaven and earth, that I'm not like other men. If that's your prayer life, you've 
got big problems. On the one hand, I thank you, 
Father, I'm not in prison. I thank you, Father, I'm not 
in an ISIS camp. I thank you, Father, that I'm not getting 
my eyes poked out currently. There's something legit in that. 
We can praise God for those blessings. But I thank you, Father, that 
I'm not like other men. I tithe, I fast, I pray, I display 
my good works. I'm not unjust, I'm not an adulterer, 
and I'm certainly not like tax collectors. What's a tax collector 
do? God be merciful to me, the sinner." 
He couldn't even look up into heaven. But Jesus' point, this 
one goes to his house justified. This one is the kingdom inhabitant. You see, that bothers Pharisees 
and it bothers scribes because they think the kingdom of heaven 
is a bartered transaction. I do enough good things and proffer 
my works before the Lord and He will reward me. They don't 
understand the doctrine of total depravity. They don't understand 
Jeremiah 17. They don't reckon with the reality 
that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. 
They certainly don't have a righteous understanding of the law. What 
does Jesus teach us in the Sermon on the Mount? You think that 
if you just don't lie with a woman, you've obeyed the law? I tell 
you, he who looks at a woman and lusts after her in his heart 
is violating the law. You think you're somehow a champ 
because you've never taken an AK-47 and gunned someone down? You think you should be rewarded 
for that behavior? I tell you, if you have hated 
your brother without a cause, if you have called him raka, 
if you have said he's got an empty head, if you have made 
sport of him or mocked him, you have violated the sixth word. 
You see, the Pharisees don't get that. That's why the older 
brother grumbles. You never did this for me. This 
is why in Luke 19 when Jesus tells Zacchaeus, hurry down the 
tree because the Son of Man is going to eat dinner at your house 
tonight. What do the people do? Do they say, oh praise God, Zacchaeus 
has found the joy. Oh praise the Lord, Jesus is 
in fact kind to wretches like Zacchaeus. They grumbled. He 
didn't come to our house. Why is he going to Zacchaeus's? Because Luke 19.10, Matthew 18.11, 
the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. So you see why we ought not to 
despise little ones for whom Jesus died. Because the angels 
who hold a place of prominence seek to further the salvation 
of these little ones. Because the Son of Man in his 
very mission had the redemption of these little ones in his view. 
and within the context and the confines of the local church. 
When one of these little ones stray out, the Son of Man nevertheless 
goes a-seeking and he goes a-finding. The Son of Man at times employs 
his church. He employs elders, but it's not 
just elders. Sometimes elders don't know what's 
going on. If you know that a brother or 
a sister is struggling, you have permission, carte blanche, here 
and now, I give it to you, to call them. You can email them. You can text them. Now, like 
no other time in history, we can be harangued by our brothers 
and sisters for having missed church. Jesus uses his church. Jesus 
uses means. Jesus uses the Word. Jesus even 
uses the mess that we make of our lives. You see, sometimes 
wandering sheep leave the fold. And sometimes wandering sheep 
end up in similar circumstances to the prodigal. And sometimes 
the Lord God sanctifies those things so that by His grace they 
come to their senses and say, I need to get back in the fold. 
Life outside the fold isn't good. Life inside the fold isn't always 
a whole lot better, but it's safer. There's safety. And then the third and final 
statement that Jesus makes, verse 14, the purpose of God. little ones, because the angels 
don't, because the Son of Man doesn't, and because the Father 
in heaven doesn't. Even so, it is not the will of 
your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones 
should perish. Now this passage is not teaching 
that a genuine Christian can perish. This passage is not teaching 
that election and that predestination that flow forth through effectual 
calling and the redemption of God's people that then lead themselves 
or lend themselves into the perseverance of the saints does not teach 
that a genuine believer can actually be lost. The moment you believe 
the gospel by the grace of God, your sins are forgiven and you 
receive the imputed righteousness of Christ. I don't think the 
idea with reference to the word perish here is necessarily damned, 
but in the context it probably means damaged. It's not the will 
of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones 
should perish, should stumble, should be held in contempt. should 
be despised, should be looked down upon. Again, Paul's epistle 
in Romans 14. I think this is the way we are 
to understand this. People read these passages and 
they say, wow, this must mean that a Christian can lose his 
or her salvation. In Romans 14, very specifically, Verse 15. I don't have time to 
go through a lot of the verses, but notice in verse 15, "...yet 
if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer 
walking in love. Do not destroy with your food 
the one for whom Christ died." He calls him a brother. He assumes 
that this is the church. These are the people whom God 
foreknew. These are the people whom God predestined. These are 
the people whom God called. These are the people whom God 
justified. These are the people whom God is going to glorify. 
Paul does not believe for a moment that a genuine believer can actually 
lose his or her salvation. But they could be scandalized 
in the church. They could be held in contempt 
in the church. They can be made to feel very 
small and very low and very condemned because they don't want a porterhouse. 
Paul says, don't do that. Throw out your meat if it is 
going to cause your brother, for whom Christ died, to be destroyed. And then the same concept in 
1 Corinthians 8.11. Again, I'm absolutely convinced 
the Apostle had Jesus' statements in his mind as he wrote. Well, 
I don't know if I should say absolutely convinced. Very highly 
probable that he did. 1 Corinthians 8, 11, "...and 
because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish for whom 
Christ died?" Is Paul teaching that a believer can actually 
lose his or her salvation? No. He's talking that a believer 
can scandalize another believer and make them feel like garbage 
in the place where they are supposed to be held with happiness. Paul's conclusion, but when you 
thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, 
you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother 
stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother 
stumble. I don't want to do that, Paul 
says. Paul reflecting perhaps on Matthew 18 says, I will gladly 
forego my liberties. I will gladly go up my pleasantries. I will gladly give up those things 
that make me happy, that I have a right and title to. God's good. He's a good creator. He's given 
porterhouses. He's given shoehorns. He's given 
choices in these particular areas, as long as they're not sin. But 
instead of exercising my privilege, instead of exercising my liberty, 
instead of insisting that I'm right, I'm going to give it up. 
Because I don't want to offend one of these little ones for 
whom Jesus died to stumble. I not only don't want to make 
them stumble, I want to help them as far as I'm able to get 
over that finish line, so that they may see Him as He is and 
rejoice." You know, this ain't just stuff with the Apostle Paul. 
We're going to see tonight in 2 Timothy chapter 2. Why does 
Paul endure hardship? For the sake of the elect! For the sake of the elect! For the church, Paul goes to 
prison. For the church, Paul's beaten. For the Church, Paul 
is scandalized. For the Church, Paul is held 
in contempt. For the Church, Paul is brutalized. I endure all things for the elect." 
There's no hyper-Calvinism there either. The one who affirms the 
absolute sovereignty of God and the eternal decree of God understands 
that God has not only purposed the end, all of the means there 
unto. And Paul was a means for the 
propagation of the truth and the calling of God's elect. And 
insofar as there was breath in his lungs, insofar as there was 
a back to be beaten, insofar as there was a reputation to 
be destroyed, Paul would gladly give it all up because of the 
brethren. So listen to Jesus' words in 
Matthew chapter 18, verse 10. do not despise one of these little 
ones." Well, brethren, in conclusion, the prohibition directed to the 
church, and how can we navigate? What should we do as a sort of 
proactive strategy to not despise one another? Certainly, understanding 
what is Christian liberty is helpful. We have a confession 
study every other Sunday from 930 to 1030 where we cover such 
things. We believe the 17th century confessions 
of faith well articulated Christian doctrine, well summarized those 
things which are most surely believed among us. So having 
a proper understanding of what Christian liberty is all about, 
having a proper understanding of what sort of the cardinal 
truths in the Christian faith, I mean, we can disagree on eschatology, 
can't we? We can disagree on eschatology 
and go sit with the marriage supper of the Lamb. You can't 
disagree on the Trinity. You can't disagree on the deity 
of Jesus. You can't disagree on the means, 
or the way rather, of salvation. There are non-negotiables. And 
shoehorns and porterhouses do not fall into that category. 
The deity of Christ most certainly does. We do not negotiate with 
heresy. We do not have truck with wrong 
doctrine. We do not participate in the 
deception and the lies that go out for much of Christian preaching 
today. But in terms of this chapter, Jesus tells us how we are to 
live so that we don't fall prey to despising one another. The 
first is we ought to pursue humility. Verses 1 to 4. Now, dear older 
brother, said something that was very valuable to me in this 
connection. He said that we ought to pursue 
killing pride. Instead of pursuing humility, 
we kill pride. What happens when we kill pride? 
Humility naturally follows. What happens when we pursue humility? We probably aggravate pride. Look at how holy I am. Look at how humble I am. Look at how much I've done to 
promote the good of us." You see the distinction? His statement 
to me caused me to think, yeah, that's what I want to do. I want 
to kill pride. I want to cut its throat out. 
I want to de-gut it. I want to root it out of my life 
because in its wake will be humility. If I put up on my wall ten steps 
to be a humble man, I'm going to be proud every one I can check 
off. Every single one, right? And 
it's probably not just me, it might fit you too. And when we come to this little 
child that Jesus swoops up and takes and holds in his And he 
says, of such is the kingdom of heaven. You know, there is 
a native disposition in our hearts. Again, I don't want to say all 
of you, but many of us in the professing church toward pride 
and selfishness. Why do we possibly despise others? Because we're proud and selfish. 
Well, it's because of the makeup of, no, let's just deal. We're 
proud and selfish. That's at least being honest. Whoever covers his transgression, 
Proverbs 28, 13, will not prosper. But whoever confesses it and 
forsakes it will find what? He'll find mercy. God, help me 
not to be so proud. Help me not to be so selfish. Help me to actually be like my 
Master. That if there's a straying person, 
I go after them. Not so I can tell them all about 
me. You haven't been in church lately. 
You haven't heard the updates on me. You don't know what's going 
on with me. No, I'll go after them. How many times in our discourse, 
how many times in our interaction do we like it when it's about 
us? I've got a brother who's quite candid in this regard, 
and I think it's joking, but I think he has a vein of truth 
in there. You'll be in a group of guys 
and talking, and you'll say, what do you think about that 
brother? He said, I wasn't listening, it wasn't about me. He verbalizes what I think at 
least happens in Psalm. I wasn't paying attention because 
it wasn't about me. We need to receive little ones 
instead of reject them. Verse 5. Contra verse 6. We need to be the community of 
Christ's people and not like the world, who causes offenses 
for Christ's people. We need as well to cut off hands, 
to cut off feet, and to pluck out eyes, metaphorically speaking. Jesus is not asking you to engage 
in punitive amputation. This is a misrepresentation. 
Oh, the biblical law. It's like Sharia. It's all about 
amputation. There is one place that I am 
familiar with in the Old Testament where punitive amputation is 
called for. And it is not an act of theft. 
It has to do, perhaps, with destroying the seed of a man. He is not 
telling us literally to cut off hands, cut off feet, and to gouge 
out eyes. He is telling us to deal radically 
with your sin. You see, I think it'd be easier 
to cut off the hands, cut off the feet, gouge out the eyes, 
than to deal radically with sin. Oh, I got this. I'll just chop 
off the left. I don't do a lot with it anyway. 
Now I just pop out the left because if that's my path to holiness, 
if that's my security to godliness, if that's what I have to do to 
enter heaven, well certainly I'll do that. But to actually 
be nice to someone, to listen to them, to care about them, 
to notice they weren't there and to call them, that's tough. I don't know. It doesn't fit 
my life. I can live with a stump, but 
I can't live with kindness to another person. I can live with 
a glass eye, but to not despise the people of God, you're really 
asking a lot of me, Jesus. It's really that kind of illustration. I'd gladly give up my left foot, 
but I can still hate those little ones for whom Jesus died. The 
theological reasons provided for the church are very clear. The angels, the Lord Jesus in 
his redemptive ministry, and the Father himself, they all 
esteem the little ones. They all care for the little 
ones. Jesus recovers them when they're 
straying. Jesus died for them initially 
to bring them into the fold. The Father's purpose, the Father's 
will, the Father's design, is that these little ones do not 
perish. And the very angels sent into 
this world to minister to them, they behold the face of God. 
They don't disdain them. So certainly Christians who are 
on the same footing, who are cut from the same stock, you 
people ought to love each other and care for each other when 
it comes to these things. Matthew Henry said, observe the 
gradation of agreement. The angels of God are their servants, 
verse 10. The Son of God is their Savior, 
verse 11. And now to complete their honor, 
God himself is their friend, verse 14. And then I think a 
way to help us finally, and by finally I mean almost, 1 John. You may turn there. I've always 
agreed with the Puritan John Owen when he talks about dealing 
with sin. He says we need to load our conscience 
with the guilt of sin. We need to see sin as it really 
is. I mean, the tendency today, we 
don't want to call it adultery, we want to call it playing around. 
We don't want to call it sodomy, we want to call it gay. We don't 
want to call it lying or deceit or slander, we call it just sharing. You see, you've got to load your 
conscience with the guilt of sin and you've got to see what 
you're dealing with or you won't pray accordingly. You certainly 
won't act accordingly. The apostle of love condemns 
those who profess faith in Christ but have no love for brethren. 
Notice in 1 John 2, 9 to 11. He who says he is in the light 
and hates his brother is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother 
abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in 
him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness 
and does not know where he is going because the darkness has 
blinded his eyes. I've heard testimony from people. I can express it myself. There 
was a time I didn't love Christians. I didn't. They bugged me. They told me things I didn't 
want to hear. They told me I was wrong. Say, oh, you Christians, 
I just love you. What happens at conversion? Christians, 
I love you. It's a good thing, man, effectual 
calling affects you such that now you love what you once hated. 
You love God, you love his people. So you see, if you profess the 
saving faith and you hate people, you need to repent and believe 
the gospel. You need to repent and believe the gospel because 
this is a natural outflow of conversion. 3, 14, and 15. We 
know that we have passed from death to life because we love 
the brethren. He who does not love his brother 
abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is 
a murderer. And you know that no murderer 
has eternal life abiding in him. So that's pretty hard, pretty 
strong, pretty powerful words. And if we understand Jesus correctly 
in Matthew chapter 18, it's about causing offense. It's about scandalizing 
others. It's about holding them in contempt. 
This is what John is talking about. He's not saying there's 
people, you know, that hide in the basement of church buildings. 
They profess the faith in Christ. They hide in the buildings. They 
grab a guy and they bring him into the boiler room and they 
let him have it with physical murder. That's not the point. 
Point is they despise him. They hold him in contempt. They 
don't want to be around him. They think he's got big problems. Can I give you a piece of advice? 
Everybody in the church has big problems. Every single one of 
us is messed up through and through. The sooner we actually understand 
that and operate consistently with that, it will hopefully 
save us a lot of pain. Because it will answer the question, 
how could they ever treat me poorly? Because they're messed 
up. How can you treat people poorly? 
Because you're messed up. Let's just settle that once and 
for all. How come Pastor Butler neglected 
me? Because he's messed up. That's a fundamental operating 
procedure. That's just what we have. We 
need to deal. If we weren't messed up, as Paul 
says in Galatians 2.21, then Christ died in vain. He came 
to do what he did because we're so messed up. 1 John 3.16-18, By this we know 
love, because he laid down his life for us. And we also ought 
to lay down our lives for the brethren. That, again, doesn't 
probably mean physically. You're going to drive home today 
and probably not get shot at in Chilliwack. You probably are 
not going to be shot at. You don't need to run by your 
car and take a bullet when you get shot at. He fleshes out the 
idea in what follows. But whoever has this world's 
goods and sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart from 
him, how does the love of God abide in him? You see, the call 
of God in the Christian gospel, according to his blessed will 
and law, is not to go out and take bullets for everyone. It's 
to be nice to them. If they are blood-bought children 
of God, give them a ham. Give them potatoes. Give them 
a coat. give him something so that he 
doesn't drop dead from the cold or the hunger." Well, I don't 
know about this Christianity thing. I can't take bullets for 
people. You can give them a ham. I guarantee you. Go buy a ham 
and give it to them. Don't go buy it today. It is 
the Lord's Day. Buy it tomorrow. Buy two, buy five, buy ten, so 
that you're never tempted to go out on the Lord's Day and 
buy hams. As we mentioned last hour, yesterday 
was Pi Day. You all knew that, didn't you? 3.14, Pi Day. Wish there was 
as much excitement for the Lord's Day as there is for Pi Day. You'd 
probably say, I didn't even know there was a Pi Day. There's a 
Pi Day. There really is. There's a Pi Day. There's one 
a year. We get 52 Lord's Days a year. 
Let's be excited. And then 1 John 4, 20 to 21. You see, the Bible does not play 
games with this idea. The Lord Jesus spoke authoritatively. The Lord Jesus commands. The 
Lord Jesus gives law. The Lord Jesus tells his people 
that they need to love. They need to guard against the 
tendency to despise. And in 420, John says, if someone 
says, I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he 
who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he 
love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have 
from him, that he who loves God must love his brother also. You see, this is the summary 
of the Law and the Prophets. Upon these two hang all the Law 
and the Prophets. Love to God, love to man. And 
if you are not a Christian here this morning, you do not love 
God and you do not love man the way you ought to do. And as a 
result, God is going to judge you. God is going to punish you. Because you are not some delicate 
snowflake in this universe that has a right to everything you 
do. but you are a creature of the living God who has spoken 
thunderously his law. Love me with all your heart, 
with all your soul, with all your strength, and you shall 
love your neighbor as yourself." You got the love yourself down 
pat, but in terms of loving God, loving neighbor, no. That's the beauty of the gospel. This Christ came to seek and 
to save that which was lost. This Christ laid down his life 
so that all who believe in him will have everlasting life. If you are not a Christian here 
this morning, you need to come. You need to believe. You need 
to look and live to the only one who can save you from your 
sins. Well, let us close with a word 
of prayer. Father, we thank you for your 
word. We thank you for the clarity of our Lord Jesus and for the 
great instruction, the law, the word, the gospel that we have 
in this section of scripture. Help us, Father, to conduct ourselves 
accordingly in this local church. Help us not to despise one little 
one. Help us to love and esteem those 
whom the Lord God Almighty loves and esteems. We ask that you 
would go with us now, watch over us, and grant us grace to glorify 
and honor you. And we pray through Christ our 
Lord. Amen. I will close with a brief time 
of meditation, and then we'll be dismissed.