Lesson 14 (Gospel Doctrine): Little ones, This Aint About Kids

[pelagius]

I just finished presenting a paper so I am rewarding myself by not thinking about Finance for a few hours. So here are some thoughts about Gospel Doctrine lesson 14. Consider Matthew 18:1-9:

1) At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? (2) And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, (3) And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. (4) Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (5) And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. (6) But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. (7) Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! (8) Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. (9) And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

I could be wrong, but I think most people read verses 5-9 as about how we should treat little children (i.e., offending or mistreating them is a very serious offense). However, notice the shift in verse 6; Jesus starts referring to a group called the "little ones." The little ones "which believe in [Jesus]." That's a strange way to refer to literal little children. Why distinguish between children that believe and those who don't? I think the answer is that it is a metaphorical title and not really a reference to actual little children. The title, "little ones" basically means the same thing as "children of Christ" or "disciples." Furthermore, I think the use of "little ones" throughout the gospel of Matthew is most consistent with the idea that it is a metaphorical title that refers to the members of the Christian community, disciples, the born again, etc. Consider, Matthew 10:40-42:

(40) He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. (41) He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. (42) And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

The context here is clearly disciples; particularly disciples engaged in the missionary work. Notice, how these verse closely mirror the images and language of Matthew 18:5-6. Also, notice the parable of the lost sheep in the next few verses (10-14) of Matthew 18:

10) Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. (11) For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. (12) How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? (13) And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. (14) Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

[note: verse 11 is a probably a later addition; it is missing from most modern translation.]

The parable is sandwiched in between discussions of the “little ones” and clearly links the sheep with the “little ones." Thus it seems likely that the sheep in general and/or the lost sheep particularly represent the “little ones” in the parable. Th parable doesn't make any sense if it is about children. The context makes sense if the "little ones" and the sheep are disciples and the lost sheep is one of the little ones that the community has offended (the discussion in verses 5-9).

I also think, recognizing "little ones" as referring to disciples changes how we look at verse 6:

6) “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea.” (NRSV)

To me it seems to suggest the context is causing or enticing other believers or disciples to sin. Right?

Have you seen people at church interpret "little ones" this way? Is this a common interpretation and I have just missed it?

[il Padrino Ute]

That it is a metaphor for all of us who would accept Christ had never occurred to me. That certainly makes much more sense, as in LDS doctrine, it's the small children who would attain exaltation should they die before the age of accountability.

Good call, Solon.

[creekster]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

Good call, Solon.

Or Pelagius. You smart guys are all alike.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by creekster

Or Pelagius. You smart guys are all alike.

whoops, lol. My mistake.

Sorry Pelagius.

[jay santos]

Originally Posted by pelagius

I just finished presenting a paper so I am rewarding myself by not thinking about Finance for a few hours. So here are some thoughts about Gospel Doctrine lesson 14. Consider Matthew 18:1-9:



I could be wrong, but I think most people read verses 5-9 as about how we should treat little children (i.e., offending or mistreating them is a very serious offense). However, notice the shift in verse 6; Jesus starts referring to a group called the "little ones." The little ones "which believe in [Jesus]." That's a strange way to refer to a literal little children. Why distinguish between children that believe and those who don't? I think the answer is that it is a metaphorical title and not really a reference to actually little children. The title, "little ones" basically means the same thing as "children of Christ" or "disciples." Furthermore, I think the use of "little ones" throughout the gospel of Matthew is most consistent with the idea that it is a metaphorical title that refers to the members of the Christian community, disciples, the born again, etc. Consider, Matthew 10:40-42:



The context here is clearly disciples; particularly disciples engaged in the missionary work. Notice, how these verse closely mirror the images and language of Matthew 18:5-6. Also, notice the parable of the lost sheep in the next few verses (10-14) of Matthew 18:


[note: verse 11 is a probably a later addition; it is missing from most modern translation.]

The parable is sandwiched in between discussions of the “little ones” and clearly links the sheep with the “little ones." Thus it seems likely that the sheep in general and/or the lost sheep particularly represent the “little ones” in the parable. Th parable doesn't make any sense if it is about children. The context makes sense if the "little ones" and the sheep are disciples and the lost sheep is one of the little ones that the community has offended (the discussion in verses 5-9).

I also think, recognizing "little ones" as referring to disciples changes how we look at verse 6:


To me it seems to suggest the context is causing or enticing other believers or disciples to sin. Right?

Have you seen people at church interpret "little ones" this way? Is this a common interpretation and I have just missed it?

Good stuff, Pelagius. I've never heard this concept before, either, but I'm no scholar. I questioned this passage particularly when I served in the nursery and observed children stealing, lying, and generally beating the crud out of each other. This is how we should become?

Seriously, your take on this might conflict with one of my favorite scripture interpretations, which is in the Lost Sheep parable.

I heard this interpretation, which I absolutely love.

One lost sheep = the sinner who acknowledges sin and accepts Christ
99 "found" sheep = the Pharisees who say they have no sin and therefore don't need Christ

Jesus furthers this sarcastic play on words with his discussion with the Simon the Pharisee that dined with him and the woman sinner, saying

“Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.”

Also "I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

I believe his use of righteous/those without sin/found sheep in these instances are a sarcastic false premise because none of these actually exist--they only describe a group of people who already feel they are righteous and don't need Jesus.

"All we like sheep have gone astray"

[pelagius]

Originally Posted by jay santos

Good stuff, Pelagius. I've never heard this concept before, either, but I'm no scholar. I questioned this passage particularly when I served in the nursery and observed children stealing, lying, and generally beating the crud out of each other. This is how we should become?

I know you mostly joking around a bit here, but I do think that the object lesson of the child as an example of humility has a specific context. The underlying question of the disciples is about power. That's how the children are humble; their complete lack of status or power. In my view, the humble status of the little child (i.e., their lack of power of really any kind) is at the core of this striking reversal of world’s definition of greatness and kingdom’s definition of greatness. However, I think there is a bit more to it than just status or the lack of status. “Unless the disciples exhibit a childlike indifference to greatness by the world’s standard, they ‘cannot’ (the double negative of the Greek emphasizes this) expect to enter the ‘kingdom of heaven.’”[1] I do think little children are fairly unconcerned with greatness as conventionally defined by world and implicitly defined by the disciples in verse 1. I'm not sure we should read into the verses that children exemplify humility in other ways.

Endnotes

1. Hagner, Donald A., 1988, Word Biblical Commentary: Matthew 14-28, Nelson Reference and Electronic, 517.

[ute4ever]

Don't forget everyone's favorite Old Testament story:

2 Kings 2:23: And [Elisha] went up from thence unto Beth-el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.

24: And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

[pelagius]

Originally Posted by jay santos

Seriously, your take on this might conflict with one of my favorite scripture interpretations, which is in the Lost Sheep parable.

I heard this interpretation, which I absolutely love.

One lost sheep = the sinner who acknowledges sin and accepts Christ
99 "found" sheep = the Pharisees who say they have no sin and therefore don't need Christ

Jesus furthers this sarcastic play on words with his discussion with the Simon the Pharisee that dined with him and the woman sinner, saying

“Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.”

Also "I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

I believe his use of righteous/those without sin/found sheep in these instances are a sarcastic false premise because none of these actually exist--they only describe a group of people who already feel they are righteous and don't need Jesus.

"All we like sheep have gone astray"

I don't think it does conflict with your interpretation. Parables are certainly flexible enough to have multiple meanings. Actually, let me clarify; I do think it conflicts with Matthew 18:1-14. The context just doesn't seem to support such an interpretation. However, the parable of lost sheep shows up in Luke as well (Luke 15, if I remember correctly). The backdrop is very different in the Luke telling of the parable, and Jesus tells the parable in the presence of both tax-collectors and pharisees. Such a setting seems more consistent with your interpretation. That the parable has a different message in each situation seems entirely possible and likely to me. I haven't thought about the Luke context enough to decide whether I think your reading is the most likely, but I will try to the Luke 15 a careful read sometime.

[pelagius]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

That it is a metaphor for all of us who would accept Christ had never occurred to me. That certainly makes much more sense, as in LDS doctrine, it's the small children who would attain exaltation should they die before the age of accountability.

Good call, Solon.

Thanks, il Padrino Ute, and I don't mind the misidentification. As Creekster said, Solon's a smart guy.

Thanks, Creekster

[creekster]

Originally Posted by pelagius

Thanks, il Padrino Ute, and I don't mind the misidentification. As Creekster said, Solon's a smart guy.

Thanks, Creekster

No, thank you, and that is sincere. I had never considered these verses as you suggest here but in doing so it seems like a very obvious construction. I only wish could reciprocate but my insights are much less interesting.