In every past age, people coveted success. People still covet success. The desire to be successful is the engine that drives the ambitions of mankind. In the attempt to be successful, people commit themselves to actions and behaviors that otherwise would never become a part of their lives. In the attempt to gain success, people neglect their greatest treasures.
In some ways, people's definition of success varies. The situation and circumstances of the individual shape his or her concept of success. What a poor person living in horrible circumstances considers success would never be considered success by a wealthy person living in opportune circumstances.
In some ways, people's definition of success is the same. Whatever the situation and circumstances, common definitions of success include at least one of these elements: power, position, money, or honor.
The pursuit of success is a search for personal significance. The person feels significant if he or she has power, or position, or money, or honor. The most common way to determine personal success is to measure personal significance. "How important am I? How essential am I? How indispensable am I? How many people realize that I am important, essential, or indispensable?"
If you want to locate people who are addicted to success and driven by ambition, where do you look? In government? They are there. In business? They are there. In "for profit" organizations? They are there. In "nonprofit" organizations? They are there. In volunteer organizations? They are there. In criminal enterprises? They are there. In the church? They are there. Such people exist in every human endeavor.
The church provides people who consider themselves disadvantaged the opportunity to pursue success. People who do not find personal significance in government, business, organizations, or enterprises either legal or criminal, can find opportunity for significance in the church. People whose craving for significance cannot be satisfied can pursue significance in the church. The church provides this opportunity for virtually anyone who craves it. Power can be generated through control. Leadership roles can be perverted into positions. Channeling contributions can create a sense of having money. Promoting oneself can become the avenue to honor. Too much occurring in the church is success-driven rather than service-driven.
Jesus' twelve disciples struggled with this problem. Many of Israel's religious leaders were the captives of this problem. It is no surprise that the problem still lives. It will always exist.
Teacher awareness: approach your study and your class in the clear awareness that God's criteria and manner for determining a person's significance and people's criteria and manner for determining the significance of a person are entirely different.
Matthew 18:1-6
Who is greatest (greater) in the kingdom of heaven? The gospel of Matthew was written to Jewish readers. The Jewish people did not pronounce the name of God. They considered God's name to be too holy to be spoken. One phrase they used as a substitute for God's name was "kingdom of heaven." In the Jewish understanding, Matthew was writing about greatness in God's kingdom. If a person is ruled by God, how does he achieve greatness before God?
He called a child to him and set the child before his disciples.
Jesus' opening statement: Unless you are converted (turned) and become like little children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Unless they redirected their lives and became like small children they could not place themselves under God's rule.
The greatest person in God's kingdom, under God's rule, would be the person who humbled himself as did a child.
The person who received a small child in Jesus' name also received Jesus. It is possible that in this verse Jesus made a transition from considering a child to considering a disciple. The disciple whom God considers great is the disciple who humbly realizes that he is a trusting dependent (on God), just as a child realizes that he/she is dependent on the parent/adult that he/she trusts.
It would be better to have a heavy millstone attached to the person's neck and he or she be drowned in the sea than for him or her to cause one who humbly depends on God to stumble. A physical death that offers no hope of recovering the body would be a blessing when compared to the consequences of causing an humble, dependent one to stumble.
Matthew 23:1-12
Jesus gave this lesson to the multitudes and to the disciples.
The scribes and Pharisees seated themselves in the chair of Moses.
When the nation of Israel began, Moses was God's spokesman, the man who represented God's authority. Always, Israel looked upon Moses as the man who revealed God's law. To Israel, Moses was the highest source of earthly authority. To sit on Moses' seat was to occupy the position of authority.
Israel regarded the scribes (the men who made hand copies of scripture) and the Pharisees (the teachers who wanted to direct Israel back to the ancient ways of God) as experts in the scripture. Because they were looked upon as the experts in interpreting the meaning and message of scripture, they symbolized religious and spiritual authority to many people in Israel.
They were to observe the instructions from scripture given by the scribes and Pharisees. When they spoke from scripture, they spoke the message of God.
They were not to follow the practices and actions of the scribes and Pharisees. Their instructions came from scripture. Their behavior was motivated by considerations that had little or nothing to do with scripture.
The scribes and Pharisees bundled heavy burdens. They made obeying God as difficult as possible.
They placed the bundles [heavy responsibilities] on the shoulders of others. The scribes and Pharisees demanded that others carry a "heavy load" to follow God properly.
They, themselves, made no attempt to even lift the burdens they placed on others. Their responsibility was to require the burdens of others, not to carry the burdens themselves.
Their motive: to be noticed by men. They wanted to gain the attention of others. The purpose of their deeds was to focus people's attention on them, not on God.
"Phylacteries" is a transliteration of a Greek word [a transliteration is a manufactured word created by substituting a letter from the alphabet of one language for a letter of the alphabet in another language]. Exodus 13:9, 16 and Deuteronomy 6:8 and 11:18 instructed Israelites to bind the law as a sign on their hand and forehead. Small boxes were made of "clean" [see Leviticus 11] animal skins. In these boxes were placed copies of scriptures (Exodus 13:1-10; 13:11-16; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21). These boxes containing the hand copied scriptures were attached by leather straps to the forehead and to the left hand at the times of prayer. To "broaden" them, the scribes and Pharisees made them larger than common phylacteries.
They made their tassels longer, therefore more noticeable to others. Jesus had tassels or a fringe on his outer garment [Matthew 9:20; 14:36]. Numbers 15:38-41 commanded the Israelite men to wear blue tassels "throughout their generations" on the corners of their garments [see also Deuteronomy 22:12]. This served as a constant reminder to them to keep God's commandments.
The scribes and Pharisees loved a seat of honor at banquets [that would be the seat nearest the host], the chief seats in the synagogues [the places to sit that indicated the significance of the person], public greetings that declared an honored position, and the title of Rabbi.
Note: Jesus is talking about conferring religious or spiritual titles on people, not about acknowledging physical relationships. Religious titles encourage pride and arrogance. Relationship encourages humility.
Only one was their teacher; they were brothers.
Only one was their Father [spiritually], and He lives in heaven.
The Greek word for leaders, teachers, masters is used only here in the New Testament. The English word that reveals the force of the word is "professor." That title is reserved for the Christ. In matters concerning God, only Christ occupies the position of the Master Teacher.
The person who serves the others will be the greatest.
The person who exalts himself shall be humbled, and the person who humbles himself shall be exalted.
Jesus' point in the first text about children is easily missed. Children in first century poverty-stricken Israel had little in common with children in advantaged, prosperous twenty-first century America. Jesus' lesson concerning children is best seen by contrasting them with the scribes and Pharisees. The believing, humble child was teachable. A trusting, unassuming nature had an open mind and heart. The arrogant, knowledgeable scribes and Pharisees were unteachable. These "successful, significant experts" assign burdens to the "unlearned."
The person who is greatest in God's kingdom, who places himself or herself under God's control, is the teachable person. The concepts Jesus emphasized were radically different then and still are. Only the teachable will learn and live by those teachings. Only the unassuming person who accepts the fact that he is totally dependent on God will allow Jesus to teach him or her. Just like a dependent child, he or she is willing to have his or her understanding molded and shaped by God. The learned, arrogant scribes and Pharisees "knew" all the answers. Their expertise could draw the line between the important and unimportant. They "knew" what pleased God. They were unteachable. They were convinced that Jesus' teachings "misrepresented God's priorities and desires." Others depended on them. They did the molding and shaping. They did not need to be molded or shaped.
Link to Student Guide Quarter 2, Lesson 8