At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ² And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them ³ and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

1) Why did the disciples ask this question?
What was the spirit of the disciples when they asked this question? Were they humbly trying to learn, or were they pridefully trying to gain recognition for themselves? The immediate context doesn’t give us much, but if we look at the accounts of this incident in the other gospels, we see that the disciples were arguing about which of them was the greatest (Luke 9:46, Mark 9:34). There was pride behind the question.

2) What does it mean to “turn and become like children”?
The word “turn” is translated “are converted” in the NASB and “change” in the NIV. The original Greek word is strepho, and carries the idea of turning away from, or repenting. And verse 4 tells us that Jesus is using the child as an example of humility. To “turn and become like children” means to “turn around” from self-fulfillment and sufficiency and instead, turn towards Jesus by humbly putting your full faith in Christ, like a child would fully trust his daddy.

3) What exactly does it mean to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
This verse is sort of a paradox. Christ says that the greatest in the kingdom of heaven is the one who is like a little child—humble. The humble are the most exalted. But if one is truly humble, one doesn’t care about being great or exalted. Jesus is helping his disciples see that they don’t need to worry about advancing themselves or deciding who is the greatest, because in His kingdom, deep humility squelches superiority.

1) Why did the disciples ask this question?
How many times do we look in the Bible for the answer to a question just to prove a point or further our agenda? It’s not wrong to seek answers, but we must have humble hearts that are seeking the glory of God, not ourselves. Pride is so familiar to us that we often don’t even notice it. Lord, please convict me through Your Spirit when I am being prideful in the way I seek You. Defeat this sin in my life and help me to be truly humble when I read your word.

2) What does it mean to “turn and become like children”?
Humility is required to truly have faith in Christ, because we must turn from our rebellion and self-righteousness. And humility is required to live the Christian life—to “count others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3). Little children give us an example to follow in that they treat each other as equals and don’t care much for worldly ambition. What area of my life needs to become more childlike?

3) What exactly does it mean to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
In order to become the greatest in God’s kingdom, you have to quit wanting to be the greatest! That also means we need to quit comparing ourselves to others in order to feel superior. Whom in my life do I need to count as more significant than myself? What practical thing can I do this week to humble myself before that person?

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Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

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