Dependent Entrance and Childlike Greatness

David W Palmer

(Matthew 18:1 CSB) At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “So who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

Oops! At the time of this question, Jesus was in the middle of training his twelve apprentices to participate in and expand his mission to earth. He had recently been teaching them more about his kingdom—its culture, principles, and practices. But now, an issue close to the heart of human nature overflowed from the abundance of their hearts—coming out of their mouths. They want to know something that is important to men: “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

It seems the old flesh nature was alive and well—still jostling for places of relative standing on the world’s ladder of pseudo significance. I’m sure that this question would have been like a red rag to a bull for Jesus; but in his amazingly gracious humility, he responded with love, meekness, and patience:

(Matthew 18:2–3 NKJV) Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, {3} 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.”

In his loving and gentle manner, Jesus calmly gave them a very amazing—if not very stringent—prerequisite for even entering his kingdom, let alone being the “greatest” in it. He said that they would first have to be “converted,” and then “become as little children” to enter his kingdom. That is, to access the realm over which he reigns.

The word, “converted,” means to twist, that is, to turn around or reverse. Often confused with the word, “repent,” which means to have a heartfelt change of thinking, this word means to do a U-turn. In the context of what Jesus was talking about here, this could have only meant that they would have to completely reverse the direction of their attitude about who would be the greatest in heaven’s kingdom. His next phrase reveals the extent of the reversal of thinking: “Become as little children.”

The Greek tense of Jesus’s word, “become,” implies that we need humbly to keep becoming like little children. This is not a one-off entry requirement; this is how you enter and continue to stay in God’s kingdom:

(Matthew 18:4 NKJV) “Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

So what are the child-like qualities that Jesus is looking for? We need to know because he said that they are essential for first gaining access to his kingdom, and only then deciding greatness in it? To answer this, we will need to understand his view of parents and dependent children.

God uses the titles, “Father” and “Son,” for two members of the Godhead. Jesus was the Son, and he referred to his Father God as “Abba” in Greek, which translates to “daddy” in contemporary terms. So, even as a mature adult, Jesus related to his heavenly dad like a little child; he depended on him for everything:

(John 5:19 ISV) Jesus told them, “Truly, I tell all of you with certainty, the Son can do nothing on his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing, What the Father does, the Son does likewise.”

Like a small child that imitates his or her parents, Jesus only did what he saw his Father doing. By saying, “only,” he implied that he depended on his Father for everything in the way a dependent child does.

The nature of little children is also to imitate what they see, and they primarily have their own parents to observe. So Jesus invested his most vulnerable times—when he was most open and receptive—into focusing on, and watching his Father. For example:

(Mark 1:35 NKJV) Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.

For me personally, my most open time is first thing in the morning. When I awaken, I seem automatically to be tuned in to hearing God. Whatever I hear and see at that time gets past my normal defenses, and goes directly into my spirit. For example, if I go directly to God’s word—whether by reading and meditating on the Bible, or by listening to anointed preaching—it goes deeply into my spirit; it feeds my inner man, and I remember it.

On the other hand, if I awaken to secular, commercial TV sound, whatever information is coming from that undergoes the same process—trying to enter my inner man as spiritual nutrition. This is not a good idea because it “un-renews” my mind, and it feeds worldliness and fear. It is like losing gained territory back to the enemy. Extracting it after that is both arduous and time-consuming.

In his humble state, Jesus knew he would imitate what he saw. By disciplining this time to invest it only with his Father, he ensured that he imitated no one but his heavenly dad. He then instructed his disciples—including us—to operate the same way in relation to him: “[keep] becoming like little children … whoever will humble himself like this little child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

This obviously connects with Jesus’s teaching on the new birth. In John 3, he said that we need to receive a new birth to enter God’s kingdom. This parallels what he said about being “converted” and becoming as “little children” (Mat. 18:3 NKJV). The Holy Spirit later exhorted us to then do what Jesus did—to keep imitating our heavenly Father:

(Ephesians 5:1 NLT) “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.”

The idea of continually becoming like little children, who watch only—and therefore imitate only—their heavenly dad, is akin to Jesus’s later explanation that we abide exclusively in him:

(John 15:5 EMTV) “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; because apart from Me you can do nothing.”

Therefore, entering, operating in, and becoming great in God’s kingdom will require us to go in the exact opposite direction to the world. We will need to focus on being humble, vulnerable, and completely childlike. We will need to trust our heavenly Father for absolutely everything. And we will need to imitate him and our elder brother, Jesus, in all we say, do, and think.

Through his death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus opened the way for us to come without inferiority or condemnation to our dad’s knee. We can come there as his children, gaze at his splendor, wonder at his glory, and then imitate what we see and hear.

This trusting, child-like humility is prerequisite to entering God’s kingdom; and we need to continue humbling ourselves to stay in it. The more we descend into this lowly child-like state of complete dependence and loving replication, the greater Jesus says we will be in his kingdom.

Today, I encourage you to check your own inner perceptions of what constitutes greatness in God’s kingdom. If necessary, make a complete U-turn from the world’s way of thinking of greatness in an organization, and simply fall into Father’s loving arms—depending completely on him like a dependent child. Put all your trust in him. Give him your most vulnerable and open hours, so what you see and hear with him enters your innermost being and feeds your spiritual hunger.

Only in this way, will your deep driving need for significance and security be truly met. If you find yourself hankering for position, title, prominence, or place of power in God’s kingdom, stop! Change your direction; humble yourself, and dive for daddy’s seat. Come and receive his love. Come and see what he shows you. Come to imbibe his character, values, priorities, and dream. Only by continuing to become like little children will you enter, stay, and become great in his kingdom.