Matthew 18:10
See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.
See that you do not despise
This phrase is a direct command from Jesus, emphasizing the importance of valuing every individual. The Greek word for "despise" is "kataphroneó," which means to look down on someone with contempt or disregard. In the historical context of the time, children and those considered "lesser" in society were often overlooked or undervalued. Jesus challenges this societal norm, urging His followers to recognize the inherent worth of every person, reflecting the biblical principle that all are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).

one of these little ones
The term "little ones" can be understood both literally and metaphorically. Literally, it refers to children, who in the ancient world were often seen as insignificant. Metaphorically, it extends to all who are humble, vulnerable, or marginalized. The Greek word "mikros" is used here, meaning small or insignificant. Jesus elevates the status of these "little ones," teaching that they hold great value in the kingdom of heaven. This aligns with the broader scriptural theme of God’s care for the humble and lowly (Psalm 138:6).

For I tell you that their angels
This phrase introduces the concept of guardian angels, a belief that each person has an angel assigned to them. The Greek word "angelos" means messenger, and in this context, it refers to spiritual beings who serve God and minister to humans. The idea that "their angels" are present suggests a divine protection and care over each individual, reinforcing the value and dignity of every person in God’s eyes.

in heaven always see the face of My Father
The imagery of angels "always see[ing] the face of My Father" signifies a close and continuous relationship with God. In ancient royal courts, to see the king's face was a privilege reserved for those in favor. Thus, the angels' access to God underscores their role as honored servants who intercede on behalf of the "little ones." This phrase highlights the intimate connection between heaven and earth, and the constant attention God gives to His creation.

who is in heaven
This final phrase reaffirms the sovereignty and omnipresence of God. The Father "who is in heaven" is a reminder of His ultimate authority and the heavenly perspective from which He governs. It assures believers that God’s care and concern for the "little ones" is part of His divine plan, executed with wisdom and love from His heavenly throne. This perspective encourages believers to trust in God’s justice and compassion, knowing that He sees and values every individual.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus Christ
The speaker of this verse, providing instruction and insight into the spiritual realm and the value of "little ones."

2. Little Ones
Refers to children or those who are humble and lowly in spirit, emphasizing their importance in the Kingdom of Heaven.

3. Angels
Spiritual beings who serve God and are assigned to watch over the "little ones," having direct access to God.

4. Heaven
The dwelling place of God, where the angels see the face of the Father.

5. The Father
God, the Father in heaven, who is attentive to the needs and protection of the "little ones."
Teaching Points
Value of Humility
Jesus emphasizes the importance of humility by highlighting the significance of "little ones." Believers are called to adopt a humble spirit, recognizing the value of each person in God's eyes.

Angelic Protection
The verse assures believers of the presence and protection of angels. This should encourage trust in God's provision and care for His people.

God's Attention
The "little ones" have angels who see the face of God, indicating His constant attention and care. Believers should take comfort in knowing that God is aware of their needs and circumstances.

Respect for All
Jesus warns against despising the "little ones," teaching that every person has inherent value. Christians are called to treat others with respect and dignity, reflecting God's love.

Heavenly Perspective
Understanding the spiritual reality of angels and God's care should inspire believers to live with a heavenly perspective, focusing on eternal values rather than earthly status.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Jesus' teaching in Matthew 18:10 challenge our view of humility and greatness in the Kingdom of Heaven?

2. In what ways can we ensure that we do not "despise" the "little ones" in our communities and churches?

3. How does the knowledge of angelic protection influence your trust in God's care and provision?

4. What practical steps can we take to reflect the value and respect that God places on each individual in our daily interactions?

5. How can the concept of having a "heavenly perspective" change the way we approach challenges and relationships in our lives?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Matthew 18:1-5
Provides context as Jesus uses a child to illustrate the humility required to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Hebrews 1:14
Discusses the role of angels as ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation.

Psalm 91:11-12
Speaks of God's command to His angels to guard His people in all their ways.

Luke 15:7
Highlights the joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, emphasizing the value of each individual.

1 Peter 5:5
Encourages believers to clothe themselves with humility, resonating with the call to value the "little ones."
ContemptBishop Carpenter, D. D.Matthew 18:10
Contempt Banished by InsightBishop Carpenter, D. D.Matthew 18:10
Contempt for the Little ImpossibleBishop Carpenter, D. D.Matthew 18:10
Contempt IgnobleBishop Carpenter, D. D.Matthew 18:10
Despising the Little OnesAdam Littleton.Matthew 18:10
Despising the Little OnesR. Tuck Matthew 18:10
Guardian AngelsLapide., Lapide.Matthew 18:10
Self-Respect Inspired by the Divine Culture of MenJ. O. Dykes, D. D.Matthew 18:10
Self-Respect Inspired by the View of a Common ManhoodJ. O. Dykes, D. D.Matthew 18:10
The Dullest Life has Angelic Light Behind ItBishop Carpenter, D. D.Matthew 18:10
The Guardian Angels of NatureBp. Carpenter.Matthew 18:10
The Nemesis of ContemptBishop Carpenter, D. D.Matthew 18:10
Training the Little OnesS. Wilberforce, D. D.Matthew 18:10
Value of a Little ChildR. Tuck, B. A.Matthew 18:10
What Value Christ Sets on Every ManJ. O. Dykes, D. D.Matthew 18:10
Necessity of Becoming Like Little ChildrenMarcus Dods Matthew 18:1-14
Warning for the ContemptuousJ.A. Macdonald Matthew 18:10-14
People
Jesus, Peter
Places
Capernaum
Topics
Access, Always, Angels, Behold, Beware, Continual, Continually, Despise, Despising, Face, Heaven, Heavens, Heed, Messengers, Ones, Seem, Value
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Matthew 18:10

     1210   God, human descriptions
     1255   face of God
     2363   Christ, preaching and teaching
     4111   angels, servants
     5480   protection
     5665   children, attitudes to
     5961   superiority
     8471   respect, for human beings
     9412   heaven, worship and service

Library
May 31. "Whosoever Therefore Shall Humble Himself as this Little Child" (Matt. xviii. 4).
"Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child" (Matt. xviii. 4). You will never get a humble heart until it is born from above, from the heart of Christ. For man has lost his own humanity and alas, too often has a demon heart. God wants us, as Christians, to be simple, human, approachable and childlike. The Christians that we know and love best, and that are nearest to the Lord, are the most simple. Whenever we grow stilted we are only fit for a picture gallery, and we are only good
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

The Lost Sheep and the Seeking Shepherd
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!--MATT. xviii. 12. We find this simple parable, or germ of a parable, in a somewhat more expanded form, as the first of the incomparable three in the fifteenth chapter of Luke's Gospel. Perhaps our Lord repeated the parable more than once. It is an unveiling of His inmost heart, and therein a revelation of the very heart of God.
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Persistence of Thwarted Love
'If so be that he find it.'--MATT. xviii. 13. 'Until he find it.'--LUKE xv. 4. Like other teachers, Jesus seems to have had favourite points of view and utterances which came naturally to His lips. There are several instances in the gospels of His repeating the same sayings in entirely different connections and with different applications. One of these habitual points of view seems to have been the thought of men as wandering sheep, and of Himself as the Shepherd. The metaphor has become so familiar
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Forgiven and Unforgiving
'Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times; but, Until seventy times seven.' --MATT. xviii. 22. The disciples had been squabbling about pre-eminence in the kingdom which they thought was presently to appear. They had ventured to refer their selfish and ambitious dispute to Christ's arbitrament. He answered by telling them the qualifications of 'the greatest in the kingdom'--that they are to be humble like little children; that they are to be placable; that they are to use all means
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Law of Precedence in the Kingdom
'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
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Six Sweeping Statements.
Jesus' own words make this very clear. There are two groups of teachings on prayer in those three and a half years as given by the gospel records. The first of these groups is in the Sermon on the Mount which Jesus preached about half-way through the second year of His ministry. The second group comes sheer at the end. All of it is in the last six months, and most of it in the last ten days, and much of that on the very eve of that last tragic day. It is after the sharp rupture with the leaders that
S. D. (Samuel Dickey) Gordon—Quiet Talks on Prayer

On the Words of the Gospel, Matt. xviii. 15, "If Thy Brother Sin against Thee, Go, Shew Him his Fault Between Thee and Him Alone;" And
1. Our Lord warns us not to neglect one another's sins, not by searching out what to find fault with, but by looking out for what to amend. For He said that his eye is sharp to cast out a mote out of his brother's eye, who has not a beam in his own eye. Now what this means, I will briefly convey to you, Beloved. A mote in the eye is anger; a beam in the eye is hatred. When therefore one who has hatred finds fault with one who is angry, he wishes to take a mote out of his brother's eye, but is hindered
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

On the Words of the Gospel, Matt. xviii. 7, Where we are Admonished to Beware of the Offences of the World.
1. The divine lessons, which we have just heard as they were being read, warn us to gather in a stock of virtues, to fortify a Christian heart, against the offences which were predicted to come, and this from the mercy of the Lord. "For what is man," saith Scripture, "saving that Thou art mindful of him?" [2694] "Woe unto the world because of offences," [2695] saith the Lord; the Truth says so; He alarmeth and warneth us, He would not have us to be off our guard; for surely He would not make us desperate.
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

The Forgiveness of Sins.
(Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity.) S. MATTHEW xviii. 28, "Pay me that thou owest." The Gospel shows us in a parable a picture of a king who called his servants to a reckoning. That King is the Lord God Almighty. We are His servants, and He calls us to account every day. All we possess we owe as a debt to God. Day by day He gives us our food, and supplies our wants by His good Providence. On every hour of our existence is written, Jehovah-Jireh--The Lord will provide. Day by day God takes
H. J. Wilmot-Buxton—The Life of Duty, a Year's Plain Sermons, v. 2

Fourth Day. Forgiveness of Injuries.
"Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."--Luke, xxiii. 34. Many a death-struggle has been made to save a friend. A dying Saviour gathers up His expiring breath to plead for His foes! At the climax of His own woe, and of human ingratitude--man-forsaken, and God-deserted--His faltering voice mingles with the shout of His murderers,--"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do!" Had the faithless Peter been there, could he have wondered at the reply to a former
John R. Macduff—The Mind of Jesus

Lix. The Preacher and his Hearers.
22nd Sunday after Trinity. S. Matthew xviii. 23. "The kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants." INTRODUCTION.--I have been a good deal abroad, over the Continent of Europe, and whenever I am in a little country inn, I make a point of going into the room where the men are smoking and drinking wine or beer, and hearing their opinions on the politics of the day, and of their country. Now, my experience tells me that in country taverns in France, and
S. Baring-Gould—The Village Pulpit, Volume II. Trinity to Advent

The Wicked Servant
ST. MATTHEW xviii. 23. The kingdom of heaven is likened to a certain king, which would take account of his servants. This parable, which you heard in the Gospel for this day, you all know. And I doubt not that all you who know it, understand it well enough. It is so human and so humane; it is told with such simplicity, and yet with such force and brilliancy that--if one dare praise our Lord's words as we praise the words of men--all must see its meaning at once, though it speaks of a state of
Charles Kingsley—The Water of Life and Other Sermons

Meetings for Prayer.
Text.--"Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven."--Matthew xviii. 19. HITHERTO, in treating of the subject of Prayer, I have confined my remarks to secret prayer. I am now to speak of social prayer, or prayer offered in company, where two or more are united in praying. Such meetings have been common from the time of Christ, and even hundreds of years before. And it is probable
Charles Grandison Finney—Lectures on Revivals of Religion

The Necessity and Effect of Union.
Text.--Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth, as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.--Matthew xviii. 19. SOME weeks since, I used this text, in preaching on the subject of prayer meetings. At present I design to enter more into the spirit and meaning of the text. The evident design of our Lord in this text was to teach the importance and influence of union in prayer and effort to promote religion. He states the
Charles Grandison Finney—Lectures on Revivals of Religion

The Mission of Little Children
"And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them." Matthew xviii.2. Everything has its mission. I speak not now of the office which each part of the great universe discharges. I speak not of the relation between these parts,--that beautiful ordinance by which the whole is linked together in one common life, by which the greatest is dependent upon the least, and the least shares in the benefactions of the greatest. In this sense, everything has, strictly, its mission.
E. H. Chapin—The Crown of Thorns

False Ambition Versus Childlikeness.
(Capernaum, Autumn, a.d. 29.) ^A Matt. XVIII. 1-14; ^B Mark IX. 33-50; ^C Luke IX. 46-50. ^c 46 And there arose a reasoning among them, which of them was the greatest. ^b 33 And he came to Capernaum: ^c 47 But when Jesus saw the reasoning of their heart, ^b and when he was in the house [probably Simon Peter's house] he asked them, What were ye reasoning on the way? 34 But they held their peace: for they had disputed one with another on the way, who was the greatest. [The Lord with his disciples was
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Sin and Forgiveness Between Brethren.
(Autumn, a.d. 29.) ^A Matt. XVIII. 15-35. ^a 15 And if thy brother sin against thee, go, show him his fault between thee and him alone: if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. [Having warned against giving offense, Jesus now shows how to act when offense is received. The fault is to be pointed out to the offender, but for the purpose of gaining him--not from a desire to humiliate him. The offended is to seek the offender, and the offender is likewise to seek the offended (Matt. xv. 23, 24),
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Unmerciful Servant.
"Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord

Jesus Christ, the Divine Teacher of Prayer
A friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him! He knocks again. "Friend! lend me three loaves?" He waits a while and then knocks again. "Friend! I must have three loaves!" "Trouble me not: the door is now shut; I cannot rise and give thee!" He stands still. He turns to go home. He comes back. He knocks again. "Friend!" he cries. He puts his ear to the door. There is a sound inside, and then the light of a candle shines through the hole of the door. The bars of
Edward M. Bounds—The Reality of Prayer

Fifteenth Lesson. If Two Agree
If two agree;' Or, The Power of United Prayer Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my Name, there am I in the midst of them.--Matt. xviii. 19, 20. ONE of the first lessons of our Lord in His school of prayer was: Not to be seen of men. Enter thy inner chamber; be alone with the Father. When He has thus taught us that the
Andrew Murray—With Christ in the School of Prayer

The Third Wall.
The third wall falls of itself, as soon as the first two have fallen; for if the Pope acts contrary to the Scriptures, we are bound to stand by the Scriptures, to punish and to constrain him, according to Christ's commandment; "Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

Found
Gerhard Ter Steegen Matt. xviii. 12 O God, through Christ the living way, My Father and my God, So near, and I so far astray, Brought nigh Thee by His Blood. Myself, and this, and that, I sought Behind, around, before-- And yet the nearest found I not, Until I sought no more. O Love, Thou deep eternal tide, How dear are men to Thee! The Father's heart is opened wide By Jesus' Blood to me. It was Thyself, O God, who sought, With tender yearnings deep, The loveless sould who sought Thee not, The
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

The School
Gerhard Ter Steegen Matt. xviii. 3 Where is the school for each and all, Where men become as children small, And little ones are great? Where love is all the task and rule, The fee our all, and all at school, Small, poor, of low estate? Where to unlearn all things I learn, From self and from all others turn, One Master hear and see? I learn and do one thing alone, And wholly give myself to One Who gives Himself to me. My task, possessing nought, to give; No life to have, yet ever live-- And ever
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

Commentary on Matthew. Introduction.
According to Eusebius (H. E. vi. 36) the Commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew were written about the same time as the Contra Celsum, when Origen was over sixty years of age, and may therefore be probably assigned to the period 246-248. This statement is confirmed by internal evidence. In the portion here translated, books x.-xiv., he passes by the verses Matt. xviii. 12, 13, and refers for the exposition of them to his Homilies on Luke (book xiii. 29). Elsewhere, he refers his readers for a fuller
Origen—Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew

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