The document is a lesson on Matthew 18-20 from the Gospel of Matthew. It discusses several key passages: - Jesus teaches that humility like a child is required to be greatest in God's kingdom. True greatness comes from who we are, not what we do. - Jesus instructs his disciples to forgive others not just 7 times but 490 times if necessary. We should follow steps to resolve offenses but ultimately forgive. - When asked what disciples who leave everything will receive, Jesus says they will receive a hundredfold reward in this life and eternal life. Rewards in heaven are the same for all. - James and John seek positions of power but Jesus says true greatness comes from suffering

1. Lesson 9

2. Key Text:
“At that time the
disciples came to
Jesus and asked,
‘Who, then, is the
greatest in the
kingdom of
heaven?’ ”
Matthew 18:1

3. THE COUNTRY THE VILLAGE
THE PORT
THE CITY
As human be-
ings, we are
products of
our environ-
ment, of our
culture. These
greatly shape
our values,
beliefs, and
attitudes.
Whether you
were raised in a big metropolitan area or in a village with no clean
water, it makes no difference: the culture, the environment that you
grew up in, has greatly made you what you are. And even if you are
able to go to a new environment, the one you have been raised in will
leave its mark on you until the grave.

4. Unfortunately, to some degree, most of our environments and cultures
work against the principles of God’s kingdom. The world, after all, is a
fallen world, and its values, morals, and customs often reflect that
fallen state. What else would they reflect? It’s just so hard for us to
see because we are so immersed in our culture and environment.
NEW
VALIOUS
NEW
CUSTOMS
NEW
CULTURE
NEW
MORAL
FREEDOM

5. The work of God in our hearts is, among other things, to point us to
the values, morals, and standards of God’s kingdom. As we will see
this lesson, those values, morals, and standards often differ greatly
from what we have been born into and reared in. The disciples
had to learn these lessons; we do too.

6. “Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little
child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
(Matthew 18:4)
What does being humble like
a little child mean?
Obedience is important. We
must accept God’s Word
before our own will.
True humble people act like
they actually are. They don’t
try to pretend being someone
else. True greatness before
God comes from who we are,
not what we do.

7. “Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord, how often shall
my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven
times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven
times, but up to seventy times seven.’” (Matthew 18:21-22)
Jesus taught us that we should never stop forgiving.
Forgiving those who offend us benefits both the forgiven
person and us. It also restores broken relationships.
Which steps should we follow to forgive other people’s
offenses, according to Jesus in Matthew 18:15-17?
Talk to the person
directly.
If he ignores us,
bring one or two
witnesses.
If he still ignores us,
bring up the issue
before the Church.
Forgiving 490 times?
If we follow other steps to deal with offenses and mistakes
of others, we may be criticizing and slandering them.

8. “Jesus said to him, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell
what you have and give to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’” (Matthew 19:21)
Salvation is by faith. Perfection can only be achieved by the
grace of God, by leaving everything behind for He who
saved us.
Do you think you could have a hidden place in your heart
where Jesus cannot get in while in Heaven? Open your full
heart to Jesus today.
That rich young man kept the commandments zealously.
Nevertheless, he felt that was not enough to be saved. He
longed for salvation.
Jesus taught him that perfection can only be achieved by
leaving all the “idols of the soul” behind. The young man
was actually getting perfection mixed up with salvation.

9. “Then Peter answered and said to Him, ‘See, we
have left all and followed You. Therefore what
shall we have?’” (Matthew 19:27)
This shouldn’t be the reason we follow Jesus, but
it’s good we know the benefits of being His
disciples: they “shall receive a hundredfold” of
everything they must leave behind, “and inherit
eternal life.” (Matthew 19:29).
Jesus explained that in the parable of the laborers.
The master arranged a wage of one denarius to the
first laborers. Then, he hired other laborers during
the day. When he paid the wages, everyone
received the same pay, no matter how long they
worked: a denarius.
The future reward is the same for all of us: We’ll
receive what Jesus promised (Matthew 20:1-16).

10. “The Lord desires us to rest in Him without a
question as to our measure of reward. When
Christ abides in the soul, the thought of
reward is not uppermost. This is not the
motive that actuates our service. It is true
that in a subordinate sense we should have
respect to the recompense of reward. God
desires us to appreciate His promised
blessings. But He would not have us eager for
rewards nor feel that for every duty we must
receive compensation. We should not be so
anxious to gain the reward as to do what is
right, irrespective of all gain. Love to God and
to our fellow men should be our motive.”
E.G.W. (Christ’s Object Lessons, cp. 28, pg. 398)

11. “So He said to them, ‘You will indeed drink My cup, and be
baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on
My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for
those for whom it is prepared by My Father.’” (Matthew 20:23)
James and John had just been
reprimanded because they wanted to
destroy a Samaritan village (Luke 9:51-56).
Then, they requested important positions
in Jesus’ Kingdom (Matthew 20:20-23).

12. “So He said to them, ‘You will indeed drink My cup, and be
baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit
on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is
for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.’”
(Matthew 20:23)
Jesus told them that there are
two basic requirements to get an
important position in the
Kingdom:
1. Living Jesus’ sufferings.
2. Serving our brothers and sisters.
Jesus has prepared
important positions
in Heaven for those
who are willing to
fulfill those
requirements on this
Earth.

13. “In the kingdom of God, position is not gained
through favoritism. It is not earned, nor is it
received through an arbitrary bestowal. It is the
result of character. The crown and the throne are
the tokens of a condition attained—tokens of self-
conquest through the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ…
The one who stands nearest to Christ will be he
who has drunk most deeply of His spirit of self-
sacrificing love,—love that “vaunteth not itself, is
not puffed up, ... seeketh not her own, is not easily
provoked, thinketh no evil” (1 Corinthians 13:4,
5),—love that moves the disciple, as it moved our
Lord, to give all, to live and labor and sacrifice
even unto death, for the saving of humanity.”
E.G.W. (The Acts of the Apostles, cp. 53, pg. 543)

14. FURTHER STUDY:
Through the centuries some people have
argued for what is sometimes called “natural
law.” Though it comes in many shapes and
forms, the idea is that we can derive from the
natural world moral principles that can help
guide our actions. In one sense, as Christians
who believe that nature is God’s “Second
Book,” we could accept that there’s some
truth to this. For instance, see Paul’s discourse
in Romans 1:18–32 about what people should have learned about
God from the natural world. At the same time, too, we can’t forget that
this is a fallen world, and we view it with fallen, corrupted minds. So,
it should be no surprise that we could come away
with wrong moral lessons from nature.

15. For example, one of the greatest mortal minds in
antiquity, the Greek philosopher Aristotle, argued
for slavery based on his understanding of nature.
For him, nature revealed two classes of people,
one of which was as “inferior to others . . . as . . . a
beast to a man.” So for them, a “life of slavish
subjection is advantageous.”
This is just one of many examples we can find of how worldly
principles, values, and ideas conflict with those of God’s kingdom,
which is why—regardless of where we were born and brought up—
we need to study God’s Word and from it derive the
morals, values, and principles that should govern
our lives. Nothing else, of itself, is reliable.

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