Without expecting a definitive answer, I asked myself this question – “Why did God choose Bethlehem to be the place of the Messiah’s birth?” There are several possible theological answers. For example, God is absolutely sovereign, and He can choose anyone, anywhere, any time, any thing, and He never has to give an explanation for his choice. So it might be argued that He elected Bethlehem over Jerusalem, because He is God. Another related answer might be in order to create an illustration of His sovereign grace. Jehovah chose Bethlehem over larger more important communities as an illustration of the way that He works in salvation – choosing to save even the little, insignificant guy. Then of course there is the historical answer. Bethlehem was the home town of David, and to David God promised the future Messiah. Bethlehem was the logical place for the grandson of David to be born. But then we could extend the question – “Why was DAVID born in Bethlehem and not Jerusalem.” Well, the fact that Jerusalem was not a Israelite community at the time might have had something to do with that. It wasn’t until David had been king in Judah for several years that Jerusalem became a Judean city. But then why wasn’t David born in Hebron, a far more important city in his day? As I say, all such questions are impossible to answer. And for all intents and purposes it doesn’t matter.
What does matter is that God prophesied five hundred years before the fact, that Christ would be born in this particular community, but which so many years after David, had become rather insignificant. “Thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” Because of Micah 5:2, the teachers of the Jews knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. And He was. Period.
As I was re-reading the chapter, it occurred to me that comment “least among the princes” was significant. There are several more statements like that throughout the Bible. And stringing some of them together creates the opportunity for several helpful lessons.
God loves the little guy. Or perhaps I should say that God doesn’t despise or reject the little guy simply because he is little. And yet it is not necessarily true that the smaller we are the more important we are to the Lord. It is quite possible that someone might look at his personal shortcomings and become overconfident or even arrogant in the stronger or larger things in his life. The play-ground bully is quite often mean and aggressive in order to make up for his lack of intelligence, the scar on his face, or because of problems at home. The college professor may overemphasize his education trying to cover up his lack of personal skills. The actor or sports star may point to his fame, while he destroys himself with his addictions. But if the little community isn’t groveling in self-pity, and is trying its best to be its best, the Lord may look upon it in grace and make it the best place in Judah in which to live or to be born. But again, and I emphasize, our smallness doesn’t obligate God to anything.
Nevertheless, the Lord takes note of the little things in this world – the little folk, the little acts of kindness, the little comments and even the little moments. The Lord Jesus was doing some teaching on Christian character and service, one day. His theme may have not been the same as mine this morning, but He used the same Greek word. “He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these LITTLE ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.” The Lord notices tiny acts or words of kindness? Yes He does.
The Apostle John concluded his gospel with the words – “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.” He may have been thinking about the thousand little things that the Lord did throughout His life. How many times did He cure some elderly lady, and none of the evangelists thought that it was significant enough to record? And how many times did He put His hands on the head of a child, uttering a blessing upon that child? Did He ever have the opportunity to offer a cup of cold water, or a piece of His bread or fish to someone? Did He run over the help lift a donkey that had fallen under the weight of a huge load? I imagine that He did, but whether He had those opportunities or not, this sort of thing is supposed to be a part of the lives of His disciples. And they are never carried out without God’s observation and eventual blessing.
As I read a few verses from Matthew 18, ask yourself if the little ones to whom the Lord refers are Christians? “At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 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. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea….. Take heed that ye despise not one of these LITTLE ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”
You may not like the term “guardian angel.” If that offends you then pick another term, but don’t automatically deny the reality. Doesn’t this scripture say that the Lord cares enough for these little one’s to have commissioned angels to watch over them? The Lord cares for the little guy. Are you little enough for the Lord to care for you?
Luke 12:22-32 is abundant proof that the Lord cares about the tiny and insignificant. “And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? …… Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, LITTLE flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
The Lord watches over and cares for the little ones. “Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these LITTLE ones. Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.”
There is a lot that we could say about the last verses of Matthew 25, but I’m going to save that for another day. However, in the context of our theme, listen to what the Saviour was telling his disciples about the last days. “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” Among the many things that we could say about this scripture, one of the least is that the Lord cares for the least of His people – those who are His brethren. And again, I have to ask – are you small enough to be among the least of the Lord’s brethren?
As I said a few minutes ago, the Lord has a different value system than most of us. And that can be seen in the way that we categorize sin and the commandments which condemn them. We say that murder is a terrible sin, but lying is a minor sin. Baptists and Protestants may criticize the Roman Catholics for differentiating between venial sins and mortal sins, but we do the same thing without using the tell-tale terms. Adultery is a really bad sin, at least to some people, but pornography is a little sin. Abortion is a major sin, but neglecting to evangelize the children who aren’t aborted is not a sin at all. Where do we come up with these confusing standards and definitions?
“Whosoever … shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven…” The Lord doesn’t have the double standards that most men have. He looks at all sin as sin. I don’t think that the Lord would mind if I paraphrased James just a bit – “whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one (tiny, little, itsy bitsy) point, he is guilty of all.” Yes, Jehovah cares about the little things, and He even judges those little things.
Now, let me refer to something quite obvious.
Nevertheless, each of the little parts of our lives, contribute to make up the whole. There is only one way to be considered generally faithful and that is to be faithful in the little things. The man who constantly makes and breaks appointments is eventually going to be considered unreliable, if not actually dishonest. The woman who is seen buying cooking wine at the grocery store time and time again, is eventually going to be considered a wine-bibber if not an actual alcoholic. It is hard to consider the person who attends the Lord’s house only once a week, as someone who really loves God. True service of God must include the little bits of service as well as the big things.
There are some people who, when reading this scripture, forget that this is a parable. Some are already making their plans about which ten cities they would like to rule. But I don’t think that the Lord was being specific, although there can be no doubt about the application. The Lord is telling us that faithfulness to the Lord in the little things that He has given to us, will some day be acknowledged and in some way be rewarded. That doesn’t mean that our focus should be on the reward; in fact just the opposite should be true. The Bible teaches us to remember to carry out our tiny duties without even a thought about reward. And yet, you can be sure that the Lord is keeping good books and that He recognizes each and every cup of cold water that we give away in His holy Name.
One more point, and I’ll close –
The strength of a person’s faith is not what he finds within himself. Great faith is nothing more than faith in the great God. Mark 9 describes a conversation and confrontation between Christ Jesus and a father in Israel. It concludes with the words, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” The man’s son was demon-possessed and self-destructive, and he brought him to the Lord for deliverance. “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” The man admitted that he had taken his son to the disciples for deliverance, but they couldn’t help. Whatever faith that he might have had was rapidly failing, but the size of his faith wasn’t as important as the fact that he had enough faith to bring the lad to Christ Jesus. The man’s little faith in the great power of God resulted in the healing of the son.
Similarly, the size and strength of our faith for deliverance from sin is not as importance as its purity and direction. By the grace of God someone might be fully aware of how terrible and sinful he is. That man may picture himself as the chiefest of sinners, he dirtiest of dogs, the lowliest of liars. In his ignorance he may question whether God would WANT to save such a terrible person as he. He may wonder if the blood of Christ is really SUFFICIENT to cover all his personal sins. But if that sinner is willing to trust Christ as his sacrifice, and nothing else, there is hope for him. Assuming that he is not looking to add anything to what Christ has done on the cross…. Assuming that he knows that there is nothing that he can contribute to his salvation…. So long as he’s not looking to baptism, personal reformation and victory over sin or anything else…. If that man’s faith is in Christ to save him, then the size and strength of his faith is not the issue. It is the Lord who saves, not the faith of the sinner. “Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief.” I don’t know that the Lord has ever answered that prayer in any other way but, “Certainly, I will help.”
I don’t care if you question the Lord’s motive to save you, desire to save you, or even his ability to save you. If you will put your faith in Him, and Him alone, repenting before God, then I have no doubt but that the Lord will redeem your soul and regenerate your spirit. But that little faith of yours has to be pure – without the mixture of any works or outside assistance. Even little faith is honored by the Lord.