Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

Today we open with the disciples bringing a debate to Jesus about which one of them is the most awesome.

I think there's a chance that the special attention Jesus has been showing to Peter as well as James and John the three guys in his

tightest inner circle may have caused the others to start comparing themselves to

them. It's a natural human response, but as usual, Jesus points out that the natural human response is often the opposite of the upside-down kingdom response.

He says humility is connected to greatness, and if they aren't humble, they won't be in the kingdom at all, much less be the greatest there.

God values humility, which is a stark contrast to the ancient view, where humility equals weakness.

In this chapter, Jesus often uses children in his illustrations.

At this time children are viewed more like property, so by using them as an

illustration he's showing the value of children as humans and image-bearers.

He shows how they should be treated with care.

Then he seems to draw a correlation between children and his disciples

referring to them as little ones.

Some commentators think the phrase used here is referring to all believers, and others think it's referring to new believers.

And for whoever that phrase is referring to, Jesus indicates that there are angels who watch over them while also being in the presence of God.

By the way, the word angel means messenger. They're sent to speak and do the will of God.

When it comes to things that tempt us to sin, Jesus says we should take notice of what those things are and

avoid them at all costs. He uses some pretty intense hyperbole for these illustrations, cutting

off your hand, plucking out your eye, because sin is a big deal, and those who love God should take their own

sin seriously. He also hints at the fact that we can cause others to sin in

verse six when he says, whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to

sin so someone can cause someone else to sin. Bear with me here. Yes, scripture

...