THE LITTLE CHILD

W. Lamont

Matthew 2: 9; 2 Kings 5: 8–14; Isaiah 11: 6–10

I think it will be evident to all, that the thought in mind is the little Child. You could say that is not much to speak about, of little importance in the world, hardly worth noticing. We began this morning by addressing the Lord Jesus in song,

‘Lord Jesus, Thou by whom the worlds were made,

As holy Babe wast in a manger laid’. (Hymn 99)

There was no Babe, no little Child like that, never before and never since, and never will be.

Luke says, “the holy thing also which shall be born shall be called Son of God”. Luke 1: 35.

Every other child born is brought forth in iniquity (see Psalm 51: 5). That is the whole human race. But Jesus was born the Holy Thing, without one spot. Matthew presents Him as the little Child. The Creator of the universe came in as a little Child. One’s soul goes out in worship in speaking about Him. It brought out two things; homage by some persons, and on the other hand murder in the heart of Herod. What is your reaction to the presentation of Christ? Is it affection for Him? Readiness to worship? Or is it reproach or murder in your heart? As He proceeded in His life, they were ready to kill Him, sought every opportunity to put Him to death, and ultimately they did so.

The little Child had a star. We referred during the readings to creation being moved at His death. We might say the sun hid its face, the earth moved in earthquake, the rocks were rent at His death. But when He was born there was a star and it was His star; not only the star to let the magi know where He was, but it was His star. He owned it. He created it. Yet that star, which was His creation, pointed the way to where He was as a little Child. O the wonder of it! Matthew is so impressed by the thought of the little Child, I think he refers to it about eight times in this chapter. What care was taken over this little Child. Perfect in every way, He grew up into boyhood, into manhood, absolutely perfect. And at the point of His condemnation in Pilate’s judgment hall, Pilate had to cry, “Behold the man!” John 19: 5.

Even Pilate in his unbelief recognised that there had never been such a Man. God so ordered it that that cry came forth from him. O the majesty of Jesus in Pilate’s judgment hall!

Outwardly He was on trial, but really it was Pilate who was in the dock. The whole human race was on trial. Look at that notice at the

cross in Greek, Hebrew and Latin, “Jesus the Nazaraean, the King of the Jews”. He certainly was, but these three languages represented the whole world, and yet He was there as the Saviour of the world.

The little child is a wonderful thought. Later in this gospel, in chapter 18, the disciples were gathered and Jesus was there. The disciples were reasoning among themselves who was the greatest. The awfulness of it! He took a little child and set it in their midst. And He says,

“Unless ye are converted and become as little children, ye will not at all enter into the kingdom of the heavens”, Matthew 18: 3. My friend, are you converted? Someone said that conversion is a change of mind. I think it goes further than that; it is a complete change of the person. Conversion alters you, it changes the way you think. These men, instead of reasoning who was the greatest among themselves, were led to give Christ the first place. That is the effect of conversion. Instead of seeking to make much of yourself, you make everything of Christ.

In 2 Kings 5 Naaman was a great man before his master. The issue in this chapter outwardly was Syria and Israel. I just point out in passing that an issue is still there. We do not involve ourselves in politics, but it is obvious that there is still an issue between Syria and Israel. The only One who will resolve it, is the One we are speaking of, who was here as a little Child.

There are so many other things throughout the world, but there is only one Man who can settle the issues. God says in the prophet, “I will overturn, overturn, overturn it! This also shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it to him”, Ezekiel 21: 27. O

what a thing that is, all will be given to Christ, the One who came in as a Babe.

Namaan had to learn a deep lesson, he had to learn in type that the Jordan was the only answer to his sinful condition. And we have to learn that the death of Christ is the only answer to our sinnership. It is the only answer to the moral question, the question of good and evil. That virus sin had entered into the universe, and by one man came into the world. Sin existed in the universe before it came into the world. The chaos at the beginning of Genesis was the result of sin. There was one who sought to exalt his throne above the stars of God, Lucifer, son of the morning (see Isaiah 14: 12, 13). The answer is the Man who thought it not an object of rapine to be on an equality with God, but emptied Himself and became a bondman (Philippians 2: 6, 7). This great man was a leper. For us it would be that he was a sinner. The only answer was he should wash himself in the Jordan, typical of the death of Christ, where the whole issue was settled for God and for us. The great truth of propitiation, the work of Christ Godward, has cleared the whole matter in the sight of God; John says, “he is the propitiation for our sins; but not for ours alone, but also for the whole world”, 1 John 2: 2. The wrath of God came on Christ, in relation to the whole issue of sin and sins. Then there is the truth of substitution. I trust we understand these things. You only get the benefit of the work of Jesus at the cross, as you claim that work for yourselves, by putting your faith in Him and in His precious blood. Your only hope, my friend, is the blood of Jesus; God has set Him forth a mercy-seat through faith in His blood (Romans 3: 25).

Naaman had to learn that it could be through no merit of his own, no great act that he was prepared to do. We are dependent on the mercy of God. Paul could say, “but mercy was shewn me”, 1 Timothy 1: 13. He learnt it deeply in his soul. He speaks of “God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love wherewith he loved us”, Ephesians 2: 4. Behind the preaching of the glad tidings lies the heart of God. He is presenting His own beloved Son as Saviour. Mr. Darby says of the sufferings of Christ, referred to in Psalm 22, ‘When under the pressure of the others, God, His only resource forsakes Him’. (From pamphlet ‘The Sufferings of Christ’, (page

7). It affects the soul, my friends. Then He lay in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. No geography, no geology can tell you where the heart of the earth is, because it is a moral thought. The type in Jonah says that He went down to the bottoms of the mountains; right to the bottoms of the mountains, not one detail missed, not one sin not taken account of, then He was raised from among the dead by the glory of the Father. That is the standpoint from which the glad tidings is preached tonight, that there is a Man in the presence of God, crowned with glory and honour. Put your faith in Him. We do not take anything for granted in the glad tidings. Put your faith in Christ. This man had to learn what we are speaking about. He was a great man and honourable. O, you might say, ‘Naaman was a fine fellow’; but he was a leper, a sinner, and he needed to learn, in type, that the only hope for him, was to avail himself of the death of Christ, and to plunge himself seven times in the Jordan; not once, not twice, but seven times. It had to be a complete matter. His flesh became again as the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. Typically it was the cleansing effect of the blood of Jesus, “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin”, 1 John 1: 7.

Avail yourself of it today!

Isaiah 11, anticipates the coming day, when “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea”. There will not be one dark corner on the earth. The knowledge of God will reach every corner of the earth. What a day it will be! What a blest condition, and “a little child shall lead them”. How different from this world, where men trample on each other to reach the top. If you want to reach the top in this world, you must be ruthless. But in that coming day, “a little child shall lead them”. It is a beautiful picture. It will be a moral thought as well as literal, a complete change. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, which would be illustrated in Saul of Tarsus and Ananias in the assembly at Damascus.

Saul of Tarsus

was acting like a lion, like a wolf, like a bear ravaging the assembly, but he was converted.

Someone said that Saul of Tarsus (later named Paul) would come to a local assembly, and what would he see there? He would see orphans there, he would say, ‘I am responsible for that!’

Solomon could say at the beginning of his kingship, when God asked him what he wished, “I am but a little child”, 1 Kings 3: 7. In principle he was in the gain of Matthew 18. God granted him wisdom. As we are on this line there is no limit to what God will grant us. He has given us His Spirit to sustain us. We ought not to be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of Paul his prisoner. We can live today in the full flow of the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, personally, individually, householdly, and in our local assemblies. May it be so, for His name’s sake.

Preaching at Vevey
30 April 1995