Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 18:14
Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
Mat 18:14
Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven
The childrens friends
I.
The children around us have friends.
1. They have Divine Friends. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, are these Friends.
2. They have angelic friends.
3. They have human friends. Some in heaven; also on earth.
II. Lessons.
1. These thoughts should encourage anxious parents.
2. These thoughts should encourage despondent teachers.
3. These thoughts should encourage neglected and sorrowing children. (J. Morgan.)
The childrens foes
1. Among the childrens foes may be reckoned physical diseases and ailments.
2. Among the childrens foes must be ranked evil passions.
3. Among the childrens foes are to be found many vile and malicious demons.
4. Among the childrens foes are to be found many foolish and wicked men.
(1) Persons who indulge vicious habits.
(2) The circulators of profane literature. (J. Morgan.)
Hidden force in a child
For they are the men and women of the future, and within them lurk wondrous possibilities and powers which shall be developed and manifested and felt another day. Naturalists tell us that in every single drop of water in the ocean there is electricity enough to generate two thunder-storms. The power is there silent and hidden, nevertheless ready at any moment to leap forth and do terrible execution. So within the soul of every little child in our homes, in our schools, and in our streets, there is a moral force lying hidden on which two utterly opposite eternities hang. (J. Morgan.)
Children in danger of perishing
The children around us are in danger of perishing. What that means none of us can fully describe or imagine. We may have seen a superb mansion perish by a fire, or an extensive mill perish by an explosion, or a magnificent ship perish in a storm, and may have attempted to estimate the loss, and have mourned over the wreck and ruin. But for a child, with a God-given, a God-endowed, and a God-redeemed nature to perish, must be something far more terrible than the loss of any mansion, or mill, or ship that ever was built, however elaborately finished, or expensively furnished. (J. Morgan.)
Gods love for little children
1. It is a love of utter unselfishness.
2. It is the love of delight in them.
3. It is a love of compassion toward them.
4. It is the love of trust in the almost infinite capacities of children. (T. Gasquoine, B. A.)
Destitute children
I. A careful regard should be paid to children. Ii. They are liable to perish.
1. Through lack of food.
2. Through lack of knowledge.
3. In a moral sense they are liable to perish.
III. It is not the will of the parent of good that these little ones should be included in peril and ruin. (D. Ace, M.A.)
I. The dangerous exposure of mankind.
II. The will of the father respecting us.
III. How that will is to make effect. (J. N. Pearson, M. A.)
Gods care for His children
1. The existence of things which put in peril the souls of them that may be the children of God.
2. It is contrary to Gods will that these dangers should be fatal to the salvation of His people.
3. The means which God has provided for the accomplishment of His gracious will in the salvation of the little ones.
4. The encouragement which the text affords to those who are desirous of imparting that knowledge which maketh wise unto salvation. (Bishop Sumner.)
The Father and the little ones
I. The truth asserted. Gods will is for their welfare.
1. Because He is their Creator.
2. Because He is Love.
3. These words apply to the whole realm of childhood. They are not limited to children of the good and wealthy.
II. A sad truth implied. That notwithstanding Gods will children may ripen for evil and be lost. (C. Vivace.)
Not an ideal child
I saw some time ago a great painters representation of this scene. He makes this child so noble-featured, full of brightness and beauty, standing there as a young prince, fetched for the purpose from a fair palace. That is artistic, but it does not answer the purpose. What was done was done on the spot. The Master did not send for and bring the fairest and best-trained child that Galilee contained. No; it was a street loiterer He called to Himself. Some little one busy at play in the market-place, or one looking on wondering at the edge of the crowd-the first little one on which His eyes could rest; and taking him with gentle hands, with all the roughness in which He found him, the Master pointed to him, and said: Do not despise him; deem him not unworthy of your regard, but rather with all yore powers influence him for good. Win his heart for God. Open to him the gates of heaven, and do all you can to smooth his path. Do not despise one of these. (C. Vivace.)
Men must co-operate with the will of God
Still there is room for human labour. What would the earth be without it? Suppose that where we see the corn ripening we saw only a barren waste; if the ground had not been ploughed, or the seed not sown, or the plants not tended, could we look on it and say, Even so, Father, for so it seemeth good in Thy sight? No; we should have to say: It is not according to Gods will; Gods goodness has been defeated, and mans badness crowned with triumph. God in the course of providence ordains that our work and effort should be used to produce that on which He has set His heart. When a house is being built, there are different sets of labourers. On a certain day you see the work standing still, and on inquiry as to the cause you find that one set of men were idlers, they had gone holiday-making, and all the others were baffled and could do nothing. Look into the sluggards garden; the sun is there, and the dew, and they cannot do anything; the showers descend; all Gods celestial workers are there; but they cannot do anything because man is idling, has not dug the earth, has not scattered the seed; therefore Gods means can do nothing. This is one of the great mysteries of the universe. I wonder that God did not determine to do it all Himself, and not wait for our work, and have His purposes baffled, because we do not do our share of the labour. (C. Vivace.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 14. It is not the will of your Father] If any soul be finally lost, it is not because God’s will or counsel was against its salvation, or that a proper provision had not been made for it; but that, though light came into the world, it preferred darkness to light, because of its attachment to its evil deeds.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
14. Even so it is not the will ofyour Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones shouldperishHow, then, can He but visit for those “offenses”which endanger the souls of these little ones?
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Even so it is not the will of your father which is in heaven,…. This is the accommodation, or application of the parable of the lost sheep to the present purpose, and is the top of the climax or gradation here made use of. First, Christ observes, in order to deter any from despising and offending any of his disciples, even the meanest, that they have angels to be their guardians, who are continually in the presence of God; and next, that he himself in human nature came to be the author of salvation to these persons; and then rises up to the sovereign will of his Father, and their’s, the source and security of their everlasting happiness; which will is, not
that one of these little ones, that believe in Christ,
should perish. It is his will of command that no stumbling block should be laid in their way to cause them to stumble and fall, to the grieving of their souls, the wounding of their consciences, and the perishing, or loss of their peace and comfort; and it is his unalterable will of purpose, or his unchangeable decree, that not one of them, even the meanest, shall perish eternally: in pursuance of which will, he has chosen them in his Son, he has put them into his hands, and secured them in his covenant; and having redeemed them by Christ, and called them by grace, he keeps them by his power, through faith unto salvation. Nor shall anyone of them finally and totally fall away and perish, through the power of their own corruptions, the temptations of Satan, the reproaches and persecutions of men, the frowns or flatteries of the world, or through the errors and heresies of false teachers, or any other way. It is to be observed, that when our Lord, in Mt 18:10, is speaking of the happiness of the angels, and the honour done to the little ones by having such guardians; then the more to aggrandize this matter, he represents those as in the presence of his “Father which is in heaven”; but here, when he would express the wonderful love and grace of God, in the resolutions of his heart, and purposes of his will, to save them, then it is “your Father which is in heaven”; and this, the rather to engage them to the belief of it, since they stood in such a near relation to him, as children to a father: and therefore must be infinitely more concerned for their welfare, than a proprietor of sheep can be, for one that is lost. The Arabic and Ethiopic versions indeed read, “my father”, but without any authority; for the phraseology, “the will before your Father”, as in the original text, See Gill “Mt 11:26”
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The will of your Father ( ). Observe that Westcott and Hort read here rather than after B Sahidic Coptic. Either makes good sense, though “your” carries on the picture of God’s care for “each one of these little ones” ( ) among God’s children. The use of with is a Hebraism like in 11:25 with , “before the face” of God.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
The will of your Father [ ] . Though some read my Father [] . Lit., There is not a will before your (my) Father. So Wyc., It is not will before your Father. Meyer paraphrases, There is not before the face of God and determination having as its object that one of these, etc.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
C. GOD HIMSELF HAS NO DESIRE TO LOSE ANY WE MIGHT DESIGNATE AS INFERIORS! (18:14)
Mat. 18:14 Even so, in the same way angels have the interests and needs of these little ones on their hearts, in the same way Jesus the Good Shepherd came to seek and save the least wayward one, so also your Father who is in heaven cares about each single one. And the man who can be arrogantly indifferent to them sets himself against Almighty God! When the Father spends so much effort to rescue a lost stray, how monstrous it must be to be the cause of his loss, the stone over which he stumbles! (Mat. 18:6-9) Does this not indicate how great, how important and how exceedingly precious one of these little ones must be?
It is not the will of your Father . . . that one of these . . . should perish. This affirmation sheathes a threat. While it is your Father who is in heaven who cares for you with a tenderness unequalled anywhere in the universe, it is, however, His will that not one of these, who are the special objects of His concern and care, be lost through neglect or deliberate mistreatment by those who deem themselves their superiors. Anyone who would dare despise their inferiors and block their salvation and so emperil their soul, will find themselves in the extremely dangerous position of endangering their own! (Cf. Psa. 10:1-18, esp. v. Psa. 10:14; Psa. 68:5 f; Psalms 94; Psa. 146:5-9) God is the special defender of the weak and feeble. (Psalms 82) He who knows the number of hairs on our head, could He fail to be personally interested in each single one of us? (Cf. Mat. 10:30) He personally rejoices when even one of these perishing ones is redeemed. (Luk. 15:7; Luk. 15:20-24) He longs for His peoples return. (Deu. 5:29; Psa. 81:13; Isa. 45:22; Isa. 48:18 f; Eze. 18:23; Eze. 18:32; Eze. 33:11; 2Pe. 3:9)
But, because one of these little ones is a sinning disciple, God has far more right and reason to despise him than do we who so closely resemble him. Nevertheless, He against whom our brother has sinned does not hold him in contempt, but gladly sacrifices Himself to redeem him. Because these little ones are dear to Gods heart, each disciple must test his own spirit by Gods personal attitude and relation to them. With these lines Jesus just wipes out the cocksure, proud person who is always comparing his talents and accomplishments with those of his peers to their disadvantage, because, according to Jesus, every single proof he can adduce of their limitations and imperfections is reason for him to build them up, care for them, endeavor to develop in them all that is high, holy and godly!
Perish. Then, is anyone correct to teach that God wills the salvation of babes, and, therefore, they ought to be baptized? No, because while Jesus is adamant that the little children must be tenderly cared for and no death-traps set for them by unthinking disciples, lest they perish, He intends that they be cared for according to the means He has actually established for them, rather than misapply what was not intended for them. The false assumption of inheritable sin pushes desperate people to save what was not lost. Jesus came to seek and save what was really lost. This chapter is itself illustration, for it was not until the unforgiving servant was apprised of his debt to the king that he really needed to seek mercy, although his debt had been piling up long before that moment. (Mat. 18:23-35; also notes on Mat. 19:13-15)
Right here is our basis of security and contentment: are there any other honors equal to belonging to Jesus Christ? And, if this dream be ours, how could such earthly distinctions enrich us? But, if we were not the special objects of Gods concern, to what extent would earthly glories fill up our loss? What would our real loss amount to, if God be ours, if we were only partially to reach earths highest prizes? Is it then thinkable that all their bright allurement and noblest excellences would even be missed, if Gods concern and care for us is guaranteed? (1Co. 3:21-23)
To this point Jesus has been dealing mainly with the question of not seeking ones own greatness, not being haughty or conceited, but Christ-like or God-like, so as to be able to live in harmony with one another, give oneself to humble tasks and associate with the lowly. (Cf. Rom. 12:16) Now, He must clinch it with that other Kingdom principle of self-forgetfulness which looks not only to its own interests, but also to those of others by seeking the good of an offending brother. (Php. 2:3 f)
See Mat. 18:22-35 for Fact Questions.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(14) Even so it is not the will . . .The form of the proposition has all the force that belongs to the rhetorical use of the negative. It is not the will suggests the thought that the will of the Father is the very opposite of that, and so the words are identical in their teaching with those of St. Paul, He will have all men to be saved (1Ti. 2:4). The continued presence of the child is again emphasised in one of these little ones.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14. One of these little ones should perish Our Lord through this whole passage intimates that it is possible for those who have become the little ones of Christ, at last to perish. If it were in fact a law of the divine administration that they could not apostatize, much of the language here used is deceptive. It is indeed replied that all those warnings are the means of preventing the apostacies, which are rendered impossible by them. But it is very unnatural to say that God prevents that which he has determined shall never take place, by continually representing it as possible. This would be to make it impossible by continually declaring it possible. MODE OF DEALING WITH OFFENDERS, 15-20.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.”
In the same way as the shepherd cares for his sheep, so does the Father care for the little ones who believe in Him. However small, however unimportant they may seem to be, it is not His will that any of them should perish. How much safer His little ones are, therefore, as compared with the sheep. For the will of the Father cannot be thwarted (Joh 10:29). It is not therefore to guardian angels that we should look but to our Father in Heaven.
The use of ‘your Father’ here stresses the personal love of the Father for His own, for this is the only use of ‘your Father in Heaven’ following Mat 10:29 (although see Mat 13:43; Mat 23:9). Since that point Jesus has always spoken of ‘My Father in Heaven’ (Mat 10:32-33; Mat 12:50; Mat 15:13; Mat 16:17; Mat 18:10; Mat 18:19; Mat 18:35) or the equivalent (Mat 11:25-27; Mat 16:27; Mat 20:23; Mat 24:36; Mat 25:34; Mat 26:29; Mat 26:39; Mat 26:42; Mat 26:53). Prior to that the emphasis had been on ‘your Father in Heaven’ or the equivalent (Mat 5:16; Mat 5:45; Mat 5:48; Mat 6:1; Mat 6:4; Mat 6:6; Mat 6:8-9; Mat 6:14-15; Mat 6:18; Mat 6:26; Mat 6:32; Mat 7:11; Mat 10:20; Mat 10:29) with ‘My Father’ only being used when their doing of His will and the facing of the future judgment was in mind (Mat 7:21). Having initially made clear to them therefore that God was their own Father, He then began the self-revelation in which He wanted to emphasise that God was His Own Father in a unique way (especially see Mat 11:25-27), and that as His Son they must now follow Him in His special relationship with the Father, knowing the Father through Him.
Some important Greek manuscripts do have ‘My Father’ here (B Theta f13), but the majority favour ‘your Father (Aleph, D, W, f1, 28, 565), and in view of the above usages ‘your Father’ is the harder reading, and it fits well here as stressing the Father’s relationship with His sheep.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mat 18:14. Even so, &c. That is, “God greatly delights in the conversion and salvation of men, and is at as much pains to reclaim them, as a shepherd is to bring back a sheep which was strayed from the fold.” We may observe the gradation in these verses: first, the angels do not despise these little ones;neither the Son,nor the Father.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 18:14 . Accordingly, as it is not the will of that man that one of his sheep should be lost, so it is not the will of God that one of those should be lost (should fall into eternal perdition). The point of the comparison therefore lies in the unwillingness to let perish; in the parable this is represented by the case of a strayed sheep, for the purpose of teaching the disciples that if a happens to err from the faith and the Christian life, they should not abandon him, but try to induce him to amend.
What is said in regard to the is therefore put in the form of a climax: (1) Do not despise them, inasmuch as you would cause them to go astray, and be the occasion of their ruin (Mat 18:6-10 ); (2) On the contrary, if one does go wrong, rescue him, just as the shepherd rescues his wandering sheep, in order that it may not be lost (Mat 18:12-14 ).
] coram (Mat 11:26 ; Luk 15:10 ). There is not before God (before the face of God) any determination having as its object that , etc.; consequently, no predestination to condemnation in the divine will. On the idea involved in , comp. note on Mat 1:19 . For the telic sense of , comp. Mat 7:12 ; Mar 6:25 ; Mar 10:35 , al. , and the of Homer; Ngelsbach’s note on Iliad , i. 133.
] See critical notes. The idea of the sheep still lingers in the mind.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 1381
THE SECURITY OF GODS CHILDREN
Mat 18:14. It is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
OF all the images used in the Holy Scriptures for the representing of the Christian character, that of a little child is perhaps the most just and the most instructive. Its simplicity, its teachableness, its entire dependence on its parents for all things that are needful, render it a fit pattern for our imitation; so that our blessed Lord, when he would shew his Disciples the most exalted of all characters, took a little child, and set him in the midst of them; and declared, that the person who most resembled such a child was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven [Note: ver. 4.]. But, whilst the resemblance is to be traced chiefly in the dispositions of the mind, it will be found also in the utter incapacity of a child to protect itself, or to supply its own necessities. The state of Gods children upon earth is one of great danger; insomuch, that they must of necessity perish, if he do not continually exert himself in their behalf. But, helpless as they are, it is the purpose and determination of God that not one of them shall ever perish. In confirmation of this truth, I will endeavour to set before you,
I.
Their dangers
All the Lords people are exposed to many and great dangers;
1.
From the corruption of their own hearts
[They are by nature as depraved as other men, and as liable to commit every species of iniquity ]
2.
From the temptations which beset them on every side
[They have not a desire, to the gratification of which they will not find incentives, wherever they go ]
3.
From the assaults of their great adversary, the devil
[He is justly represented as a serpent for subtlety, and as a lion for strength: and his efforts to destroy them are incessant: As a roaring lion, he goes about seeking whom he may devour. And who can understand his wiles, or be sufficiently on his guard against his devices? He has all the powers of darkness also confederate with him, for the destruction of the Lords people. And who would be able to withstand him, if Almighty God himself did not stand forth for their help? If left to his assaults, not any child of man could ever be saved ]
4.
From the pernicious influence of false brethren
[To these, especial reference is made in the preceding context [Note: ver. 7.]. It must needs be that offences will come: some dishonouring the Gospel by their unholy lives; and others departing from it altogether. The effect of such examples is pernicious in the extreme: and, inasmuch as they prevail in every age of the Church, every one will be more or less in danger of being drawn to abandon the faith which has been so dishonoured by them [Note: 2Pe 2:2.].]
But, in our text, we see,
II.
Their security
1.
God regards them as his peculiar property
[It is this consideration which induces a shepherd to go in search of a sheep that he has lost. If there be only one out of a hundred that goes from the fold, he will search and inquire till he find it. And to this he is stimulated by the consideration that it is his property [Note: ver. 12, 13.]. Now, God regards his little ones in this view. Even the lambs of the flock are not despised by him. He has loved them with an everlasting love: he has chosen them in Christ before the foundation of the world; and predestinated them to the adoption of children, and set them apart to be a peculiar people for himself. Hence he feels a peculiar interest in them, and keeps his eye continually fixed upon them for good. He has given them from all eternity to his dear Son, to be his purchased possession: and they shall therefore be reserved as jewels to adorn his crown.]
2.
He determines to preserve them even to the end
[We are not to understand by the words of our text, that God has no ill design towards them; for he entertains not these against any child of man: He willeth not the death of any sinner, but that all should come to repentance and live. But, in behalf of those who believe in Christ [for this is the description given of his little ones], he has a fixed purpose, that they shall not perish: He keeps them by his power for that very end, that they may not fall: and he will never suffer any one to pluck them out of his hand [Note: Joh 10:28-29.].
We must not however imagine that he will keep them without exertions of their own. No: it is by and through their own exertions that God will keep them. The Holy Spirit is said to help our infirmities; just as one man helpeth another, by bearing together with him a part of his burthen [Note: .]. And, if we will not exert the powers which God has given us, we shall in vain look for aid on his part. I consider this sentiment as peculiarly important: because many, from an apprehension that Gods promised agency will generate supineness in us, discard altogether the idea that God has undertaken any thing for us. But God has assuredly engaged to keep the feet of his saints, and to finish in them the work he has begun: but he will carry this into effect by calling forth our efforts to the uttermost. His working in us to will and to do of his own good pleasure, is our encouragement to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling: and, if we will not work for ourselves, we give a decided proof that the grace of God is not in us. If, on the other hand, we will arise and work, we shall find that God is with us of a truth, and that our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord.]
See, then,
1.
What should be our minds towards the little ones of Christs flock
[We should not despise them, either because they are his, or because they are but weak [Note: ver. 10.]: still less should we put any obstructions in their way: for it were better that a millstone were hanged about our neck, and that we were cast into the depth of the sea, than that we should offend one of his little ones [Note: ver. 6.]. We should rather be like-minded with God himself towards them, and afford them every aid in our power ]
2.
How we ourselves maybe of their happy number
[We have before said, that they are described by our Lord as believing in him. If, with a sense of our lost and undone condition, we come to him, and seek acceptance through him, then may we be sure that we are his; especially if our faith approve itself as genuine, by its fruits. Cleave, therefore, to him with full purpose of heart; and rest assured that God will keep you from falling, and present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
Ver. 14. It is not the will of your Father ] Happy for us, that we are kept by the power of God to salvation, 1Pe 1:5 , for else it were possible for us to fall away and perish: an intercision there might be, nay, an utter excision from Christ, were not his left hand under us, and his right hand over us, Son 2:6 , and both his hands about us, to clasp and hold us fast to himself. But his right hand is our Jachin, and his left hand our Boaz, 1Ki 7:21 . Both which pillars in the porch of Solomon’s temple did show, not only by the matter whereof they were made, but also by the names whereby they were called, what stedfastness the elect stand in before God, both for present and future. For present they have strength in themselves; for future, God will so establish them with his grace, that they shall never wholly depart from him. As for reprobates, God saith of them, that that will die, let it die; they shall die in their sins, as the Lord threateneth the Jews; which is a thousand times worse than to die in a ditch or in a dungeon.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
14. ] This verse sets forth to us the work of the Son as accomplishing the will of the Father; for it is unquestionably the Son who is the Good Shepherd, searching for the lost, Mat 18:11 . For similar declarations see Eze 18:23 ; Eze 33:11 ; 2Pe 3:9 .
The inference from this verse is ‘then whoever despises or scandalizes one of these little ones, acts in opposition to the will of your Father in Heaven.’ Observe, when the dignity of the little ones was asserted, it was : now that a motive directly acting on the conscience of the Christian is urged, it is .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 18:14 , pplication of the parable less emphatic than in Lk. , a will, for an object of will. . . .: before the face of = for, etc.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
will = desire. Greek. thelema, from thelo. App-102.
your. L Tr. WH and Rm read “My”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
14.] This verse sets forth to us the work of the Son as accomplishing the will of the Father;-for it is unquestionably the Son who is the Good Shepherd, searching for the lost, Mat 18:11. For similar declarations see Eze 18:23; Eze 33:11; 2Pe 3:9.
The inference from this verse is-then whoever despises or scandalizes one of these little ones, acts in opposition to the will of your Father in Heaven. Observe, when the dignity of the little ones was asserted, it was : now that a motive directly acting on the conscience of the Christian is urged, it is .
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 18:14. , it is not a wish)[818] or anything to be desired (cf. Eze 18:23). The article is not added in the present passage; cf. , wishes, in Act 13:22.[819] We ought to subserve the Divine will in caring for the salvation of all.-,[820] in the presence of)[821] The Divine intellect is intimated as discerning what things please His will.[822]-, …, that, etc.) i.e. He wishes most earnestly that all should be saved.-, one) The disciples had asked in the comparative;[823] our Lord answers specially in the positive degree.
[818] E. V. It is not the will. Middleton renders it, There is no wish.-(I. B.)
[819] Rendered in E. V. by, Which shall fulfil all My will.-(I. B.)
[820] In his own German Version Bengel renders the passage thus:-Also ist es kein Wille VOR eurem Vater, dass, etc.-(I. B.)
[821] E. V. renders the passage, It is not the will of your Father, etc. Bengel would render it literally, It is not a wish in the presence of your Father, etc., and explain it as representing the Divine Intellect as surveying all possible contingencies (rendered by the Divine power visible to the Divine perception), and distinguishing between those which are, and those which are not, agreeable to His Will.-(I. B.)
[822] Bengel has used the word Voluntas four times in this paragraph, and that in two different senses. In the first instance, I have rendered the singular by Wish; in the second, the plural by Wishes; in the third and fourth, the singular by Will.-(I. B.)
[823] i.e. The disciples had asked, Which is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven?-their question therefore referred to the comparative degrees of glory. Our Lords reply directs their attention to the simple notion, the positive degree of salvation; the universal requisites on mans part to attain-the universal desire on Gods part to bestow it.-(I. B.)
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
it is: Luk 12:32, Joh 6:39, Joh 6:40, Joh 10:27-30, Joh 17:12, Rom 8:28-39, Eph 1:5-7, 1Pe 1:3-5
your: Mat 5:16, Mat 6:9, Mat 6:32
one: Isa 40:11, Zec 13:7, Joh 21:15, 1Co 8:11-13, 2Ti 2:10, Heb 12:13, 2Pe 3:9
Reciprocal: Mat 10:42 – one Mat 18:6 – little Mat 18:10 – heed Luk 9:48 – Whosoever shall receive this Luk 12:30 – your Luk 15:10 – one Luk 17:2 – one
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8:14
This verse goes back to all of the others that speak of the little ones. We are sure they mean the humble disciples and not literally the small boys and girls for they are not in any danger, not being responsible for their conduct.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 18:14. The will of your Father. In Mat 18:10 where the dignity of the little ones is asserted, our Lord says my rather; here where the duty is enforced by Gods gracious will, your Father.
One of these little ones, as above, weak, humble, believers: God will not that a single one of them perish, reach the final state of the lost. Little ones cannot refer to all mankind; here as throughout, it includes children. It warrants the belief that children, dying in childhood, are all saved. The parable snows that it cannot be on the ground of their innocence, but because the Son of man came to save them. As a child is trustful, going to the arms opened to receive it, so we may well believe that at death that trustfulness places it in the arms of Jesus, who saves it, its infantile trustfulness expanding under the impulse of a higher state of existence, into a living faith, no less real and justifying than that of adults.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
This verse concludes the argument of the discourse thus far. The heavenly Father does not want one of Jesus’ humble disciples to wander away from his calling in life as a disciple because someone has discouraged, rejected, or opposed him. Moreover He does not want His disciples, of all people, to be responsible for this. Perishing in this context does not mean loss of salvation but the ultimate result of failing to achieve God’s goal for him or her as a disciple, namely, a wasted life.