Matthew 18:5-6

Matthew 18:5-6

[5] And  whoso  shall receive  one  such  little child  in  name  receiveth  [6] But  whoso  shall offend  one  little ones  which  believe  in  it were better  for him  that  a millstone  were hanged  his  neck,  and  that he were drowned  in  the depth  of the sea. 

What does Matthew 18:5-6 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The child in view in these verses is not a literal child but the disciple who has humbled himself or herself and in so doing has become childlike ( Matthew 18:3-4). Jesus was speaking of receiving a humble disciple of His in Matthew 18:5. (Jesus taught the importance of receiving a little child in Mark 9:36-37 and Luke 9:48.) Whoever does this "in Jesus" name" welcomes the disciple because he or she is one of Jesus" disciples, not because that one is personally superior, influential, or prominent. The person who welcomes one of Jesus" humble disciples simply for Jesus" sake virtually welcomes Jesus Himself (cf. Matthew 10:42). In this context, as well as in chapter10 , Jesus was speaking of welcoming in the sense of extending hospitality with its attendant encouragement and support. "To receive" (Gr. dekomai) means to receive into fellowship. [1]
The antithesis in Matthew 18:6 involves not welcoming a disciple but rejecting or ignoring him. Withholding supportive encouragement would cause a disciple to stumble in the sense that it would make it harder for him to do his work. Jesus was not speaking of causing the disciple to stumble by leading him or her into apostasy. The contrast makes this clear. Discouraging the disciple amounts to rejecting the Master. Consequently drowning at sea would be better for the offender than having to face Jesus" condemnation in hell for rejecting Him ( Matthew 18:8-9). Again, hyperbole presents the consequences as extremely bad. "Little ones who believe in me" ( Matthew 18:6) defines the disciples in view. This is the only place in the Synoptics where "believe in me" occurs. This phrase is very common in John"s writings.
Drowning was a Greek and Roman method of execution but not a Jewish one. [2] The type of millstone in view was a large one that a donkey would rotate, not the small hand millstone that every Palestinian woman used to prepare her flour. [3] Drowning in this way would be horrible, but it would be better than perishing in the lake of fire ( Matthew 18:8).