What did Jesus mean in Matthew 18:10 when he said, “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones. Because I tell you that in heaven his angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven”? He wanted to say: May the magnificence of every mediocre Christian’s retinue of angels silence our contempt and arouse awe before the simplest of God’s children.
To see this, let us first clarify who “these little ones” are.
Who Are “These Little Ones”?
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones.” They are true believers in Jesus, seen from the point of view of their childlike trust in God. They are the children of God destined for heaven. We know this because of the immediate and larger context of the Gospel of Matthew.
This section in Matthew 18 began with the disciples asking, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1). Jesus replies: “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you return and become like little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3–4). In other words, the text is not about children. It is about those who become What children, and thus they enter the kingdom of heaven. They are true disciples of Jesus.
This is confirmed in Matthew 18:6 where Jesus says, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in meIt would be better for him if a great millstone were tied around his neck and he was drowned in the depths of the sea. The “little ones” are those “who believe” in Jesus.
In the larger context, we see the same language with the same meaning. For example, in Matthew 10:42, Jesus says, “Whoever gives to one of these little ones Even if it’s a glass of cold water because he is a discipleTruly I tell you, he will by no means lose his reward. The “little ones” are “disciples”.
Likewise, in the famous and often misquoted image of the final judgment in Matthew 25, Jesus says: “The King will answer them: ‘Truly, I say to you, as soon as you did it to one of these least of my brothers, to you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40; compare Matthew 11:11). The “least of these” are the “brothers” of Jesus. Jesus’ “brothers” are those who do God’s will (Matthew 12:50), and those who do God’s will are those who “enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
Therefore, in Matthew 18:10, when Jesus refers to “these little ones” whose angels see the face of God, he is speaking of his disciples, those who will enter the kingdom of heaven, not people in general. Whether humans in general have good or bad angels assigned to them (by God or the devil) is not addressed in the Bible as far as I can see. We would do well not to speculate on this. Such speculations attract untethered curiosities and can create distractions from much safer and more important realities.
An angel for each Christian?
“Everything angels do, everywhere in the world, at all times, is for the good of Christians.”
So our question now is this: What does Jesus mean when he says that we should not despise his childish followers? And what is an argument for this, when he refers to “his angels of him” seeing God? “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. Because (= because) I tell you that in heaven his angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.”
It is possible that “his angels” refers to a specific angel assigned to each disciple. There is another text that some think points in this direction. When the believers praying in Acts 12 couldn’t believe that Peter was knocking on the door since he was supposed to be in prison, they said, “It’s his angel!” (Acts 12:15). That may or may not imply that all believers have an angel assigned to them. It can only imply that in that situation God had commissioned an angel to use Peter’s voice (Acts 12:14), and perhaps arouse even more urgent prayer for him.
It is even more difficult here in Matthew 18:10 to infer that every believer has an angel assigned to him. What he says is: “In heaven his angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” The word “his” certainly implies that these angels have a special personal role to play in relation to the disciples of Jesus. But the plural “angels” can simply mean that all believers have numerous angels assigned to serve them, not just one.
Calvin’s Careful Observation
I believe that John Calvin’s careful observation of this text is exactly correct:
The interpretation given to this passage by some commentators, as if God assigned each believer his own angel, does not rest on solid foundations. Because the words of Christ do not mean that a single angel is continually busy with this or that person; and such an idea is inconsistent with the whole doctrine of Scripture, which declares that angels camp around (Psalm 34:7) the godly, and that not one angel, but many, have been commissioned to protect each of the godly. faithful. Let us, then, put aside the fanciful notion of a good and bad angel, and rest content that the care of the whole Church is entrusted to the angels, to help each member as his needs require. (Commentary on the Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark and Lukeon Matthew 18:10)
The Ministry of the Angels of the Old Covenant
“The care of the whole Church is entrusted to the angels.” This is not a new idea. Angels are active throughout the Old Testament for the good of God’s people. For example,
He dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder resting on the earth, and its top reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on him! (Genesis 28:12)
The angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said, Behold, you are barren and have not given birth, but you will conceive and give birth to a son. (Judges 13:3)
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and defends them. (Psalm 34:7)
He will command his angels over you, to guard you in all your ways. (Psalm 91:11)
Bless the Lord, his angels, brave men who keep their word, obeying the voice of their word! Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will! (Psalm 103:20–21)
“My God sent his angel, and shut the lions’ mouths, and they did me no harm, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” (Daniel 6:22)
All the angels, all the Christians, all the time
And more important than these Old Testament references to angels, Hebrews 1:14 makes it clear that God sends angels to minister for the good of Christ’s people. In the context of Hebrews 1, the writer argues that the Son of God is infinitely greater than the angels. One of his arguments is that God never said to any angel: “Sit at my right hand” as he did with Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:13). Instead, the angels are simply servants of God who carry out his commands for the good of those who are on their way to heaven.
To which of the angels did he ever say, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool”? Are they not all ministering spirits sent to minister for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1:13–14)
The promise here is better than the tradition that every saint has a personal guardian angel. What Hebrews 1:14 says is that everybody the Angels – everybody—are specifically sent “for the ministry” (Greek is diakonian) — not to minister “to” Christians, but to minister “for the sake of” Christians (Greek dia tous mellontas kleronomein soterian).
This means that everything angels do, everywhere in the world, at all times, is for the good of Christians. An angel who does something at God’s command anywhere in the world is fulfilling the promise that God will work all things for the good of all Christians, everywhere. This is an overwhelming and surprising promise. All angels serve for the good of all Christians all the time. They are agents of Romans 8:28.
The Wonder of Eminent Angels Serving Others
But as amazing as that is, it is not the point of Matthew 18:10. The striking point of Matthew 18:10 is not the wonder that angels serve us usbut the wonder that angels serve others. Remember, the context is about how we treat other believers: “these little ones.” “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones” (Matthew 18:10).
Jesus’ argument for why we shouldn’t treat other believers in a demeaning way is because “his angels in heaven always see my father’s face which is in heaven.” The point of saying that these angels “see the face of my Father” is that they have the immeasurable rank and privilege of being in the immediate presence of God. You can see that meaning in Esther 1:14 and Revelation 22:4.
Having angels does not increase our safety or dignity
“An angel working anywhere in the world fulfills God’s promise to work all things for the good of all Christians.”
So how should we be motivated to honor the lowliest Christian (Matthew 11:11) because the angels who attend them are of immeasurably high rank and privilege?
I would suggest this: Reflect first that every Christian has the Creator of the universe as his Father (Romans 8:16-17), and has the Lord of the universe as his older brother (Romans 8:29). He cannot have a more secure and exalted position as a human being than to have God as his all-caring, all-providing Father (Matthew 6:32–33; Luke 12:30–32), and Jesus as all authority from him. Lord (Matthew 28:18).
Having a hundred or a thousand angels of the highest ranks at your service does not increase your security or your dignity. So how does the argument work? How does it motivate us to treat all ordinary Christians with deep respect “because” they are served by many high-ranking angels?
Titan Entourage Reminds You Who You’re Dealing With
Suppose you are to receive the greatest king’s son this afternoon. You know that he is the son of a king. He could get to his estate walking with two guards. In that case, he would be worthy of the highest respect, simply because he is the son of a king. But he is actually going to arrive with a hundred terrifying titans of the greatest strength and beauty surrounding him on all sides. These beings are the elite guard and agents of the king.
When you see this entourage, the point is not that this entourage gives the king’s son greater glory than he already had simply by being the king’s son. Rather, this is a reminder of what it is to be the king’s son.
I think this is what Jesus wants us to think when Jesus’ least impressive disciple walks into a room. “The angels of this disciple always see…