Matthew 18:4 (DBY)

Passage

Whoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, *he* is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens;

Nearby Context

Matthew 18:2 And Jesus having called a little child to [him], set it in their midst,

Matthew 18:3 and said, Verily I say to you, Unless ye are converted and become as little children, ye will not at all enter into the kingdom of the heavens.

Matthew 18:4 Whoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, *he* is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens;

Matthew 18:5 and whosoever shall receive one such little child in my name, receives me.

Matthew 18:6 But whosoever shall offend one of these little ones who believe in me, it were profitable for him that a great millstone had been hanged upon his neck and he be sunk in the depths of the sea.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whoever", "therefore", "shall", "humble", "himself", "little", "child", and "greatest". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whoever" and "therefore", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "and said Verily I say to you..." into verse 5's "and whosoever shall receive one such little...", so "whoever" and "therefore" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "whoever" and "therefore" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.