Matthew 18:10 (LSB)

Passage

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.

Nearby Context

Matthew 18:8 “And if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than, having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the eternal fire.

Matthew 18:9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into the fiery hell.

Matthew 18:10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 18:11 [For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]

Matthew 18:12 “What do you think? If any man has one hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "despise", "little", "ones", "angels", "heaven", "continually", "face", and "father". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "despise" and "little", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "And if your eye causes you to..." into verse 11's "For the Son of Man has come...", so "despise" and "little" 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 "despise" and "little" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.