Does this verse speak of guardian angels?
Response to comment [from a Christian]: "Matt. 18:10. What say you?"
Angels may be
sent to help us out once in a while
if needed.
"Mt 18:10 do not despise. I.e.,
spurn or belittle another believer
by treating him or her unkindly or
indifferently. their angels. This
does not suggest that each believer
has a personal guardian angel.
Rather, the pronoun is collective
and refers to the fact that
believers are served by angels in
general. These angels are pictured
“always” watching the face of God so
as to hear His command to them to
help a believer when needed. It is
extremely serious to treat any
fellow believer with contempt since
God and the holy angels are so
concerned for their well-being."
MacArthur, J., Jr. (Ed.). (1997).
The MacArthur Study Bible
(electronic ed., p. 1426).
Nashville, TN: Word Pub.
And if thine eye offend thee,
pluck it out, and cast it from thee:
it is better for thee to enter into
life with one eye, rather than
having two eyes to be cast into hell
fire.
Take heed that ye despise not one of
these little ones; for I say unto
you, That in heaven their angels do
always behold the face of my Father
which is in heaven [Matt. 18:9–10].
"Our Lord says that we are not to
despise one of the little ones. When
one of them dies, his spirit goes
immediately to be with God. All
little ones go to heaven, my friend.
If you have lost a little one,
knowing this will be a great comfort
to you. They go to heaven, not
because they are innocent or because
they are yours, but they go to
heaven because Jesus died for them.
That is what our Lord is talking
about here. “Don’t offend them;
don’t despise them. Let them come to
Me. Even if they die, their spirits
are going to be right there in the
presence of My Father.” So many
parents wonder about the eternal
state of their little ones.
King David knew about his. When his
son by Bathsheba fell ill, he was
greatly exercised about the life of
the child. We have the record of
this in 2 Samuel 12:15–23. He fasted
and wept and lay all night upon the
earth. But when the child was dead,
he arose, bathed, changed his
clothes, and went into the house of
God and worshiped. His servants were
baffled by his actions, and David’s
explanation was this “ … While the
child was yet alive, I fasted and
wept: for I said, Who can tell
whether GOD will be gracious to me,
that the child may live? But now he
is dead, wherefore should I fast?
can I bring him back again? I shall
go to him, but he shall not return
to me.” He had the confidence that
one day he would be with him. This
is a very precious truth. Many
people have lost little ones, and I
have lost a little one, also—my
firstborn. She is buried here in
Altadena in Southern California.
Every now and then I go by there and
put a few flowers on her grave.
She’s not there; she’s with Him, but
I go there because that is all I
have left of her now. But someday,
some golden tomorrow, I’m going to
be there in heaven, and I am going
to see my little one. She is saved.
I have two children—one in heaven
and one here on earth. I confess
that I have worried more about the
one here than the one in heaven. I
know where my firstborn is, and
someday I’ll go to be with her.
The feeling of our Lord about
children is very important to note,
especially in our day when there are
so many crimes committed against
these little ones. Recently, I have
been reading about a mother and a
stepfather who left a precious
little girl along the freeway. How
shocking it was to read about this.
They just wanted to get rid of her.
Some folk believe there is no hell,
but I want to say this: If there
were no hell, there ought to be one
for folk like that! And there is
one. Our Lord uses the strongest
language possible in warning us
about offenses against children."
McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible
commentary: The Gospels (Matthew
14-28) (electronic ed., Vol. 35, pp.
65–66). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
