Forgotten Guardians And Matthew 18:10 -- By: Erkki Koskenniemi

Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 61:1 (NA 2010)
Article: Forgotten Guardians And Matthew 18:10
Author: Erkki Koskenniemi


Forgotten Guardians
And Matthew 18:10

Erkki Koskenniemi

Summary

‘See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven’ (Matt. 18:10 NIV). Modern commentators have not reached a consensus on the context of this verse, nor on the angels mentioned. First, whether those who are guarded are children or ordinary Christians is undecided. Secondly, some scholars deny that single Christians have an individual guardian angel. However, because early Jewish and Christian sources have by no means been thoroughly researched, evidence found thus far can probably help clarify the kind of angels Jesus was referring to. Surprisingly, angels whose mission was to avenge the evil made to children have been widely overlooked by scholars.

1. The Verse And The Context

The verse is part of 18:1-35, which is one of the five long speeches of Jesus and deals with life in the congregation. This speech can justly1 be divided into two parts, 1-14 and 15-35. In the first part, verses 1-5 and 6-9 are free renderings of Mark 9:33-37 and 9:42-47. The rest of the first part corresponds mainly with Luke (‘Saying Source’). Verse 10, which is the subject of this article, is included only in Matthew, and it leads to his version of the parable of the lost sheep.2

2. Μικροί: Children Or Ordinary Christians?

Verses 3-4 speak of children (using παιδίον), suggesting that they are referred to also in verse 10 (Ὁρᾶτε μὴ καταφρονήσητε ἑνὸς τῶν μικρῶν τούτων). However, a strong modern, as well as early Christian, tradition of interpretation considers the words as referring to ordinary Christians.

The first sense of μικρός is, of course, ‘small’ or ‘young’. However, it is used of persons of lesser importance very early already, as μέγας may refer to important people (cf. Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ μέγας). Pindar uses it in this way (σμικρὸς ἐν σμικροῖς, μέγας ἐν μεγάλοις ἔσσομαι, Pyth. 3:107-108) and so does Sophocles (καὶ μέγας ὀρθοῖτ᾿ ὑπὸ μικροτέρων, Ai. 161). Commentators have ar...

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