The surprising role of the guardian angels

What did Jesus mean in Matthew 18:10 when he said: “Look, don't despise one of these little ones. Why do I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven "? He meant: that the magnificence of every distressing courtship of angels by a Christian will silence our contempt and awaken the fear of the simplest children of God.

To see this, let's first clarify who "these little ones" are.

Who are "these little ones"?
"See you don't despise one of these little ones." They are true believers in Jesus, seen from the point of view of their childish trust in God. They are the children of God tied to heaven. We know this for the immediate and wider context of Matthew's Gospel.

This section of Matthew 18 began with the disciples asking, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" (Matthew 18: 1). Jesus replies: “Truly I tell you that if you do not turn around and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven "(Matthew 18: 3-4). In other words, the text is not about children. It concerns those who become like children, and therefore enter the kingdom of heaven. Talk about the true disciples of Jesus.

This is confirmed in Matthew 18: 6 where Jesus says: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a big millstone fixed around his neck and to drown deep in the sea." The "little ones" are those who "believe" in Jesus.

In the broader context, we see the same language with the same meaning. For example, in Matthew 10:42, Jesus says: "Anyone who gives one of these little ones a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I tell you, will not lose his reward at all." The "little ones" are "disciples".

Similarly, in the famous, and often erroneously, image of the final judgment in Matthew 25, Jesus says: “The King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me '”(Matthew 25:40, compare with Matthew 11:11). The "least of these" are the "brothers" of Jesus. The "brothers" of Jesus are those who do the will of God (Matthew 12:50), and those who do the will of God are those who "enter the kingdom of the heavens "(Matthew 7:21).

Therefore, in Matthew 18:10, when Jesus refers to "these little ones" whose angels see the face of God, he is talking about 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 it. Such speculations attract unbound curiosities and can create distractions from much safer and more important realities.

"The care of the whole Church is entrusted to angels". This is not a new idea. Angels are active throughout the Old Testament for the good of God's people. For example,

He [Jacob] dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder on the earth, and the top reached the sky. And behold, the angels of God were going up and down on it! (Genesis 28:12)

The angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her: "Behold, you are sterile and you have not given birth to children, 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 sets them free. (Psalm 34: 7)

He will command his angels who concern you to guard you in all your ways. (Psalm 91:11)

Bless the Lord, or you his angels, you mighty ones who make his word, obeying the voice of his word! Bless the Lord, all his guests, his ministers, who do his will! (Psalm 103: 20-21)

“My God sent his angel and closed the mouths of the lions, and they did not harm me, because I was found faultless before him; and even before you, O king, I have done no harm. " (Daniel 6:22)