Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 18:4

"Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." — Matthew 18:4 (ASV)

Whoever, therefore, humbles himself—This, then, was the answer to the question, “Who will be the greatest?” The secret of true greatness lies in the unconsciousness of being great, which takes the lowest position as its rightful place. For a person to “humble himself” with the purpose of attaining greatness would be self-defeating and would reduce humility to a hypocrisy. The “pride that apes humility,” the false lowliness of Colossians 2:18, is even more hateful and contemptible than open self-assertion.

As this little child—What was to be the result of a deliberate act in the disciples was found naturally in the child. They were to make themselves lowly as he was lowly. The transition from the plural to the singular gives an almost dramatic vividness to the form of our Lord’s teaching. We seem to see the child shrinking timidly, with a blushing face and downcast eyes, from the notice thus drawn to him.