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Luke 9:46–48
“An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side and said to them, ‘Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.’ ”
The disciples did not truly understand the purpose of the Messiah before His death, resurrection, and ascension, as seen in their failure to comprehend Jesus’ words about His betrayal into the hands of sinners (Luke 9:43b–45). Today’s passage gives us yet more evidence of the disciples’ inability to understand the work of Jesus and the value of His kingdom.
Luke 9:46 tells us that an argument arose among the disciples regarding which of them had the greatest status or position. Note the incongruity of the argument in the context. Jesus had just informed the disciples that He would be handed over for execution, pointing to His humbling Himself in His death on the cross (Luke 9:44; see Phil. 2:5–11). The thoughts of the disciples should have been on their need for personal humility; instead, they were bickering over advancing themselves. They lacked self-awareness to recognize how at odds their argument was at that moment, and they needed strong teaching to get the point.
Jesus gave this teaching by using the example of a child. In first-century Jewish culture, children were stark examples of lowliness. Many Jews believed that children under the age of twelve were not old enough to learn the Scriptures, so many Jewish adults thought that it was wasteful to spend too much time with children. Jesus turned this way of thinking upside down by telling His disciples that to warmly receive a child in His name is to receive Him and thus to receive the One who sent Him, the one true God (Luke 9:47–48). The point is that jockeying for position and self-advancement at the expense of others is at odds with the kingdom of God. Jesus means that the greatest people in His kingdom are those who are the most humble, those who are not looking out exclusively for themselves but have concern for others. John Calvin comments, “Our Lord does not enjoin us to think more highly of those who justly deserve to be despised, but of those who divest themselves of all pride, and are perfectly willing to occupy the lowest place.”
Our Lord’s teaching upends the world’s values. Worldly people are all about doing whatever they can to get ahead and to rank themselves above others. Christians are not to follow their example. This does not mean that there are no distinctions whatsoever in the church or that we do not have to pursue excellence. It means that we are not to value some people more than others in the kingdom of God.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Jesus wants His people not to argue with each other over their status in the kingdom but rather to show humility and serve one another (Phil. 2:3–4). Thus, we should seek to bless others in the church and to pursue self-interest in a godly way and never at the expense of other people. If we show honor to all people in the church, we are heeding Jesus’ command.
for further study
- Proverbs 3:33–34
- Isaiah 66:1–2
- Matthew 18:1–6
- Romans 12:10
the bible in a year
- 1 Kings 21–22
- John 3:1–21