The Disciples' Favorite Question
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 18:1-4, RSV.
With this passage we have come to the disciples' favorite question. They seem to be obsessed with it. Mark 9:33, 34 tells us they had been "arguing" on the road about who was the greatest.
Perhaps the stimulus for the problem was Jesus' blessing of Peter after his reply that Jesus was the divine Christ. It is almost impossible to believe that he hadn't gloated over that commendation. Then there was the selection of three of the disciples to go with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.
But at a deeper level the question of greatness resides at the center of the sinful human heart. The desire for egocentric importance fuels both the world's greatest accomplishments and its greatest sins. The desire to stand out, to be superior, to have people look at and admire "me" is part of the great rebellion of human beings against God. It was also the root of Lucifer's sin in heaven. He had said in his heart, "I will raise my throne above the stars of God....I will make myself like the Most high" (Isa. 14:13, 14, NIV). The desire to be the greatest, even to be the god of our own life, forms the very foundation of sin. And, as we noted earlier in discussing Matthew 16:24, the only solution to that problem is the cross--that is, the death of our selves and the born-again experience in Christ.
In Matthew 18:2-4 Jesus tells His disciples that the greatest in the kingdom will be like little children. Children were of little account in antiquity, and we find Jesus here turning the wisdom of the world on its head by proclaiming that true greatness does not lie in accomplishments and worldly sophistication but in the humility and transparency of children.
The disciples, as we might expect, didn't like that lesson and immediately forgot it. To be honest, I don't enjoy it either.
And with that realization it is back to the foot of the cross in humble repentance.
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 18:1-4, RSV.
With this passage we have come to the disciples' favorite question. They seem to be obsessed with it. Mark 9:33, 34 tells us they had been "arguing" on the road about who was the greatest.
Perhaps the stimulus for the problem was Jesus' blessing of Peter after his reply that Jesus was the divine Christ. It is almost impossible to believe that he hadn't gloated over that commendation. Then there was the selection of three of the disciples to go with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.
But at a deeper level the question of greatness resides at the center of the sinful human heart. The desire for egocentric importance fuels both the world's greatest accomplishments and its greatest sins. The desire to stand out, to be superior, to have people look at and admire "me" is part of the great rebellion of human beings against God. It was also the root of Lucifer's sin in heaven. He had said in his heart, "I will raise my throne above the stars of God....I will make myself like the Most high" (Isa. 14:13, 14, NIV). The desire to be the greatest, even to be the god of our own life, forms the very foundation of sin. And, as we noted earlier in discussing Matthew 16:24, the only solution to that problem is the cross--that is, the death of our selves and the born-again experience in Christ.
In Matthew 18:2-4 Jesus tells His disciples that the greatest in the kingdom will be like little children. Children were of little account in antiquity, and we find Jesus here turning the wisdom of the world on its head by proclaiming that true greatness does not lie in accomplishments and worldly sophistication but in the humility and transparency of children.
The disciples, as we might expect, didn't like that lesson and immediately forgot it. To be honest, I don't enjoy it either.
And with that realization it is back to the foot of the cross in humble repentance.
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