Questions for Jesus | Who’s The Greatest?

Jul 13

About this series:

In each of the gospels we find Jesus asking questions of his disciples, the crowds and his opponents. And we also find Jesus being asked questions - by his disciples, the crowds and his opponents. Here, we will take 10 questions people asked of Jesus, the first from Luke’s gospel to set up the series and then the rest from Matthew’s gospel.

As well as working through the specific passages, we will aim to encourage people to consider what questions they would like to ask Jesus. The hope is that by looking at Matthew’s gospel in this way, we will see more clearly who Jesus is, be inspired to follow him and learn to be honest about our own questions as we grow to become more like him.

About this talk:

Muhammad Ali famously boasted, “I am the greatest!” Every culture has its own ideas of what makes someone great - from wisdom to military success; from physical appearance to financial wealth; from the car you drive to the house you live in. But Jesus reframes greatness in his kingdom by relating it to a very unexpected quality, especially in the context of the first century.

In Luke’s gospel this incident appears to be connected to an argument the disciples were having about who was the greatest (Luke 9:46; cf. Luke 22:24). Matthew does not include that detail, though his phrasing, “Who, then...” clearly means that the disciples were referring to some previous event, possibly to Peter’s prominence or to the preceding story. Through their question the disciples demonstrate they have a growing recognition that Jesus is the one who will usher in the kingdom, but also that they have almost no idea yet of how life is to be lived in that kingdom, as Jesus will explain in vs 2-5.

Jesus’ action of placing a child among them and saying “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven,” has often been taken to mean that the followers of Jesus are to imitate children in, for example, their childlike trust. While this is true, it’s probably not what is meant here. Children had low status in the Jewish world and so his point is far more likely to be that life in the kingdom of heaven means being willing to be humble, lowly, not assuming status. Jesus’ own words make this clear: “whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

While the disciples are interested in who will be highest, greatest, first, Jesus says that in his kingdom the focus should be on going lower, being least, last. He, of course, makes a very similar point in ch 20 after the mother of James and John approached him to ask if “these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom” (20:21). There, Jesus takes the opportunity to say to the 12 “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave” (20:25-27).

While we are used to hearing such things in Christian settings, this is, no doubt, shocking to Jesus’ followers in the first century for whom status, privilege, honour, ranking in society are enormously important. The values of his kingdom were, and still are, highly countercultural in so many ways. But just as in chapter 18, Jesus’ point here is emphatically stressed by the fact that he is the example of taking “the lowly position of this child” - “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” There is no more humble, lowly position to take than that of becoming a servant and slave through laying down your life for others.

“And,” says Jesus, “whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” Those who are lowly will not feel they are above associating with others who are of low status, but will welcome them and receive them in such a way that communicates how highly valued they truly are.