The Greatest is the Least

Well, last Sunday we heard about the kerfuffle which took place right after Jesus' transfiguration.

Jesus came down the mountain with Peter, James, and John to find his other nine disciples in a dispute with the teachers of the law about why they couldn't cast a demon out from a man's son.

It was an evil spirit that threw this boy into convulsions and caused him to foam at the mouth.

And the spirit had even tried on occasion to kill him.

And we heard about how Jesus commanded the demon to come out, and it did.

And Luke concluded that story with these words.

They were all amazed at the greatness of God.

Well, let's continue on here in Luke chapter 9.

Luke 9 · chapter mention

While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did,

He said to His disciples,

Listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you.

The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.

But they did not understand what this meant.

It was hidden from them so that they did not grasp it.

And they were afraid to ask Him about it.

This is now the second reminder from Jesus about what is soon to happen.

Jesus already told them once.

We just heard that back up in verse 22.

We can just go back up and look at that.

He already told them,

The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law.

And He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

This second time Jesus says it just a little differently.

He says,

The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.

And these words of Luke are actually just a bit of a summary of the fuller statement,

which we read in Matthew 17.

There Jesus is recorded to say,

The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.

They will kill Him.

And on the third day,

He will be raised to life.

And the disciples were filled with grief.

Some translations say that they were deeply distressed.

So they seem to understand that something bad is going to happen.

They're deeply distressed or unsettled.

Jesus is talking about being killed for the second time.

But Luke's emphasis here is that the disciples didn't understand what Jesus meant.

It was hidden from them so that they did not grasp it.

And they were afraid to ask Him about it.

I got thinking about this.

It's so obvious to us what Jesus is referring to

when He says these things.

That the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.

We can just flip our Bibles ahead to chapter 22 and start reading.

And we read about how Jesus was handed over.

How He was betrayed by Judas

to the religious leaders

in the Garden of Gethsemane.

We read about how Jesus was killed not long after that.

But we have to remember at this point in the story

that Jesus' disciples had no knowledge of this.

They didn't know how it was going to unfold.

It hadn't happened yet.

Judas hadn't even decided yet

to hand Jesus over

to betray Him.

And so no wonder

they didn't understand

what He meant.

Luke says it was hidden from them

so that they did not grasp it.

And I know I have some questions about that.

What does that mean?

Why was it hidden from them?

Is it God that hid it from them?

Or is that a figure of speech

to say that it was just beyond their sight?

And why were they afraid

to ask Jesus about it?

Was it because it just sounded so terrible?

Or was it because the last time

Jesus had said something like this

Peter tried to suggest

that that's not how it's going to go

and then he got rebuked by Jesus?

Was that fresh in their memories?

And then in the mix of all this

there's this secret

that Peter and James and John

are keeping from the other nine disciples.

They, just the day before,

saw Jesus' glory on the mountain.

They heard the voice of God

say that Jesus was His Son

and His chosen one.

And I'm thinking

it's pretty hard to imagine

after hearing and seeing that

how there can be

any delivering over of Him

to the hands of men

and killing of Him.

At this point

Luke jumps to something

that seems totally unrelated.

Verse 46

An argument started

among the disciples

as to which of them

would be the greatest.

If we read Mark's Gospel

we learn that this argument

actually happened

between Jesus' disciples

while they were walking

towards the town of Capernaum.

And it's

when they get to Capernaum

they're in the house together

Jesus asked them

what they were arguing about

on the road.

We get this picture

that maybe Jesus

was just walking with

one of them

and the rest of them

are either behind or ahead

and they're having this squabble.

So Jesus asked them

what were you guys arguing about?

And Mark tells us

that the disciples

didn't want to say anything

at first.

They all kept silent

about this

because they had argued

about who was the greatest

of them.

Why would they be arguing

about that?

Well we don't know

exactly what they're thinking

but we've got to use

our imagination sometimes

to flesh it out a bit.

Maybe Peter and James and John

were thinking pretty highly

of themselves

after what they just saw

on the mountaintop.

something that the others

didn't get to see.

Why would Jesus

have taken only us three?

Maybe we're special.

Maybe we have a special role

to play in the kingdom.

This is just me imagining.

But you know

boasting and comparing

ourselves to others

is natural right?

I mean maybe we look at this

and we think

well how childish of them.

arguing about which of them

was the greatest?

That's immature.

We never do that

do we?

Well maybe we've just learned

to keep our proud thoughts

to ourselves

or to share them only

with those that we know

closely

our friends

our family.

But no

let's be honest

we see this kind of pride

all the time

in our world.

I hesitate to use

this example

but can Donald Trump

even talk for five minutes

without saying the word

great or greatest

about America

or something

that he's working on.

But then think back

to the disciples.

Jesus really did

choose them.

These twelve guys

they were chosen

by the Messiah himself

and I don't know

maybe they're falling asleep

at night

thinking about

what their role

could be

in the kingdom of God

once Jesus

marches into Jerusalem

and takes charge.

Like

will I be an important

regional ruler

over here?

Or maybe I'll be in charge

of the economy.

Or

military strategy

and pure procurement.

If I had my pick

what would it be

to do

in the kingdom

of Jesus?

Maybe second

in command

to him.

You can only

imagine them

talking on the road.

You know

what will this

be like?

This is so exciting.

Generations

of our people

have longed

for this moment

and here it is

the Messiah

has come.

Well

one thing's for sure

Andrew

I'm going to have

a higher position

in the kingdom

than you.

Oh yeah?

Well

what about that time

that Jesus

called you Satan

Peter?

Well

when James

and John

and I

were up on the mountain

we saw something

so amazing

but we can't tell you

because Jesus

told us not to.

And besides

I was the first

to say that

Jesus was the Messiah.

Oh come on

Simon

I was the one

who first introduced

you to Jesus

even before you

had your eye on him

I had him pegged

as the Messiah.

I don't know

we can only imagine

how they thought

and how they argued

over which of them

was the greatest

and they knew

it was prideful

why else would

they keep silent

when Jesus asked

them what they

were talking about?

Well

Jesus turns

this whole thing

into a teachable

moment.

We read in Luke

Luke 9:47

9 verse

47

Jesus

knowing their

thoughts

took a little

child

and had him

stand beside

him.

Then he said

to them

whoever

welcomes

this little

child

in my name

welcomes

me

and whoever

welcomes

me

welcomes

the one

who sent

me

for it

is the one

who is least

among you

all

who is the

greatest.

So Jesus

basically says

let's talk

about this

who is the

greatest

in the kingdom

of heaven?

you guys

are thinking

about greatness

all wrong.

You've got it

all backwards.

In Matthew's

gospel we get a

little more

of the

conversation.

He said

truly I tell

you unless

you change

and become

like little

children

you will

never enter

the kingdom

of heaven.

therefore

whoever

takes

the lowly

position

of this

child

is the

greatest

in the

kingdom

of heaven

and whoever

welcomes

one such

child

in my

name

welcomes

me.

So their

ideas about

greatness

were all

wrong.

It's not

about strength

or skill

or accomplishment

or position

or authority

or popularity

or intelligence.

It's not

about who

gets first

place.

Those

things do

define greatness

in the eyes

of our world

but not

in the eyes

of God.

Not in the

eyes of

King Jesus.

It must

have been

an absolute

shock to

see Jesus

have this

little

child

come up

and take

the attention

in front

of them

all

and hear

him say

this child

is greater

than all

of you.

And if

you want

even to

enter my

kingdom

you all

need to

change

and become

more like

him.

Back in

those days

children

were often

looked down

on

even more

so today

they still

are today

but for

all the

same reasons

I mean

what can

they do?

What have

they accomplished

with their

lives?

What can

they contribute?

Because of

their weakness

and their

neediness

and their

dependence

they take

more than

they give.

And so

according to

the world's

view of

greatness

they're worth

far less

than an

accomplished

strong

and

successful

adult.

But Jesus

says no

no no no

that thinking

is all

wrong.

True

greatness

in God's

kingdom

is not

about what

you have

done

or how

self-sufficient

you are

or how

smart you

are

or what

title you

have.

It's about

character.

It's about

humility.

It's about

understanding

yourself

rightly

in relation

to others

and how

you treat

others.

There's a

lowliness

and a

humility

that children

have.

Little

children.

Not because

they lack

pride and

selfishness

but because

they have

an understanding

of their

own need

and

dependence.

When they

fall and

hurt themselves

what do

they do?

They run

to mom

and dad.

When they

don't know

something

what do

they do?

They ask

mom or

dad.

They sort

of know

their

dependence

and need

and how

do they

get the

things that

they need?

Not by

their own

power,

not by

their own

work.

They look

to mom

or dad.

How do

they get

the pickle

jar open

or the

toothpaste

out of the

bottom of

the tube?

They just

know that

they can't

but mom

can or

dad can

until they

ask for

help.

They sort

of accept

their

lowliness

in the

family.

I mean

after all

my dad

is twice

as tall

as me.

His arm

is twice

as long

as mine

and he

can just

pick my

whole body

off the

ground

and throw

me up

in the

air

like a

feather.

Peter.

And so

Jesus is

saying

if you

think that

the path

to greatness

is going

around saying

I am

Peter.

Hear me

roar.

You've got

it all

wrong.

You need

to become

more like

a child.

And this

sort of

upside down

truth of

greatness in

God's

kingdom isn't

actually a

new thing.

I mean

even in the

Old Testament

times

we see

it.

God has

been saying

it.

He's been

showing it

all along.

He is a

God who

humbles the

proud and

lifts up

the lowly.

He esteems

the lowly.

And so

Jesus is

basically saying

guys if you

want to enter

my kingdom

and be

great you

need to

consider

yourself to

be the

least.

You need

to humble

yourselves.

You need

to stop

wondering who

will serve

you.

and start

serving

others.

And it

seems that

in this

moment the

child with

Jesus actually

becomes an

example in

another way of

what true

greatness looks

like in the

kingdom of

God.

First it

was his

humility and

his position

which Jesus

highlighted as

an example.

But then

Jesus makes it

practical for

them.

He basically

says you

become greatest

in God's

eyes by

becoming the

servant of

the least

in your

eyes.

And the

child represents

the least

here.

I'm not sure

if the

disciples are

even tracking

with Jesus

here but I'm

sure if they

did it was

pretty shocking

to hear this

as well.

I'm trying

to think of

the modern

way of

saying

this.

Maybe

something like

the great

people of

our day

are not the

presidents and

prime ministers

nor the

wealthy and

successful

business owners.

No the

great people

of our day

are the ones

who get

down on the

floor to

change their

children's

dirty diapers.

they are

those who

are the

greatest.

Those who

serve the

least in

my name.

You want

to be great

in the

kingdom of

God?

Serve the

least.

Welcome

the least

in my

name.

Begin

seeing the

least as

God sees

them.

in Jesus'

eyes the

children are

not

insignificant.

Serving

them and

meeting their

needs is

greatness.

You want

to do

something great

for me

Peter?

How about

you start

by welcoming

a child

such as

this in

my name?

Has

anyone greeted

this little

one since

he slipped

in the

door?

Peter?

I take

how you

treat a

child such

as this

personally.

If you

welcome a

child like

this in

my name,

you welcome

me.

Matthew's

gospel really

goes on at

this point to

emphasize Jesus'

heart for

children.

his fierce

protective

heart for

them.

How he

takes

personally not

only the

good things

that we

do to

them,

but the

ways that

we might

take advantage

of them

or cause

them to

stumble.

He takes

those things

personally as

well.

All too

often we're

looking for

the glorious

and the

glamorous.

We're looking

for the

attention.

We're looking

for control.

We're looking

for position.

we're looking

to be

served by

others.

We want

to know

what the

compensation

will be,

what the

benefit to

ourselves

will be,

but none

of those

things are

the immediate

reward for

serving the

least.

As I got

thinking about

our little

church here,

I wondered,

who might

Jesus say is

the greatest

among us?

would he

pull the

children right

up onto

the stage

and point

us to

them?

Or how

about those

who have

spent countless

hours behind

the scenes

cleaning the

church toilets,

picking up

after us

each week?

Probably the

ones who

think the

least of

themselves,

and yet

serve faithfully

as they're

able,

week after

week.

I feel

convicted

again.

I see in

my own

understanding

of greatness

far too

much of

the

disciples'

attitude,

and not

nearly enough

of this

heart to

serve the

least.

How often

do we roll

the eyes or

sigh deeply

when someone

whom we've

helped a

lot,

calls again?

How often

do we grumble

and complain

that we've

been stuck

with looking

after someone

who's unable

to look after

themselves?

How often

do we look

out at

others and

see them

living the

good life

and going

on their

next trip

or adventure

and feel

envy inside

that all

our time

is wrapped

up in

serving the

needy around

us?

But no,

says Jesus,

that's all

backwards.

Lovingly

serving the

least is

the great

and noble

life,

for it is

the one

who is least

among you

all who

is the

greatest.

Master,

said John,

we saw

someone driving

out demons

in your name

and we tried

to stop him

because he's

not one

of us.

Do you ever

feel like

you're really

working to

explain something

to someone

and they just

aren't hearing

you?

This verse

kind of feels

like that to

me.

Jesus is

trying to

teach him

about greatness

and the

importance of

serving the

least and

what does

John latch

onto?

He latches

onto that

part about

doing something

in Jesus'

name.

Oh yeah,

that reminds

me,

Jesus.

We saw

somebody doing

something in

your name.

He was

trying to

cast out

demons in

your name

so we

told him

to stop

because he's

not one

of us.

And I'm

not really

sure where

John's coming

from here.

Is he

feeling convicted

that maybe he

shouldn't have

tried to stop

him?

Or is he

feeling proud

of what they

did because

this guy

wasn't one

of them?

Whatever the

case, you

can sort of

hear the

territorialism

in what they

did.

Like,

whoa,

whoa,

whoa,

whoa,

whoa.

Hold on a

second,

Bub.

Only us

twelve have

been given

authority and

power to be

doing this,

to be using

Jesus' name in

this way.

You haven't

even been with

us.

Where have

you been?

It's almost

like they wanted

exclusive rights

to use the

name of Jesus.

Like,

this authority

and this power

had gone to

their heads.

never mind

that this guy

is trying to

do something

good to

set someone

free from

an evil

spirit's

control.

It seems

to be another

example of

the disciples'

pride and

their concern

for power and

position rather

than to serve

the least.

Do not

stop him,

Jesus said,

for whoever

is not against

you is for

you.

Mark has a

little more

detail here.

For no one

who does a

miracle in

my name can

in the next

moment say

anything bad

about me.

For whoever

is not against

us is for

us.

Truly,

I tell you,

anyone who

gives you a

cup of water

in my name

because you

belong to

the Messiah

will certainly

not lose

their reward.

There's a

huge irony

here.

just before

this,

nine of the

twelve

disciples had

been asked

to drive

out a

demon but

couldn't

because of

their lack

of faith.

And yet

somewhere,

this guy,

they run

into him,

he's not

even part of

the crowd

that's been

following Jesus

but he has

faith in

Jesus'

name.

He believes

that Jesus'

name has the

power to

heal and

to cast out

evil spirits.

and yet

the disciples

try to

stop him.

Like,

what was

this?

This

entitlement?

I don't

know.

Hey,

buddy,

if you want

to be doing

this,

you need

to come

and hang

out with

us and

with Jesus

for a

while.

You need

to work

your way

up and

put in

your time

like we

have

and then

get Jesus'

permission

to do

stuff like

this.

Well,

Jesus just

burst that

whole bubble

pretty quickly.

Don't

stop him.

If he's

doing this

in my

name,

that means

he has

faith in

me.

That means

that he's

truly one

of us.

The

kingdom of

God is

going to

be bigger

than just

you 12.

But one

of the

big questions

that that

raises,

and we

should just

mention it

at least,

is whether

Jesus

gives this

authority and

power over

evil spirits

to all of

his followers.

So far,

it seems like

it's just

been the

12.

But now

there's this

guy who's

casting out

demons,

and he

hasn't even

been with

them.

We'll see

very shortly

in the next

chapter,

Jesus is

about to

give the

same power

and authority

to a group

of about

70 followers

and send

them out.

God

and we've

talked about

this a little

bit already.

We've seen

from Paul's

letter to

the Corinthians

that it's

not been

given to

all to

be an

apostle or

to work

miracles or

to heal.

But what

about casting

out demons?

Can any

Christian do

this in

faith,

just like

this man?

And I'd

love to be

able to say

definitively one

way or the

other, but

this is

something Christians

disagree over.

Some will

say, well,

why not?

It's Jesus'

name that

has the

power.

Would you

leave a

person in

front of

you afflicted

by a

demon and

not even

try?

Others

point to

the fact

that casting

out demons

is never

commanded in

any of the

letters that

the apostles

wrote as

they gave

instructions to

the church.

They never

said, cast

out the

demons.

Instead, we're

told to stand

firm and to

resist and to

put on the

full armor of

God and to

pray.

Well, we'll

have to leave

that without a

definite answer

for now.

Maybe we'll

come back to

it in chapter

11 when we

hear about what

Jesus did

there.

Well, we've

touched on a

number of

things and

this is just

the way this is

written.

There's exorcism,

there's doing

things in Jesus'

name, there's

greatness in the

kingdom of God,

there's serving

the least,

there's children,

and this is just

the way Luke's

gospel gives it

to us, all

these things.

He gives us the

highlights and

the snippets as

he draws this

portion of his

account to a

close.

And I do want

to encourage us

all this week to

just think about

these things that

we've heard,

especially what

Jesus said about

greatness and

serving the

least.

But for this

morning, we're

going to end

where we started,

with Jesus telling

his disciples about

how he would

soon be delivered

over and die.

In a sense,

this is kind of

related to the

stuff about

greatness too,

isn't it?

Jesus is the

Son of God.

He's the

Messiah.

He's the one

who is radiant

with glory on

the mountaintop.

He himself is

the greatest in

the kingdom of

God.

God.

And just like

Jesus taught,

his greatness is

seen in his

lowliness.

It's seen in how

he humbled himself.

It's seen in how

he welcomed the

children.

And how he loved

the least.

And as the story

goes, his greatness

is seen in how he

humbly allows himself

to be bound and

delivered into the

hands of men.

his greatness is

seen in how he

surrenders himself

to their evil

plan to kill

him.

His greatness is

seen in how he

willingly gives up

his life to be

the servant of

all.

To meet the

greatest need

which we have,

which is atonement

for our sins.

As far as

acts of service

go, what

Jesus endured

to serve us

and make

atonement for

us was as

shame-filled

and horrible

as it gets.

He allowed

himself to be

falsely accused,

to be beaten,

to be insulted

and mocked,

to be stripped

naked and

exposed publicly.

He allowed

himself to be

spit on and

jeered and to

be nailed to a

cross and

lifted into the

air.

He went

through an

agonizing death

death because

that's what was

required to

meet our

spiritual need

of atonement

for our sins.

He humbled

himself to the

uttermost in

order to wash

us clean of

our guilt.

And so he is

truly the

greatest in the

kingdom of God

and worthy of

all praise and

honor and

glory.

In just a

moment we're

going to pass

out the

bread and

the cup.

And this is

to remember

him and what

he did for

us.

The bread and

the cup

represent his

body and

his blood,

his humiliation

and his

death.

If you're

visiting with

us this

morning and

you're a

believer and

a follower of

Jesus,

then we

invite you,

we encourage

you to

partake with

us in

remembrance of

Christ.

And if not,

then just

please let the

elements pass

you by.

We'll have a

few minutes

now for quiet

prayer and

reflection.

And then

Charles and

Simon will

come and serve

the bread and

the cup.

And then once

you have them in

your hand,

just hang on to

them until

everyone has been

served.

and then we'll

give thanks and

we'll partake

all together.

But let's take

those minutes

now to

remember and

to pray

quietly in

remembrance of

our Lord and

his great act

of love for

us.