Luke 9:46-50 Who Is the Greatest?
The”n a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.”
Luke 9:49-50 Jesus Forbids Sectarianism
“Now John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.”
But Jesus said to him, “Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side.”
Luke 9:51-55 A Samaritan Village Rejects the Savior
“Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?”
But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.”
Jesus is slowly but surely making his way toward Jerusalem, where he knows he is going to suffer and die. Meanwhile, the disciples are much more concerned about their positions in the Kingdom of Heaven. Right now, the disciples are arguing about which of them has performed more miracles or bigger miracles, has cast out more demons, or has healed more people. Jesus listens for awhile and then looks around and draws a six year old little girl to himself. “Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.”
The disciples stop, shocked. “Jesus, what do you mean?” Jesus only smiles, for he knows that further explanations are useless. Until these men have actually suffered for the sake of the gospel, explanations won’t help.
After receiving Jesus’ rebuke, the disciples lurch into another controversy. “Now John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.”
But Jesus said to him, “Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side.”
Hoo-boy! Are these guys full of themselves or what? The disciples have witnessed a man successfully casting out demons using Jesus’ name. Now here’s the kicker: If this man did not truly believe in Jesus, the demons would not only laugh at him, but would also attack him. This man’s success means that he truly believes in Jesus, even though he is not part of Jesus’ inner circle. The disciples aren’t rejoicing that this man has a successful ministry; they are jealous because they might not be as special as they have believed. For the disciples, it’s all about status and they are clawing and biting one another in efforts to get to the top of God’s Kingdom.
And there’s still even more. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and must pass through a Samaritan village, so he sends James and John ahead to make preparations. But the Samaritans are embroiled in religious controversy. When the Assyrians conquered the Northern Kingdom and slaughtered or carried off its inhabitants, they brought in people from other areas who began worshiping their own gods. But God sent lions to attack these people. Eventually priests were sent to teach these people the worship of the One True Living God; however, they continued to mix traditional Jewish practices with their own pagan practices. Evidently, they did worship God sufficiently that He stopped sending lions. But as far as pure-bred Jews are concerned, Samaritans are pagan mongrels to be shunned and avoided. Samaritans refuse to worship in Jerusalem, but on Mount Gerizim.
When these Samaritans learn that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem, they want nothing to do with him. Horrified, James and John are anxious to take revenge. After all, these two men have just witnessed Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration. Surely, Jesus will let them call down fire on these blasphemous Samaritans!
“And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?”
But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.”
It’s not every Samaritan village that rejects Jesus. Perhaps the village that Jesus and the disciples visit next is the village described in John 4, where Jesus witnesses to the woman at the well. There, the entire village winds up begging Jesus to stay. Perhaps the village that rejects Jesus is full of demons inciting the inhabitants to reject Jesus on religious grounds. Satan loves to employ religious arguments to cause as much destruction as possible.
Throughout these verses, you can see that Jesus has an unwavering sense of purpose; he knows he is headed for Jerusalem. Jesus wants the disciples to realize that their standing in the Kingdom of Heaven is not based on performance but on humility and service. And Jesus wants the disciples to realize that he has come to seek and save the lost, not to curse them or destroy them with heavenly fire. Jesus knows his time is short and that he must teach the disciples as much as possible, as completely as possible, and as memorably as possible.
How about us? How many times do we consider ourselves as Greatest of All Time, if not nationally or internationally, at least locally? Have we become “Legends in our own minds?” Do we hope for recognition on social media, so that we can bask in the glow of positive comments? C. T. Studd was a missionary with China Inland Mission for years and then founded the Worldwide Evangelism Crusade, WEC Mission. Studd once wrote, “Only one life-twill soon be past. Only what’s done for God will last.”
There are many benefits to aging, and one of them is that if you are honest, you can reflect and see numerous times where you missed opportunities to serve, to help, and to heal. Reflection should keep us humble, not proud. The day we begin to think of ourselves as G.O.A.T.-Greatest of All Time, we are in danger of becoming GOATS-stubborn animals that resist being led and that always want to go off on our own.
May God help us so that we remain humble, teachable, and willing to learn from our mistakes. And may God deliver us from our desire to justify and promote ourselves!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to serve You in all humility, knowing that You are the Source of anything good in our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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