Click - MP3 Audio Message Download

The Greatest in the Kingdom of God

Luke 9:46-62

Key Verse: 9:48

“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 he who is least among you all—he is the greatest.’”

“Which one will be the greatest?” Have you ever asked yourself this question? “Which one will be the greatest among my classmates?” “Which one will be the greatest among the missionaries?” This question seems to keep popping up in our minds again and again. This burning question was on the hearts of Jesus’ disciples in this passage. Jesus did not dismiss them for their childishness. Instead, he taught the true nature of greatness. We all want to be great. A person, made in God’s image, must be great. God told Abraham, “I will make your name great.” We should not be petty; we should be great! But how can we be great? In fact, the way to true greatness is hidden from sinful man. Those who try to make themselves great end up grieving God and damaging others. However, we can learn from Jesus how to be truly great. In this passage, we want to consider Jesus’ words about how to be great, and also to think about Jesus’ own greatness. There are three parts to this message.

I.                    Be great by being a humble servant (46-50)

Look at verse 46. “An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest.” Several factors may have contributed to the outbreak of this argument at this time. When Jesus was transfigured in glory on the mountain, he took only Peter, John and James with him. These three must have felt privileged, trusted, and affirmed as leaders. But maybe the nine disciples who were left behind felt that they were becoming second class. Then, when they failed to drive out the demon, they fell into a sense of failure. What is more, now Jesus was saying things like “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.”

So it seemed the kingdom was upon them; now each disciple suddenly felt desperate to prove himself. Their inner desires to be honored above others began to be revealed. Maybe each one didn’t directly say that he was better than the others; rather, they began to talk about the qualities that make someone great, but each one was actually only talking about his own qualities. For example, Matthew might have said, “I think the greatest is the one who has changed the most from evil to good.”  Then John gave his own idea, saying, “I think the greatest is the one who quietly listens to Jesus’ teachings, and then synthesizes them the best.” Then Andrew got annoyed and said, “Being greatest isn’t just about talking or thinking; the greatest is the one who offers five loaves and two fish.” Bartholomew was quiet, but inwardly he was sure his hidden greatness would soon emerge and amaze everyone. As Peter listened, he got more and more irritated until he said, “It’s obvious that the greatest one is the one Jesus chooses to be the leader.” In this way, tempers began to flare.  Regardless of how they were saying it, the point is that they were arguing about which one was the greatest. We are like them more than we like to admit. “Who is better than me in orchestra?” “Who married before me?” But this kind of petty talking is the fruit of what Paul calls “vain conceit” (Php 2:3)—the desire to put ourselves higher and others lower. A conceited spirit makes us too petty and hard-hearted toward our brothers and sisters.

Verse 47 says that Jesus knew their thoughts. The disciples’ argument shows how far they still were from grasping what Jesus was trying to teach them. But Jesus patiently started again to teach them. He didn’t sort out their authority structure for them; instead, he showed them the principle by which they each could grow in their inner selves. This time, Jesus used a visual aid. He took a little child and had him stand beside him. In that society, children were usually disregarded. Imagine Jesus’ disciples, all grown men, looking down at a little boy as Jesus used him as an example of the greatest. The boy must have felt so proud. I believe this got the disciples’ attention. Now they were ready to listen to Jesus.

Look at verse 48. “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 he who is least among you all—he is the greatest.’” Jesus turned their concept of greatness upside down, challenging them to welcome a little child in his name. That would be great in Jesus’ sight.

Why is it so great to welcome a little child? Think about what is involved in this. Little children need to be cared for in many ways. They need love; they need affirmation; they need to be fed; they need continual attention. One who welcomes a little child accepts a great responsibility, requiring sacrifice. Children can tell who is genuinely interested in their needs. They will not respond to someone who serves them only superficially. What is more, investing in little children does not yield immediate results. It takes years for a child to become productive. There is no human glory in caring for little children. It looks like a very mundane job and an unprofitable investment. In particular, those driven by selfish ambition cannot welcome little children. Generally, people only welcome those they can get benefit from. So here Jesus is teaching his disciples that to be great, they need to lose their selfish ambition. They needed to stop thinking about their own greatness and learn compassion for a helpless young child.

Jesus said that “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name” is great. The words “in my name” are important. Jesus was not trying to make the disciples good babysitters. He wanted them to welcome people into his kingdom and into relationship with him. Of course, Jesus is not just talking about those who are physically children. He wanted the disciples to accept weak and needy people, share the gospel with them through word and deed, bear with them patiently, and raise them as useful people to God and man. We can find a good example in St. Paul. Paul was a great spiritual leader with a worldwide ministry. He met Onesimus, a runaway slave, who was in prison for theft. From a human point of view, Onesimus looked worthless and Paul seemed too great and busy to be concerned about him. However, Paul welcomed Onesimus in Jesus’ name. Onesimus accepted the gospel through Paul and was changed. He became a useful man to his master Philemon, to Paul, and to the work of God.

Those who welcome little ones in Jesus’ name are greatly blessed. They learn Jesus’ mind and heart deeply and grow to maturity. There are so many little children on the college campus, who don’t know their right hand from their left, spiritually speaking. I know that many of our missionaries are so patiently serving college students who are like little children. They cannot have hope to gain something from them in this world. To become great in Christ, what should we do? We should care for one person with the word of God and prayer in Jesus’ name. This is the best long-term investment we can make.

Look again at verse 48. Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” When we welcome one person in Jesus’ name, Jesus is welcomed. When we welcome Jesus, we welcome the Father God himself, and God comes to dwell in our life. What makes a person truly great? It is when God dwells with that person. What made Israel a kingdom of priests and a holy nation? It was that God dwelt with them. But to have God dwell with us, one thing is essential. It is to be humble. God said, “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit” (Isa 57:15) When Jesus said “the least among you all is the greatest,” he meant that the most humble person is the greatest. Let’s read verse 48 one time. “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 he who is least among you all—he is the greatest.’”

Jesus’ words caused one of his disciples to bring up a related point. Look at verse 49. “‘Master,’ said John, ‘we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.’” Here we see that even while Jesus was still on earth, there were people in other groups doing things in his name. John seems to be very patriotic for Jesus. He didn’t want anyone to do something in Jesus’ name without official permission. However, Jesus saw through this. In truth, it was yet another expression of the disciples’ selfish ambition. In verse 50 Jesus told John, “Do not stop him, for whoever is not against you is for you.” As Jesus taught us to welcome little children in his name, he taught us to accept others who are working in Jesus’ name. “Whoever is not against you is for you.”

In relating to other churches and ministry groups, there are two errors we can fall into. On the one hand, we are tempted to despise other groups who don’t do the same things as us and consider them inferior. On the other hand, we are tempted to compromise our own calling and mission from God in order to be more like other churches. But we don’t have to do either of those things. Jesus said, “Whoever is not against you is for you.” So we can keep our own focus on advancing the kingdom of God, and at the same time have assurance that people in different churches and ministries are on the same team as us.

I think it’s human nature to seek security through some kind of exclusivity. Businesses usually try hard to establish a monopoly over some portion of the market. Why? It’s because it guarantees their income source, their security. But the gospel work is not like that. For us, the gospel itself is our true security when we serve it sacrificially to the end. It is our great privilege to be humble servants of the gospel of Jesus, whether known or unknown, famous or infamous, not demanding anything for ourselves. This is the example of Christ. “For even the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mk 10:45)

Thank God that Jesus taught us the secret of being great by being the least. Humbleness is not really shown by modest words, but by servanthood. Paul gave us many practical instructions for being great in the kingdom of God by being humble servants. He said, “Do everything without complaining or arguing,” (Php 2:14) and, “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Php 2:4) It sounds like becoming great is no fun. But in fact, it’s those who only try to build up their own lives who become so frustrated and bitter. In contrast, when we get over ourselves and accept the life of a servant with our whole hearts, we have joy that the world cannot know; we gain great confidence that our reward is with God, and we taste the glory of the kingdom of God on earth. The kingdom of God is so happy because everybody there is humble; nobody there is trying to be better than you. Let’s learn true greatness by being humble servants and serving little ones in Jesus’ name.

II.                  Be great by having gospel mission (51-56).

Verse 51 marks a turning point in Jesus’ ministry. “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” Even though Jesus already knew that he had to go to Jerusalem to die for our sins, still, when it was time for him to go, he made a new decision and resolutely set out. The word “resolutely” tells us that Jesus was firmly decided, and had made an absolute commitment to suffer, die and rise again to fulfill God’s will. These are the days when people try to make everything easy, so it can be done “naturally,” with no struggle. But actually that’s not possible. Usually, when sinful human beings face a painful task, they postpone dealing with it and procrastinate by distracting themselves. But Jesus settled the matter in advance of the event, through a clear and firm decision. Everybody could see in Jesus’ face that he was now totally resolute; nothing could turn him back. Are you “resolute” about your mission? I think if we want to invite new students to Bible study, we also have to resolutely set out to go fishing on the campus.

As Jesus set out for Jerusalem, he purposefully went through Samaria, because that was the most direct route. He sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him. However, people in the village did not welcome Jesus. Luke says, “because he was heading for Jerusalem.” As we know from the event of the Samaritan woman in John’s gospel, there was deep prejudice between Jews and Samaritans. For one thing, Samaritans deeply resented Jews because Jews claimed to have the exclusive right to worship God through the temple in Jerusalem.

When James and John saw how their master was rejected by Samaritans, they burned with anger. They wanted to call fire down from heaven to destroy them. No wonder Jesus called them the “Sons of Thunder.” But Jesus rebuked them. Instead of rebuking the Samaritans who rejected him, Jesus rebuked his disciples who were defending him! It seems strange. But Jesus wanted the disciples to grow as great men who could serve even those who hated and rejected them. That is why Jesus came. Little did the Samaritans know that God’s short time of dealing exclusively with one nation was coming to an end. Jesus was going to Jerusalem to die on the cross for them so they could worship God in Spirit and truth! After Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the people who rejected him, he sent missionaries to Samaria—not to call down fire, but to preach the gospel! Only Jesus’ cross solves the problem of prejudice at its root. Ephesians 2:14 says, “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility…” So Jesus did not stop to deal with the Samaritans at this time; he just went on with his disciples to another place. Jesus was great because he had gospel mission and did not let any issue distract him from it.

III.               Be great by following Jesus unconditionally (57-62).

In the last part of this passage, we see three responses of Jesus to people who were coming to him to be his disciple. This is most relevant to greatness, because the only way to be great is to be Jesus’ disciple. Jesus is the truly great one, so to be great we must follow him and learn from him. But here Jesus says that those who want to be Jesus’ disciples must have a similar decision to Jesus. Look at verse 57. “As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’” This man volunteered to follow Jesus willingly. His confession sounds really beautiful. But Jesus warned him so that he would be aware of what he was getting into. Jesus said, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Following Jesus is not about seeking an ever more comfortable life, but about becoming holy pilgrims in this world, even as Jesus was.

The second person did not volunteer but was called by Jesus’ word: “Follow me.” But the man had some very important and serious family duty to attend to. He said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” In this world, surely there is nothing more important than honoring one’s parents in death. Even Rutgers will give you an excuse from your assignments for that. But Jesus would not give this man an excuse. Why is Jesus so harsh? The reason is found in his answer. “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Spiritually dead people are perfectly capable of burying physically dead people, but only those who have the gospel have the power of God that gives salvation to everyone who believes and life to the spiritually dead. So for us, proclaiming the kingdom of God must come before anything.

It’s true that to follow Jesus’ calling, the priority system that we had our whole life must be changed. If we’ve never made a decision that shows such a change, we need to pray seriously about that. Of course, Jesus’ grace of salvation is the free gift of God. But to us, life is about choices. Every day we choose something, and by that choice we reject something else. If we never choose to pay the cost of being Jesus’ disciple, his grace will never be worth anything to us. Of course it is painful. On the other hand, when we change our priority system and put God’s kingdom first in our actual daily decisions, we are repaid a hundred times for everything we lose. We find our true family, and though at first we may disappoint our human family, finally we can save them also, winning them back for the kingdom of God by our salty influence.

The third disciple candidate seemed willing to follow Jesus, with just one small condition. “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” People still say things like this: “Jesus, I will follow you with all my heart if you let me do such-and-such first.” But if we follow Jesus with conditions in our heart, we cannot grow. Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Serving in the kingdom of God is the greatest privilege that God can give a person. So we accept it as such unconditionally, and once the decision is made, there is no turning back; no longing for the former things, or regrets about leaving one’s past life. This is how we formerly useless sinners become fit for service in the kingdom of God. Sometimes temptations come, even to those who have served God for a long time. We can think: “What if I had focused on my career instead of devoting so much time to God’s ministry?” Or “What if I had lived a family-centered life instead of a mission-oriented life?” This kind of speculation makes us powerless. We have to believe Jesus’ final victory and put our hand to the plow and keep on going. Those who persevere to the end, overcoming temptations, are truly great in the sight of God.

In today’s passage we saw Jesus’ best directions for his disciples, which come from his great love for them and desire for them to be great in the kingdom of God. Having an absolute attitude toward Jesus’ words is the way for us to be free from our former empty life and have a personal relationship with God. May God bless you to have true greatness in Jesus Christ.