31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.
32 But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him. 33 And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?
34 But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.
35 And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
36 And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them,
37 Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.
38 And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.
39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
40 For he that is not against us is on our part.
41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.
42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.
43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
49 For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.
50 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.
Introduction
The desire to be first, to be number one, is deeply engrained in all of us. It can be seen in everyone from the beer-guzzling fan at a professional football game to the petite high school cheerleader punching holes in the sky with her index finger and shouting, “We’re number one! We’re number one!”
Since this is such a common desire, we are not surprised to find Jesus dealing with this issue among his disciples.
While on their way to Capernaum Jesus caught them disputing among themselves as to who would be first in his kingdom. Previously he had told them of his coming betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection. But the disciples had a hard time accepting that. They kept thinking of his kingdom in materialistic terms—wealth, power, and success. They could not accept the idea that he would be humiliated by his enemies, rejected by his people, and crucified on a cross. So they kept jockeying for top position for top position in his kingdom.
It was clear that they needed to understand the meaning of true greatness. There is an enormous chasm between God’s standards and the world’s standards. Worldly ambition expresses itself in the building of a reputation, collecting wealth, and wielding power. Its fatal flaw is that it centers in self and not in God. And it always produces the kind of jealously and strife that was taking place among the disciples.
Such ambition often brings momentary glory but eternal shame. It is diametrically opposed to the cross of Christ.
As in the case of those early disciples it is possible for believers to nurse unworthy ambitions in their religious and spiritual quest. Therefore we as well as those first disciples need to hear again the words of Jesus about being number one: “If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.”
Anyone who wants to be great in the eyes of God must be willing to forget about their name, reputation, prosperity, and authority and become a humble servant of men.
As Jesus taught this great truth he gave three concrete illustrations to help us understand the nature of true greatness. He used the little, the different, and the weak among us as a means of illustrating the characteristics of the kind of greatness we should seek.
1. Love little people.
Jesus began by taking a little child in his arms and saying, “Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.”
Jesus uses the humble act of the receiving of a little child as a mark of true greatness. These children are representative of those who have no influence, no wealth, and no power. They can’t advance a man’s career, enhance his prestige, or give him things. In fact, with children it is the other way around. Children need us—what we can give.
The really big people, the truly great in God’s eyes, are those who are big enough to be interested in the smallest child. They seek others, not selfishly but out of a genuine interest in and concern for them.
I recently received a letter from a friend who said, “The marks of a great man, I believe, are his attentiveness to little courtesies.” Not just little courtesies, but also little people. There is a worldly greatness that has no time for little children or little people because they can do nothing for us in return.
It is so easy in life to cultivate the friendships of people who can do things for us, whose influence can help us. And it is easy to neglect the simple, humble, ordinary people who can do nothing for us. We need the spirit of Kahlil Gibran who said, “Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not last and the greatness which does not bow before children.” If we want to be number one in God’s eyes, then we must be big enough to stoop down and minister to the smallest child who can never do anything in return for us. We must think of others instead of our own self-advancement.
2. Love different people.
After this John told Jesus of seeing a man casting out demons in Jesus’ name and he tried to stop him because the man was not a part of their group of disciples.
But Jesus reproved John for this, saying that a man could not do miracles in his name and then speak evil of him. Then Jesus pointed out that if a person does the simplest of things like giving a cup of cold water in Jesus’ name, that God will honor him and remember him.
This statement by Jesus is a rebuke of the exclusiveness, narrow-mindedness, and bigotry that characterizes so many religious people today. It is a plea for tolerance and acceptance of people who are honoring Christ by their words and their works though they may not be a part of our particular group.
The key to our orthodoxy is always our belief in and our commitment to Jesus Christ. If we are right toward him, then that is enough.
If we honor and serve Christ then does it really matter what name we bear? Does the Lord really care whether we sing with or without a piano? Whether we take the Lord’s Supper every Sunday or once a quarter? Whether the preacher wears a robe or a business suit? Whether we lift our hands in the air when we pray or hold them in front of us? Whether the pulpit is in the center of our church or on the side?
Seriously now, in the light of things as serious as being in possession, can God really be concerned much about such trivialities?
Once while preaching in Philadelphia, George Whitfield suddenly cried, “Father Abraham, whom have you in heaven? Any Episcopalians? No! Any Presbyterians? No! Have you any Independents or Seceders? No! Have you any Methodists! No, no, no! Whom have you there! We don’t know those names here. All who are here are Christians—believers in Christ—people who have overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of his testimony. Oh, is that the case? Then God help me, God help us all, to forget party names and to become Christians in deed and in truth.”
Be fearful of any man or church that thinks they have a monopoly on the truth. Remember that the truth is bigger than any man’s grasp of it. This fact is the basis of tolerance.
There is a greatness that is competitive and exclusive and intolerant. But real greatness is benevolent, understanding, and tolerant. Are you big enough to include those who are different from you? Are you big enough to accept those who love and honor Christ even though they don’t do things or say things your way? That’s the mark of true greatness.
3. Love weak people.
In his final example Jesus warned us about causing other people, especially those who are weak and immature, to stumble and fall away from God because of our bad example. This suggests that the really great people are willing to deny themselves for the well-being of other people.
They are willing to give up that which may be pleasurable and even permissible (harmless) to them if participation in that would be harm someone else’s walk with God. The really big people are concerned about and considerate of those who are weaker in the faith and in convictions than themselves.
When Robert Burns was a young man, he went to Irvine to learn flax-dressing. There he fell in with a man who introduced him to that way of life that was to be his ruin. Burns later said of him: “His friendship did me mischief.” That’s one of the most terrible of verdicts.
It is a terrible thing to sin but it is worse to teach or to lead others to sin. Jesus says that any fate is better than the fate of the man who causes another person to stumble and fall away from God. To cause a weak brother to fall is eternally serious.
No person who is really great will purposefully do anything to harm the spiritual well-being of another. Those who are really great in God’s eyes are thoughtful of little people, gracious to different people, and considerate of weak people.
The supreme example of this kind of greatness is Jesus Christ himself. He was never too busy to take time for the smallest child, to welcome even publicans and sinners, and he never did anything that would cause another person to stumble and fall away from God.
Are you big enough to put yourself last? Are you great enough to humble yourself for the well-being of others? These are the marks of real greatness in the kingdom of God.