The Greatest

Like 9:46-50

Opening

Every kid dreams of being great. I dreamed of being a great baseball player. I even played the role of broadcaster announcing the homers I would hit.

Boxer Mohammad Ali frequently referred to himself as “The Greatest” and “the Greatest of all time”. Ali was all about shocking people with his words and antics and controversy. He seemed to believe that old axiom, “there is no such thing as bad publicity.” People were shocked by Ali’s brash, boastful personality. But was Ali just saying what everyone would like to say about themselves? Was he just saying what everyone else wished they could say?

Other athletes have said things slightly less boastful Hall of Fame pitcher Dizzy Dean was famous for saying, “It ain’t braggin if you can do it.” 

The drive to be great and have everyone know it is as old as time and even though there is considerable risk, people keep falling victim to it. Custer lost the battle and his life at Little Big Horn because he thought he was too great to lose. In Judges 17, the great warrior Samson was attacked by the Philistines after breaking his vow and allowing Delilah to cut his hair. He went out as always but he didn’t know the Lord had left him and he was defeated.

King Saul ran into trouble when he feared the people were starting to doubt his greatness. He took the place of God’s prophet Samuel rather than wait for him to arrive. As a result lost His kingdom. 

Greatness, the desire to be admired and highly thought of is one of the most powerful temptations one can face. It was too much for Adam and Eve in Genesis 3. They saw that the forbidden fruit could make them like god-like, so they ate it rather than obey the one limit God had placed on them.

But Jesus refused the temptation to be great. He laid aside his greatness and came to earth to pay for a people who are not great. He even resisted the temptation of the devil to sidestep the cross and be great.

Matthew 4:8–11 (ESV) 

8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 

9And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 

10Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” 

11Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

The devil was offering Jesus greatness instead of the cross. Had He chosen greatness there would have been no sacrifice for sin, no forgiveness for you and me. Jesus is the example of how to deal with the drive to achieve greatness.

Context

In Luke 9:46-50, Jesus’ disciple are caught wanting to be great. This is particularly striking because Jesus had just told them of His fast-approaching death. They can’t process this news because they are focused on His power. They can’t possibly understand that His display of power is a way for Him to express His incredible love fro them as He chooses to sacrifice rather than rule.

So Jesus gets wind of an argument they are having.

Exegesis

Luke 9:46 (ESV) 

46An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest.

They had an actual argument about which of them were the greatest. Have you ever been in an argument about who is the greatest? Today, I feel like people use surrogates when they argue greatness. LeBron or Michael? Bonds or the Babe? UM or FSU or UF? If our team is great, we feel like we are great as well. 

For men we measure greatness in the achievements of our work, the deals we close, the recognition we have achieved, or the toys we have collected, or the places we have visited. Men also measure their greatness by the achievements of their kids. When their seven-year-old hits a homerun the dad feels great.

Women do measure greatness in the same ways, but they also tend to focus more on the success of their family and relationships. How great their kids are doing, how amazing the wedding was, and how beautiful their home is decorated are ways they let others know of their greatness.

Some people will never stand up and say they are great. But fail to show someone the respect they feel they deserve and their longing to be great will appear seemingly out of nowhere.

The disciples are anticipation an earthly, kingdom, a restoration of Israel as a nation. Jesus will be the king and they will have high level roles. Their argument is over who will fill the top spots and have the most power.

Luke 9:47–48 (ESV) 

47But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side 

48and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”

Jesus knows how they think. He knows how you and I think as well. He knows they long to be great in comparison to others so He has a son stand right beside Him. This was a symbol of acceptance, of welcome, of care and even respect. But a child in that day was the least in terms of power and prestige. A child could not help anyone climb the social ladder. Placing a child next to was saying I value a person who cannot help me.

The point Jesus is making is this, “when you value receiving the least you are acting like me. I don’t need or want to be greater than others. I already left my greatness behind when I came here. I don’t need to pursue greatness here on earth. The person who is the least, is like me and is great. When you pursue greatness, you are not following me.” 

Next, as another way view the desire to be great, Luke shares this:

Luke 9:49–50 (ESV) 

49John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” 

50But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.”

Apparently, some others were casting demons in the name of Jesus. Maybe they had heard Jesus speak or witnessed His power over evil and they thought they’d give it a try. Or maybe they had been in one of the villages Jesus had sent His disciples to and they witnessed the disciples casting out demons. 

We can understand why John and the disciples acted this way. They thought they had an exclusive relationship with Jesus. After all, they were the chosen 12. Could anyone else speak on behalf of Jesus? Certainly not!

Jesus response surprised them. He told them not to stop anyone who was not against them. They didn’t have exclusive rights to Him or His power. God always has more people involved in His work than we know. Jesus is not limited to one person, one group, one church, or one denomination. He works through all sorts of flawed people.

Applications

Last week we talked about the disciples failed to be faithful and were defeated by evil when they could not cast out a demon. We are weak against evil when we fail to believe that we have a new life when we receive the gift of salvation. We still live as though our new life doesn’t exist. We don’t trust Jesus. We don’t delight in Jesus. We don’t commit our way to Jesus. We don’t rest in Jesus. These are all ways to access your new life in Jesus. They are ways to put on Jesus. 

When we try to be great, we live our old lives instead of the new lives Jesus purchased for us.

You cannot follow Jesus and seek to be great at the same time.

Jesus didn’t come to make you great. He came to save you and to develop you to help save others.

Some time pastors and church people think that following Jesus will make them great and wealthy and influential. But, have you noticed what happened to Jesus? He humbly submitted to torture, and ridicule and death. Why should be expect better treatment when the One we claim to follow had to endure such things?

You might be thinking, “wait, isn’t being great the same as pursuing excellence and isn’t that one of the values you hold dear here at FBC Delray?” Great question, but no the pursuit of excellence is not the same as trying to be great as defined in Luke 9:46-50. The disciples in this passage are arguing about who among them is better than the others. They are seeking to be known as great in comparison to others. This is the opposite of the life Jesus lived. He really was greater than everyone else but He refused to assert His greatness and welcomed and rescued those with very little value.

The pursuit of excellence is based on the Colossians 3:23:

Colossians 3:23 (ESV) 

23Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

We want everything we do to be done for Jesus. He is worthy of our highest quality work and effort. He gave His everything for us. We should give our everything for Him. 

The goal of everything we do must be to serve and represent Jesus well.

·      Every business deal

o   Each deal should bring Him glory rather than make you great.

·      Spending, saving, and giving your resources. 

o   Be generous rather than hoarding what he gives.

o   Having more doesn’t make you greater.

·      Your look

o   Your goal is look appropriate for the occasion rather than to make others pale in comparison.

·      Your social media presence

o   More likes and more comments can make you feel great but they don’t make you great.

·      Your interactions at work 

o   Help others rather than defeat others.

·      Your response to being mistreated. 

o   Be gracious rather than point out every time you are slighted.

·      Your wedding 

o   Glorify Jesus more than it glorifies you

·      Your marriage

o   Love sacrificially rather than demand respect

o   Honor each other in public

·      Your parenting

o   Raise your kids to glorify Jesus not you.

But how do I approach competition? Shouldn’t I seek to be the best? Shouldn’t I try to win? Yes, you should try to win every contest you enter by giving your very best. But you have to remember the results are not in your control. It’s not always fair. Others in your team might not perform well. The results belong to God. Faithfulness to give your very best belongs to you. 

During my 14 years in sales, I feel like I always gave the same effort but some years I won awards and some years I didn’t. And, I would caution you about doing your job to win awards. It’s hard to try to be great and follow Jesus at the same time. Being faithful by giving your very best is winning.

How do I know I am seeking to be great?

Indications you are seeking to be great

• Sensitive to disrespect 

• Fear of embarrassment

• Ineffective in making disciples

• Struggle with family relationships and friendships 

• Constantly keeping score

Jesus is the greatest. He demonstrated His greatness by giving His life for those who were not great. 

·      Follow His example instead of trying to be great.

·      Honor the least rather that using others to make yourself great.

·      Work with others who represent Jesus rather than thinking God can only use you. 

Close

Jesus didn’t come to make you great. He came to save you and to develop you to help save others.

Why does this matter?

Following Jesus is the most important thing for someone who has received the gift of salvation. 

When you are seeking to be great, you are not following Jesus.

You may not even know Him.

You certainly aren’t representing Him well.

Turnaround from the path of seeking to be great. 

Turn back to the path of following Jesus.

Make His name great instead of trying to be great. 

• Jesus didn’t come to make you great

Every kid dreams of greatness. Have you redefined greatness the way Jesus did? Or are you still dreaming about home runs in your backyard?