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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.”

  Last week we studied how Jesus healed a boy who was possessed by evil spirits. In healing the boy, Jesus rebuked his unbelieving and perverse generation. People treat unbelief as a light matter. However, Jesus saw unbelief as the cause and source of all problems and corruptions. We must pray that God may help each of us to increase our faith. We must repent of our unbelief and come to Jesus with absolute faith. For those who have absolute faith in Jesus, everything is possible in finding self-supporting jobs, in overcoming human limitations, and in raising disciples. (Mk 9:23) Amen.

  In today’s passage Jesus teaches his disciples who is the truly great man in the kingdom of God. Who is the greatest? In human history there are many great men and women and we have many concepts of being great. However, today Jesus teaches his disciples about who is a truly great man and how to become great in the sight of God. Amen.

First, a truly great man is a humble man like Jesus.(46-48) Look at verse 46. “An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest.” It is interesting that Jesus’ disciples had argued about who was the greatest among them. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem where sufferings, death, and resurrection awaited. Previously, Jesus predicted his betrayal, death, and resurrection in order to help his disciples to stand firm in their time of trials and persecutions. However, the disciples did not understand Jesus. (45) They considered Jesus’ trip to Jerusalem as the day he would restore the kingdom of Israel. They thought that Jesus could destroy the Roman Empire and bring liberation to his people with his messianic power. They had an earthly messianic dream and a wrong concept of the Messiah. They wanted to make sure of their future security, especially their position in Jesus’ kingdom-to-be. Peter had no doubt of his position -next to Jesus because of his inborn leadership skills and unquestionable loyalty to Jesus. However, John and James thought otherwise. In order to be number one, they were ready to mobilize their mother to persuade Jesus to put them in first place. All the other disciples had the same idea and desire to be number one and to take the most important place in Jesus’ kingdom. So, as they approached Jerusalem, their struggling about, “Who is the greatest?” and “Who is number one” became more intense and serious.

  Becoming great is an inborn desire of human beings. Everybody wants to be great. Nobody wants to be a nobody, because we were made in the image of God who is great. When God called Abraham, God promised to make him great. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” (Ge 12:2) Missionary Abraham Park’s Korean name means, “The top of the world.” Last Thursday we had a disciples’ testimony meeting. At this meeting, I found that Ben and Priscilla have desires to become great spiritual leaders! I am not an exception. William Carey, the father of modern missions, said, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” Jesus’ disciples must have expected great things from Jesus. They wanted to become great like Jesus. But they did not know how to truly become great.

  How did Jesus help his disciples?  Look at verses 47-48. “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 he who is least among you all- he is the greatest.” Jesus did not rebuke their struggles to become great. Instead, he taught them how to be truly great in the kingdom of God. So he 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 he who is least among you all- he is the greatest.” What did Jesus mean when he said “welcomes this child in my name”? It means that the disciples should humble themselves and serve people like little children for Jesus’ name’s sake. At that time, it was not easy for the disciples to accept children.  Children are noisy, burdensome, and unceasingly demanding. They are helpless and dependent.  The disciples thought that children were useless and worthless in doing the work of God. These days we have children’s museums, parks, and stores, and we have many programs and facilities for children. But in Jesus’ time children were ignored along with the women. So it was not easy for the disciples to welcome children and serve them. In order to welcome children they had to deny their pride, prejudice and selfishness.

  Jesus’ disciples had no idea how to serve others. They had no idea how to humble themselves for Jesus’ name sake. They wanted to be served rather than to serve others. They wanted to be greatest by being served by others. They were not much different from other fallen men who want to become great by winning and ruling over their rivals. So Jesus continued, “For he who is least among you all- he is the greatest.” Jesus meant that the most humble man is the greatest. He meant that the one who humbles himself or herself for Jesus’ name’s sake is the greatest among all. Moses was known as one of the greatest leaders in human history not because of his charismatic leadership but because of his humbleness. King David’s leadership was controversial. However, the main character of his leadership was humbleness. President Abraham Lincoln is known one of the greatest presidents of America. His leadership was also based on humility from Jesus’ teaching. Dr. John Jun, the General Director of UBF, is known as a very humble man who serves all kinds of people including children, child-like people and even childish people. The Bible says that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (1Pe 5:5)

   Jesus gave a good example to his disciples of how to become humble and serve others. He said to his disciples, “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) Jesus is the Son of God. He is God the Creator. So he deserves to be served by all his creations on this earth. However, he humbled himself and came to this world as a servant. He served all kinds of sinners with compassion day and night. Jesus served his disciples by washing their dirty feet. Jesus served us until he gave his life on the cross for our sins. Jesus did not spare even one drop of blood and water for himself, but poured out all for us. In the past Paul thought that he was a great man. However, when he came to know Jesus, he was moved by Jesus’ humbleness, obedience, and sacrificial servanthood. So he said in Philippians 2:5-11, “ Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-even death on the cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  Amen.

  Look at verse 48 again. Jesus said that whoever welcomes little children welcomes Jesus himself. When we welcome child-like people and even childish people in Jesus’ name, we welcome Jesus. When we welcome Jesus, we welcome God. What a great blessing when we welcome Jesus in our hearts! What a great privilege when we grow in Jesus’ humility and sacrificial servanthood! I pray that we all may grow in Jesus’ humility and servanthood to become great in the sight of God and in the kingdom of God. Amen.

Second, truly great men are those who are broad-minded with the universal love of God. (49-56) 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.” John thought that only the twelve had the right to drive out demons in Jesus’ name. But Jesus did not agree with him. Look at verse 50. “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.” Jesus was not exclusive. He acknowledged all those who were doing the work of God in his name. They were not the disciple’s enemies or rivals, but their co-workers. We also must overcome exclusiveness and unnecessary spiritual superiority over other ministries. UBF has a unique and special mission for evangelizing young college students and raising them as spiritual leaders and shepherds like Jesus. Some say that UBF is the spiritual West Point. This sounds good! I believe that they talk about our uncompromised attitude toward the word of God, full commitment to Christ, and intensive discipleship training. Regardless of these good spiritual traditions and legacies, UBF is only one of the bodies of Christ Jesus along with many other churches and organizations. We should have absolute attitude as soldiers of Christ. At the same time we need to be broad-minded to acknowledge other ministries and learn how to work together with them as part of the body of Christ.

  Look at verses 51-53. “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem.” At Jesus’ time, Jews and Samaritans did not associate with each other due to their ethnic conflict. Samaritan did not have any rooms for Jewish travelers who were going to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Passover. Jews also used another route to Galilee in order to avoid Samaritans. How did the disciples respond to the Samaritan’s rejection? Look at verse 54. “When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” John and James thought that they could do anything, even killing innocent people, in order to fulfill their goal. They were like some religious extremists of today. But Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they went to another village. (55,56) Through this event, Jesus taught James and John to accept and bear rebellious and ignorant people with the universal love of God in order to win them over to Christ. Our Lord Jesus is not only the Savior for the Jews, but also the Savior for the Gentiles, and for all people of the world.

Third, truly great men are those who pay the cost to follow Jesus. (57-62) As they were walking along the road, a man said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” This man wanted to commit his life to Jesus. Jesus did not say, “Sure, okay.” Look at verse 58. “Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Jesus taught this man the cost of following him. Even animals have homes. But Jesus had no home. Jesus had no place in this world. When he tried to stay in a Samaritan village, he was rejected. More rejection and persecution awaited him in Jerusalem. When Jesus was born, there was no place for him; there was no room in the inn. He was born in a stable, where he was laid in a manger. During the time of his public ministry, Jesus went from place to place as the Spirit directed him. Wherever he slept, it was his house. He did not even have a burial place. So God provided a new tomb that had belonged to Joseph of Arimathea. But Jesus was there just three days! Then he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. There he sits at the right hand of God the Father in everlasting glory and honor. In essence, Jesus taught the disciples that life is a pilgrimage from this world to the kingdom of God. To follow Jesus is to put our hope in the kingdom of God and live as holy pilgrims on earth.

  Look at verse 59. “He said to another man, ‘Follow me.’ But the man replied, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” There may be nothing more important than giving one’s parent a proper burial. But look at verse 60. “Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Jesus did not think that burying one’s father was a valid excuse for avoiding God’s call to proclaim the kingdom of God. When Jesus calls us to follow him, this calling must be accepted as a matter of first importance. The task of proclaiming the kingdom of God is more urgent than anything else on earth.

  Look at verse 61. “Still another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” This man volunteered to follow Jesus, but wanted to have a final farewell party with his family. Look at verse 62. “Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Here “looking back” is akin to being sentimental about one’s past life. Jesus’ disciples must overcome this kind of sentimentalism. If they look back, they cannot see where they are going. They will lose direction and focus and become useless for God’s work. When Jesus’ call to discipleship comes, it must be obeyed with a decision to go forward. “I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back!”

  In today’s passage we learn how to be truly great in the kingdom of God. Most of all, we must learn Jesus’ humbleness and welcome little children in his name. We also must have broad minds to accept all kinds of people with the universal love of God. We must respond to heavenly calling rather than our earthly duties. May God make America a great nation, a kingdom of priests and holy nation, and make each of us a great spiritual leader and shepherd for this nation and for this generation. Amen.

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