the greatest

The Least Among Us

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest.  And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by Him, and said unto them,
“Whosoever shall receive this child in My name receiveth Me: and whosoever shall receive Me receiveth Him that sent Me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.”
Luke 9:46-48

There were some of the disciples who thought Jesus was going to set  up His kingdom on earth.  In verses preceding our text today, tells us that Jesus had told them once again that He was going to die at the hands of men.  They refused to hear it, not understanding what He was saying.  How could these men miss what Jesus told them several times?

They had preconceived ideas about the Messiah.  The death of Messiah was unthinkable to these men.  Because of the way they believed about Jesus, and thinking Jesus was there to set  up the Messianic kingdom, they were asking where they were going to sit in that kingdom, seeking for greatness.

Jesus takes a young child and sets him by Himself, and explains who the greatest will be.  The child was young, and still trusting, and humble before  God and others  too.  He was not seeking for greatness.

Anyone desiring to be great will be last; and he that is last shall be first.  To be saved from our sins we must humble ourselves before  Christ seeking Him and a cleansed life.  Trust  in the Lord, believe Him.

The First Shall Be Last

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And He came to Capernaum: and being in the house He asked them,
“What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?”
But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.  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.”
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,
“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.”
Mark 9:33-37

Out Of The Belly Of The Fish

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And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying,
“Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.”
So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey.  And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.”
So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
Jonah 3:1-5

The Greatest

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

“Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by Him, and said unto them, ‘Whosoever shall receive this child in My name receives Me: and whosoever shall receive Me receives Him that sent Me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.’” Luke 9:46-48 (KJB)

Within the world in which we live there are many who seek to be seen, and known as “The Greatest”.  This notion even fell upon the disciples of Jesus; and in many cases; it still does.  Jesus was dealing with this in the above verses.

When I was a child there was a man in the sports world who liked to see himself as the greatest; he was the one who used the poetic phrase, “Float like a butterfly; sting like a bee”. He is no longer the greatest, neither was he ever the greatest.  He met death as well; and just as every human being will.

Who is the greatest? Jesus answers that question above.  Whoever receives a child in His name receives Him, and whoever receives Him receives Him (God the Father) who sent Him.  The least among us is the same who shall be great.

Let us think on that one for awhile, believe it, receive it, and do it.