Positioned for Greatness!
Notes
Transcript
46 An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest. 47 But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side, 48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.” 49 John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us.” 50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you.”
Introduction: people are interested in greatness to varying degrees. It is enough for some people to simply be accepted and approved by friends and neighbors; that is enough greatness for them. Others want more: to be elevated to a particular position, to live in a particular neighborhood, to own a certain kind of car, to hold a particular club membership—they want something that gives them greater recognition and greater prestige. They crave for more greatness than others. Some crave the greatness of authority and rule, of power and fame, of position and wealth. They want the prestige and honor and recognition far above the ordinary.
The nature of a person determines whether he secures his greatness...
5293 The beginning of greatness is to be little; the increase of greatness is to be less; the perfection of greatness is to be nothing.
Dwight L. Moody
1 (9:46) Greatness—Worldliness—Material vs. Spiritual—Selfishness: the disciples desired greatness in the Kingdom of Christ. They desired recognition, position, and power.
a. The disciples were actually arguing over the highest positions in the Lord’s kingdom. The word reasoning (dialogismos) means a dispute, debate, or argument. They were maneuvering for positions of leadership. Later, James and John were even to manipulate their mother into asking Jesus for the highest positions.
b. The disciples were thinking of an earthly kingdom, a physical and material rule right here on earth. Their desire was for worldly position, name, recognition, honor, authority, challenge, duties, pleasure, and wealth. They were not thinking in terms of goodness or character. They did not mean the greatest in love and care, in ministry and help, but in position and rule, name and recognition.
c. The disciples were full of self, just as all men are. They were thinking of self, not of others, not how they could be great in helping others. They were not even thinking of Jesus. And remember, He had just been revealing that He was to give His life for the salvation of the world (v. 44. See Mk. 9:33–34.) Their thoughts should have been on Jesus and the meaning of what He had said. They should have been seeking to encourage Him and to learn all they could from Him. Instead they were so full of self, they could think of nothing but themselves.
The Gospel according to Luke (King James Version) E. The Way of Greatness: Humility, 9:46–50
It is difficult to admit that we are full of self, that is, self-centered and selfish. The fact hurts; we revolt against it. But the truth has to be faced before we can become what we should be.
“And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted” (Mt. 23:12).
“How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?” (Jn. 5:44).
“For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself” (Ga. 6:3).
2 A “godly” person is one who ceases to be self-centered in order to become God-centered.
Charles Swindoll
So You Want to Be Like Christ? (2005)
Chuck Swindoll
2 (9:47) Greatness—Salvation—Deliverance—Freedom—Bondage: The picture of greatness was acted out by Jesus. Note that He pictured what greatness was before He explained the right concept. The picture involved two acts. First, He reached out and took a child; and second, He set the child by His side. What was Jesus doing?
Very simply, Jesus was showing the disciples what greatness was. A person is great when he takes a child and brings that child to Jesus. Greatness surrounds Christ and children, children who are willing to be brought to Christ. Greatness is setting children, the people of the world, by the side of Christ, beside the One who can meet all their needs.
a. Greatness is bringing people to the One who can give them freedom from the bondages of this world. Imagine how great the person is who shows men how to be liberated from …
• sin
• guilt
• drunkenness
• immorality
• oppression
• loneliness
• suffering
• lying
• stealing
• emptiness
• death
• laziness
• cursing
• selfishness
• hatred
The Gospel according to Luke (King James Version) E. The Way of Greatness: Humility, 9:46–50
b. Greatness is bringing people to the One who can give them the right to live, to live abundantly on this earth and eternally when entering the next world.
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (Jn. 1:12).
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16).
3 (9:48) Greatness: The right concept of greatness is explained.
a. Greatness is receiving a child, that is, a person, in the name of Jesus. To receive a child means at least three things.
1) It means doing just what Jesus did: we reach out and welcome and accept a person into our arms. This sounds easy—taking a child into our arms—but it is not always so. Sometimes a person …
• is unkempt, dirty, even filthy
• is acting ugly, mean, misbehaving
• is disliked, rejected, unacceptable to others
And there is always the threat that receiving a person will cause our own friends to withdraw their friendship because the person is unacceptable to them.
2) It means sharing the best news that we have: the good news of God’s kingdom. Note: Jesus did not say that greatness is just receiving a child. He adds that the child must be received in His name. The name of Jesus has to be shared with the person. The person is to be told and shown that we act in the name and cause of Jesus. The kingdom of God is to be shared with the child (the person received).
3) It means that we help the person in every way possible, no matter the cost. We do our best to meet his …
• physical and mental needs
• material and social needs
• spiritual and godly needs
1 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.
It’s not a man-centered theology, it’s a Christ-centered theology that says, “I give everything to Christ, no matter what it costs me, even if it costs me my life.”
John F. MacArthur
4 (9:49–50) Tolerance: The right to greatness is not an exclusive right. John knew that the apostles had done just what Christ had demonstrated they should not do. They had just failed to receive a man; in fact, they had rejected the man. And to top it off, the man was ministering in the name of Christ. John wanted to find out if they were right in forbidding others to preach in Jesus’ name. John felt there were bound to be limits to what Jesus was saying—certainly not everyone was to be received and welcomed and brought to Jesus—some people “followeth not with us.” They were …
• different
• untrained
• uneducated
• immoral
• doctrinally unsound
• unruly
• unauthorized
• too far right
• too far left
What Jesus said is pointed and clear, yet it is difficult for some to accept.
⇒ “Forbid him not.”
⇒ “He that is not against us is for us.”
Note: Jesus said, “against us.” Jesus and His followers are one. The man who stands against us stands against Jesus, and he who stands against Jesus stands against us. A person’s attitude and behavior are to be watched. The way he acts toward Christ and His followers determines whether we receive him or not. A person who is against Jesus and His followers is not to be received. The person who receives Jesus and His followers is to be received (see Lu. 9:5; 10:10–11). (See outline and notes—Mk. 9:38–41 for more discussion.)