As Jesus’ journey to the cross drew nearer and nearer, his disciples started imagining where their place was in the Kingdom He was proclaiming. Even family members got into the act, seeking to procure the most honored places among Jesus. And so, the question of “who’s the greatest?” was inevitably going to come from them, just as it inevitably becomes a part of our discussion in one area of life or another.
But in Jesus’ upside-down perspective of the kingdom, where the first shall be last, and the last shall be first, the greatest in the kingdom is actually the least of all. Using examples of children, sheep, and broken sinners, Jesus challenges the answers we may have to the question and challenges us on what caring for “the least of these” looks like. (Matthew 18:1-35)
Genesis 50:15-21 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression Read More
2 Corinthians 2:5-11 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm Read More
Ezekiel 34:11-16 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered Read More
James 4:1-10 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you Read More
