Who is the Greatest?

What, I love most about Jesus among many other things is that Jesus never deceives. Like a true genuine friend, Jesus, is trying to prepare his friends for bad news (the Passion) and good news (the Resurrection), but they did not want to hear Him, because they didn’t want to know anything more about the future which would involve death and resurrection. This little bit of knowledge of Jesus’ future was almost too much for them.

Secondly, Jesus identifies the ambitious nature of the Disciples, which is part of human nature and was no different for some of the Disciples. They were ambitious because they had come to believe in Jesus and His message of the Kingdom of God to be established in their midst – very much like David’s Kingdom. That is where they missed the message like their fellow Jews. They thought a literal physical kingdom. Rather the ambition Jesus had/has for us is to be more like Him, to serve and suffer for others, as he served and suffered. Greatness is found not in lording it over other people, but in serving those who need us – the poor, the weak, the aged, the depressed, the forgotten and the lost.

Thirdly, Jesus is encouraging us to be childlike, which is in every adult – to be vulnerable, sensitive, trusting and full of wonder. It’s only through this that we can experience the unconditional love of God for us and the greatness of God.