The Mark of a Great Leader
Scripture: Matthew 18:1; Mark 9:33-35; Luke 9:47
In the previous lesson we covered a short narrative about paying the temple tax with the money found in the mouth of a fish. The narrative for this section will require more than one lesson and covers the topic of who is the greatest.
Mt 18:1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, Mk 9:33 [inside] the house Mt 18:1 saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
What do you suppose prompted that question? Have you ever thought about what your position of greatness in the kingdom heaven might be? With this in mind, let’s see what Jesus has to say about greatness.
Lk 9:47 “But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, Mk 9:33 he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.”
The disciples still had messianic expectations of a political liberator, very possibly Jesus, and thus they dreamed of status, honor, and power in serving with him and in that context, they were trying to decide who was the greatest among them. The question from Jesus made them feel somewhat uncomfortable, maybe embarrassed, so they didn’t answer.
Mk 9:35 “[Jesus sits] down and called the twelve [to come and sit with him] and he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”’
Teachers often sit down when they teach, and people lead by example. Jesus as the Messiah will lead by suffering and each disciple is to lead (be first) by becoming a servant of all. To them this is upside down thinking. This will be enforced later when we come to Matthew 20:25 – 28 ESV: 25 “But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”’
In connection with greatness one usually finds pride, but Jesus is teaching that a truly great leader is one who is humble and willing to serve others. Jesus is our greatest example of this. He who created the universe, enters into it through a virgin birth to live a perfect life, according to the law, to die in our place for our sin on a cross, providing our salvation.
As a visual aid of this required humility, Jesus takes a child and puts in the midst of them and said, “unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3 – 4 ESV). We will consider this statement in our next lesson.
Conclusion
How important is humility in your life as you lead those under you? Having walked with the Lord for nearly 70 years, I confess that there is still room in my life for more humility, for when I compare myself with Jesus, I find that I fall short.
Anchor My Faith 
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