JESUS’ DEFINITION OF GENUINE GREATNESS MATTHEW 18:1

The expectation of the coming Kingdom was of primary interest in the minds of the disciples.  When you are thoroughly expecting someone or something, you are looking steadfastly for someone or something to come to pass.  And certainly Jesus’ beloved disciples looked with great anticipation to the arrival of the Kingdom.  The thought of its coming predominated their minds and hearts.  At the inception of Jesus’ ministry, He proclaimed the nearness of His Kingdom, and the requirement of repentance to gain admission into it.  He had displayed His royal glory before Peter, James and John in an unusual manner, and being greatly impressed, they never forgot it!

Since the Kingdom is projected to come, the obvious question would be: “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:1).  On that occasion, Jesus used a little child as an object lesson to point out that humbleness best describes greatness.  In our world today, the world defines greatness in terms of the various achievements of various people.  One of the most famous boxers, after some of his greatest exploits in the ring would say:  “I am the greatest.”  His greatness was measured in terms of his ability to conquer his opponent in the ring.  And then, there are other persons that you are thinking of now that suit your definition of greatness.  From a truly earthly perspective, some people count greatness in terms of another person’s status, wealth or even the extent of their influence.  Yes, there are some rather powerful and influential people in our land today.  But Jesus’ definition of greatness is that one must possess a humble servant attitude.  This is an attitude that would serve others rather than be served.  Some great men of our day use their influence and power to lord it over others; thus using their power at the expense of others.  But Jesus’ definition of true greatness involves placing others before oneself.  One who practices a humble servant attitude would respect others’ needs before one’s needs.

Jesus Christ displayed ultimately the attitude of a humble servant leader when He said:  “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.”  The word ‘for’ in this verse denotes ‘in the place of’.  Our Lord, the ultimate example of a humble servant leader, unselfishly and voluntarily gave His life for our salvation.  On the cross Christ served courageously, as our substitute for sin.  He was and is a servant who looked, not at our faults, but saw our needs.  And because Christ has completely appeased God the Father, every man, regardless to the extent of his sinful life, may have eternal life, if he would only believe in Christ’s finished work on Calvary.  The Lord Jesus both taught and practiced being a humble servant.  What about us?