When I was a little girl, my sister and I fought like young sisters do. We argued about a lot of silly things. I remember we tried not to fight in front of our parents because they would ultimately correct us and scold us if needed. We did not want to be caught fighting red-handed. Maybe you can relate to the feeling of embarrassment that comes from being caught fighting in front of others. I can imagine that Jesus' disciples experienced this feeling when they were caught red-handed fighting over which one of them was the greatest.
Luke 22 tells us about Jesus' last meal with His disciples. Knowing what was going to happen, this must have been a unique and emotional time for Jesus. As He shared this meal with the 12 men whom he spent three years walking with and teaching, arguing between the disciples began. Right in front of Jesus, the disciples started arguing "about who would be the greatest among them" (verse 24). In response to their argument, Jesus said, "In this world, the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called 'friends of the people.' But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant" (verses 25-26). In this moment, Jesus was redefining what it meant to be great. His disciples were arguing over who was the greatest when their definition of great was upside down. Those who are truly great, Jesus wanted them to know, serve. Instead of arguing over who was greatest, His disciples should have been proving their greatness through serving.
Still today, the world has an upside-down view of what it means to be great. The world judges greatness by rank, position, or wealth. Sometimes, the world even judges greatness by the number of followers someone has on social media. These things are not accurate markers of greatness, according to Jesus. It is time that each one of us let go of the world's standard of greatness and seek to be great in the eyes of Jesus. It is time that we choose to serve others.
Spend some time today praying. In your prayer, ask God to change your heart. Ask Him to help you let go of your own understanding of greatness and to help you understand what it means to be great in His eyes. As you go throughout your day, look for people who are modeling God's standard of greatness and serving others, and choose to follow their examples.
7 Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread arrived, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed. 8 Jesus sent Peter and John ahead and said, “Go and prepare the Passover meal, so we can eat it together.”
9 “Where do you want us to prepare it?” they asked him.
10 He replied, “As soon as you enter Jerusalem, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. At the house he enters, 11 say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ 12 He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal.” 13 They went off to the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there.
14 When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table.15 Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. 16 For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.”
17 Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.”
19 He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
20 After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.
21 “But here at this table, sitting among us as a friend, is the man who will betray me. 22 For it has been determined that the Son of Man must die. But what sorrow awaits the one who betrays him.” 23 The disciples began to ask each other which of them would ever do such a thing.
24 Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. 25 Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ 26 But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. 27 Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.
28 “You have stayed with me in my time of trial. 29 And just as my Father has granted me a Kingdom, I now grant you the right 30 to eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. And you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
