Greatest

Luke 22:21-24 (The Message)

21-22 "Do you realize that the hand of the one who is betraying me is at this moment on this table? It's true that the Son of Man is going down a path already marked out—no surprises there.

But for the one who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man, this is doomsday."

23 They immediately became suspicious of each other and began quizzing one another, wondering who might be about to do this.

24 Within minutes they were bickering over who of them would end up the greatest.

This passage contains a real temptation. It would be so easy to focus on Judas.

We try to figure him out. Why would he do it? Why would he double-cross Jesus? Was it really the money? Was he trying to force a confrontation with the authorities? Was it all pre-determined in a way that just didn't give him a choice?

I don't know.

It's fertile ground for speculation and much has been written about old Judas over the centuries. In The Inferno, Dante places him right at the center of hell, being continually chewed and eaten by the very mouth of Satan.

Tough stuff.

But I'm not sure that's where we should focus. There's a lot going on with all of these disciples.

Think about it: Jesus has just instituted Holy Communion and they were there at the table.

That's lost on them.

He's just announced that the time of his betrayal has come and that the turncoat is seated somewhere at that very table.

Within minutes, they're arguing about who will be the greatest.

Does it sound like human nature has changed a lot in 2,000+ years?

Maybe not. We humans tend to like hierarchies and power structures. We like to scale those structures and then exercise power over one another.

There is some broken, unhealed part of us that always wants to be crowned "the greatest."

I'll leave that pursuit to Muhammad Ali.

Our job is not to be the greatest. It's to be a follower. And following Jesus means following him through the cross, into the resurrection.

It means death. Namely, it means the death of our ego. It means the death of pride and pain and the need to get ahead. It means resurrection into a completely new way of understanding the world and living our lives.

Prayer: Father we pray that we would allow ourselves to be completely adopted into your love. May we be followers. May we be the least, not the greatest. May we depend upon and magnify your power and strength in this world.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.