Tend the Family Tree | Who is the Greatest?

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’”                                       

Matthew 18:1

Prior to this question being posed, Matthew describes a series of emotionally charged exchanges between Jesus and the Pharisees (Israel’s religious leaders of the day), and between Jesus and his disciples (both negative and positive)—all of which likely stirred up no small amount of confusion and, apparently, some competitiveness between the disciples, even leading to one of them asking this question: Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

Let’s back up a bit to get a feel for the ego-jostling upswings and downswings that the disciples likely felt in response to Jesus’ words and actions in this window of time:

After several clashes between Jesus and the Pharisees (Matthew 14-16), Jesus rebukes them for not being able to read the signs of the times and demanding signs from him (16:1-4). This was one of many shocking “downswings” for the religious leaders’ egos, also shaking the disciples’ historic understanding of who should be considered great.[1]

Next, Jesus chides the disciples for 1) missing the meaning of his cryptic warning against the “yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees” and 2) too quickly forgetting his miraculous ability to produce bread on demand (downswing for the disciples).[2] In the very next paragraph, Jesus declares Simon-Peter “blessed” to have received the revelation of Jesus’ true identity as “the Christ,” then double-blesses him with a divine name-change (Peter, the Rock) and the promise of keys to the kingdom, and charging the disciples to keep this secret to which they’ve been made privy (serious upswing, especially for Peter).[3]

In a brutal shift of direction, Peter is later cut back down to size by Jesus’ stinging rebuke, calling him Satan and a hindrance to the things of God (serious ego-checking downswing).[4] Jesus then clarifies the necessity for the disciples to take up their crosses and follow him into the kind of suffering-unto-death he would soon face (terrifying downswing), in order to gain life, while “some” may possibly avoid death until he returns (cryptic upswing).[5]

Only days later, Jesus singles out Peter, James, and John to accompany him on a trip to the top of a high mountain (upswing for a seemingly favored few), where the three are knocked flat and Peter is told by God himself to shut up and listen (burning downswing) as Jesus is brilliantly transfigured and joined by Moses and Elijah, all of which the three have been selectively chosen to witness (dizzying upswing).

Back at the bottom of the mountain, the rest of the disciples are standing awkwardly with a demon-possessed boy and his exasperated father, having been unable to drive out the terrorizing spirit and looking shame-faced as Jesus and the privileged three approach. “You aren’t able to drive it out because your faith is too small,” says Jesus. (Painful downswing in glaring contrast to the euphoric upswing from which Peter, James, and John are, undoubtedly, still glowing.)

In the wake of all of this crack-the-whip, confidence-shaking activity, someone (I’ll bet we can guess who) drummed up the courage to ask the question: Jesus, who is the greatest in the kingdom of God?

 I think that single, outwardly-spoken question is a vacuum-packed wrapping around a collection of far more uncomfortable questions, silently squirming in the mind of each and every disciple there. Which of us is the greatest? Where do I stand in comparison to them? Am I a disappointment, or am I great? Why are those guys getting more attention and privilege than we are? What do I need to do to get that kind of appreciation? “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of God?”

“And calling to him a child, [Jesus] put him in the midst of them and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, 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 18:2-4

In other words, unless you turn your thinking around and go in a different direction than you are exposing with your question, you won’t even enter the kingdom of heaven. If you want to be great, be like this...

It’s impossible to read this verse without getting caught up in contemplation of what it means to become like a child, in contrast to our inherent human desire to be the greatest of all. Several thoughts come to mind that I can easily imagine coming from Jesus’ lips. Perhaps, He might say:

If you want to be great in my eyes, know that you are but a little child to me. Just be who you are—a child. Be innocent. Be adoring, wanting nothing more than to please me. Be guileless, an open book on my lap—every page readable and rewritable. Trust me without reserve and obey my every word. Be so singularly dependent upon me that your Father’s watchful eye and strong arm is the only protection you have, want, or need...

This kind of “turning” is enough to keep a person busy for a lifetime. But Jesus didn’t say what he said to one person in a vacuum. He said it to a band of brothers, in a context that was already demanding a great deal from them, and would demand far more going forward. Victory in their assignments, tests, trials, and tribulations would hinge, not only on dependence upon the Father, Son, and Spirit, but also upon their childlike attendance to their relationship to, and posture toward, one another.[6]

At the level of brotherly coexistence, the Scriptures are chock full of the evidence of humanity’s inherent appetite for superiority over (at the expense of) our earthly brothers and sisters. From Adam’s infamous finger-pointing strategy, in blame of his elevation-seeking wife; to Cain’s jealous, murderous vengeance, incubated in the shadow of his more righteous and better-esteemed brother, Abel. Ishmael still hasn’t forgiven Isaac for deposing him as the heir-apparent and successor in Abraham’s family lineage. Jacob came out of the womb grasping his brother, Esau’s, heel; likewise, Esau has gone down in history chasing retribution for the loss of his birthright to Jacob. Humanity’s competitive desire for greatness is a key theme that runs through the biblical narrative from beginning to end.

Thankfully, alongside that thread runs a counter-thread, giving witness to God’s profoundly humble nature and supreme wisdom in choosing “the least” from among us to serve him and his purposes—in large part, I believe, to eliminate any mistaken attribution of greatness to anyone other than YHWH himself.

This corrective theme is particularly evident in the record of Jesus’ lineage, in the pattern of God’s passing over of firstborn sons in favor of a younger son, as well as the counter-cultural inclusion of several socially-devalued women in the list of Jesus’ descendants—Seth over Cain, Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, Judah over Rueben, Perez through disgraced Tamar, Boaz through Rahab the prostitute, Obed through Moabite Ruth, David over his seven older brothers,  and so on (all ultimately reflecting Yah’s passing over of the first Adam and appointment of the better Adam, Jesus, as his sinless Son and heir).[7]

The apostle, Paul, pointed to Jesus himself as the ultimate model of perfect humility leading to perfect exaltation and, in the process, places childlikeness in the context of community:

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”                                                                                                                                                                Philippians 2:1-11 (emphasis mine)

Paul, and other New Testament writers, had much to say about servant-like humility within the corporate body of Christ in the comparatively smaller “world” of their time. Though Paul most likely did not envision the the future global scope that the “one body [of]... one Spirit... one Lord...” Church would one day encompass, he did give us a great model for how the corporate branches of the whole Church should care for one another in practical terms when we are “[counting] others more significant than [ourselves]” and “looking to the interests” of our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world.[8]

“We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also...

“I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine.  For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you... For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”

                                                                        2 Corinthians 8:1-10b, 13-15 (emphasis mine)

This brings us to the final point: We, the American branch of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob/Israel’s global family tree (of the present generation), will do well to consider the critical biblical themes discussed above in the context of our residing in the peripheral but reputed “greatest,” most powerful, influential nation on earth, particularly as we relate to both our brothers and sisters residing in the biblical “center of nations” (Israel) and the “least” of nations scattered across the world.

Wisdom would recommend that we take note of, and act prudently in response to, any points at which the policies and practices of our nation (in which we currently serve as aliens and sojourners) conflict with the teachings and commands of the King and coming kingdom, in whom/which our true citizenship is rooted, and who will one day establish his throne in Jerusalem and rule over all of creation forever.

Consider: If the American church, a peripheral branch grafted into the Jewish family tree, were to “turn” from pursuing her own greatness and become like little children, as Jesus articulated, in our relationship with YHWH and our global brothers and sisters, how different might that look? But this is a conversation for another day...

To be cont’d.

Maranatha.

[1] Matthew 19:23-30

[2] 16:5-12

[3] 16:13-20

[4] 16:21-23

[5] 16:24-28

[6] John 13:31-35, 15:12-17

[7] Matthew 1:1-17;  Romans 5:12-21; 1 Corinthians 15:45-49

[8] Philippians 2:3-4