46 Jesus’ followers began to have an argument about which one of them ·was [would be] the greatest. 47 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he took a little child and stood the child beside him. 48 Then Jesus said, “Whoever ·accepts [welcomes; receives] this little child in my name ·accepts [welcomes; receives] me [C children had low social status, so the saying indicates concern for the lowly]. And whoever ·accepts [welcomes; receives] me ·accepts [welcomes; receives] the One who sent me, because whoever is least among you all is really the greatest.
Listen, if I were a disciple, I would be about my place with Jesus too. If I had just have been called a wicked and perverse generation:
You people have no faith, and your lives are all wrong [L O unbelieving and corrupt/perverse generation]. How long must I stay with you and ·put up with [endure; bear with] you? Luke 9:41
What can they do right?
Oh, yes. Figure out who is the best among themselves. Good call. Oh the humanity of the moment, I would truly love to berate the disciples and give them the good brush off, but I hate to tell you, none of us can.
We have social media. We have Christmas pictures. Am I right?
We put on Facebook these lovely pictures of our beautiful families, beautiful lives, beautiful trips. That may be a good moment, but don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining. It’s laundry all over. It’s kitchens filled with dishes. It’s family members not getting along. It’s exhaustion. Why can’t we see that? Because that’s not our human natures at our core…
Jesus saw the hearts. I would really love to study this phrase throughout the New Testament. Jesus knows their hearts. That is a bit haunting. When you look at me, you can’t see my heart. You may think you can, but nope, I know how to brush the tears away like the best of them. And so do you.
23 When Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast [see 2:13], many people ·believed [put their faith; trusted] in ·him [L his name]because they saw the ·miracles [L signs; 2:11] he did [4:48; Mark 8:11–13]. 24 But Jesus did not ·believe in [entrust/commit himself to]them because he knew them all. 25 He did not need anyone to ·tell [testify/witness to] him about ·people [human nature], because he knew what was in ·people’s minds [people’s hearts; L people]. John 2
Jesus saw the child. He saw the humble, the realistic self-view. Have you noticed that with kids? They tell you the truth (well, there are exceptions, ha.) A child will tell you what is on their minds. In the mind, out the mouth, it takes training to teach a child to monitor their voices.
The child’s heart was not masked. So Jesus:
“Whoever ·accepts [welcomes; receives] this little child in my name ·accepts [welcomes; receives] me [C children had low social status, so the saying indicates concern for the lowly.
Welcome, receive. The concern, the first concern is not for self or motivated by self. In our hearts, none of us would want to say we are motivated by self-adoration. That’s ridiculous, we would say. How often do we check our posts? How many likes? How many streaks? How many followers? Look, this isn’t easy to write. I’m right here.
Welcome the lowly? ·accepts [welcomes; receives] me (that being Jesus).
And whoever ·accepts [welcomes; receives] me ·accepts [welcomes; receives] the One who sent me,
Accept Jesus? Accept the Father. The progression is natural and it is humbling. It starts here with a realistic look at ourselves. The truly great? Are the least. He has accepted us. He has welcomed us. He knows we are dust and loves us anyway. You take a step toward Him. You humble yourself. You start here.
And this changes everything.
Then, God begins His work, because then, dear Lord, I am not wanting to please people first, but Him.
What does this look like for me? For you? I’d love for you to ponder that in light of these verses. The disciples wanted to know where they stood with Jesus, wanted to know who was first in the kingdom. Well, we know the end of the story. You know where you stand with Jesus, because you know where to start.
Humble. Quiet. Child-like. Welcoming Him into your heart and mind.
The Lord has told you, ·human [T O man], what is good;
he has told you what ·he wants [the Lord requires] from you:
to do what is ·right to other people [just],
love ·being kind to others [mercy; lovingkindness],
and ·live humbly, obeying [walk humbly with] your God. Micah 6:8
Peace, found only in Him.
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