I. Introduction
To be considered great in God’s sight you must humble yourself before Him. (repeat) That’s it. That’s this morning’s message. At least it’s the introduction and the conclu-sion of the message. But before we sing a hymn, before Ken prays, before we close with a chorus, and before I give the benediction, there is one more thing.

I have a sermon to preach! It will center on one of the great themes of the gospels and it will address what many unbelievers see as one of the biggest contradictions in the Bible – the fact that true greatness in God’s sight can only come from true humility.

That’s not the way of the world, is it? That’s why the world doesn’t understand it, thinks it’s nonsense, and argues that things like aggressiveness, self-promotion, and self-esteem are the keys to success. But the Christian’s ultimate “success” can never be realized in this temporal life on earth. It can only be realized in eternal life in heaven.

That life will be nothing like this one. For that reason Jesus teaches us that the rewards we are to strive for are in heaven, not on earth. Only if we humble ourselves here will He exalt us there.

That’s a lesson every Christian must learn. It’s not optional. But Jesus’ twelve disciples have yet to learn it as we look in on them in Luke 9:46-50 this morning. At this point in time, about one year prior to the crucifixion, they’re far more interested in exalting them-selves before each other than they are about humbling themselves before God.

In time they will all become nothing less than spiritual giants. In fact, Matthew, John, and Peter will eventually write much of the NT. But now, on this day at the foot of the Mount of Transfiguration, all twelve of them, to use the vernacular, “don’t have a clue.”
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

II. Review
This is even more stunning when you consider what these men have just witnessed. The Lord has been transfigured. Peter, John, and James have seen the glorified Christ and have been given a glimpse of their own future glory as well. All twelve have just seen Jesus cast out a demon and heal a boy. While the disciples are still amazed at all of that, Jesus repeats what He first said in Luke 9:22. He is going to be leaving them.
*Luke 9:43b-44
43b But while everyone was marveling at all that (Jesus) was doing, He said to His disciples,
44 “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”
In v. 45 Luke says that since the disciples are as yet incapable of grasping the full magni-tude of Jesus’ statement regarding His imminent death, the Lord mercifully hides the total impact of it.
*Luke 9:45
45 But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they might not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.

But while the full ramifications of Jesus’ statement of His death escape them, they have no excuse for ignoring what they do understand – Jesus is going to die. That much is clear. Back in v. 22 He said so. “The Son of Man must…be killed…” Even with their limited understanding, their response to Jesus’ pronouncement that He is going to die is nothing short of shocking. And that takes us to this morning’s text.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

III. Text
Is their anything more natural to us than pride? And is there anything more destructive? Just as personal pride caused Lucifer to be cast out of heaven, so too personal pride will keep men and women from entering into heaven.
James 4:6b
6b “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Every sin and evil deed has its root in personal pride. Every time you and I put our lusts and desires above those of God we are manifesting personal pride. We are saying, “I want what is best for me and what will do me the most good…and I want it now.” This is precisely where Jesus’ disciples are. It’s as if they’ve learned nothing.
*Luke 9:46-50 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
46 And an argument arose among (the disciples) as to which of them might be the greatest.
47 But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side,
48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for he who is least among you, this is the one who is great.”
49 And John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to hinder him because he does not fol-low along with us.”
50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you.”

Adam and Eve wanted what they wanted and they took it despite what God had said. We are their offspring and we act just like them. Our natural tendency is to put ourselves ahead of others, seeking our own satisfaction, gratification, and personal glory.
It’s the way of the world. But God calls us to turn our backs on the world. So unless the Holy Spirit changes both our hearts and our minds we will continue to be self-absorbed.
1 John 2:15-17
15 Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
17 And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.

John, who will later be filled with the Holy Spirit and write the words we just read, is among those concerned about his position in the Messianic Kingdom which all the disci-ples still think is just around the corner. They’re focused on themselves and whatever their association with Jesus can get them. They don’t yet understand that, “…many who are first will be last; and the last, first (Matthew 19:30).” The following proves it.
*Luke 9:46
46 And an argument arose among (the disciples) as to which of them might be the greatest.

This attitude is hard to imagine. After all they’ve seen and heard, after so much has been made clear to them, the disciples’ pride of life takes over. They have no concept of the Lord’s role as a suffering servant. They only see Jesus as the Lion of Judah who will judge and wage war. They don’t yet see Him as the Lamb of God who has come to give Himself up and be led to the slaughter. But Jesus has already told them what they need to know and what they need to do. In fact, He told them just before His transfiguration.
*Luke 9:23-25
23 And (Jesus) was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
24 “For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.
25 “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or for-feits himself?”

How does that compare to what the disciples now debate among themselves – “When Jesus takes over which one of us will be the greatest?” What they will soon learn is what most Christians already know. Pain and suffering are a normal part of believers’ lives. About thirty years later Peter, having long since learned what it was to take up his cross, deny himself, and to follow hard after Jesus, wrote about it.
1 Peter 4:12-14
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;
13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.
14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. (back to Luke 9:23)

You can readily see how far these disciples had to go before they could establish the church and preach the gospel. This is an important lesson for all whom God has called to lead the Church of Jesus Christ. Trying to decide which leader is “the greatest” can have disastrous consequences for the body. Only where leadership is focused on Christ, united, and supporting each other, will the church grow spiritually and be able to stand against the devil and a world system that opposes it.

But if the leaders are promoting themselves and jockeying for position, the results are bound to be divisive. Nothing will destroy a church faster than personal pride among its leaders. Nothing will eliminate personal pride more than humility before God and men. Pride was one of the first things the Paul had to address in the church at Corinth. He did so by equating pride with spiritual immaturity and strongly rebuked the Corinthians for it.
1 Corinthians 3:1-7
1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to babes in Christ.
2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able,
3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?
4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men?
5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.
7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.

Paul’s point is clear, isn’t it? No Christian should boast in anyone other than the God who has saved them.
*Luke 9:47
47 But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side…

Jesus knew what they were talking about because He knew what was in their hearts.
Jeremiah 17:9-10a
9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?
10a “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind…”
Luke 6:45
45 “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure (of his heart) brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

Do you want to know what’s in someone’s heart? Just wait. Eventually it will come out of his or her mouth. So in Mark’s gospel he tells us that Jesus confronts the disciples and asks them what they’ve been arguing about.
Mark 9:33-34
33 And they came to Capernaum; and when (Jesus) was in the house, He began to question them, “What were you discussing on the way?”
34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest.

Since Jesus already knows what they’ve been arguing about and how it’s been driven by their pride, He uses the opportunity to teach them a lesson in humility. He takes a little child in His arms. The child has yet to do or accomplish anything that would earn status or rank on earth. In this regard the child is the least of all people.

Once again Jesus is teaching that entrance into heaven has nothing whatsoever to do with human measurements of importance or greatness. Entrance to heaven is based solely upon a person’s faith in Christ. So with respect to the greatness the disciples are seeking for themselves, none of them will be greater than any other. Everyone in heaven will be equally great. In the next verse Jesus takes direct aim at the disciple’s personal pride.
*Luke 9:48
48 and (He) said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for he who is least among you, this is the one who is great.”

Jesus uses the child to symbolize all true believers. His point is that He is spiritually united to all Christians without regard to their earthly status. Therefore, the disciples should not only become like a child, like one of no great repute, but they should also wel-come everyone else in precisely the same way. In John’s gospel He says that whoever rejects a true Christian rejects both Him and His Father.
John 5:23b
23b He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

Conversely, whoever receives the least of Jesus’ children (and that includes us) receives Him. Remember that this child in Jesus’ arms is symbolic of all Christians. We are to welcome them all equally, care for them all equally, love them all equally, and spiritually guide, feed, and protect them all equally. In God’s sight, not one of them is inferior.

Matthew’s account expands upon this principle. The disciples have asked who will be “…the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
Matthew 18:3-5
3 and (Jesus) said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not (even) enter the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the king-dom of heaven.
5 “And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me…”

So Jesus is saying to the disciples that the way to greatness in heaven is to lay aside their personal pride, take hold of humility, and become like children themselves. Then they will become great in heaven. Based on this one principle alone, can you see how drama-tically different our eternal lives in heaven will be than our lives on earth are now?

But Jesus says more. It’s difficult to convey the magnitude of Jesus’ warning against those who would harm these “little ones.” Suffice it to say that terrible judgment awaits anyone who does so. We tend to think of this judgment applying to those who would physically, or psychologically, or sexually harm children. And it does! But it applies to spiritual harm as well. In fact, I suspect that is the primary thing Jesus is talking about here. So the judgment that awaits false teachers, or for anyone who would deliberately turn God’s people from His truth, or cause them to sin, is in view here.
Matthew 18:6
6 “…but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stum-ble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea.” (back to Luke 9:48)

In the last part of the verse Jesus says it again – “…for he who is least among you, this is the one who is great.” We so want to raise ourselves up in the eyes of others, to impress them with our appearance, our intelligence, our power, our authority, or our own wisdom that self-exaltation becomes a part of our daily agenda. It’s so much a part of us that I think we often fail to see it in ourselves. But others do, and it’s not a pretty picture.

How many ways does the Bible say this? How many ways does Jesus teach it? How we need to learn, to embrace, and to live this eternal truth!
• “But many who are first will be last; and the last, first (Matthew 19:30).”
• “…whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave (Matthew 20:26-27).”
• “If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all (Mark 9:35).”
• God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5).

As always, our greatest example is Jesus Himself.
Philippians 2:5-9a
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becom-
ing obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
9a Therefore also God highly exalted Him…

There it is. Do you want to be great in heaven? Then humble yourself now. It is no more complicated than that. God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
How do the disciples respond to the teaching of Luke 9:46-48?
*Luke 9:49-50
49 And John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to hinder him because he does not fol-low along with us.”
50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you.”

Well, the disciples’ pride is still there. They had been unable to cast the demon from the boy when Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration. He told them it was because of their lack of prayer (Mark 9:29) and their weak faith (Matthew 17:20).

Now someone outside of their circle is casting out demons in Jesus’ name. Whoever this is, he must have prayed and had a stronger faith than the Twelve did. Does this teach them anything? Apparently not! Their jealousy and pride still in the way, they would rather hinder the Lord’s work than “take a back seat” to a believer they don’t know.

When Jesus tells them, “Do not hinder him…,” He affirms the man as a true believer. So the disciples pride in their position is not promoting unity among the brethren. It’s doing the very opposite and causing division. But isn’t truth truth regardless of who preaches and teaches it? Jesus closes by saying, “…he who is not against you is for you.”

This is a black and white statement if there ever was one. There’s no gray in it. Listen, there is no compromise between truth and error. There is no compromise between sound doctrine and heresy. Jesus will say this again later.
Luke 11:23
23 “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.”

Just as we must not let our pride cause division within the body, so too we must not com-promise truth and sound doctrine with those who are outside the body of Christ.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

IV. Conclusion
We can neither justify pride nor excuse it. The bottom line is simply this. “…a proud heart…is sin (Proverbs 21:4).” The disciples would eventually learn that. They would become humble before God and man.
They would be rewarded in heaven for what they would give up on earth. Are there those who disdain and ridicule you because of your faith? Are you held in low esteem by men on this earth? It’s all right. You will be exalted in heaven.

When God takes you home it won’t matter if you have been saved for eighty minutes or eighty years. The first and the last will all receive the gift of eternal life. While Scripture teaches there will be different rewards or crowns for different service rendered during our lives here on earth, it also teaches the gift of eternal life will be the same for believers. As such, there can be no room for pride.

Consider the thief on the cross next to Jesus. His Christian service was limited to that single moment in time when he humbly repented and publicly confessed his faith. And what did Jesus say to him? “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise (Luke 23:43).” That unnamed thief received the very same salvation as the Apostle Paul and as you and me.

Listen, please, none of us knows how long we will be here. Come to Christ now. Receive His gift of eternal life now. Turn from your pride and humble yourself. Ask Jesus to forgive your sin. Be willing to let Him change you. Then put your faith and trust Him and Him alone to save you. He has promised that He will.
John 1:12-13
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become child-ren of God, even to those who believe in His name,
13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

All who receive Christ will be great in heaven, and there is no personal pride in that!

~ Pray ~