One Child

Imagine thirty years after Jesus' death and resurrection this 40 year old man shows up at a church in Antioch. No one knows him, but he is welcomed as a brother. Casual exchanges are made. "Where are you from? Do you know so and so? How long have you been a Christ-follower?" Then, the man says, "You remember reading about the discussion the apostles were having about who is the greatest? And, do you remember what Jesus did to explain to them that it is the humble who are made greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Well I am that young boy who Jesus took into his arms, stood before the apostles, and served as an illustration of the basis of true greatness." How the conversation would  have erupted!

As was often the case with Jesus, he made some profound points with a natural visual aid, and put the disciples in mind of the realities of the new kingdom they were entering. This kingdom must have seemed strange indeed. Why didn't Jesus grab a Roman soldier and stand him in their midst? A little child, really? I wonder if this was Peter or Andrew's son or daughter? Jesus made four solid points to teach us about greatness in the kingdom. His first statement is "If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all."(Mk.9:35) Oh how man wants to be first! First in line, first in a race, first one to own something new, first to accomplish something, first to invent something, and on and on it goes. If we can't be first, then we will tell folks we were "one of the first." The Greek word for first is protos from which we get prototype. We want to be the model that everyone else seeks to be like. We seek to be the standard. So we argue a lot about who is the greatest so and so? The greatest recording artist of all time, the greatest sports figure, the greatest president, the greatest business leader, the greatest explorer, the greatest expert in a field, the greatest doctor, the greatest preacher!!!! Did I say preacher? I grew up with that argument going on within our brotherhood. Usually it was Gus Nichols' name that came up or perhaps Marshall Keeble. I met them both. I held a song book for brother Nichols and preached in the same pulpit as brother Keeble. (What does that make me?)

But Jesus says whoever wants to be first shall be last of all and servant of all. By whose standards? That's the point. Who determines who is the greatest at something? Boy do we keep stats. Sports stats are an industry all to itself. Why? Because the stats tell the tale. But, have you noticed that stats can be interpreted in lots of ways and in lots of combinations? So whose conclusion is correct? There is only one opinion that matters. First, there is only one who is first. There is only one prototype. Everything else is an imitation, and in my case a cheap one at that. Jesus is the first. He is the model. He is the standard. We all merely try to attain to this stature (Eph.4). He set the standard by becoming a servant to all. So we have our picture of greatness: one child.