Who is greatest?

And there arose a reasoning among them, which of them was the greatest. (Luke 9:46 ASV)

The disciples had been busy. Most of them had been left behind to manage the ministry while Jesus took a break for prayer, accompanied by Peter, James, and John. Things had not gone well, and an upset father confronted Jesus upon His return with the news of their failure. His son had a demon causing convulsions and they had not been able to remove it. Jesus intervened, removed the demon, and healed the child. 

Afterwards, He spoke to the disciples about the importance of remembering the things He had taught them. He would be arrested and they would need to carry on. They didn't understand and they didn't ask questions. No one wanted to know what He meant, nor what was to come. 

Some time after this exchange, a disagreement broke out among the disciples. They were discussing which of them was greatest. When you think about it, this was a crazy argument. Who was greatest? Jesus was. There should have been no argument about that. The question then became which of them was second greatest. 

There were two groups. The larger group had just failed miserably in the area of healing and miracles. The second group, made up of Peter, James, and John had just slept through the transfiguration, waking only as Moses and Elijah, Jesus' heavenly visitors, were departing. It is pretty clear that neither group had much cause for celebration. If they had seen themselves as they were, with all their flaws and failures, I'm not sure they would have found much about which to argue. Who was greatest? None of them. 

The disciples had a problem from which we all suffer, and it's called pride. They saw the good in themselves and the negative in the others. Their skewed opinions caused unnecessary friction in the group. A clear understanding of their own heart would have eliminated all cause for argument, but they saw what they wanted to see, much as we do. Those flawed disciples had much good in them, but they also needed to grow and mature. Years later, these same men would evangelize the world with the good news of Jesus, but they had a long way to go before that would happen. 

Most of us have that same pride problem. It may not manifest in the same way, but it's a common affliction. There's a common solution, too. When we see ourselves as we are in comparison to who Christ is, our self-importance begins to fade. We would do well to ask God to show us our own hearts. When we see our sin in comparison to the spotless Lamb of God, there is no doubt. Who is the greatest? Jesus. Only Jesus. 

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The new book, The Waiting: When The Answer to Your Prayer is Delayed and Your Hope is Gone, is now available at www.leannahollis.com/online-store/. Get yours today!

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Link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-wonder-dogs-get-bath.html

 

Waiting for Jesus, part 7: not just Jairus

And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, (Luke 8:43 NASB)

It was not just Jairus who needed a miracle that day. Jairus was the one with position, authority, power and money. He was the visible and socially acceptable one in need. There was also a woman there that day who had been hemorrhaging for twelve years. As a result, she was almost certainly anemic and physically exhausted. She must have felt as if she could barely put one foot in front of the other. To make matters worse, she had spent all the money she had seeking a cure, but no one could help. Exhausted, destitute, hopeless, she, too, needed a miracle.  

Because she was unclean, she did not dare to approach Jesus openly. To state it plainly, she sneaked up behind Jesus, hoping to secretly gain a miracle by touching the fringe of his robe. That "fringe" was a specific type of knotted threads, or tassels, positioned at the corners of his prayer shawl (tallit) that were highly symbolic of both the law of God and the name of God. In touching that fringe, she was symbolically touching the Divine, the power of God. 

This woman had no position, authority, power, or money. She barely had the strength to join the crowd, yet her need for a miracle was equally as great as the need of Jairus. More importantly, the compassion of Jesus toward her was equally as great as His compassion toward the need of Jairus. Her lack of importance in the eyes of the crowd did not affect her importance in the eyes of God one little bit. He loved her. She was as much a child of God as Jairus, and her Lord had time for her. He had time for her need. 

God had time for her, and He has time for our needs, as well. 

Selah. 

Pause and consider this great truth. Once again, we see the principle of greatest and least. Jairus was the greatest and the woman with the hemorrhage was the least, yet Jesus loved them both and willingly gave miraculous healing to them both.  Dear ones, even the least of us can count on our Lord for compassion, love, and ever-present help in time of trouble.  

Are you overwhelmed by your circumstances? Do you feel like a pariah, an outcast, because of those circumstances?  Our Lord has no less love for you, no less compassion toward you, no less willingness to help. It is not necessary to approach Him "from behind".  Take your needs to the feet of Jesus and allow Him to do with them as He will. 

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; (Psalms 46:1-2 NASB)

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Link to last night's post:  http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/08/lessons-from-battlefield-cooperation.html

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Please pray for our precious brothers and sisters in Nigeria who are struggling because of the tyranny of Boko Haram and their persecution of Christians. Do not forget that they are allies of ISIS (Islamic State).