Debates about who the greatest is, is something all of us engage in today too don’t we? Whether it’s debating the greatest president in American history: “Abe Lincoln!” “No Thomas Jefferson!” “No Barack Obama!” “No Donald Trump!” “Joe Biden!” In the world of sports, the debates rage: Greatest football player: Jerry Rice, Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Peyton Manning. The greatest in the other kind of football, the one the called “the beautiful game,” between Messi or Ronaldo. And for me, I’m most fierily engaged in the debate about who the greatest basketball player of all-time is: Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell.

 

And this debate along with every other debate about who the greatest athlete or president or whomever—will never be settled. Whether you look at and compare/contrast statistics/accomplishments, championships, individual accolades, statistics, awards, policy, whatever. You’ll never find 100% consensus on who the greatest athlete or politician or president or whomever is—and yet the debates rage on…

 

And when I think about these endless debates about who the greatest is, I can’t help but be reminded of Jesus’ disciples who also debated true greatness…except they were debating about whom the greatest among them is, assuming their own individual greatness!

 

And as Jesus has been doing for the better part of 3 years, he’s about to flip their entire world upside down again as part of his complete and total 180-degree re-education and reorientation of his disciples’ goals, values, faith, and yes their very understanding of life and God himself—the kingdom of God—and what constitutes greatness according to God.

 

Greatness according to Jesus—true greatness according to the kingdom of God is the opposite of what worldly wisdom would tell you. True greatness is not based on your status in society, your fame, your success, your accolades, or your individual accomplishments—or any other standard defined by the world.

 

True greatness is defined by God and is directly related to your level of service to God and to others. It’s the exact opposite of how the world measures greatness. The world measures greatness by your celebrity, success, and wealth and by how many people go out of their way to serve you. God measures greatness by your humility, generosity, and service—by how many people you’re willing to serve, who you’re willing to serve, and how far you’re willing go in serving them! And that’s exactly what Jesus wants his disciples to learn here, and what you and I would do well to understand too, this morning.

 

Greatness according to God—whoever would be greatest in God’s kingdom must become the lowliest, humblest, and least of all servants—willing to serve and meet the needs of others—anyone and everyone around them—regardless of status. Just as Jesus himself—the real G.O.A.T—the Greatest of All-Time, demonstrates how low he was willing to go in serving others and in so doing giving us the perfect example to follow in suffering, laying down his life, and dying, as a servant, giving his life as a ransom to redeem many.