Sermon for Sunday, July 26th, 2026 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC)
Old Testament Reading:
[Psalm 131:1-3 ESV] 1 A Song of Ascents. Of David. O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. 2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. 3 O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forevermore.
New Testament Reading:
[1 Corinthians 9:19-23 ESV] 19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
Gospel Reading:
[Luke 22:24-27 ESV] 24 A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25 And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. 27 For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.
Sermon Text:
[Matthew 18:1-4 ESV] 1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Introduction:
How to be great?
That is the often the question.
Sometimes it doesn’t seem like enough just to “get by” or “live” in this life, but there is pressure to be great.
We want to know who the greatest is.
Who’s the greatest president?
Who’s the greatest basketball player?
Which is the great sports team ever?
Who’s the richest man in the world?
These are all questions that commonly are discussed.
And there is pressure to aspire to be such “great” men.
We even see now this question coming from the disciples, not in regards to Earth, mind you, but in regards to the Kingdom of Heaven. But still the focus is on self, and the focus is on greatness.
They ask Jesus, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
I. Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?
We often think of the failures of the disciples like Peter who denied Christ 3 times, but what of THIS question? This is a failure to pay attention! Disciples of Jesus Christ wanting to know who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Didn’t they hear the Sermon on the Mount? The beatitudes.
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs in the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.
We know from the Scriptures that greatness is not found in power, control, achievement, status, or popularity. These are not things we should pursue. Rather we are to pursue righteousness, holiness, and ultimately we are to pursue the Glory of God, which is for His Glory but also for our joy.
But they ask, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”
Here it is general “who.” Either “WHO has that status” or it might even mean “WHAT actions, what shall we DO to be great in the Kingdom of heaven.” Should we build the biggest building (like at Babel) or have the biggest army (like the Assyrians), or strive for something else to be great? Is it about how much we give or how many offerings are made? What shall we DO?
But in Mark 9, Luke 9, and Luke 22 the disciples are asking who AMONG THEM is the greatest. Who is the greatest disciple?
II. Who is the Greatest Disciple?
There are 12 men chosen to be Christ’s closest students in His time on earth.
These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John, Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. (Matthew 10:2-4)
Twelve men. What an honor to be one of them.
Andrew is called first. That is an honor.
John is told to take care of Mary. That is an honor.
Matthew writes this Gospel. That is an honor.
And yet they want to know who is the greatest even among them.
You can see immediately the error of Rome in making Peter to be the greatest among them. That is missing the mark. The Eastern Orthodox Church has it slightly better, arguing that the bishops of 5 major churches (Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria (Egypt), Jerusalem, and Antioch. They say these are the 5 greatest bishops that we should all listen to. But you can see, I hope, that this misses the mark as well.
Of course they are some who are especially privileged even among the disciples. Peter, James, and John had been specially chosen to witness the Transfiguration.
But NO ONE is great in and of themselves.
The Biblical answer – Jesus answer – is different. He has a different approach to greatness.
III. A Different Approach to Greatness
The world’s view of greatness is quite aggressive. Probably there is no better example than the boxer Muhammed Ali. “I am the greatest” he said. Cocky, self-assured, a self-promoter. And that sort of attitude is common now in society. I find it is ACTUALLY PROMOTED, especially for young girls that they be “STRONG” and “INDEPENDENT.” And frankly, LOUD. There is no recognizing of the virtue of being quiet, or of hard work, or of holiness. And, then, sorry to say, this is an attitude I’ve especially seen here in New York and New Jersey. I’m basically used to it now, but when we first moved here and would have a contractor over to our house to look at some project – gutters perhaps – inevitably and invariably they would tell us how great they are – in fact, the greatest, and ALL THE OTHER GUYS, they are NO GOOD! Shocking to a Midwesterner. Worldly greatness can be ugly.
There is so much striving for greatness in this world. It is exhausting. You need to get A’s in school. Accomplish something grand. Get rich! Marry well. Change the world. Save the world. Cure cancer. And achieve world peace. Then, SOME might think of you as great.
But what if there is another approach entirely. Indeed there is, a Biblical approach. And one that truly is rewarded in heaven.
What is the Biblical approach to greatness?
There are two main features:
1) It is not about you, but about Christ.
2) Serve the Lord.
Drawing attention to self draws attention away from God and his glory.
And, such SELFishness, such a focus on greatness is a mistake because of life’s fleeting nature. That’s why we are to seek first the kingdom of God, and not focus on storing up treasures on earth where rust and moths destroy.
We must recognize, rather, that not SELF but GOD is great. He has given us all things. He, by His nature is great. No fault, no sin. And so it is towards Him and towards his law and his grace that we are to orient ourselves.
Arguing among MEN as to who is the greatest is like arguing which clump of mud is the cleanest!!
God is great.
Great is His faithfulness.
To God be the Glory.
That is to be our focus.
Then, the other main feature of greatness is SERVICE. To serve the Lord.
It is not GREATNESS in its entirety that the Scriptural approach is critiquing. There is a proper form of greatness; something that it is not selfish or wrong or sinful to pursue. And that is God’s Glory and our SERVICE.
In our text we find that the reference is to HUMILITY. “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Child are dependent on others. That must be the primary metaphor. We are to be like children in that as they depend on their FATHER, we are to depend on our HEAVENLY FATHER.
In other places, it is not children that are used in the comparison, but servants. You want to be great, be a SERVANT!
The servant, who is the lowest position!
But that is what the Scriptures teach.
Jesus is the example. He “became a servant.”
Then,
Paul calls himself a servant of Christ Jesus.
Epaphras is called servant of, a faithful minister of Christ.
Tychicus is a fellow servant in the Lord.
James calls himself a servant of God.
And Peter is a “servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.”
Jude as well.
They all WILLINGLY took that title. SERVANT. Those are the great men of the New Testament.
Either way, – whether we look at humility or servanthood – those who think they are great and focus on self are the least, but those who are the least on earth are the greatest in heaven.
I call this the great reversal.
So indeed, “seek greatness’ but seek the right kind. The kind that gives glory to God, not that maximizes the number of sports cars in your garage, but the kind that blesses the greatest number of people. Be humble like a child recognizing your dependence on God, and be a servant, seeking to “give back” that some love and blessings which God first gave to you.
THEN, you will be truly great.
That Great Reversal occurs in other ways in Scripture.
The low made high.
The haughty brought low.
The first will be last and the last will be first.
Strength in weakness.
And ultimately, the power of God on the cross of Jesus Christ.
Turning the world upside-down, for it is not the power of Roman, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we look to today, and in every age. That is true power and true greatness.
Christ was the true servant, the suffering servant. And that is greatness. Greatness of his nature, and greatness worked out in history.
Also, Jesus served throughout his life on earth. He said “But I am among you as the one who serves.”
Application 1: You are valuable even if you aren’t great in the eyes of the world.
This text should also encourage us, that “you are valuable even if you aren’t great in the eyes of the world.”
The disciples were simple fisherman. We, perhaps we are simple people. We have no glamorous titles, no ownership of companies, nor do we have credits on Internet Movie Database showing us to be well-known.
But we can throw that all out. What use is it to have the glory of man? What does it matter if a thousand people like you, or a million people? What does it matter if you are rich or poor? What does it matter, all the greatness in the world means NOTHING compared to the greatness of God.
We are so greatly blessed in knowing the Lord. That is more valuable that all others things. And YOU, knowing the Lord are therefore blessed of the Lord. And THAT is far greater than worldly greatness.
So KNOW that even if you are NOT GREAT in this world, you have something better: you are LOVED OF GOD.
THEN, go forward for HIS GLORY and blessings of the kingdom of heaven, being a servant, humble, and seeking His glory.
Then, THERE CAN BE NO UPS AND DOWNS. In sports you win some and you lose some. In the stock market there are UP days and DOWN days. In public opinion, your REPUTATION may increase or decreased. BUT, your status in the LORD is solid, unchanging, FOREVER FORGIVING.
We speak of an “alien righteousness” – that righteousness that is not ours, but given by Christ.
Perhaps also we can speak of an “alien greatness” – that though we are not great in ourselves, we are honored, blessed, and even “great” in the kingdom of heaven, for the sake of Christ Jesus.
Conclusion:
Seek greatness. But know that true greatness is only found in the Lord. He is great. But you are called to join with him, in the communion of all the saints, to live for the Lord and with the Lord and to the Lord glorifying him and enjoying him forever.