The Argument About Greatness
THE ARGUMENT ABOUT GREATNESS
LUKE 22:24-38
How petty this scene is! Who really was the greatest? And what example did Jesus give to prove this?
The dissensions among his men, which made the long walk up from Jericho a lonely one, and darkened the Lord’s last hours, appear in all four narratives (Matthew 18:1-5; 20:24-28; Mark 9:33-37; 10:41-45; Luke 9:46-48; John 13:2-20).
Dispute may have arisen again as they sat down to the Paschal feast. There were positions of honor (Luke 14:7-11), and perhaps there was unseemly competition at the table.
John’s narrative of the footwashing (John 13) appears at this point.
There was some range of age among the men, as 22:26 suggests. Peter was the eldest. He was a married man with his own home (Luke 4:38), when he joined Jesus as a disciple, and calls himself an “elder” in the sixth decade of the century (1 Peter 5:1). John, who lived until the death of Domitian in AD 96, was probably the youngest of the band.
22:30 is apocalyptic language, and those trained in this poetic mode of communication should not have taken the words literally. 22:31 is a reference to the dramatic opening of Job. Peter, like the Old Testament character, was to pass through a period of darkness and temptation, from which he was to emerge toughened and trained, and fitted to help his brethren. Note the use of “Simon,” the name of frailty. It is in this fashion that we should approach such experience: “God has allowed this to happen. What beneficent purpose has he in view? What do I lack which this trial can give me? How can it be turned to ultimate usefulness, and made fruitful in my life?”
The reference to the sword is again to be taken as apocalyptic speech. Since the Lord later that night repudiated the use of one of the fisher’s knives, which were produced in answer to his words, it is obvious that he cannot have intended them to be taken literally. As with the parables, he was seeking to evoke a more spiritual attitude, and turned away with weary words from the sight of their puny weapons. He sought to show that they were called now to courage and to testing. Their soldiering for Christ was about to begin. And they did not know. “Enough,” he said, “enough of dull misunderstanding, of trial and weariness!”
It was late, later than they thought.
Notes 22:29: “appoint”—Gk. “make a bequest”; the Lord’s last will and testament. 22:38: “swords”—machairai, long knives or swords (used for preparing the Passover Lamb?).