Greatness: Matthew 14-20Sample

The disciples come to Jesus with a question that lives in all of us, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Underneath this question lies a longing to be seen, to matter, to be enough, to be of value. Jesus not only answers the question, but redefines the answer. He places a child in their midst and says, “Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom.”

What a reversal! Greatness, in God’s kingdom, begins with humility. It’s not the strong, the impressive, or the affluent, who are closest to Christ. It’s the needy, the dependent, the small. His greatest are those who, in a childlike faith, embrace God as Father.

Jesus’ parable exemplifies this dynamic. One sheep wanders off. By most standards, that’s a tolerable loss. But not to this Shepherd. He leaves the ninety-nine, climbs into the wild places, and finds the one. The parable isn’t just a lesson in value; it’s a window into the heart of God. It reveals a Shepherd who seeks, who carries, who rejoices.

The Old Testament echoes the same voice in Ezekiel 34:11–16 (ESV), “I will search for my sheep… I will rescue them… I will bind up the injured.” The beauty of the gospel is not just that we are sheep who have wandered, but that we are sheep who have been found. We do not climb our way back to God. He comes looking for us.

So the greatest in the kingdom is not the one who performs the best or impresses the most, but the one who knows they’ve been rescued. The one who lives with childlike awe and wonder at the loving revelation that they’ve been sought and found by grace in Christ.

Today, ponder this: Where in your life are you striving to prove your worth, rather than resting in the Shepherd who already came looking for you?