(Matthew 20: 20 – 28)
Dimensions of Greatness: There are many and these include the following.
1. Greatness is relative: What is considered great in
one place may not be considered great in another. What one person
considers a great car or a great house may be just an ordinary car or an
ordinary house to another.
2. Greatness is realm-based: There is the natural and
the spiritual realm and we can also distinguish between physical and
spiritual greatness. Something considered great spiritually may not be
considered great naturally and vice versa. Because we are spiritual
beings, we will be discussing greatness from the spiritual perspective. What is true spiritual greatness?
In Matthew 20:20-28, James and John came to Jesus with their mother and
made a request that they both sit beside Jesus in His kingdom. Jesus
tried to explain to them there is a difference between spiritual and
physical greatness. James and John saw Jesus as a great leader and
thought that they too can be associated with His greatness by sitting by
Him in His kingdom. Their understanding of greatness was limited to the
physical. Jesus explained true spiritual greatness to them by making a
comparison between natural and spiritual leader. Whereas a natural ruler
will exercise authority over his subjects to express his greatness, a
spiritual leader will serve his subjects to express his greatness.
Service is a true measure of spiritual greatness. He also used the
parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Lk. 16:19-31 to explain true
spiritual greatness. In the natural world, the rich man was considered
great and Lazarus was considered very poor. In the spiritual realm,
however, God considered Lazarus very great whereas the rich man was
considered very poor spiritually because he ended up in hell.
3. Greatness is time-based: In Matt. 11:11, Jesus said “Verily
I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a
greater than John the Baptist, notwithstanding he that is least in the
kingdom of heaven is greater than he”. John the Baptist was the
last of the Prophets who lived under the Old Covenant. Jesus established
the new covenant with His blood. Jesus was saying through this
statement that the new covenant is far better than the old because it
was established under better promises. A New Testament believer is
therefore far greater than the greatest of the Old Testament believers.
Our greatness is not based on what we have done but on what Jesus did
for us. His death and His resurrection made us great and He will see to
it that His greatness is made manifest in our lives. Settle it in your
heart that you are destined for greatness. It is not about your
circumstance or what you are going through. It is about what God has
said and has done for you.