Luke 22:26-30

Luke 22:26 (KJB)
But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.

Jesus then contrasts that the way of the world is not going to be the way of the Kingdom of God. The world’s way places the wealthy and influential at the top but in the Kingdom of God it is just the opposite. Those who are the great in the Kingdom of God are the ones who serve. So those in the Kingdom of God that are great are the ones who serve. Let us make a comparison between the world and the Kingdom of God concerning rank. The equivalent of the office of President and CEO of Exxon/Mobil is the Christian who does the most menial task for the Kingdom of God. (Heb 6:10 KJV) For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

Luke 22:27 (KJB)
For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.

Jesus then returns to the world’s view of who is the greatest. He then asks a simple question. In the world’s way of thinking, who is greater, the one who will serve or the one who sits at meat, that is, the one being served? The way the world sees it, they will say the one being served because it means they have wealth and prestige to be able to afford a servant or servants. Then Jesus contrasts Himself with the one who sits at meat and then tells His disciples that He is one that serves not being served. True greatness is defined as being humble and a desire to serve. Greatness is not position, power, or money. A person can hit the lottery for $100 million dollars but does the mean they are automatically great? The answer is no.

Luke 22:28 (KJB)
Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations.

Jesus still continues His theme of humility by telling the disciples that they have continued with Him in His temptations or testing. For over three years they faced all the tests that the religious leaders threw at them and they did not fail any of them. They had tried to trap Jesus any way they could and they failed at every attempt. They had goaded Jesus into trying to get Him to sin by violating the Sabbath or to break some other tenet of the law of Moses and they failed in that department too. In the future they will face their own temptations and Jesus taught them how to overcome them.

Luke 22:29 (KJB)
And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;

Just as the Father had given Jesus a Kingdom, He will in turn, give to His disciples a kingdom. (Rev 1:6 KJV) And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Every believer is made a king and a king must have a kingdom. In the way that Jesus had built His kingdom here on earth, the believer builds in the same way, that is, through the witness of the Gospel where people are brought into the greater kingdom of God. Every believer has a kingdom which has a sphere of influence in preaching the Gospel and causing people to be saved by that Gospel. We do not have a physical kingdom or else we would be in conflict with the governments of the world. It is a spiritual kingdom.

Luke 22:30 (KJB)
That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

The Bible states in Revelation that those who become saved in Christ are made kings and priests as we saw in the last verse. (Rev 1:5-6 KJV) And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, {6} And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Rev 5:10 KJV) And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. When Jesus is speaking of the regeneration, He is speaking of the time when He goes back to Heaven at His ascension and then once the Holy Spirit fills the apostles at Pentecost, they will be to Israel as Judges because they will be preaching the Gospel but will also be proving to Israel and its leaders that they have sinned against God by condemning and crucifying their prophesied Messiah. Just as the leaders of Israel judged and condemned Jesus, they too will now be the subject of judgment. This verse could not be speaking of the time of the new Earth and Heaven because there would be no sin and what would be there to judge? Jesus had told them that whatever was bound on earth would be bound in Heaven meaning authority which a judge would have. A judge pronounces sentence and has the weight of the law behind him plus the legislators who created that law. The apostles are going to have the weight of Heaven behind them once their public ministry started.

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