24 And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest . 25 And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called 'Benefactors .' 26 "But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest , and the leader like the servant . 27 "For who is greater , the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves ? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among e you as the one who serves .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Luke 22:24-27
Commentary on Luke 22:21-38
(Read Luke 22:21-38)
How unbecoming is the worldly ambition of being the greatest, to the character of a follower of Jesus, who took upon him the form of a servant, and humbled himself to the death of the cross! In the way to eternal happiness, we must expect to be assaulted and sifted by Satan. If he cannot destroy, he will try to disgrace or distress us. Nothing more certainly forebodes a fall, in a professed follower of Christ, than self-confidence, with disregard to warnings, and contempt of danger. Unless we watch and pray always, we may be drawn in the course of the day into those sins which we were in the morning most resolved against. If believers were left to themselves, they would fall; but they are kept by the power of God, and the prayer of Christ. Our Lord gave notice of a very great change of circumstances now approaching. The disciples must not expect that their friends would be kind to them as they had been. Therefore, he that has a purse, let him take it, for he may need it. They must now expect that their enemies would be more fierce than they had been, and they would need weapons. At the time the apostles understood Christ to mean real weapons, but he spake only of the weapons of the spiritual warfare. The sword of the Spirit is the sword with which the disciples of Christ must furnish themselves.