Luke 22:26

26 But this is not the way it is with you; rather, the greatest one among you must be like the youngest, and the leader must be like the servant. 1

Luke 22:26 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 22:26

But ye shall not be so
(See Gill on Matthew 20:26) but he that is greatest among you;
in age or gifts, or would be thought to be the greatest, who is most ambitious of grandeur and authority, which perhaps might be Peter's case, who was the oldest man: let him be as the younger;
as John, the beloved disciple, who was the youngest of them; and be as modest, and as humble as he, and reckon himself as in his place, and condescend to men of low estates, and esteem each other, even the youngest, better than himself. So the phrase, (aryezkyh abrkyh) F18, "both greater and lesser", is used of the elder and younger. And he that is chief;
that is, a spiritual ruler and governor in the church of God, as all the disciples were: as he that doth serve;
for the apostles and ministers of the word, though they are over others in the Lord, and have the rule over them, yet they are servants for Jesus' sake, and so ought to reckon themselves; (See Gill on Matthew 20:27).


FOOTNOTES:

F18 Targum in 2 Chron. xxxi. 15.

Luke 22:26 In-Context

24 An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them should be thought of as the greatest.
25 Jesus said to them, "The kings of the pagans have power over their people, and the rulers claim the title "Friends of the People.'
26 But this is not the way it is with you; rather, the greatest one among you must be like the youngest, and the leader must be like the servant.
27 Who is greater, the one who sits down to eat or the one who serves? The one who sits down, of course. But I am among you as one who serves.
28 "You have stayed with me all through my trials;

Cross References 1

  • 1. 22.26Matthew 23.11;Mark 9.35.+O+N22.25, 26Matthew 20.25-27;Mark 10.42-44.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.