Imagine being a disciple of Jesus. You travel with Him, eat with Him, sleep near Him, and learn from Him as He transforms countless lives, including yours. People clamor after Him, and you realize how special it is that He chose you to be one of the 12 closest to Him. Then you start to wonder: Who really is the greatest of all the disciples?
In Luke 22:24–27, read Jesus’ response to the disciples’ dispute about what greatness means. Which statement captures the heart of Jesus’ message in these verses?
One would have thought that after all this time of being close to Jesus, this kind of debate would have been the last thing on their minds. But that is not what happened.
Instead of these men being content with their calling, pride rose in their hearts to where each one thought he was better than the others. It’s easy to allow such thoughts to dominate our minds. But we are told that “there is nothing so offensive to God or so dangerous to the human soul as pride and self-sufficiency. Of all sins it is the most hopeless, the most incurable.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 154.
This is very serious for us. Our pride offends God more than anything else, and it’s a character trait that is difficult to overcome because we often don’t see it for what it is. In our state of self-sufficiency, we choose not to self-evaluate, for surely pride is king. We need to stop, self-diagnose, and ask that God will open our eyes to our true state, because pride may be the number-one factor that keeps us from having a close relationship with Him today.
If you realize that God alone can do the work to remove pride and selfishness from your soul, pause and pray this prayer right now: “Lord, take my heart; for I cannot give it. It is Thy property. Keep it pure, for I cannot keep it for Thee. Save me in spite of myself, my weak, unchristlike self. Mold me, fashion me, raise me into a pure and holy atmosphere, where the rich current of Thy love can flow through my soul.”—Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 159.
Supplemental EGW Notes
The change of heart represented by the new birth can be brought about only by the effectual working of the Holy Spirit. . . . Pride and self-love resist the Spirit of God; every natural inclination of the soul opposes the change from self-importance and pride to the meekness and lowliness of Christ. But if we would travel in the pathway to eternal life, we must not listen to the whispering of self. In humility and contrition we must beseech our heavenly Father, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10. As we receive divine light, and cooperate with the heavenly intelligences, we are “born again,” freed from the defilement of sin by the power of Christ.—The Faith I Live By, p. 137.
James and John presented through their mother a petition requesting that they might be permitted to occupy the highest positions of honor in Christ’s kingdom. Notwithstanding Christ’s repeated instruction concerning the nature of His kingdom, these young disciples still cherished the hope for a Messiah who would take His throne and kingly power in accordance with the desires of men. . . .
But the Saviour answered, “Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They recalled His mysterious words pointing to trial and suffering, yet answered confidently, “We are able.” They would count it highest honor to prove their loyalty by sharing all that was to befall their Lord.
“Ye shall drink indeed of My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with,” Christ declared. . . . James and John were to be sharers with their Master in suffering—the one, destined to swift-coming death by the sword; the other, longest of all the disciples to follow his Master in labor and reproach and persecution. “But to sit on my right hand, and on my left,” He continued, “is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.” . . .
In the kingdom of God, position is not gained through favoritism. It is not earned, nor is it received through an arbitrary bestowal. It is the result of character. The crown and the throne are the tokens of a condition attained—tokens of self-conquest through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. . . .
The one who stands nearest to Christ will be he who has drunk most deeply of His spirit of self-sacrificing love,—love that “vaunteth not itself, . . . seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil,”—love that moves the disciple, as it moved our Lord, to give all, to live and labor and sacrifice even unto death, for the saving of humanity.—Conflict and Courage, p. 314.
The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.