There
arose an argument among them about which of them was the greatest. Jesus, perceiving the reasoning of their hearts, took a little child, and set him by his side, and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in my name receives me. Whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For whoever is least among you all, this one will be great.” John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he doesn’t follow with us.” Jesus said to him, “Don’t forbid him, for he who is not against us is for us.”
Luke 9:46-50
Luke 9 [42.] While he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him violently. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. They were all astonished at the majesty of God.
But while all were marveling at all the things which Jesus did, he said to his disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears, for the Son of Man will be delivered up into the hands of men.” But they didn’t understand this saying. It was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
Luke 9 [46.] There arose an argument among them about which of them was the greatest. Jesus, perceiving the reasoning of their hearts, took a little child, and set him by his side, and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in my name receives me. Whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For whoever is least among you all, this one will be great.”
Luke 9 [49.] John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he doesn’t follow with us.”
Luke 9 [50.] Jesus said to him, “Don’t forbid him, for he who is not against us is for us.”
Luke 9 [51.] It came to pass, when the days were near that he should be taken up, he intently set his face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before his face. They went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, so as to prepare for him. They didn’t receive him, because he was traveling with his face set towards Jerusalem. When his disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from the sky, and destroy them, just as Elijah did?”
Meaning:
Jesus has just told his disciples for the second time that he will be delivered into the hands of men, and they did not understand (Luke 9:44-45). Instead of asking him, they argue about rank. These verses bring together two short scenes that expose the same problem: pride about who is greatest, and pride about who belongs. Mark and Matthew record the same teaching (Mark 9:33; Mark 9:34-35; Mark 9:36-37; Mark 9:38; Mark 9:39-41; Matthew 18:4; Matthew 18:5).
- “There arose an argument among them about which of them was the greatest”
The contrast is painful. Jesus speaks of being betrayed; his friends compete for status. Ancient society was highly conscious of honour and rank, and the disciples expected places of importance when Jesus’ kingdom came. The same dispute would break out again at the Last Supper, where Jesus answered, “But one who is the greater among you, let him become as the younger, and one who is governing, as one who serves” (Luke 22:26).
- “Took a little child, and set him by his side”
Jesus perceives “the reasoning of their hearts,” and answers with a living picture. In that culture a child had no status, no rights and no power to repay anyone. By placing the child beside himself, the place of honour, Jesus identifies with the lowly. “Whoever receives this little child in my name receives me.” To welcome the least important person for Jesus’ sake is to welcome Jesus himself, and to welcome him is to welcome the Father “who sent me.” Later Jesus says to the seventy, “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me” (Luke 10:16), and he rebukes disciples who turn children away (Luke 18:15-17).
- “For whoever is least among you all, this one will be great”
Jesus reverses the world’s scale. Greatness in God’s Kingdom is not measured by rank but by humble service and by willingness to be counted among the least. Matthew records, “Whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:4). Luke repeats the principle: “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14).
- “We forbade him, because he doesn’t follow with us”
John, perhaps uneasy after Jesus’ words, mentions an incident. A man was casting out demons in Jesus’ name, apparently with success, at a moment when the disciples themselves had just failed. Yet because he was not part of their group, they tried to stop him. The issue was not his loyalty to Jesus but his place outside their circle. John and his brother James show the same zeal a few verses later toward a Samaritan village (Luke 9:54).
- “Don’t forbid him, for he who is not against us is for us”
Jesus refuses to let his followers become a closed club. Anyone truly working in his name is on the same side. The episode recalls Moses, when Joshua urged him to stop Eldad and Medad prophesying in the camp: “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all Yahweh’s people were prophets” (Numbers 11:26-29). Elsewhere Jesus says, “He that is not with me is against me” (Luke 11:23). The two sayings fit together: no one can be neutral about Jesus himself, but his followers should not treat as enemies those who honour him outside their own group.
The Significance of Luke 9:46-50
- Greatness through humility
Rivalry for status remains a temptation in churches and ministries. Jesus calls his followers to measure greatness by how they welcome and serve those who seem least important.
- Welcoming the least
How believers treat children, the poor and the overlooked is how they treat Christ himself.
- Generosity toward other believers
Followers of Jesus can rejoice when others do good in his name, even outside their own group, rather than guarding territory.
Cross-References:
Mark 9:36-37: "Whoever receives one such little child in my name, receives me, and whoever receives me, doesn’t receive me, but him who sent me." Mark’s account.
Mark 9:39-41: "Don’t forbid him, for there is no one who will do a mighty work in my name, and be able quickly to speak evil of me." Jesus answers John.
Numbers 11:29: "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all Yahweh’s people were prophets" Moses refuses to forbid Eldad and Medad.
Luke 22:26: "But one who is the greater among you, let him become as the younger, and one who is governing, as one who serves." The same dispute at the Last Supper.
Conclusion: In Luke 9:46-50 the disciples argue about who is the greatest, and Jesus sets a little child beside him, teaching that whoever receives such a child in his name receives him and the Father, and that the least is the great one. When John reports forbidding a man who cast out demons in Jesus’ name, Jesus answers, “Don’t forbid him, for he who is not against us is for us.” True greatness is humble service, and true loyalty to Jesus welcomes all who work in his name.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible