Luke 7:28

7:28 I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater ¹  than John. ²  Yet the one who is least ³  in the kingdom of God ⁴  is greater than he is.”

Luke 9:46

Concerning the Greatest

9:46 Now an argument started among the disciples ⁵  as to which of them might be ⁶  the greatest.

Luke 22:24

22:24 A dispute also started ⁷  among them over which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. ⁸ 

Luke 22:26-27

22:26 Not so with you; ⁹  instead the one who is greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader ¹⁰  like the one who serves. ¹¹  22:27 For who is greater, the one who is seated at the table, ¹²  or the one who serves? Is it not ¹³  the one who is seated at the table? But I am among you as one ¹⁴  who serves.

[7:28]  ¹ sn In the Greek text greater is at the beginning of the clause in the emphatic position. John the Baptist was the greatest man of the old era.

[7:28]  ² tc The earliest and best mss read simply ᾿Ιωάννου (Iwannou, “John”) here (Ì⁷⁵ א B L W Ξ Ë¹ 579 pc). Others turn this into “John the Baptist” (K 33 565 al it), “the prophet John the Baptist” (A [D] Θ Ë¹³ Ï lat), or “the prophet John” (Ψ 700 [892 1241] pc). “It appears that προφήτης was inserted by pedantic copyists who wished thereby to exclude Christ from the comparison, while others added τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ, assimilating the text to Mt 11.11” (TCGNT 119).

[7:28]  ³ sn After John comes a shift of eras. The new era is so great that the lowest member of it (the one who is least in the kingdom of God) is greater than the greatest one of the previous era.

[7:28]  ⁴ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus’ proclamation. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21. It is not strictly future, though its full manifestation is yet to come. That is why membership in it starts right after John the Baptist.

[9:46]  ⁵ tn Grk “among them”; the referent (the disciples) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:46]  ⁶ tn The use of the optative mood means the answer is not clear (BDF §§267.2.3; 385.2.2).

[22:24]  ⁹ tn Or “happened.”

[22:24]  ¹⁰ tn Though the term μείζων (meizwn) here is comparative in form, it is superlative in sense (BDF §244).

[22:26]  ¹³ tn Grk “But you are not thus.”

[22:26]  ¹⁴ tn Or “the ruler.”

[22:26]  ¹⁵ sn And the leader like the one who serves. Leadership was not to be a matter of privilege and special status, but of service. All social status is leveled out by these remarks. Jesus himself is the prime example of the servant-leader.

[22:27]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “who reclines at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.

[22:27]  ¹⁸ tn The interrogative particle used here in the Greek text (οὐχί, ouci) expects a positive reply.

[22:27]  ¹⁹ sn Jesus’ example of humble service, as one who serves, shows that the standard for a disciple is different from that of the world. For an example see John 13:1-17.