I have a question for y’all: when we pray do you notice how people often end by saying “in Jesus’ name”? Why not in our name? Imagine I wrote a letter but instead of signing my name at the bottom I wrote “sincerely, Jesus”. Ending with “In Jesus’ name” is not something prescribed in the Bible, but it’s helpful for understanding the nature of our prayer.
In and Out
To speak in someone’s name is to recognize the authority by which you can act. For example, if after church Michael and I get lunch at In and Out and he pays for it, when I go to pick up the order I announce to the cashier that I’m taking the meal in his name. He authorized that purchase with his credit card and I can pick it up because I know him and I know he paid for it. Friends, there is only one reason we can speak directly to God. Jesus purchased our right to stand before God with his very blood. So when we pray in Jesus’ name, we’re acknowledging that we know who Jesus is and he paid for our ability to fellowship with God in full. We come to God through Jesus, or in other words in his name.
Knowing Jesus
If knowing the identity of Jesus is so important to our ability to fellowship with God, Luke 9 is then pivotal because Jesus finally reveals plainly who he is.
Notice how many times people have asked who Jesus is up until now.
● 5:21 the Pharisees accuse “who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
● 7:20 John’s disciples ask “are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another?”
● 9:9 Herod asks “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?
● Finally in this chapter 9:20 Jesus asks his disciples “who do you say that I am?”
They’re not just asking about Jesus’ literal name, they are trying to understand who he is as a person. What gives him the authority to do the things he does?
Peter then confesses who Jesus is plainly. “He’s the Christ”. He’s the prophesied savior of the world. This is a huge revelation! The people of God have been anticipating the coming of the Christ since God made a promise in the garden of Eden that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. He’s here! As Colossians says its the mystery hidden for ages but now revealed! [pause] Now what? How does this change the disciples’ lives? That’s a question for us today too. Many of you in this room would agree that Jesus is the Christ. How does it change your life?
Undercover boss
Ex: There’s a great show I used to watch with my family called undercover boss. Basically, you’d have these powerful, wealthy CEO’s disguise themselves and take a job on the lowest rung of their own company. Imagine the CEO of 7-11 mopping the bathroom stalls! The best part is always the reveal. You’d have these bored teenagers and lazy managers realize the new guy they have to put up with is actually their bosses, bosses, bosses, boss! I hope you clocked in on time. Everything shifts once you know doesn’t it? About 2000 years ago the lord of all creation walked into a tiny town in the middle east and revealed who he was and what he came for to a group of fishermen. The world has never been the same. That truth changed lives!
We’ll see in today’s passage how we’re called to live in light of the revealed mission and person of Jesus. Here is the main point today: The surpassing worth of the name of Jesus humbles us to service and unity. Did you catch that? Humility, service, unity. So we’ll start with talking about the problem: namely the need for humility in light of who Jesus is in verse 46, and then we’ll cover how that drives us to service for others in verses 47-48, and finally how Jesus motivates our unity among one another in verses 49-50. [read v46]
● Our name vs Jesus’ name (making a name for Christ, not ourselves)
Let’s first step back and remember Jesus’ words right before our passage today. “Let these words sink into your ears: the son of man is about to be delivered into the hands of men”. Jesus is reminding his disciples for the third time this chapter that part of his mission is going to be fulfilled on a cross. He’s going to die. How would you respond? [pause]. The disciples didn’t know how to respond to Jesus. In fact they were afraid to ask him about it. What do they say instead? I think Luke is being very deliberate about placing today’s passage right after Jesus’ reminder.
○ 46 An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest.
What?! Instead of pressing into Jesus, they default back to themselves. In other words they compartmentalized. “There’s Jesus’ life, and there’s my life.” The truth of who Jesus was hadn’t gripped them. It was just another fact. Jesus is from Nazareth, he’s good at carpentry, and he’s the Christ. It’s another fact. [pause] Has who Jesus is sunk in for you? Why is it so hard to live in light of this? Like the disciples show here, we’re often too blinded by ourselves to be able to clearly see Christ. Our pride is blinding.
We might not be as blunt as the disciples but aren’t we prone to that same pride? Have you ever been talking to someone and heard your name mentioned across the room? You might even be trying really hard to focus on the person in front of you but one ear keeps tugging the other way. What are they saying about me? Is it good or bad? Should I join their conversation? What your heart might be doing at that moment is feeding pride. We’re seeking to justify our own greatness.
Let’s dig a little deeper into why the disciples might be asking who the greatest is. Think about what the disciples have experienced in this chapter. Verse 1 Jesus sends them on their first evangelistic trip and part of that was giving them the ability to cast out demons and cure diseases. Imagine what that must have been like. They were literally given superpowers. Imagine what that can do to an ego. People who were going to die are alive because you healed them. I’m sure they got a lot of tearful thank you’s and praise. They went from being random fishermen to somebodies. It’d be hard not to get a big head. We see glimpses into what the disciples thought process shortly after their trip. Verse 10 says “On their return the apostles told him all that they had done”. You might say “and?” they did do those miracles didn’t they? How is this prideful? Every word is important. What the disciples are doing is subtly trying to make a name for themselves. Jesus in fact doesn’t even comment on their statement.
Let’s compare with another group of disciples who are sent out in chapter 10: “the 72 returned with joy saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!’”. Do you see the emphasis on the name of Jesus? . And to this Jesus responds “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven”. What’s the difference? These disciples know where the power lies. It’s not in them it’s in Jesus.
Some of you here have been gifted with a lot of ability. Maybe it’s in your intellect or your persuasiveness or charm. Remember these are all given by God to be stewarded for him. The more we have ability the more we need humility.
Telescope Example
I have a friend that is really into astronomy and every once in a while he would invite me to a star party. Basically, we’d stay up super late and trek out into the dark cold with a bunch of other people. When we got to the site, there’d be these massive telescopes and fancy instruments that people would truck from their house. Don’t get me wrong, these telescopes were impressive. I’m sure some of them cost a pretty penny. But what did we go out to see? To admire the lenses? What mattered was looking through the lens up into the sky at massive stars and planets! We’d admire the moon’s craters and the arm of the milky way stretched out across the sky. The impressive part was marveling at what God has done. What he has made. As Christians we’re called to the same thing. Don’t look at the telescope, look at what the telescope’s pointing at. Our life is meant to point to someone infinitely greater!
So now that we know where the disciples are coming from, let’s get back to their question: who is the greatest? I hope y’all know the answer by this point (sunday school answer: Jesus!). Jesus’ goal is not that the disciples would merely know this as another fact. He wants that truth to affect every part of their life. So instead of answering the disciples’ question he gives an object lesson: something to live out. He wants to show that those who are great in God’s eyes act in Jesus’ name. This is our next section on service.
● Our Service v-47-48 (acting in Christ’s name)
○ 47-48 But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”
Why does Jesus pull over a child? In his day, kids were near the bottom of the social ladder. A kid doesn’t have the strength for hard labor, most don’t have any powerful connections or great wisdom. Especially in the eyes of those in the ancient near east, they have nothing to offer. Why invest in them? One reason is because they’re people who Jesus loves. Contained here is how we’re to love the lowly and why we’re to do it.
● How we serve
Firstly, Jesus speaks to those who receive a child in his name. Jesus is asking his disciples to do something on behalf of himself. When they care for people like this child, what Jesus is saying is that they’re illustrating the way Jesus himself would receive that child. Another way to put it is he’s calling Christians to act as his ambassadors. To act in his name. How do we know Jesus would receive a child? Because he just did it in the last passage.
The Demon Possessed Boy
Think back to last week’s sermon where Jesus heals a demon possessed boy. Not only is this a child, this child is not alright. He barely has control over his body. His skin is probably scabbed with burns from being through into the fire. He’s foaming at the mouth. Jesus sees all this and says “come to me”. Where most people would run Jesus calls him closer. We see illustrated here that that Jesus never calls his disciples to anything he hasn’t already done to the fullest. So when Christians help those who can’t give anything back, what’s on display is primarily a glimpse into the greatness of Jesus’ love for others.
● Why do we serve
Jesus continues, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. We not only joyfully serve others to make much of Jesus, our service is actually to our gain because we receive Jesus himself! And Jesus puts a fine point on it that to have him is to have fellowship with God. Do you see the significance? It’s the difference between serving on behalf of the king and being with the king himself.
Jesus’s words to his disciples reveal what true greatness is. The disciples think that the reward for being in Jesus’ kingdom is their own prestige. What Jesus says is that true greatness is actually having more of him. Look at the logic of what Jesus says at the end. To paraphrase it, “those who receive the lowly receive me. For (and here is why) the least of you is the greatest”. What Jesus is saying is you want to know where greatness is? It’s at the bottom because I’m there. Be near me. We become more like Jesus when we’re around the people and things he cares about. The point Jesus is making is not glorifying poverty or weakness. What Jesus is getting at is to posture yourself lower than others. In other words, serve with humility.
What do the disciples have to say about Jesus’ words?
Let’s keep reading
● Our Unity v49-50
○ 49 John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.”
○ 50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.”
Luke now shifts the focus of the story. What we’ve seen so far is individual responsibility to serve others in Christ’s name. But who are we going to serve alongside? In the first section the disciples’ attitude is me vs you as in “who is the greatest individual?” In this next section Luke tackles the same attitude from a different angle: “who is the greatest group?”
Christians are bound together by one name. As Galatians 3:28 says “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” To be a christian means to be a little Christ so we are united in Jesus’ name. What does unity look like? There are 3 principles we can draw from this encounter.
United in service (adopted in the name of Christ)
First, Christians are united in their service. Not much is known about this man the disciples confronted. We do know the disciples say “he does not follow with us” so he wasn’t one of the 12 disciples but that’s very different from saying “he does not follow Jesus”. He probably knew something of Jesus’ ministry since he recognized Jesus’ power, but seemed to be just a regular guy. No one of position. Think about the disciples’ viewpoint for a second. Who does this guy think he is? The disciples were given power from Jesus personally to be sent out. They probably put a lot of pride in being one of the chosen few. And here comes a random guy doing the exact same thing after the disciples themselves are no longer able to heal. Jesus doesn’t stop him because the man’s emphasis is in the right place. Whether it’s by Jesus’ closest 12 or someone following him from afar, in the end Jesus is glorified.
Leaders equip the saints
This is an example of how leaders are not the only ones called to serve Jesus. In fact Paul talks about this in Ephesians 4:11-12. It says “11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, (aka these leaders) 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” Members if you’re not serving in the church and have the ability to, don’t wait for the professionals. Get equipped and start! It’s meant as a means for you to enjoy Christ through serving.
United in Success
Secondly, we see that Jesus says that “the one who is not against you is for you”. If Jesus’ glory is the goal, then the success of one is the success of all. We’re united in success. It didn’t matter that the disciples weren’t the ones casting out the demons. We see this in 1 Corinthians 12:26 “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.”
Beach Reach
Back in college there was a yearly evangelism outreach called beach reach that I and others at UTD would take part in. Everyone would pack into a van and we’d go out at night to share the gospel with college students partying on South Padre island. Night after night we’d have these great conversations with people but I never saw anyone on our van accept Christ. Despite that, our team always came back encouraged! Why? Because we weren’t the only van. All across the island were stories of people coming to Christ in other peoples’ vans. It didn’t matter who reaped, but that the gospel was proclaimed.
United in Forbearance
There’s another side of the coin if we trust Jesus that “the one who is not against you is for you”. Jesus states this in the positive. He could have said it the opposite way. “the one who is for you is not against you”. But by flipping it Jesus is opening the doors wider. It means we can ordinarily assume the best intentions of fellow believers. We’re united in forbearance. That’s a pretty bold claim. Think about it this way: is Christ for you? And is your brother or sister in Christ?
As a caveat this doesn’t minimize the need to speak correction to one another out of love at times. In Acts we see Priscilla and Aquilla correct Apollos on one of the most important issues: the gospel itself! Their goal though was not to write Apollos off, but to better equip him with sound doctrine.
Conclusion
To land the plane, I want to tell you about a guy named Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf (try saying that 3 times fast). He was a German nobleman of the 1700s that was responsible for establishing much of the Moravian church. The Moravians were basically protestants before protestantism was a thing. Zinzendorf was taking in all these persecuted Christians and inviting them to stay in a village on his property in Germany. And of course when you group a lot of different people together with strong opinions on theology, conflict started brewing. Through a lot of prayer, visitations, and reminding these people of their brotherhood in Christ, he was able to unify them into the modern moravian church. He didn’t stop there though! His life’s work was spent sending out moravian missionaries to the least of these among the slaves of the west indies and Greenland a century before modern protestant missions began. Despite being a nobleman, he himself risked a voyage to the west indies expecting to die there. What motivated him? His most famous quote says a lot. His motto was that he would “preach the gospel, die, and be forgotten.” What Zinzendorf understood was that our names will all eventually be lost to history. There’s only one name that will stand and is worthy forever. Invest your life in the name of Jesus which is truly great. Let’s pray.