Luke 22:26

26 But not so with you; rather let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.

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 A dispute also arose among them, which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.
25 And he said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors.
26 But not so with you; rather let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.
27 For which is the greater, one who sits at table, or one who serves? Is it not the one who sits at table? But I am among you as one who serves.
28 "You are those who have continued with me in my trials;
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.