Luke 9:46

46 Now there arose a dispute among them, which of them was to be the greatest.

Luke 9:46 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 9:46

Then there arose a reasoning among them
The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions read, "a thought entered into them"; suggested very likely by Satan, which broke out into words, and issued in a warm dispute among them; and this was in the way, as they were travelling from Caesarea Philippi, to Capernaum; see ( Mark 9:33 ) .

Which of them should be greatest;
that is, "in the kingdom of heaven", as in ( Matthew 18:1 ) in the kingdom of the Messiah, which they expected would be a temporal one: wherefore the dispute was not about degrees in glory, nor in grace; nor who should be the greatest apostle and preacher of the Gospel; but who should be prime minister to the king Messiah, when he should set up his monarchy in all its grandeur and glory.

Luke 9:46 In-Context

44 "As for you, store these my sayings in your memory; for, before long, the Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men."

45 But they did not understand His meaning: it was veiled from them that they might not perceive it, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.

46 Now there arose a dispute among them, which of them was to be the greatest.

47 And Jesus, knowing the reasoning that was in their hearts, took a young child and made him stand by His side

48 and said to them, "Whoever for my sake receives this little child, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives Him who sent me. For the lowliest among you all--he is the greatest."