-What does it mean to be great?
-It’s an age old question
-Everyone ultimately is on a quest for greatest
-People search for this elusive gem in many different places or pursuits
-People look for greatness is wealth, power, prestige, fame, accomplishments, friends
-However, those will all fail at some point to demonstrate greatness because there will always be someone else who has more or has done more
-Greatness is ultimately very elusive {PAUSE}
-Michael Jordan was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame this week
-Instead of responding with a bit of humility at such a high honor, Michael Jordan used the opportunity to rub his greatness into the faces of all those that had snubbed him in the past
-Not exactly the definition of humility
-Instead, he might as well have just pounded his chest, declaring himself the greatest {PAUSE}
-Muhammad Ali was known for being rather loquacious
-He was well known for saying that he would “fly like a butterfly and sting like a bee”
-Muhammad Ali was known for taunting his opponents with his claims to superiority
-He would claim, on a regular basis, to be the greatest {PAUSE}
-We encounter a similar experience in our Gospel lesson for today
-We see Jesus’ disciples arguing about who is the greatest
-However, to really get the full picture, we really need to go back a bit to set the stage for what we are talking about today
-We really need to jump back to the previous chapter
-Near the end of chapter 8, Jesus takes His disciples to Caesarea Philippi on the southwestern slope of Mount Hermon, the northernmost extent of Jesus’ ministry
-He was outside the rule of Herod Antipas, among non-Jewish people that lived in the area
-Caesarea Philippi is on a terrace over 1000 feet about the surrounding fertile farmland
-The area, in Jesus’ day, was scattered with numerous temples to the Syrian god Baal
-A cave near Caesarea Philippi was the supposed birthplace of the Greek god Pan
-Herod the Great also built a temple to honor the divinity of Caesar Augustus
-There, with the backdrop of numerous deity worship, Jesus takes His disciples and asks them who people say that He is
-When He receives numerous false answers, He asks them who they say that He is
-Peter then gives His great Caesarea Philippi confession, “You are the Christ”
-Peter gets that right but right afterward Jesus predicts His death for the first time
-Peter argues with Jesus that this could not possibly be true
-You see, the problem was with understanding what it means to be the Christ, the Messiah
-The problem was really with the definition of greatness
-We usually see greatness as being the best at something, winning awards, pounding one’s chest and declaring themselves the greatest
-That, we refer to, as the theology of glory
-That is not what God is all about
-God is more into the theology of the cross
-By that I mean that one becomes great through sacrifice
-Let me illustrate
-During his reign, King Frederick William III of Prussia found himself in trouble.
-Wars had been costly, and in trying to build the nation, he was seriously short of finances.
-He couldn’t disappoint his people, and to capitulate to the enemy was unthinkable.
-After careful reflection, he decided to ask the women of Prussia to bring their jewelry of gold and silver to be melted down for their country.
-For each ornament received, he determined to exchange a decoration of bronze or iron as a symbol of his gratitude.
-Each decoration would be inscribed, "I gave gold for iron, 18l3."
-The response was overwhelming.
-Even more important, these women prized their gifts from the king more highly than their former jewelry.
-The reason, of course, is clear.
-The decorations were proof that they had sacrificed for their king.
-Indeed, it became unfashionable to wear jewelry, and thus was established the Order of the Iron Cross.
-Members wore no ornaments except a cross of iron for all to see.
-When Christians come to their King, they too exchange the flourishes of their former life for a cross.
-But in Christianity, not only His subjects but the King himself, has given up a life of glory for a cross
-Because of His obedience, God has given Jesus that name above every other name
-He calls us to take up our cross on a daily basis and follow Him
-That is what makes us truly great – when we suffer like our savior did {PAUSE}
-When I was planting a church, I had some members who were in conflict
-I was trying to use my position as their pastor to bring about reconciliation
-However, in that process God convicted me of my unresolved conflict
-I had been in conflict for several years with a lady from a neighboring congregation at which I had helped out when I was first getting the church plant off the ground
-I finally realized that I had been rude to her
-She had been extremely mean and hateful since but I needed to apologize for what I had done wrong
-It didn’t matter whether she apologized or not (she didn’t) but my slate had been cleared
-I never felt more Christ-like as I had to demonstrate humility
