At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. (Matthew 18:1-5)

As Jesus prepares in Capernaum for His final trip to Jerusalem, the disciples perceive that important things are about to happen. Like most of us do, they conveniently ignored the times that Jesus predicted He would suffer and die (Matthew 16:21, 17:9, 17:12, 17:22), in order to focus on the amazing things that they thought were about to happen.

The transfiguration, complete with appearances of Moses and Elijah got them thinking about how the Kingdom hierarchy would flesh out. These disciples were not among the ruling class of Israel but were hoping that their proximity to the Messiah would net them special positions in the Kingdom.

So, they asked the question. “Who will be the greatest in the Kingdom?”

It was a general question. We know the disciples had argued among themselves about who, among themselves, would be the greatest. But maybe here they were wondering about such lights as Moses and Elijah.

Jesus responded harshly because a harsh response was necessary. It was the wrong question.

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