Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible recap.

Today we open with the disciples bringing a debate to Jesus about which one of them is

the most awesome.

I think there's a chance that the special attention Jesus has been showing to Peter,

as well as James and John, the three guys in his tightest inner circle, may have caused

the others to start comparing themselves to them.

It's a natural human response, but as usual, Jesus points out that the natural human response

is often the opposite of the upside down kingdom response.

He says humility is connected to greatness, and if they aren't humble, they won't be

in the kingdom at all.

Much less be the greatest there.

God values humility, which is a stark contrast to the ancient view, where humility equals weakness.

In this chapter, Jesus often uses children in his illustrations.

This time, children are viewed more like property, so by using them as an illustration,

he's showing the value of children as humans and image bearers.

He shows how they should be treated with care.

Then he seems to draw a correlation between children and his disciples, referring to them

as little ones.

Some commentators think the phrase used here is referring to all believers, and others

think it's referring to new believers.

And for whoever that phrase is referring to, Jesus indicates that there are angels who

watch over them while also being in the presence of God.

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