A Dispute About Who Is Greatest
24 And a dispute also occurred among them as to which of them was recognized as being greatest.
25 So he said to them, “The kings of the Gentilesd lord it over them, and those who have authority over them are called benefactors.
26 But you are not to be like this! But the one who is greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves.
27 For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am in your midst as the one who serves.
28 “And you are the ones who have remainede with me in my trials,
29 and I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred on me,
30 that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
The same Greek word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context
Or “ones who have continued”
Harris, W. H., III, Ritzema, E., Brannan, R., Mangum, D., Dunham, J., Reimer, J. A., & Wierenga, M., eds. (2012). The Lexham English Bible (Lk 22:24–30). Lexham Press.
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22:24–30 The disciples’ argument about who is the greatest emerges from their puzzlement over who might betray Jesus (Luke 22:23). Jesus gently rebukes them, explaining their future role in His kingdom. Compare Matt 20:24–28; Mark 10:41–45.
22:26 like the one who serves Jesus provides a vivid example of humble service in John’s account of the Last Supper (John 13:1–20; compare Matt 20:26 and note).
22:27 as the one who serves Descriptive of Jesus’ life and ministry (see Mark 10:45 and note).
22:29 I confer on you a kingdom Jesus’ apostles share in God’s kingdom.
22:30 at my table in my kingdom A reference to the messianic banquet (see Luke 22:16 and note).
sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes The disciples are to exercise their authority as humble servants, in a manner opposite their foreign oppressors (vv. 25–26).
Harris, W. H., III, Ritzema, E., Brannan, R., Mangum, D., Dunham, J., Reimer, J. A., & Wierenga, M., eds. (2012). The Lexham English Bible (Lk 22:25–27). Lexham Press.
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24–27 Their questions about this treachery leads immediately, in Luke’s order of events, to the disciples’ argument—shocking on this solemn occasion—about precedence. See also the similar grasping after status that follows the passion prediction in Matthew 20:17–28 and Mark 10:32–45.
The differences between the Gospels warrant our treating Luke’s account of this argument as distinct from its near parallels. The word “considered” (dokei, “seems,” “is regarded”) in v. 24 is well chosen since status has to do with self perception and with how one desires to be perceived by others.
Jesus replies by reminding the disciples of two objectionable characteristics of secular rulers. First, they “lord it over” (kyrieuousin) others (v. 25). First Peter 5:3 warns elders in the church against this attitude. Second, they are given the title “Benefactor” (euergetēs, v. 25), which was actually a title, not merely a description (Cf. TDNT, 2:654–55). The form of the verb “call” (kalountai) may be middle or passive.
If the former, it may imply that these Gentile rulers were not passively waiting to be called Benefactor but sought the title for themselves. In Matthew 23:7, Jesus disapproved of a similar kind of status seeking. Actually he himself is the true “Benefactor.” In Acts 10:38 Peter uses a verbal form of the word describing Jesus as going about “doing good” (euergetōn).
In v. 26 “but you” is emphatic with the word “you” standing at the very beginning of the clause (hymeis de). Jesus makes two points about true greatness. First, one should not seek the veneration given aged people in ancient Near Eastern society but be content with the lower place younger people had. This allusion to youthfulness does not appear in Mark 10:43 and is one of the variations that point to a different setting for Luke’s record of the conversation.
In v. 27 Luke includes another fresh illustration from social custom. The person sitting at a dinner table had a higher social position than the waiter, who was often a slave. This illustration recalls the example of the Lord Jesus, who washed his disciples’ feet as they reclined at the table of the Last Supper (John 13:12–17).
28–30 Verse 28 is not in Matthew or Mark; it shows that Jesus’ trials kept on between his temptation by Satan (ch. 4) and the passion events. It also recognizes the faithfulness of the disciples during this time. The fidelity of one of them is about to be tested severely (v. 31).
This theme of testing and faithfulness is prominent in Luke (S. Brown, Apostasy and Perseverance). The comparison “just as” (kathōs, v. 29) is like that Jesus gave his disciples in the commission in John 20:21, which was comparable to the one he received from his Father.
Here in Luke the picture is not just that of a commission but of a conferral similar to a testament. There may also be a suggestion of the new covenant referred to in v. 20. The verb diatithemai (“confer”) here (v. 29) is cognate to diathēkē (“covenant”) there. (For a similar promise in noncovenantal language, see 12:32.)
The idea of a messianic banquet is reflected in v. 30 (cf. 13:28–30 and comments). Matthew’s parallel to this verse is preceded by a reference to the “renewal of all things” (palingenesia) instead of to the kingdom (Matt 19:28). The parallel in Matthew speaks of twelve thrones, but Luke omits the number, possibly to avoid the problem of Judas’s occupying one of them. Since Luke does specify that there are twelve tribes, the omission is not important. (On the role of the Son of Man and the saints in judgment, see Dan 7:9–18.) Specific designation of the number of tribes of Israel with respect to their future role does not appear again in the NT till Revelation 7:1–8.
Liefeld, W. L. (1984). Luke. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke (Vol. 8, p. 1028). Zondervan Publishing House.
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