Hagner: Who Is The Greater In The Kingdom Of Heaven?
Context
This is part of a discourse1where Jesus arrived in Capernaum2 with his disciples after speaking of his own death and healing a demon possessed boy. They came across the temple tax collectors3, where Jesus had to put a situation right with Peter with regards to the paying of taxes and that as a King himself should not be paying taxes, but He chose not to make the situation worse so he sent Peter fishing where he found a coin inside the mouth of a fish in order to pay taxes for himself and Jesus.
Around the same time as this, the disciples approached Jesus and were asking him “who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He chose to answer this by calling a child over and explained that we would have to become …show more content…
v6 – (MKJV) Hagner states that the disciples perceived that greatness in the kingdom of heaven boiled down to worldly status such as ‘power, position and glory’ (p.517) rather than focusing on the more honourable qualities of the kingdom.
It would seem that Hagner is focusing more on a person’s inner morals than on worldly views but no mention of the Holy Spirit which encourages the bringing out of these qualities in a person.
Change and become like children v3(CEV)
France mentions that it is not necessarily the qualities of a child based on ‘unselfishness’ and ‘innocence’ but rather the position that a child holds in the ‘pecking order’ (p. 927) of a family which is pretty much at the bottom.
It is a good point that he makes, although at the same time he doesn’t mention the part of changing which would result in changes from within to more childlike but instead concentrates on a ‘pecking order’.
Humbles like a child v4 (ESV)
Wiersbe, raises the point of humility in the way of a child who is totally dependent and unquestioning. As well as to be humble, we are to ‘think less of ourselves than we ought to’
This is part of a discourse1where Jesus arrived in Capernaum2 with his disciples after speaking of his own death and healing a demon possessed boy. They came across the temple tax collectors3, where Jesus had to put a situation right with Peter with regards to the paying of taxes and that as a King himself should not be paying taxes, but He chose not to make the situation worse so he sent Peter fishing where he found a coin inside the mouth of a fish in order to pay taxes for himself and Jesus.
Around the same time as this, the disciples approached Jesus and were asking him “who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He chose to answer this by calling a child over and explained that we would have to become …show more content…
v6 – (MKJV) Hagner states that the disciples perceived that greatness in the kingdom of heaven boiled down to worldly status such as ‘power, position and glory’ (p.517) rather than focusing on the more honourable qualities of the kingdom.
It would seem that Hagner is focusing more on a person’s inner morals than on worldly views but no mention of the Holy Spirit which encourages the bringing out of these qualities in a person.
Change and become like children v3(CEV)
France mentions that it is not necessarily the qualities of a child based on ‘unselfishness’ and ‘innocence’ but rather the position that a child holds in the ‘pecking order’ (p. 927) of a family which is pretty much at the bottom.
It is a good point that he makes, although at the same time he doesn’t mention the part of changing which would result in changes from within to more childlike but instead concentrates on a ‘pecking order’.
Humbles like a child v4 (ESV)
Wiersbe, raises the point of humility in the way of a child who is totally dependent and unquestioning. As well as to be humble, we are to ‘think less of ourselves than we ought to’