As Jesus made His way toward Jerusalem for His final Passover, He repeated a principle to His disciples several times. The repetition for them ought to echo in our own minds as well.

(Photo: Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)
What did Jesus say? Very simply:
The last shall be first, and the first last. —Matt. 19:30; 20:16, 27
The principle rubs against our grain because we want equity with others, and we feel justifiably peeved when someone gets something for nothing or when they elbow their way to greatness ahead of us (20:1-16-24).
Jesus redefined greatness as servanthood—first as last—and used Himself as an example who came to give His life for others (vv. 25-28).
His words continued in Jerusalem.
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