“And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.”
My Notes
What Does Luke 22:24 Mean?
"There was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest." At the Last Supper — hours before Jesus' arrest, during the meal that inaugurates the New Covenant — the disciples argue about who's the greatest. The timing is staggering: Jesus is about to die, and they're debating their own rankings.
The word "strife" (philoneikia) means fond of strife, love of contention. This isn't a casual disagreement — it's a competition they're emotionally invested in. They enjoy the debate. The argument about greatness has become a preferred activity.
Luke places this argument after Jesus has told them about His coming betrayal (verse 21) and suffering. He's just announced that one of them will betray Him, and their response is to argue about status. The disconnect between Jesus' impending sacrifice and the disciples' ambition is the most damning commentary on human nature in the Gospels.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What 'greatness' argument are you having while missing something more significant?
- 2.How does status-seeking blind you to what's actually happening around you?
- 3.Why does this argument happen at the Last Supper specifically?
- 4.What would it look like to abandon the rankings and embrace Jesus' definition of greatness?
Devotional
Jesus is about to die. He just announced His betrayal. He just instituted the Lord's Supper. And the disciples are arguing about which of them is the greatest.
The timing is the indictment. Not the argument itself — ambition is human. But this ambition, at this table, during this meal, after this announcement? The contrast between Jesus preparing to wash feet and die, and the disciples jockeying for position, is Scripture's most devastating portrait of human obliviousness.
They're not evil. They're not deliberately disrespecting Jesus. They're just so consumed by their own rankings that they can't see the moment they're in. The greatest sacrifice in history is hours away, and they're concerned about organizational charts.
This is how status-seeking works: it makes you blind to everything else. When you're consumed by where you rank, you can't see what's happening around you. The disciples miss the significance of the Last Supper because they're too busy competing. The argument about greatness drowns out the conversation about sacrifice.
Jesus' response (verses 25-27) redefines greatness entirely: the greatest is the one who serves. The rankings they're debating are inverted in God's kingdom. The one who washes feet is greater than the one who sits at the head of the table.
What ranking argument are you having while something far more significant is happening right in front of you?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And he said unto them,.... The disciples; that is, Jesus said to them, as the Syriac and Persic versions express:
the…
A strife - A contention or debate. Which of them should be the greatest - The apostles, in common with the Jews…
There was also a strife among them - There are two different instances of this sort of contention or strife mentioned by…
We have here Christ's discourse with his disciples after supper, much of which is new here; and in St. John's gospel we…
And there was also a strife Philoneikia,-an ambitious contention," occurs here only. It is probable that this dispute…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture