ment which He makes. It is not for nothing that He reminds us again that He must die. He would have us know that His death was the great end for which He came into the world. He would remind us that by that death the great problem was to be solved, how God could be just, and yet justify sinners. He did not come upon earth merely to teach, and preach, and work miracles. He came to make satisfaction for sin, by His own blood and suffering on the cross. Let us never forget this. The incarnation, and example, and words of Christ, are all of deep importance. But the grand object which demands our notice in the history of His earthly minis- try, is His death on Calvary.
Let us mark, in the second place, in these verses, the ambition and love of pre-eminence which the apostles exhibited. " By the way they disputed among themselves who should be greatest."
How strange this sounds ! Who would have thought that a few fishermen and publicans could have been over- come by emulation, and the desire of supremacy ? Who would have expected that poor men, who had given up all for Christ's sake, would have been troubled by strife and dissension, as to the place and precedence which each one deserved ? Yet so it is. The fact is recorded for our learning. The Holy Ghost has caused it to be written down for the perpetual use of Christ's Church. Let us take care that it is not written in vain.
It is an awful fact, whether we like to allow it or not, that pride is one of the commonest sins which beset human nature. We are all born Pharisees. We all naturally think far better of ourselves than we ought.
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We all naturally fancy that we deserve something better than we have. — It is an old sin. It began in the garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve thought they had not got everything that their merits deserved. — It is a subtle sin. It rules and reigns in many a heart without being detected, and can even wear the garb of humility. — It is a most soul-ruining sin. It prevents repentance, beeps men back from Christ — checks brotherly love, and nips in the bud spiritual anxiety. — Let us watch against it, and be on our guard. Of all garments, none is so graceful, none wears so well, and none is so rare, as true humility.
Let us mark, in the third place, the peculiar standard of true greatness which our Lord sets before His disciples. He says to them, " If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all."
These words are deeply instructive. They show us that the maxims of the world are directly contrary to the mind of Christ. The world's idea of greatness is to rule, but Christian greatness consists in serving. The world's ambition is to receive honor and attention, but the desire of the Christian should be to give rather than receive, and to attend on others rather than be attended on himself. In short, the man who lays himself out most to serve his fellow men, and to be useful in his day and generation, is the greatest man in the eyes of Christ.'-'5
Let us strive to make a practical use of this heart- searching maxim. Let us seek to do good to our fellow
* The words of Augustine on this point are worth reading. He says, " A bishop's office is a name of labor rather than of honor ; so that he who coveteth pre-eminence rather than usefulness may under- stand that he is not a bishop." — De Civit. Dei.