Christian Hierarchy: Humility vs. Hubris
Our frenetic attention spans keep us on a roller coaster of emotions, as we watch men of the world vie for power and position. It was like that for His disciples at the end of Jesus’ Galilean ministry (Mt 18; Mk 9; Lk 9). Having descended the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus informed His disciples about His impending doom in Jerusalem. His followers were deeply grieved (Mt 17:23). As they came to Capernaum, Peter and Jesus were in a house discussing taxes (Mt 17:24–27). The other disciples were discussing Peter’s apparent primacy in the kingdom (Mt 18:1). So they came in and asked Jesus, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
We observe how quickly grief is turned to greed. The disciples were growing ever more convinced Jesus was Messiah, and like a political campaign taking shape, positions must be filled. Peter had walked on water. Peter was the first to openly confess Jesus as Messiah. Peter was in the core group at the top of the Mount of Transfiguration. Peter seemed to be the apparent allusion in Jesus’ comments about a rock and some keys to the kingdom. Still, there was some hope for the other candidates because Jesus had rebuked Peter, even calling him “Satan.”
It does not require much imagination for us to place Judas Iscariot as the discussion moderator. He proved to be the most ambitious and greedy of Jesus’ disciples. Peter loved Jesus, and Jesus loved Peter, even in spite of his untamed passions. Judas loved himself. He was Jesus’ finance manager, even though Matthew would have been credentialed for the position. Judas liked the idea of the kingdom, and his stealthy maneuvering could be cloaked by an open discussion. “We should be transparent about these matters. Why hasn’t Jesus appointed positions?” he might have said.
Christian hierarchy is very disappointing to ambitious men. It is why they create denominations. Denominations are all about power structures. Roman Catholics have a Pope, who claims to be the vicar of Christ on earth. Anglicans reject that in favor of an equality of high ranking bishops. Presbyterians reject that in favor of a peer judicial system of ruling elders and ministers. This can come with three or even four layers of church courts. In a word, it is “hierarchy.” Congregationalists and Baptists keep their business in house, but even they have their “associations.” Associations have money, and where there is money there is the quest for position and power.
All of these ideas are man-made creations without biblical precedent, but each position is argued from each group’s interpretation of Scripture. Matthew 23:10 is often missing in that discussion, “And do not be called, ‘leaders’ for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ.”
Hierarchy is man’s ladder to heaven. It is his tower of Babel staircase. Religion thrives on power structures driven by those who control money from their elevated positions. They wield power and influence derived from money and position. Mammonism is the religion of most people outside the church and for some inside of it, too.
When Jesus replied to the disciples’ inquiry, He did not give primacy to Peter (Mt 18:2–5). This would have been the perfect time to make His appointments. Jesus could have named Peter His successor, but He did not. Instead of foreshadowing popery, Jesus turned the discussion upside down. Humility, not hierarchy, was brought into view.
Jesus made His point by illustration. He took a child and placed him before the group (Mt 18:2). No one would even enter the kingdom, unless they were changed into the likeness of a child. Jesus was not preaching about innocence. Children are not innocent. Jesus was not talking about behavior. Children are childish. Obviously, He was not putting knowledge before them, for children have much to learn. He clarifies in Matthew 18:4, “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Humility is a despised attribute in the course of this world. Education, sports, politics, business, religion, etc., are all about competition. The best performers play, and they perform with pride and for pride. Pride is a sin (Ps 59:12). Pride goes before destruction and comes before the fall (Prv 16:18). Man strives with his neighbor to gain position, power, and money (Eccl 4:4). He who has the most these at the end of life wins, before he departs to his eternal home with nothing (Eccl 12:5; 1 Tim 6:7).
Pride sneaks into the church when men bring the ways of the world through the doors. Pride spurred the factions in the Corinthian church (1 Cor 1:10–17). Men sided with their preferred Christian hero. Clearly, Peter only had primacy with one faction. Others preferred the hortatory preaching of Apollos. Paul shunned the personality cult that preferred him. Apparently, even baptism had become an idolatrous contention.
Paul was glad his baptism count was not great (1 Cor 1:16). How tragic to hear men gloat over their local, district, regional, and global popes without any interest in Jesus Christ. “I go to MacArthur’s church,” or “He goes to Keller’s church,” are the examples of this wrong spirit. There is only one church, and it belongs to Jesus Christ. Pride fueled Aaron and Miriam’s coup d’etat against Moses (Num 12). Pride drove Absalom mad with envy and covetousness for his father’s throne (2 Sam 13).
Satan loves to inspire the sons of disobedience, who claim their accomplishments will always be remembered. Lucifer is all about self-glorification, and the children of the devil follow their father (Jn 8:44). They will even build towers in order for everyone to see their name lifted high (Gen 11). Paul refused to boast in anything except the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor 1:31). John the Baptist said about Jesus, “He must increase, and I must decrease (Jn 3:30).”
Jesus is the perfect illustration for humility instead of hierarchy. Paul wrote to the Philippians, and explained how Jesus left the throne of glory in heaven (Phil 2:5–11). He set aside His glory to enter into the filth and obscurity of this world. Jesus was a “nobody” in the eyes of the world. He was an anomaly to His detractors because they valued college education, and Jesus did not even go to school (Jn 7:15). Men cater to the rich in hope of favors from them, but Jesus was poor. Men give up their seats for somebody famous or powerful, but Jesus did not even have a place to lay His head (Mt 8:20; Lk 9:58).
Despite being harmless as a dove, Jesus posed a major threat to the establishment because of all the good He did. They hated how He called them out on their evil practices (Jn 7:7). He even called them names like, “brood of vipers,” and “white-washed sepulchers.” All of Jesus’ ministry was done in the weakness of worldly position, power, and pecuniary deficiency. He had none of these things the Gentiles sought. In addition, He refused to set up a hierarchy. Instead, He demanded humility. The greatest among you will be the servant of all (Mt 23:11) because your Master is Lord of all (Acts 10:36).
Finally, Jesus issued a warning about hindering those who believe in Him (Mt 18:6). The image Jesus painted for the disciples happened to be a stumbling block. One imagines a night trek with an obstacle in the path. The traveler falls because of the unseen obstruction. Woe to the man who is a stumbling block to the least of these my brothers (Mt 25:45). Again, we can almost see Jesus making eye contact with Judas Iscariot. The message was true for all of His disciples, and it is true for us, today. We must bring people to Jesus, not hinder them (Mt 19:14).
Jesus is not referring to hurting children, which is a common misinterpretation. He is teaching His disciples about false workers, who deceive people. Satan works to keep people out of God’s kingdom (2 Cor 4:4), and he works to hinder the work of Christians. Evildoers obstruct Christianity (1 Thess 2:16). They delight in misusing separation of church and state, in order to remove everything Christian from society. They rejoice in arguing legal cases that inflict laws on people in direct opposition to the Law of God. Children of the devil are liars and prevent others from knowing the truth of the Gospel (Rom 1:18). Their most common strategy is to present a slightly distorted gospel, finely tuned, to bring them financial rewards (2 Cor 11:3–5).
Judas was a type of anti-Christ. He infiltrated the assembly of Jesus’ followers, and he hindered others’ faith. When Mary anointed Jesus’ feet, it was Judas who objected (Jn 12). Jesus assured them that her act would be remembered forever. This is exactly what Judas’ craved for himself. He wanted to be rich, famous, and powerful. Some become famous, like Mary, but others are remembered in shamed infamy, like Judas. Jesus’ warned His disciples with severe words. It would be better to be drowned or have body parts severed than to make the error of hubris (Mt 18:6–11). What does profit a man to gain the whole world, but lose his own soul? The pride of life goes before destruction in eternal hell.
How should we live in light of these teachings from Jesus? First, we should avoid churches forged in some hierarchical pattern. Local church elders should be servants, not power-mongers. Elders who lord over others in the congregation are reproved by Peter (1 Pet 5:1–5). Hierarchy promotes positional politics within churches/denominations. When one man is positioned over another in the church, hubris is only a temptation away. Most of church history is the story of wrangling between so-called “ministers.”
Second, we should practice humility every day and in every way. We should prefer others over ourselves. This can be practiced in our Christian homes. It should be demonstrated in our local church, and leaders should be our chief example. We should avoid places of honor. God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble (Jas 4:6). We should humble ourselves before Almighty God (1 Pet 5:6), and avoid thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought (Rom 12:3). God raises people up, and He tears them down (Ps 75:7).
Third, we must learn to be content in whatever situation we find ourselves, especially when being abased (Phil 4:11). In God’s providence, there are seasons of prosperity and want. The child of God must be tested (2 Cor 13:5; Jas 1:3; 1 Pet 1:7). Discipline is meted out with grace (Rom 8:28), and the will of God is for our sanctification (1 Thess 4:3).
God is conforming us into the image of His humble Son (Rom 8:29). Paul was given a thorn in his side following an ecstatic tour of the third heaven (2 Cor 12:7). This was to prevent hubris. Jacob was crippled the rest of his life, following a close encounter with the Lord at Bethel (Gen 32:24–25).
In summary, we have engaged a biblical text on Christian hierarchy, humility, and hubris. We have seen Jesus answer His disciples’ question regarding their positions in the kingdom. Jesus taught the imperative nature of humility by presenting a child, who could care less about social status, and who trusted fully in the power of her parents to provide the means of life. We have taken to heart, Jesus’ warning against hubris. Pride simply has no place in the Christian life.
In conclusion, Christian faith is displayed with the world as our foil. The world values performance, position, competition, success, power, money, and fame. Christians must avoid the course of this world by being counter-cultural. We must serve from our lowly spots, for not many of us came into the world by noble birth, nor attained great heights in the world’s systems, and most of us die in obscurity.
Finally, we need to keep our focus on heaven, where Christ has gone to prepare a place for us (Jn 14:2–3), perfect and eternal, with all of the accoutrements the people of the world seek after for themselves (Mt 6:32). In this way we can take up our cross, daily, and die to self, for he who loses his life for Jesus’ sake will gain it (Mt 10:39). Christian, die to pride, and delight in your humble obscurity, for in this you will know that you are a child of God being fit for heaven.
David E. Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
January 19, 2021
