to enter (literally or figuratively) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
reasoning
διαλογισμὸςdialogismos
G1261
discussion · noun — nominative singular masculine
among
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
them
αὐτοῖςautois
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative plural masculine
which
τίςtis
G5101
an interrogative pronoun · interrogative pronoun — nominative singular masculine
them
αὐτῶν.autōn
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive plural masculine
be
εἴηνeíēn
G1498
might (could
greatest
μείζωνmeízōn
G3187
larger (literally or figuratively
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Matthew 18:1-5 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
Matthew 20:20-22 Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.
Mark 9:33-37 And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?
Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
3 John 1:9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
Matthew 23:6-7 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
Luke 14:7-11 And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them,
Luke 22:24-27 And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Luke 9:43-50
We may observe here, I. The impression which Christ's miracles made upon all that beheld them (Luk 9:43): They were all amazed at the mighty power of God, which they could not but see in all the miracles Christ wrought. Note, The works of God's almighty power are amazing, especially those that are wrought by the hand of the Lord Jesus; for he is the power of God, and his name is Wonderful. Their wonder was universal: they wondered every one. The causes of it were universal: they wondered at all things which Jesus did; all his actions had something uncommon and surprising in them.
II. The notice Christ gave to his disciples of his approaching sufferings: The Son of man shall be delivered into…
STRIFE AMONG THE TWELVE WHO SHOULD BE GREATEST--JOHN REBUKED FOR EXCLUSIVENESS. (Luk 9:46-48)
(See on Mat 18:1-5).
Adam Clarke on Luke 9:46
There arose a reasoning - Εισηλθε δε διαλογισμος, A dialogue took place - one inquired, and another answered, and so on. See this subject explained on Mat 18:1 (note), etc.
John Gill on Luke 9:46
Then there arose a reasoning among them,.... The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions read, "a thought entered into them"; suggested very likely by Satan, which broke out into words, and issued in a warm dispute among them; and this was in the way, as they were travelling from Caesarea Philippi, to Capernaum; see Mark 9:33.
Which of them should be greatest; that is, "in the kingdom of heaven", as in Matthew 18:1 in the kingdom of the Messiah, which they expected would be a temporal one: wherefore the dispute was not about degrees in glory, nor in grace; nor who should be the greatest apostle and preacher of the Gospel; but who should be prime minister to the king Messiah, when he shou…
(non occ.) The devil lays plots of various kinds for them that love the best way of life. And if indeed by carnal allurements he can gain possession of a man's heart, He sharpens his love of pleasure; but if a man has escaped these snares, he excites in him a desire of glory, and this passion for vain-glory had seized some one of His apostles. Hence it is said, Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be the greatest. For to have such thoughts, belongs to him who desires to be superior to the rest; but I think it improbable that all the disciples gave way to this weakness; and therefore suppose that the Evangelist, not to seem to lay the charge to any individual, expresses himself indefinitely, saying, that there arose a reasoning among them.
Or, because they saw Peter, James, and John, taken apart to the mount, and the keys of the kingdom of heaven promised to Peter, they were angry that these three, or Peter, should have precedence over all; or because in the payment of the tribute they saw Peter made equal to the Lord, they supposed he was to be placed before the rest. But the attentive reader will find that the question was raised among them before the payment of the penny. For in truth Matthew relates that this took place at Capernaum; but Mark says, And he came to Capernaum, and being in the house, he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves in the way? But they held their peace; for by the way they had disputed among themselves who should be the greatest. (Mat. 18:24, Mark 9:33.)
But a thought entered among them about who was the greatest among them. Because they had seen Peter, James, and John being taken up the mountain separately, and believed some mystery was revealed to them there; and also because the keys of the kingdom of heaven had been promised to Peter earlier, and that the Church was to be built upon him, they thought either these three were preferred over the others, or among all the apostles, Peter was preeminent. There are those who think this thought was stirred in the disciples by the fact that the Lord, according to Matthew, took a coin from the mouth of a fish and gave it to those who collected the tribute for himself and Peter, as if implying that they were superior to the others, since Peter was equated with the Lord in the obligation to pay the tribute. However, a diligent reader will find this question among them happened even before the tribute coin was collected. Matthew records this event in Capernaum. But Mark says: "And they came to Capernaum. When they were in the house, he asked them, 'What were you discussing on the way?' But they were silent. For on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest" (Mark IX). Whether this was the occasion or some other, or both, possibly prompted, Jesus, seeing their thoughts and understanding the causes of their error, wants to heal their desire for glory with the remedy of humility.
Dictionary and topics
Apostle — A person sent by another; a messenger; envoy. This word is once used as a descriptive designation of Jesus Christ, the Sent of the Father (Heb. 3:1; John 20:21). It is, however, generally used as…
Ambition · 49:11-13; — 49:11-13;
Humility · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Calvin on Luke 9:43-48
Luke 9:43-48
Matthew 17:22-23
Mark 9:30-36
Luke 9:43-48
22. And while they remained in Galilee, Jesus said to them, The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men: 23. And they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again. And they were deeply grieved.
Matthew 18:1-5
1. At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2. And Jesus, having called a little child to him, placed him in the midst of them, 3. And said, Verily I say to you, Unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4. Whosoever then shall humble himself like this little child, he is the greatest in th…
The disciples’ failure to apprehend Jesus’ impending death was now illustrated by their pride and selfishness.
9:46 Jesus had just predicted his own suffering and death, so the disciples’ arguing about which of them was the greatest showed astonishing pride and insensitivity.
