Getting to Know Jesus More #11

In Luke 8, Jesus has just repeated the announcement to His closest disciples that He was on His way to be handed over to death, but they were in denial, wrapped up in other things. Luke gives us three quick pics on what they were thinking about: 
46 An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. 47 But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side 48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”
49 John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” 50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.”
51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53 But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 And they went on to another village.

These three events all reveal how far the disciples' thinking was compared to Jesus. They were thinking of His kingdom in terms of how important they were, how to eliminate the competition, and get rid of who they deemed to be the enemy.  In each case their thinking was conventional, but upside down and backwards: the greatest are the least, the "competition" really complimented, and the resistant were to be reconciled, not removed from the scene.  All three encounters involve how we view others out of our own pride. Are we so busy critiquing, comparing, and condemning others, we are missing what God wants us to see about His plan for man?