Then— while he carried that knowledge alone — an argument broke out among them: which of them was the greatest. Jesus saw it. He took a childpublicCulturetook a childIn the ancient Mediterranean world, children had no social status, no legal standing, and no voice in public affairs. They were not sentimentalized as innocent or precious — they were simply powerless. Jesus placing a child beside himself, in the position of honor where his most important associate would stand, was a deliberate provocation. He was physically demonstrating what he had just said about the “least.”— a child, who in that world had no status, no voice, no leverage — and set the child beside him,in the place of honor. “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me,” he said. “And whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For the least among all of you — that is the one who is great.”