33Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?" 34But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. 35And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." 36Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37"Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."
When I first read this, I felt as though Jesus was talking about two different pieces of advice when He talked about the last shall be first and receiving the little children. I didn't see much of a connection here. But as I studied it some more and thought about it, the statement of receiving the little children could be very much an explanation of the previous statement.
First of all, if you desire to be first you will need to try to be last, and a servant of all. But in order to be last, it would require that you forget your desire to be first.
But by telling us to be last, I don't think Jesus is just telling us to be the last one at everything, to simply let everyone else go first. I think He is expecting more of us. He may not be just asking us to be last, but to bring up the rear. This is a big responsibility! Ever think about the person who is to bring up the rear? He is responsible to make sure that no one gets lost and that the entire group follows the leader. He is so busy serving those he is shepherding that he has no need to be out front leading.
What does it mean to receive one of the little children in His name? I think this means bringing someone into the family of Christ who doesn't know Christ. Again, the person who is last, bringing up the rear, is not only seeing to the group he is shepherding, but may also be adding to the fold.
The greatest thing you can do is bring someone else into the family of Christ. In so doing, you receive not only Christ, but the one who sent Him. What greater reward can you have? This is how you get to be first.