Mark 9:30-37. The greatest is the least?? 20/9/09
(Mark 9:30-37) They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, {31} because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise." {32} But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it. {33} They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" {34} But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. {35} Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." {36} He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, {37} "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."
Here in this reading we are given another insight into the unusual quirks of sinful mankind; and a whole different and upside down view of what really is important. The thinking displayed by the disciples is still sadly very much at the heart of life and even of the church in our world today. No matter what the gravity of the situation may be, we seem to have the happy knack of putting the focus in the wrong places, and we don’t want to know or understand that which is important. I dare say the same thing will apply to this message that we are listening to here this morning. However, my prayer is that the Holy Spirit will somehow get through our stubborn sinful nature, and lead us into this truth that he has here for us.
Now off course we here think that we are not so silly; and that we have got it all together pretty well. We know what life is all about, and so we don’t need to think to deeply. Then also this message of the first and last, and who is the greatest, we have heard many times before: So we have got it all fairly straight. Is that so? Well perhaps each one of us needs to look carefully into our very lives, and then judge it, not by our own standards, or the world’s standards, but by that which our Lord himself has given us.
To help us in this regard let us think a little more carefully about this text that we have here before us. Jesus has just come from talking to his disciples about who he really is, and Peter has just made the great confession that Jesus is the Christ: the promised saviour; the greatest one of all who was sent to set up God’s kingdom, which would last forever. They were thereby confronted with the greatness of this one who was there before them and who they were following.
It was there then that Jesus takes time out to teach them what his whole mission here entailed. He sits down and tells them what is all going to happen and how this kingdom was to now be established. So surely, the disciples would be all ears. Here they were now getting to the heart of the matter. Here Jesus was giving them the real ins and outs of it all.
And what is the heart of what he is saying here to them: he is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise. The Christ: the great one who was to come to set up God’s kingdom, would be rejected by his own people; strung up on a cross to die; and then three days later rise again. This was what was important: this was to be how God was going to establish his kingdom here on earth.
This surely was something which the disciple would have listened intently to and sought to comprehend what and how this was to be. Here surely, because it was not what they expected or understood, they would have made every effort to grasp and comprehend what Jesus had in mind. This after all was of utmost importance, and they were a part of it.
But what do we find? Where they intent on grasping the logic of what Jesus was saying to them here? No! They were too busy arguing amongst themselves as to who was to be the greatest as Jesus followers. Since Jesus was the Christ, and was here to set up his kingdom, they would be his leading men. So here, they were jockeying for the important positions in his chain of command. Their focus was on themselves and who would be greater than the next person.
So there is no in depth consideration as to the depth and importance of Jesus’ words about dying on the cross, or the impossibility of his rising again. No real thought to try to understand what the significance of what that would be, and how that could be the beginning of a whole new kingdom of God. They were simply interested in; ‘what’s in it for me:’ and how ‘I can be the greater one’ in it all.
How sad! How sad we might think. Yet we too are no different! We too are no different in our thinking. Far too often all we can think of is the same thing; what is in it for me, and how might I be a little greater, in the context of being a part of God’s kingdom. We too are not so concerned with knowing and understanding our Lord or what he would want us to understand, particularly with regard to that which is important and has to do with true greatness. But off course, like the disciples we’ll keep quiet about that won’t we.
But Jesus didn’t let his disciples off the hook; nor us either. No, he says, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." He says to us all, if we want to have any thoughts of greatness, then we had better be the least of all: the one whose only thoughts are for doing what is best for everyone else. Stop thinking of ourself and look outward and upward.
Now that very much goes against the thinking of our society today, and our own selfishness. We want to, and we are told, that we need to push ourselves forward and go for it. Yet Jesus tells us true greatness is not in how high up the ladder we are, but where we are looking. It is not a matter of if we are looked up to, but if we are looking to Jesus. It is not a matter of what others can do for us, but what we do for them.
In fact, Jesus takes a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me. Elsewhere he says, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Yes, Jesus turns upside down the thinking about what it is that makes for greatness when it comes to his kingdom. He not only told us about it, but he went on and did it: He gave of himself. Jesus gave up his position of glory at the right hand of the Father. He entered our world as an ordinary human being, and then stuck to what was right and true, even though this brought on him the ire of the leaders of the church. He allowed himself to be killed as a criminal.
He did it all so that he could serve us: that he could save us. In that, there is true greatness: there is what is important. Now aside from that there is nothing in terms of greatness. Nothing more has to be done, or can be done. All we can do is hang onto the coat tails of our Lord Jesus. Or more to the point allow him to hold on to us. Because his is the only greatness that counts, all we need to do is look to him and trust him.
Any trying to push ourselves forward or trying to be first, takes us away from that greatness and makes us the least of all. Yet when we look to and welcome and assist a little child or the down and out, because we know and trust in Jesus as the truly great one, and that he needs to be held up as the great one, then we are on the right track. Because Jesus helped and saved the small and insignificant, we too can reach out to them, and know that there is Jesus. There is the one who is great and who has done everything necessary.
That being the case let us stop and listen to him, so that we can know that which is important. Instead of focussing on ourselves, let us give him thanks and praise. Let us reflect on his suffering, death and resurrection and know that in that we have that which is of the essence of God’s kingdom. Then because of the significance and greatness of Jesus and what he has done, let us reach out and serve others and in particular those who are not important in the world’s eyes.
Let us recognise that we are the least important, and that there is nothing that we can do to lift ourselves up; so that we can the look up to Jesus and his suffering, death and resurrection, and know that there we have the help we need. From there we can go forward with hope and confidence and know that we are connected to him who is truly great. To him alone be all glory and honour, now and always. Amen.
Pastor Roger Atze
Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish
(Mark 9:30-37) They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, {31} because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise." {32} But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it. {33} They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" {34} But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. {35} Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." {36} He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, {37} "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."
Here in this reading we are given another insight into the unusual quirks of sinful mankind; and a whole different and upside down view of what really is important. The thinking displayed by the disciples is still sadly very much at the heart of life and even of the church in our world today. No matter what the gravity of the situation may be, we seem to have the happy knack of putting the focus in the wrong places, and we don’t want to know or understand that which is important. I dare say the same thing will apply to this message that we are listening to here this morning. However, my prayer is that the Holy Spirit will somehow get through our stubborn sinful nature, and lead us into this truth that he has here for us.
Now off course we here think that we are not so silly; and that we have got it all together pretty well. We know what life is all about, and so we don’t need to think to deeply. Then also this message of the first and last, and who is the greatest, we have heard many times before: So we have got it all fairly straight. Is that so? Well perhaps each one of us needs to look carefully into our very lives, and then judge it, not by our own standards, or the world’s standards, but by that which our Lord himself has given us.
To help us in this regard let us think a little more carefully about this text that we have here before us. Jesus has just come from talking to his disciples about who he really is, and Peter has just made the great confession that Jesus is the Christ: the promised saviour; the greatest one of all who was sent to set up God’s kingdom, which would last forever. They were thereby confronted with the greatness of this one who was there before them and who they were following.
It was there then that Jesus takes time out to teach them what his whole mission here entailed. He sits down and tells them what is all going to happen and how this kingdom was to now be established. So surely, the disciples would be all ears. Here they were now getting to the heart of the matter. Here Jesus was giving them the real ins and outs of it all.
And what is the heart of what he is saying here to them: he is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise. The Christ: the great one who was to come to set up God’s kingdom, would be rejected by his own people; strung up on a cross to die; and then three days later rise again. This was what was important: this was to be how God was going to establish his kingdom here on earth.
This surely was something which the disciple would have listened intently to and sought to comprehend what and how this was to be. Here surely, because it was not what they expected or understood, they would have made every effort to grasp and comprehend what Jesus had in mind. This after all was of utmost importance, and they were a part of it.
But what do we find? Where they intent on grasping the logic of what Jesus was saying to them here? No! They were too busy arguing amongst themselves as to who was to be the greatest as Jesus followers. Since Jesus was the Christ, and was here to set up his kingdom, they would be his leading men. So here, they were jockeying for the important positions in his chain of command. Their focus was on themselves and who would be greater than the next person.
So there is no in depth consideration as to the depth and importance of Jesus’ words about dying on the cross, or the impossibility of his rising again. No real thought to try to understand what the significance of what that would be, and how that could be the beginning of a whole new kingdom of God. They were simply interested in; ‘what’s in it for me:’ and how ‘I can be the greater one’ in it all.
How sad! How sad we might think. Yet we too are no different! We too are no different in our thinking. Far too often all we can think of is the same thing; what is in it for me, and how might I be a little greater, in the context of being a part of God’s kingdom. We too are not so concerned with knowing and understanding our Lord or what he would want us to understand, particularly with regard to that which is important and has to do with true greatness. But off course, like the disciples we’ll keep quiet about that won’t we.
But Jesus didn’t let his disciples off the hook; nor us either. No, he says, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." He says to us all, if we want to have any thoughts of greatness, then we had better be the least of all: the one whose only thoughts are for doing what is best for everyone else. Stop thinking of ourself and look outward and upward.
Now that very much goes against the thinking of our society today, and our own selfishness. We want to, and we are told, that we need to push ourselves forward and go for it. Yet Jesus tells us true greatness is not in how high up the ladder we are, but where we are looking. It is not a matter of if we are looked up to, but if we are looking to Jesus. It is not a matter of what others can do for us, but what we do for them.
In fact, Jesus takes a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me. Elsewhere he says, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Yes, Jesus turns upside down the thinking about what it is that makes for greatness when it comes to his kingdom. He not only told us about it, but he went on and did it: He gave of himself. Jesus gave up his position of glory at the right hand of the Father. He entered our world as an ordinary human being, and then stuck to what was right and true, even though this brought on him the ire of the leaders of the church. He allowed himself to be killed as a criminal.
He did it all so that he could serve us: that he could save us. In that, there is true greatness: there is what is important. Now aside from that there is nothing in terms of greatness. Nothing more has to be done, or can be done. All we can do is hang onto the coat tails of our Lord Jesus. Or more to the point allow him to hold on to us. Because his is the only greatness that counts, all we need to do is look to him and trust him.
Any trying to push ourselves forward or trying to be first, takes us away from that greatness and makes us the least of all. Yet when we look to and welcome and assist a little child or the down and out, because we know and trust in Jesus as the truly great one, and that he needs to be held up as the great one, then we are on the right track. Because Jesus helped and saved the small and insignificant, we too can reach out to them, and know that there is Jesus. There is the one who is great and who has done everything necessary.
That being the case let us stop and listen to him, so that we can know that which is important. Instead of focussing on ourselves, let us give him thanks and praise. Let us reflect on his suffering, death and resurrection and know that in that we have that which is of the essence of God’s kingdom. Then because of the significance and greatness of Jesus and what he has done, let us reach out and serve others and in particular those who are not important in the world’s eyes.
Let us recognise that we are the least important, and that there is nothing that we can do to lift ourselves up; so that we can the look up to Jesus and his suffering, death and resurrection, and know that there we have the help we need. From there we can go forward with hope and confidence and know that we are connected to him who is truly great. To him alone be all glory and honour, now and always. Amen.
Pastor Roger Atze
Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish
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