“True Greatness in God’s Kingdom”
(Mark 9:30-37 – Pentecost 18 – September 22, 2024)
Mark 9:30-37 – 30Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it. 31For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.” 32But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him. 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.”
Dear fellow Redeemed by the grace of God in Jesus Christ:
In our text we hear of Jesus’ disciples disputing about who was the greatest. We are not told what criteria they used to compare themselves to one another. Perhaps some thought they were the greatest because they felt they had been the closest to Jesus all along, or that they had accomplished more than the others as His disciples, or that they had lived holier lives than the rest. Whatever criteria they chose to use, each felt he deserved to be first and hold a greater place in Jesus’ Kingdom.
How foolish their proud boasting must have sounded in the ears of heaven’s King, who had humbled Himself to become the last and Servant of all, as the Savior of sinners. Yet again, Jesus patiently used this occasion to teach His disciples about “True Greatness in God’s Kingdom.” In contrast to 1) Greatness in the eyes of the world, Jesus teaches us about 2) Greatness in the eyes of God.
1) Greatness in the eyes of the world
In the eyes of the world, greatness is usually associated with things like power, honor, wealth, and success. So here at the height of Jesus’ ministry, the disciples could not understand what He meant when He told them: “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day” (vs. 31). Why would Jesus talk like this? If He were killed at the hands of men, it would seem that everything He had done the past few years, all that He had taught and stood for, would come to nothing. What about all His powerful miracles by which He had proven Himself to be the Messiah? What about the crowds that were starting to follow Him, wanting Him to be their King? Death at the hands of His enemies would mean a dishonorable end, and the very opposite of greatness!
Jesus’ words seemed completely out of place in the disciples’ minds. They had visions of glory as His followers, not visions of a cross. That is why they so quickly changed the subject and went on to argue about their own greatness. They were living in a kind of denial, mentally blocking out Jesus’ words about His coming death. It says: “they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him” (vs. 32).
In fact, they strongly opposed Jesus’ talk about the cross. The first time He spoke of His coming death. Peter had rebuked Him, saying: “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” (Matthew 16:22). But Jesus knew He must die on the cross and rise again. It was the only way He could save us from perishing in our sins. It was the only way to win our forgiveness and bring us everlasting life in His Kingdom.
Do we sometimes get caught up in dreams of greatness in God’s Kingdom that have no place for Jesus’ cross? Our sinful nature fears, and opposes, His death. Why? If our Lord Himself was despised and rejected by men, it means that we can expect similar treatment in the world as His followers. The cross Jesus asks us to take up as we follow Him goes against our ideas of worldly greatness. It rubs our pride the wrong way. If I am seeking greatness in things like my own strength, honor, or success, what place does Jesus’ weakness, humiliation, and death have in my visions of personal glory? If I am boasting in myself, then in my pride I am forgetting what a poor miserable sinner I am, that God’s Son should come to die for me.
Proverbs 16:18 warns that such pride goes before a fall. Not long after this scene, just before Jesus was arrested and crucified, His disciples were still boasting in their own greatness and strength as His followers. We hear Peter claiming: “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble…. Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And we are told that all the disciples made the same boast (Matthew 26:33, 35). But we know what happened when Jesus was arrested. They all fled. That night before the rooster crowed, three times Peter denied even knowing Jesus, as the Lord had predicted.
Like those first disciples, that is how it goes when we are tempted to boast in ourselves. Just when we think we are the greatest and strongest, we stumble and fall. Just when we feel like the most faithful disciple and witness of our Lord, we find ourselves ashamed to speak of Him among certain people – afraid to identify ourselves with the cross of Christ, because we know in the eyes of the world, that would make us appear foolish and weak. Just when we feel the strongest against temptation, we fall into sin. Then we find ourselves like Peter, weeping bitterly in humiliation and shame.
Jesus already knew ahead of time how His disciple’s pride would lead to his downfall. But Jesus would forgive His fallen disciple and fully restore him. As He had told Peter: “I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:31-32).
Dear disciples of Jesus, here we begin to learn about true greatness in God’s eyes. For when we are bowed down in deepest humiliation and shame, confessing ourselves to be poor miserable sinners, God lifts us up in the greatness of His mercy and forgiveness in Christ. Then we are moved to turn and share His grace with each other; to lay aside selfish ambition and conceit and esteem others better (Philippians 2:3). And like Peter, chastened and strengthened in faith by His Lord, we are here to strengthen and lift one another up in His love and mercy.
2) Greatness in the eyes of God
Jesus wanted His disciples to know such greatness in His Kingdom. So even after they had argued about who was the greatest, He patiently taught them saying: “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all” (vs. 35).
Isn’t Jesus the perfect example of becoming the last and Servant of all? For though He is equal to His Father as the Son of God, He “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:6-8). Though as King of heaven, Jesus is greatest in the Kingdom, He did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for us (Mark 10:45).
It is in Jesus’ humiliating death and glorious resurrection that God now forgives and restores us. For Jesus’ sake, God has forgiven all our selfish pride and self-seeking vainglory; He has taken all that away at the cross. In Baptism, God has cleansed us of all sins and clothed us in Jesus’ perfect life of humility and love. God has poured out His Holy Spirit and faith into our hearts, uniting us with His Son as heirs of eternal life.
So in the eyes of God, now we have been restored and lifted up in His highest honor. We have been given eternal life in His Kingdom as His beloved children in Christ! What greater place is there for us to be? In the life we now live by His Spirit in us, we are set free to love and serve Him with humble and thankful hearts.
This is where true greatness is found. Often in this world, people are considered great when they have others serve them. It is not so in God’s Kingdom. Jesus shows that in His Church, the opposite is true. The more humbly a person serves others in Christian faith and love, the greater it is in God’s Kingdom. Why? Because it reflects the humble love and servanthood of Him who is greatest of all – Jesus our Savior.
Now Jesus took a little child in His arms and said: “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me” (vs. 37). His words turn worldly ideas of greatness upside down. Whenever we simply teach children the truth of their Savior and share His love with them, we welcome them in Jesus’ name; and we also welcome Jesus Himself. Whenever we simply share Jesus’ love and build one another up in faith as the children of God, we welcome one another in Jesus’ name; and we also welcome Jesus Himself.
What a privilege it is to serve Him by serving one another! It is not important whether the things we do appear great in the eyes of the world. Deeds that are great in Jesus’ eyes are those which spring from faith in Him as our Savior. As fruits of faith, even our simplest acts of love are a response to the love He has first shown us. And Jesus takes it personally, as He testifies: “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:34-40). And Jesus says that as we welcome Him, we also welcome the Father who sent Him. What a great privilege it is to welcome our heavenly Father, through faith in His Son!
Who is the greatest in God’s Kingdom? It is Jesus Himself, who humbled Himself as the Servant of all, so He could lift us out of our sin up to His heavenly glory. Whatever we do that reflects His self-sacrificing love and humble servanthood – that is truly great in His Kingdom and in God’s eyes. By this, we reflect a blessed Kingdom that awaits us in heaven, where the greatest of all Himself will delight in serving His beloved, and we will delight in serving each other in His love!
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be. Amen.