Mark 9:30-37 Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke Sunday, September 22, 2024
“Be First by Serving”
“What were you talking about?” It’s an innocent enough question, isn’t it? If your spouse is having a conversation across the courtyard after church, you might ask later, “What were you talking about?” And then you can fill each other in about the separate conversations you had with friends and maybe relatives or the new person that you met that day. When you pick up your child from school, you might ask what they were discussing with friends before you arrived. And then you can hear the latest updates from sixth grade or high school or whatever level. It’s an innocent question, and it often has innocent answers. But there are times when we would just rather not answer that question.
If someone has warned me that I should probably be careful about discussing politics at church, and I did anyway, I might be a little uncomfortable when that person asks, “What were you talking about?” If I was spreading rumors, gossip, about someone else, I ought to ashamed to admit it when someone asks, “What were you talking about?” Maybe you can relate to something like that, or at least you can think of some conversation that you would prefer other people never hear about. You certainly wouldn’t want someone you love and respect to ask you about it.
If you can think of that time, you can also relate to the disciples of Jesus as they arrived in Capernaum. Jesus turned to them and asked, “What were you talking about? What was it that you guys were saying as we made our way here?”
And the disciples said nothing. I can almost feel what that silence must have been like for them. They couldn’t tell Jesus a lie. They knew too well that he would spot it. They were embarrassed to admit the truth—that they had been arguing about who was the greatest. They had been jockeying for position as the best of the disciples of Jesus. To say it out loud was to admit that they had been foolish, that they had been selfish, that they had been wrong. So they said nothing. And even that silence must have screamed at them that they should say something, but they had nothing to say.
And I don’t know how much this was on the minds of those disciples in their silence, but Mark mentions it right before this: Jesus had been talking to them about his death and resurrection. He was going to be betrayed and arrested and killed. And he would rise. The person they knew to be the greatest among them, the one they were following, was talking about dying. Not about doing impressive-looking things. Not about showing people how powerful he was. Dying.
And there was silence on that occasion, too. The disciples didn’t understand, and they were afraid to ask. Oh, how frustrating! These disciples had been told these things before. This is the thing that Jesus had come to do. Everything that he was doing and teaching was wrapped up in this. It all led to him dying for the sins of the world and rising again in victory. And they still didn’t understand it. They still didn’t get it. They had Jesus right there, eager for them to understand. And they didn’t say a thing.
Do you see the connection between these two long silences for the disciples? They couldn’t allow themselves to look bad. They couldn’t be embarrassed. They didn’t want anything to take them down in the eyes of others. So Jesus told them about his purpose, about his death and about his rising again. And they said nothing. They walked to Capernaum, and on the way they didn’t talk about what Jesus meant. They didn’t try to figure it out. They argued about which of them was the best.
Those occasions provided natural opportunities for Jesus to teach the disciples the lesson he wanted them to learn. It’s a lesson that you need to learn, too. We all do. I said before that maybe you could relate to that feeling the disciples had when Jesus asked them what they had talked about. Whether you’ve had that feeling or not, you’ve had the attitude of the disciples. You’ve been worried about how it would look if you said something or did something. You have fought to be considered the greatest in whatever was important to you. Perhaps you’ve tried to convince people that they should listen to your take on politics or your opinion about people or your knowledge of how things should be done. And maybe you can
imagine the painful silence in which you would stand if at one of those moments Jesus came to you and asked, “What were you saying?” or “What were you thinking?” or “What were you doing?”
This is why Jesus was teaching the disciples. This is why these words are recorded for our benefit. This is why Jesus repeated his promises about what would happen to him, what he would willingly undergo for his disciples and for you and for me and for the world. He would allow himself to be betrayed and killed. He would give up his perfect life for our failures and sins. And make no mistake, that selfish attitude that we want to hide is sin. Jesus was doing the exact opposite. He was looking out for everyone else and sacrificing himself. He was living the perfect life that God demanded before offering it up for his imperfect brothers and sisters. And in serving them this way, he has made them perfect. With that assurance, Jesus tenderly teaches his disciples what it really means to be first. The mindset with which they argued on the road was the wrong one. It was selfish, self-centered, self-serving. The way to truly be great, the way to truly be first, was by serving others. “If anyone wants to be first, he will be the last of all and the servant of all.”
This is not a “what’s-in-it-for-me” attitude. It’s a “what’s-the-right-thing-to-do” attitude. If you want to be first, if you want to be best, if you want to be greatest, be last. Put yourself at the bottom of the list. Make yourself the lowest priority. Give and love and serve. Focus on the people around you. Jesus invites those who wish to be first to be servants of all. Do you understand what makes a servant a servant? A servant doesn’t decide what to do. A servant does what the master decides. To be a servant of all means that everyone else is the master. Their needs and wishes are more important than yours.
And those disciples knew, just as we do that this is not easy. It does not come naturally. Sure, there are times when we might serve others, but there’s always a bit of selfish motivation. If I help someone now, who knows how they might help when I need it? If I serve others now, maybe that ultimately serves my good.
But that’s not the example that Jesus uses in his teaching. Instead, he places a little child in their midst. That child isn’t going to be able to repay a favor. He is not going to be able to give back to anyone who serves him. In society, that child is among the lowliest of the lowly. That’s why Jesus chooses him. Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me.
Throw our every notion of being great according to your own standards or the standards of society. Get rid of the worldly way of looking at things that always asks, “What can I do to get ahead? What can I do to be first? How can I make sure that other people will notice what I am doing?” Replace all of that with an attitude of service. Be great by serving. Look for those who have the greatest needs. Look for the ones who can’t repay you. Look for the ones who have nothing to offer. And serve them.
Welcome them in the name of Jesus. Do what you do because of what he has done for you. Jesus is the prime example of living like this. What did we have to offer him? What did we have with which to repay him? How could we have earned his love or his service? But he loved and served and forgave us. He made us alive with him through faith. He is our leader and empowers us to follow his example. Whenever we welcome the lowly, we welcome him, and we welcome the one who sent him.
Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you talking about?” And they couldn’t answer. They probably did not have the words to articulate what was wrong with their attitudes. They thought they needed to be better leaders. They thought they needed to earn the right to be called the greatest. They loved the idea of having others recognize their accomplishments, their leadership, and their success. And Jesus agrees. He just wanted them to know what it really means to be great, what it really means to be first. He even teaches them what it means to be better leaders. It means to be better followers. Follow the one who gave his life for you. Lead the way in serving others, even and especially those who cannot repay you. Follow the one who promised to rise and did so. Follow him to your heavenly home. “If anyone wants to be first, he will be the last of all and the servant of all.”
The Text: Mark 9:30–37 (EHV)
30They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know this, 31because he was teaching his disciples. He told them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill him. But three days after he is killed, he will rise.”
32But they did not understand the statement and were afraid to ask him about it.
33They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” 34But they remained silent, because on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. 35Jesus sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he will be the last of all and the servant of all.” 36Then he took a little child and placed him in their midst. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me, welcomes not just me but also him who sent me.”