Mark 9: 30 – 37
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30 Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it. 31 For 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.” 32 But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him. 33 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. 35 And 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.” 36 Then 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.”
Both Matthew and Luke also comment on this teaching by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let’s see what they reported.
Matthew 17:22-23, 22 Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful.”
Matthew 18:1-5, “18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.”
Luke 9: 43 – 48, “43 And they were all amazed at the majesty of God. But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, 44 “Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” 45 But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying. 46 Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest. 47 And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, 48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.”
We now come to the close of the section outlining OUR Lord Jesus’ Galilean ministry as recorded by Mark. Having left the region round about Capernaum in, and after having had many experiences, and having done many wonderful things, and having made a number of revelations about Himself, our Precious King and Savior Jesus now returns to Capernaum for the last time. He will not see it again. During this section Jesus has been putting all His efforts into proclaiming His Kingdom and into preparing His disciples for what lies ahead, especially emphasizing, as He does now for the third time, that He has come to suffer and die, and then rise again. Now, from this point on, the fulfillment of His prophecies will begin as He commences His journey to Jerusalem to die.
30 Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it. 31 For 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.” 32 But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.
Let us take a hard look at the statement, ‘The Son of Man is delivered up into the hands of men.’ The Son of Man, God’s chosen One, is delivered up by God into men’s hands. Who can grasp the enormity of it? He Who was truly Man as God had intended man to be, and Who had the mind of God and walked in full obedience to God, He Who was the purest, kindest, most compassionate being who ever lived, is to be ‘handed over’ to the wild beasts that is described in Daniel chapter 7. What a paradox. He was shortly to come on the clouds of heaven into the presence of God, but first He must be humiliated and treated as evilly as a man can treat his fellow, and with total disdain. Man was to be allowed to have his day in which he could reveal how evil he had become. And there was no limit to the evils he would reveal. Some would not take a direct hand in it, but they would approve of what was done, or at least not protest against it. And let us make no mistake about it, had we been in their situation most of us would have been part of it.
Let us take note what our Lord Jesus said. He was not to be delivered into the hands of Satan but into the hands of men. Satan’s evil influence would undoubtedly be behind it, and through what was done Satan was to be totally defeated [to his great surprise], but it was man who was to be the prime instigator.
‘And when he is killed after three days he will rise again.’ Disaster will be followed by triumph. Not for one moment are we to be allowed to think that God will be defeated. His death will be followed immediately by resurrection in the short but complete period determined by God. Death would be defeated and God would triumph. How clearly the disciples were given preparation for what was to be, and how totally unprepared they were, simply because they did not believe Him.
They did not understand because they did not want to. They were afraid to ask Him because they did not want what He was saying to be confirmed. How much easier it would have been for them in the end if they had been willing to believe. But men do not easily give up their cherished ideas even if they are wrong. How often we are like them. The way of God is too hard for us, so we convince ourselves that there is another way. But often there is not.
33 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. 35 And 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.” 36 Then 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.”
Mohammed Ali as a boxer would proclaim that he was the greatest of all. Now a shriveled up old man suffering from Parkinson ’s disease he has come to a humbling end of his life and has learned first hand that he is not the greatest of all. We all know that there is only One Who Was, Is, and ever shall be the ‘Greatest’ of all. He Is our Supreme Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High – and He does not share that ‘Glory’ with anyone.
I wonder who started the argument on who is the greatest of all the apostles. Was it Peter? Hey, after all he was the one who heard the voice of the Father Who declared that our Lord Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Promised Holy One Anointed for the Salvation of mankind.
I believe that the argument was stirred up by James and John. For we will see that they ask this after the Lord has informed the disciples that He was going to be handed over to the religious henchmen and that He would be put to death.
We know that James and John with a little help from their mother went to the Lord and asked to be the top guys in the Lord’s kingdom. You don’t remember that happening, well let us look at the Gospel of Matthew chapter 20, “17 Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, 18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, 19 and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.” 20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. 21 And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.” 22 But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.” 23 So He said to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”
Now we see that this is how the dispute began because the others had heard all that was said and was bothered, - “24 And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.
33 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. 35 And 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.” 36 Then 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.”
In my lifetime I wanted to be important. I grew up as a street kid who was on his own since the age of 9. I had made a vow to myself that I would not be beaten down by people. Boy was I mistaken. I had sought out the highest positions I could obtain. I look at these now and realize that they all begin with the letter P, which to me stands for ‘pathetic’. I was President of my own company. I was a Postmaster of a multi million dollar operation. I now am a Pastor. I have taken abuse, misuse, insults, and mistreatment throughout my lifetime. I have received horrible treatment from the people I work(ed) for; who I work(ed) with; and from those I serve(d). The only thing that has help me hand in there is that I know I belong to Adoni Yeshua and He can assign me anywhere He wants. If He wants to move me or even perhaps someday ‘Bless’ me than in Him do I put my trust.
I mean stop and really think about who has been important in their lives. Try naming the Presidents of the US. If you are like me you will only name a few. And these are the people who go down in the history books. You and I will never account for a hill of beans. Yet, at the same time we do have our names listed in the Lambs Book of Life. That is all that matters in our existence.
As we continue to find out from chapter 20 of Matthew this great passage from the prophet Isaiah in chapter 55 that what we think is almost always incorrect, for God Is not like us, “7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; And to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. 8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Our Lord explains how you can go about making sure that you will be ‘great’ in His kingdom. This happens by doing this, “25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. 26 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Anyone looking for advancement? I have openings in our Sunday School for teachers and helpers.
