Mark 9:33-37 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, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
36 He took a little child whom he placed among them. 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 does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
We have this description of the disciples in Capernaum, and quite a few commentators believe that this was at the house of Peter and Andrew, and personally it’s my thoughts that it may have been at their family home; their Mum and Dad’s place.
Now these saintly people, these disciples were questioned by Jesus, they were challenged “What were you arguing about on the road?” Now Jesus knew what they were arguing about. But the disciples knowing that they had a few issues around control and around status kept quiet, why, because they had been arguing about who was the greatest, not about was God great, or was Jesus great, this was about where they fitted in the scheme of things about their own standing in one another’s eyes. Who was Jesus most trusted, most favored, his right hand man, his best mate, who would he call on when the chips were down?
There’s another similar story about James and John and their mum and how she told her boys that she would approach Jesus about who would sit at which side when he came into his kingdom. Remember in that snippet of Jesus ministry in Mark’s gospel chapter 10:35-45, the other disciples were irate that James and John would ask because all of them were keen on being the greatest, Jesus right hand man. Then again this is not something any of us here would ever want for ourselves is it, greatness? Who would want greatness? I would pick that the vast majority of people could quite happily jump into greatness as long as it didn’t come with celebrity.
Jesus sees this as an opportunity to teach the disciples so he takes the posture of teacher; “Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
Back in the day teachers taught sitting down, the blackboard was yet to be invented, students did not have to attend, to be called was a great tribute, to be chosen to be a student of a rabbi was a great honour. The teacher would sit; his disciples listening intently to everything that was taught, for it was their aim to be like their teacher, to gain his understanding of the word of God, to walk in his dust, to become a rabbi like the rabbi you learnt from. There was no need for flying chalk, or dusters, detentions were unheard of. The class room was where the rabbi was, his words were precious.
So this group of young disciples with their egos in full bloom, chosen by a prominent rabbi, who many believed would soon have an earthly kingdom, naturally wanted to be in positions of power. Who was the greatest, whose words would float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, who would bring about a ten thousand year reign, who was going to be top of the pile? Oh the power the prestige that awaited the favoured one.
Jesus words no doubt took the wind out of their sails just a tad, and left them becalmed as far as greatness went. Jesus said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
You can almost imagine, this bunch of bold young men gagging and blowing whatever they may have been drinking or eating at the time out their nostrils, spitting and coughing as the these words hit home. Last, servant, “ I want to be a great rabbi!, I didn’t leave a good job with decent pay to be a servant, last, no one wants to be last, I always felt sorry for the guy who was last, very last, servant not likely!” These blokes had so much to learn about Jesus kingdom, these blokes would eventually see a very real example of true servant hood.
The next verse is an interesting one as Jesus takes a child and has him stand among them, I wonder who was this child? Some say that it might have been Peter’s son. I wonder if it could have been Peter and Andrew’s sibling, one of a number of children that made up their family. They had arrived at home with their teacher, they were now very important, they had arrived with all of their travel companions and neglected their duty as older siblings.
This little brother ignored left waiting, you can imagine him running to mother, “Simon and Andrew won’t talk to me, they don’t care, and they don’t love me.” How would it feel? Ignored, but this child yet to be desensitised by the harshness of the world, how would it feel? Your brothers too important to embrace you and share a moment of welcome and warmth, too important to acknowledge you, how would that feel?
Now this is my take on what happened, Mark does not say that it happened this way in his gospel, but the point is that Jesus, taught a lesson to the disciples by telling them to welcome little children. Not just to welcome little children but by welcoming little children in Jesus name is to actually welcome Jesus. Jesus says a similar thing about the least, in forecasting what it will be like at the final judgement, “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:40). Service to the least and to little children is serving Jesus.
But Jesus qualifies his statement further in Marks gospel by saying “whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” This points to God, our Father in heaven. Service to the least and little one is serving God.
All of this opposite to all the teaching of the world, “If you want to be great, you go out there and get it, it’s a dog eat dog existence, you’re going to have to get backing, solid support and that will cost you, join the right clubs, be seen with the right people, drive the right car, work your way up, get in with so and so, have a scapegoat lined up to take the fall in case you make a mistake - people are expendable, if you just manipulate this situation.” That’s what the world teaches. We have to be so careful that we don’t get caught up in this as some do, living this during the week and being something else on Sunday. The kingdom of God is about relationships, not a mechanistic management practise or bureaucracy.
1)“If any of you wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” That is what Jesus teaches, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of man could not be more radically opposite!
2)I think that what Jesus is teaching about greatness is that humility is key to being great in God’s kingdom. In Matthew 18:2-3 Jesus speaks these words, “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.” I don’t just think that it stops there either I get the distinct thought that to be as a child is to be sensitive, sensitive to the needs of others as well as our own needs.
When Jesus took this little child and had him stand among them what was he doing?
“The meaning of the symbolic action [of Jesus] cannot be grasped without recognition of the lowly place occupied by children in ancient society and a realization that the same Aramaic word was used for children and servants. Greatness in the kingdom [of God] consists not of position but of ministry, [of service]”. (Brooks, J. A. (1991). Vol. 23: Mark. The New American Commentary (150). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
So, greatness in God’s kingdom comes through service.
We came this week with our offering of ‘one week’s salary on missionary service’, or part thereof, we give financially often in The Salvation Army, are we doing this out of servant hood or because it’s the right thing to do?
3) I guess that there is one way to answer this question and it’s a question I ask myself, what kind of a servant am I the rest of the time? How do I treat those who don’t have, am I empowering them or myself, am I humble in my relationships with others, am I sensitive to other’s needs, a servant to others, do I love my neighbour as myself?
Now answering these questions is something internal, something between God and the individual, something between the church and God, how are we serving one another, in our congregation, those in need in our community, our neighbours? Who is our neighbour – everyone we know of who has a need.
Are we living for God and serving all people? Interceding in prayer for those in need, meeting the need for food for the hungry, helping those trapped in habits to find a way out, sharing the gospel with the hell bound, washing the feet of those who walk through the refuse, through the sewage of life?
Jesus made it very clear in his kingdom, if anyone wants to be great, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.
He took a small child and made he stand among them, in our world who is it that stands – who stands as a servant?
Let’s Pray: Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name,
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Amen.
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