The Real Marks of Greatness
Mark 9:33-50
Lessons from the hen house
Have you ever been around a farm?
Something I’ve learned about chickens is that there is a definite "pecking order" to the flock. Within the flock of hens, one of them always becomes dominant. She will peck away at any hen that makes her angry or gets in her way. At first, the other hens that get pecked don’t like it and try to retaliate. But when they see they can’t win, they begin to turn on each other.
Each chicken that isn’t the dominant one begins to take our her frustrations on the others. And soon there became a pecking order. The next strongest would picks on the next weakest, and so on and so on. Until one hen is left who is the lowliest and weakest in the pecking order. And she has no one to peck at, so she’ll just run away from all the conflict.
Transition
Well, that’s something like the situation we have here in the beginning of our passage this morning. As they are walking along the road, the disciples are trying to establish a pecking order among themselves. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that three of them were chosen to join Jesus on the mountain for His Transfiguration. Maybe it had something to do with the other nine disciples inability to cast a demon out of a local child, while Jesus was on the mountain.
But regardless of the reason, something spurred an argument about who of them was going to be the greatest in this new Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus was constantly talking about. Their question really had to do with significance. Not only who would be top dog after Jesus, but how would a significant human being be recognized in this new paradigm? What was the pecking order going to be?
Mark 9:33-34 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.
Now, the interesting thing in this opening incident is that when Jesus asked them what they were talking about, all of them clammed up; no one would say a word. They all kept quiet. They obviously were embarrassed about their conversation.
But Jesus knew exactly what they were talking about. He knew that it was inconsistent with the way His disciples should be acting. So, when they got to the house in Capernaum, Jesus decided to make this a teachable moment about what greatness and significance was all about in the context of the Kingdom of God.
The Overriding Principle
Mark 9:35 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."
Here’s God definition of being great… …You don’t achieve greatness by seeking to be first. You achieve it by a willingness to be last. …You don’t achieve significance by getting people to serve you. You achieve it by becoming a servant of all.
The Lessons of the Child
In order to drive His lesson home, Jesus uses an object lesson-in this case, it is a human object-a little child who happened to be in the house where they were having this conversation. And he uses this child to drive home His point about God’s idea of greatness and significance.
Mark 9:36-37 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."
What a beautiful scene. This was probably Peter or Andrew’s child that was singled out by Jesus. Jesus wraps His big carpenter arms around this little one, and says, "True greatness has a lot like to do with our relationship with a child." Then Jesus goes on to teach the disciples three specific things regarding greatness and significance in God’s Kingdom...
A. Love people
The first thing He teaches is you have to love people. Look at verse 37 again…
Mark 9:37 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."
The key to understanding this verse is found in the phrase "in my name". You don’t welcome a child into your arms because of how that child can help your career advance. You don’t take a child up in your arms because that will give you status or recognition in the community. You welcome a child out of love. Now, love is one of the ways we define who God is. God is love. So, receiving a child in His name is accepting that child in love.
William Barclay, in his New Testament commentary makes a great statement about this idea. I’ve put it on the front of your copy of "The Week…"
"Now, a child has no influence at all. A child cannot advance a man’s career, nor enhance a man’s prestige. A child cannot give us things; it’s the other way around. A child needs things. A child must have things done for him. And so Jesus is saying, ’If a man welcomes the poor, ordinary people, the people who have no influence, and no wealth, and no power, the people who need things done for them, then he’s welcoming me. And more than that, he’s welcoming God.’"
So, what Jesus is really saying in this first point to the disciples is that to achieve greatness or significance in the Kingdom of God, you must welcome and love people. And we must do it with no consideration of what someone can do for us. You see, the world tells us to use people for personal gain. But God says to love people because they are precious to Him.
Now, this triggers something in John’s mind (who is known as the beloved disciple), so he asks a questions…
Mark 9:38 38 "Teacher," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us."
In other words, did we do the right thing, based on what you just said? Look at what Jesus says…
Mark 9:39-40 39 "Do not stop him," Jesus said. "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us.
Friends, here is a point of very practical application. I am a member of the Conservative Baptist movement by choice. So are most of you. We have chosen to affiliate with this group because we believe in things like the Inerrancy of Scripture, Believer’s Baptism, the Autonomy of the Local Church, and a Worldwide Missionary Effort. But what about Christian groups that don’t have those same emphasis in their make-up? Should we shun them? Should we have nothing to do with them? Should we remain separated from them? The answer is "no". In fact, Jesus is saying here, "If they keep the main thing the main thing-faith in Jesus alone for salvation-then you’re on the same team." And folks, teammates should never tear each other down. When they do, it destroys the team effort.
Illustration: In my first year of playing football at Wheaton, we had a click of about 6 guys who were always criticizing the coach, his play calling, and even the school. It was obvious they weren’t happy playing for Wheaton. And they caused a lot of dissension on the team. The result was, we never really played as a team that year, and we won very few games. But at the end of the year, all six of those guys transferred to other schools. It was amazing how much better we played as a team the next year. Now, the dissenters were all good athletes, but they’re abilities never really contributed to the team. When they left, the team became a much better team and started to win some games.
Well, I believe that’s the way the churches in a community impact a community best and advance the Kingdom of God most effectively. If we major on the major thing-faith in Jesus Christ alone-we demonstrate a unity to the community that is attractive, and we build up each other’s effectiveness.
So, greatness starts by treating people with love-regardless of the differences, or how lovable someone is. Because people-all people-matter to God.
B. Help the "less mature" become "more mature"
The second mark of greatness or significance follows in the next two verses…
Mark 9:41-42 41 I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward. 42 "And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck.
Now an easy way to restate this and retain what Jesus is trying to get across is that if someone wants to be significant person, then you’ll help someone who is less mature in the faith to become more mature.
Even the smallest ministry in the name of Jesus to a developing believer is valued greatly by God. Our children’s Sunday School teachers, Children’s Church teachers, AWANA leaders, and nursery workers are VIP’s in the Kingdom of God. These are people in our church who are helping to shape developing minds with God’s words. Some of you have the gift of teaching, and a passion for kids, but your not involved. You need to be. There are few things that you can be involved in that will matter more for the Kingdom of God than teaching children.
But according to verse 42, those who do damage to the faith of little ones, or even new adult believers by not caring about them, or leading them down unbiblical paths will feel God’s wrath. It is better for such people to have a 500 pound rock tied around their necks and be thrown into the Salton Sea. Nurturing young believers-whether children or adults-is incredibly important to God. In fact, those that abuse that privilege are in for big trouble when they meet their maker.
Illustration: I remember reading one of O. Henry’s short stories in college that addresses this issue. In the story he told of a little girl whose mother died. When the father would come home from work, he would fix their meal, then he’d sit down with his paper and pipe, put his feet on the hearth and read. The little girl would come and say, "Father, would you play with me?" And he would say, "No, I’m too tired, I’m too busy. Go out in the street and play." This went on for so long that the little girl, literally grew up on the streets and eventually became a prostitute. When she died, in the story, she appeared at the gates of heaven, and Peter said to Jesus, "Here’s a prostitute. Shall we send her to hell?" And Jesus said, "No-let her in. But go find the man who refused to play with her when she was a little girl, and send him to hell."
To have a life that is significant and makes a lasting impact, you will be involved in helping the less mature become more mature in their faith in God.
C. Judge Yourself
The third mark of greatness in the Kingdom of God is that we must be willing to judge ourselves.
Mark 9:43-48 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where "’their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’
Now, remember, Jesus still has a small child in His arms. So, the context in not just sin in these verses. The context is what your life or lifestyle is doing to harm the spiritual development of a less mature believer or a child.
A foot that has gangrene, if it’s not amputated, the gangrene infection will eventually take over the body and kill it. This is what Jesus is saying... If you have sin in your life, or if you have a character defect that’s not consistent of a follower of Christ, you have to undergo surgery. That "thing" must be removed. The infection must be cut out. You must do whatever is necessary to get that imperfection out of your life.
Because not only does that sin or character flaw affect you and your witness as a Christian, but it also affects the whole body of Christ. If you refuse to deal with the problem you have, you rob the entire church of its vitality, effectiveness and growth.
But, if you are honest with yourself, and honestly examine your life. And if in doing that you discover even the hint of sin or inappropriate character, and seek to remove it, then you are a person who is destined for greatness in the Kingdom of God. You are a person of true significance.
III. Salt and Fire
This is such an important point, that Jesus decides to drive it home with a word picture.
Mark 9:49 49 Everyone will be salted with fire.
Then Jesus says that this idea of honestly judging our own actions and our character is so important that if we don’t do it, God will.
Picture all the parts of your life on a dinner plate-your family life, your hobbies, your marriage relationship, your friendships, your presence in your neighborhood, your vocation, your leisure time. Now, picture God taking a salt shaker and emptying the salt out of the shaker, and replacing it with fire.
Now, fire is talked about in the Bible as doing two things. -First, fire burns junk up. If something isn’t good or useful, fire consumes it, and it is no more. -Second, fire purifies something that is already good. Gold or silver that is put through a fire is purified and becomes more valuable than it was before.
So, Jesus is saying that God is going to salt the things of our lives with fire. And this fire is going to do two things. -First, it’s going to expose the junk of our lives for what it is-things like impure motives, selfishness, conceit, hatred, character that isn’t Christ-like, pride, and so on. And that fire from God’s salt shaker will consume those things in judgment. -But second, if we have good things in our lives-godly character, honesty, integrity, love, compassion-then God’s fire will make those things stand out even more at the final judgment-just like a hot fire purifies gold or silver and makes them even more valuable.
So, the bottom line is either you can judge yourself now, and start filling the plate of your life with things that make you great in God’s eyes, or you can fill your plate with sin and ungodly character. And in the end-at the conclusion of your life, all that’s good will stand out, and all that’s not good will be consumed-because the things of this world are nothing more than rubbish.
B. Losing saltiness
Then, because Jesus has just used this analogy of salting, and His mind is on salt, He continues the "salty" theme with the words of verse 50…
Mark 9:50 50 "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other."
Salt in the time of Jesus, and for hundreds of years before that time, was used as a preservative.
Illustration: Last summer, President George W. Bush spoke at the Harry S. Truman High School in Independence, Missouri. His speech included references to taxes, social security, Medicare, defense, government spending, and other political issues that you would expect a President to address. The reports were that the crowd applauded politely at all the appropriate places during the speech.
Then, in remarking about how he got to Washington, Bush said, "there’s a large call as well, and that’s to work with the American folks to help change our culture to one that’ll be more respectful and more compassionate, from one that used to say, ’If it feels good, do it, and if you got a problem, blame somebody else,’ to one in which all of us are responsible for the decisions we make in life."
When the President mentioned changing the culture, the crowd rose to its feet and gave him a resounding ovation.
Commenting on that reaction, Charles Colson in one of his Breakpoint messages said…
People -- not just Christian people - know intuitively that the culture of America is in an advanced stage of decay and needs to be changed. Left on its current course, our culture will further decay into greater selfishness, hedonism, and immorality.
Culture can be compared to a piece of raw meat sitting in the sun. That meat will decay. Similarly, every culture ever known has, over time, decayed. This is the result of sin in the world. Sin not only corrupts our lives as individuals, it corrupts our corporate lives. Because of the impact of sin in the world, all cultures decay. If the culture is rotting, don’t blame the culture -- it’s natural. Blame the lack of salt.
You see, meat can be preserved and protected from decay using salt, and the culture is preserved and protected from decay through the active presence of the church. Jesus said, "You [that is, you the church] are the salt of the earth." You and I are part of what preserves culture. And, by the grace of God, we can even renew culture. But this doesn’t happen by accident. It happens as Christians develop and live out a Christian worldview, one that is rooted in the Scriptures and the lordship of the God of creation in all things.
And my friends, that’s what we’ve been looking at this morning. A distinctly Christian world view on greatness and significance. In this last verse-verse 50-Jesus is saying that… … if you adopt His definition of greatness, …and look to His way for the significance that every human being craves, …and don’t argue with each other over these important issues …then you’ve adopted a personal world view that has the potential to keep our culture from decaying.
Wow! Imagine that! The church is what preserves culture from decaying. But this only happens if the people of the church are on the same page regarding their understanding of greatness and significance, and make it a point to demonstrate it and encourage it. -Loving people -Helping the less mature become more mature -And constantly judging our character and our actions.
How do you measure up? What’s God’s salt shaker judgment going to reveal at the end of your life? What have you been looking to for meaning and significance in your life? -Job? Bank Account? House? Family? Toys? Cars? Motorcycles? Retirement nest egg? The size of church you attend? The number of friends and people who know you? If you have, then I have news for you-THEY’RE ALL GOING TO BURN!
So, in our closing time, I want you to get very honest with yourself and God. I challenge you to examine your life according to Jesus’ standard of greatness and significance. Don’t look at your past. Look at your present. Are you following the path of Christ, or are you following the path of you?
