The Master's Guide To Greatness

THE MASTER’S GUIDE TO GREATNESS—Mark 9:30-37

Admit it: We all want to be great. (And why not?)

We want to be successful—competent, effective, recognized for what we do. We want to be influential, so that people listen to us and take us seriously. We want be liked, valued, and loved.

Some of us might want to be the top dog, the one with status and power, the one who makes the decisions and tells others what to do. Others don’t want that pressure. But all of us want to be great, even if it is only the greatest “me” I can be.

But how do we become great in the kingdom of God?

Jesus was the greatest man who ever lived. Even before his birth, the angel said to Mary, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. HE WILL BE GREAT and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David..” (Luke 1:30-32) He was the Messiah prophesied for centuries.

In his ministry, Jesus exuded the authority of God himself. People gathered around him to hear what he said and to marvel at the miracles he did. After he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, millions put their faith in him, and even unbelievers have recognized him as one of the greatest people who ever lived.

WHAT DOES JESUS SAY ABOUT HOW TO BE GREAT IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD?

Mark 9 begins with a “mountaintop experience.” Jesus took Peter, James, and John to the top of a mountain, where was “transfigured.” His body and even his clothes shown with glory, and Moses and Elijah joined him. Then he came down from the mountain, still exuding an aura of greatness, so that Mark 9:15 says, “As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.” He then proceeded to cast out an evil spirit that was oppressing a boy.

Jesus must have been feeling it! So what did he do next?

READ Mark 9:30-32.

Twice already Jesus had tried to get his disciples to understand that he was going to the cross. The first time, Peter rebuked him for it. On the mountaintop, the three disciples discussed it among themselves, but they did not ask him what he meant. The disciples needed to understand what was coming, so Jesus got them off by themselves and poured out his heart to them. It did not go so well: “They did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.”

Why were the disciples afraid to ask Jesus what he meant?

Jesus had no tolerance for trick questions; he exposed them as ridiculous or malicious. He rebuked people for questions rooted in an attitude of unbelief. Yet Jesus welcomed honest questions, so why were his disciples afraid to ask him what he meant when he talked about his betrayal and death?

I think the disciples were afraid of what he meant. They didn’t want to understand what he clearly was telling them.

Husbands and wives do this sometimes. They don’t hear what their partner is saying because they don’t want to hear what is really being said. Maybe they laugh it off or slough it off as just a fit of emotion or exaggeration.

Sometimes the words just don’t sink in. People are only half listening, while they are thinking about something else, watching the game, or playing on their phone.

Sometimes the words being said seem so outlandish that the mind shuts them out. Or, in the case of the disciples, they are too unsettling to seriously consider.

The disciples did not understand what Jesus was saying, because his message did not fit in with their plans for Jesus and for themselves. They did not want to hear it.

The cross of Jesus is not an easy message to accept, even today. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:23, “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to gentiles…” If we truly understand the cross, it upsets us. It confronts us with the horrible reality of evil in the world. It destroys our self-righteousness, for Jesus would not need to go to the cross if we could make ourselves right. It reminds us what Jesus did to save us, and the debt of love we owe in return. It humbles us, for every person, no matter how great, must kneel at the foot of the cross to be saved. The ground is level there.

Jesus poured out his heart to his disciples, but what were they thinking about?

READ Mark 9:33-34.

The disciples were like kids in the back seat of the car; “What are you arguing about?” asks a parent. “Nothing,” they reply. But of course it is never about nothing. For the disciples, it was about who was the greatest among them.