The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 22, 2024

Mark 9:30-37

How’s Your Followership?

Followers of Christ are Humble Servants!

30They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” 32But they did not understand what he meant 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 road?” 34But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

35Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

36He 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.” (NIV1984)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

If you listen closely you’ll hear many people today talking about “greatness.” Take the field of sports for example. When we lived in Flint there was a young woman boxer who declared that she was the G.O.A.T.— the Greatest Of All Time! While I certainly would not challenge her to prove that claim I did think it was rather presumptuous for her to make that claim. The term G.O.A.T., however, is often used for tennis players, for NFL quarterbacks and for professional basketball players.

In the field of politics presidents are often rated from “Best” to “Worst.” On a local level candidates for various offices promote themselves as the “best” person for that job. Here in Petaluma there is a dentist that has a sign outside his office that says: Voted #1 Best Dentist 10x’s! Even pastors and even congregations are tempted to think of themselves as “the best”!

This desire for “greatness” seems to be a part of our fallen human DNA. Whether it’s at school or at work or among the members of our own family we like to receive preferential treatment. We like to get ahead of others. We like taking precedence over others.

Since neither you nor I are immune from this desire for “greatness” — let’s embrace that desire! Whether it’s at work or at home, whether it’s at school or here at church let’s embrace the desire for “greatness”— using God’s definition of “greatness”! Using God’s definition of “greatness” enables us to ask ourselves the question, How’s Your Followership? and see that: Followers of Christ are Humble Servants!

Our sermon text for today comes from what we might call a “transitional” portion of Mark’s Gospel account. The opening chapters of Mark’s Gospel introduce Jesus of Nazareth as the amazing authoritative Teacher who has the ability to perform amazing miracles. Mark does this to reveal that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of God. The revelation of Jesus’ identity as the Son of God culminates on the Mount of Transfiguration. After coming down from the Mount of Transfiguration Mark records how Jesus healed the boy who was possessed by an evil spirit—something that Jesus’ disciples were not able to do. (See Mark 9:14-29) The transitional nature of Mark’s Gospel is also seen in the opening verses of our text where he writes, “They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill hm, and after three days he will rise.’ But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.”

Jesus’ great Galilean ministry was coming to an end. Now Jesus devotes less time to public preaching and more time to teaching the Twelve. For this reason Jesus “did not want anyone to know where they were.” For this reason Jesus needed privacy. Why did Jesus want to spend private time with His disciples? Because Jesus knew that He needed to devote Himself to intensive ongoing training of His disciples. Jesus knew that He needed to prepare His disciples for what was to come— His betrayal, His arrest, His death on the cross (Pointing to the cross) and His physical resurrection from the dead.

And yet, even after this intensive private instruction, even after explaining to His disciples that the ancient prophecies concerning the Messiah were about to be fulfilled, how did the disciples react? Mark tells us, “But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.” The disciples did not want to grasp what seemed so incredibly horrible to them! Unfortunately, it seems as though the disciples stopped listening to Jesus after He revealed that He was going “to be killed.” No! That did not fit with the disciples’ plan for Jesus! Jesus was supposed to get rid of the hated Romans and rule as King right here on this earth! Because Jesus’ teaching did not line up with what the disciples had envisioned for Jesus they were “afraid to ask him about it.”

The reaction of Jesus’ disciples certainly doesn’t surprise us, does it. If Jesus says something to us that we don’t want to hear, if Jesus says something to us that we disagree with— how do we respond? Do we automatically put on our listening ears, or do we all too often block out what Jesus says and continue to believe whatever we want to believe and live however we want to live?

Now look at the Christian church at large. Far too many people who claim to be followers of Christ imagine that the chief purpose of the church is found in various activities— activities that either consciously or unconsciously relegate to the background the message of a Savior crucified for our sins. They imagine that the chief purpose of the church is to push for social and political reforms, doing things that will make the world a “better place to live,” and to concentrate on programs which show that the church is a “force for good” in this world. The central message of the Bible, the central message Jesus that lived and died and rose again to save people from their sins is all too often considered to be outdated and offensive.

Sadly, even though Jesus made it very clear to His disciples that the goal of His ministry was to fulfill the heavenly Father’s Plan of Salvation for this world by fulfilling the Messianic prophecies, Jesus’ disciples still held on to their own goals and their own priorities. Look at what Mark tells us in verses thirty-three and thirty-four of our text, “They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.”

Did this argument stem from the fact that only Peter, James and John had been allowed to go with Jesus up the Mount of Transfiguration? Did this argument stem from the fact that Jesus had openly commended Peter for that wonderful confession of faith he made? Did their argument stem from the fact that only one of them had been entrusted with the money bag— Judas? While we are not told exactly what prompted the disciples to argue about which of them was “the greatest,” the fact that they did not want to tell Jesus why there were arguing revealed that deep down inside they knew that their idea of “greatness” did not line up with what Jesus had just told them about His own suffering, death and resurrection.

Do we ever have a similar debate, my friends? Whether it’s privately in our own heart and our own mind or openly with someone else do we ever argue about who is the “greatest”? Let’s be honest with ourselves. The same sinful pride that led Satan and his followers to rebel against the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth (1 Timothy 3:1-7), the same sinful pride that led Aaraon and Miriam to “talk against Moses” (Numbers 12:1-15), the same sinful pride that led Jesus’ disciples to argue about which of them was “the greatest”— that same sinful pride lives in our hearts as well. That pride can lead us to rebel against our God. That pride can lead us to talk negatively about our pastor or about the leaders of our congregation. That pride can lead us to look down on others— even our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Because Jesus, the Son of God, knew exactly why His disciples were arguing among themselves, because Jesus, the Son of God, knows how easily pride can rear its ugly head in our hearts and in our lives, Mark tells us that Jesus called the Twelve to Himself and through Mark Jesus calls us to His side and says, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” All too often we follow the example of the world and measure “greatness” by how much a person has accumulated or by how often and by how many people “serve” them. The person who is the boss at work is looked at as being “greater” than the people they supervise. All too often people think that “greatness” can be achieved by climbing over others in order to get ahead, by putting others down in order to push yourself up, and by highlighting other people’s weaknesses in an effort to build up your own strength. That’s the way that this world thinks! Jesus turns the conventional wisdom of this world completely upside down!

In God’s eyes the essence of true “greatness”— spiritual “greatness”— is found in humble selfless service to others. In God’s eyes the essence of true “greatness”— spiritual “greatness”— is found in placing yourself beneath the weak and the vulnerable to that you can serve them instead of expecting that they will serve you. In God’s eyes the essence of “greatness”— spiritual “greatness”— is determined by how much a person is dedicated to helping others without any concern for personal gain.

To illustrate this point Mark tells us that Jesus used an Object Lesson for His disciples. Mark says, “He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms he said to them, ‘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.’” Children can be exasperating, can’t they. There are days when no matter what you do for them, no matter what you give to them it’s not good enough. There are days when it seems like they don’t even notice much less value what you do for them. There are days when we might even wonder if it’s worth all the time and all the effort and all the money! But deep down inside we know just how precious children are! That’s why Jesus used a little child to encourage His disciples and to encourage us to look at “greatness” from a completely different perspective— the perspective that centers on service!

Service isn’t great because of the dividends we hope to reap. Service is great when it is performed for someone great. Service is great when there is no promise of reward— at least, not in this life! That’s why Jesus used a little child as the perfect Object Lesson for His disciples— including us! When we “welcome” a little child, when we wrap our arms around them as Jesus did here in our text, in reality we are not only “welcoming” Jesus, but we are also “welcoming” the heavenly Father. To put it another way, every time we humbly serve a little child, every time we humbly serve anyone “in Jesus’ name,” that is, on the basis of what Jesus has done for us (Pointing to the cross), on the basis of what Jesus has given to us— we are humbly serving both our Savior and our heavenly Father! Is there anything “greater” than that!

In my little mind these words of our Lord take me back to Matthew chapter twenty-five That is where Jesus says to those on His right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” And when the “sheep,” when the followers of Christ said, “When? When did we do this for you, Lord?” do you remember how Jesus responded? He said, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:34-40).

As followers of Christ we humbly serve others because Christ humbly served us. (Pointing to the cross) As followers of Christ we humbly serve others even if no one seems to notice what we are doing, even if no one seems to appreciate what we are doing. As followers of Christ we humbly serve others recognizing that the true greatness in what we do is found in the realization that no matter what we do— whether “big” or “small” in the eyes of others— we are serving Him! (Pointing to the cross)

So what can you take home with you from this portion of Scripture? Let me suggest two things. First, as followers of Christ you can take home with you the realization of how dangerous it is to let pride have a place in your heart. Pride will lead you to look down on others— even your brothers and sisters in Christ. Pride will lead you to compare yourself to others— even your brothers and sisters in Christ— and like the disciples here in our text, “argue” in your own mind over who is the “greatest.”

Secondly, as followers of Christ you can rededicate yourself to humbly serving others. Ask yourself, “How can I be a humble servant to my family today? How can I be a humble servant to my friends today? How can I be a humble servant to my congregation today? How can I be a humble servant to the people around me today?”

When we as followers of Christ daily battle against the sinful pride that lives in our hearts and when we as followers of Christ daily dedicate ourselves to being a humble servant, then we as followers of Christ will daily feel our Savior wrap His loving arms around us and say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Mark 25:21)

To God be the glory!

Amen