I am a very competitive person. I love to win and I love to be the best. As such, I have high standards for myself and for other people as well. Some might even call me a perfectionist and perhaps you are a perfectionist yourself.
But deep down inside, I think we all yearn to be the greatest. I haven’t met a single person who likes to lose or wants to just be average. Everywhere we look we have role models and icons and people who we aspire to be, rich and successful and powerful people.
Is it any wonder, then, that Jesus’s disciples argued amongst themselves over who might be the greatest in the kingdom of God? Some of us here today would even call ourselves Disciples of Christ because Christ is our inspiration and role model, among many other things. Who doesn’t want to be the greatest disciple? Is it wrong to want to be the best Christian? As it turns out, this is a very dangerous idea, but what makes it so dangerous? What does it mean to be great in God’s kingdom?
To find the answers to these questions, turn with me to Mark 9:33-37. That’s Mark 9:33-37.
33 Jesus and his disciples 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.”
So what’s really going on here?
If we look at Mark 9:1, we might get a sense of why the disciples are arguing. There Jesus states, “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.” The disciples know that a kingdom is coming, but they have no idea what it is. It seems they are arguing about who will have high positions in the new Kingdom of God. However, when Jesus confronts them, the disciples’ silence says everything and the mood suddenly grows tense.
Imagine you are at work and your boss discovers a group of you stealing from the company. Your boss would likely hold a meeting with all those involved and then go over company policy and procedure concerning what has happened. We see in v35 that this is exactly what Jesus does. He calls together the disciples and everyone sits down and as we would expect Jesus then goes over company policy. You could almost feel the nervousness of the disciples as they await Jesus’s verdict. Based on how Jesus handles the situation, we can say with confidence that this was no trivial matter to Him.
With the disciples fate in the balance, Jesus opens his mouth and says this, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last and the servant of all.” Jesus repeats this idea three times in Mark, once in Mark 9:35, once in Mark 10:31, and again in Mark 10:42-45. It is clear that this is a point that bears repeating. The first will be last and the last will be first.
You may be confused about what he means the first will be last and the last first, but if you’ve ever stood in a line the meaning becomes easier to understand. Say for example, that there was a long line at Dunkin Donuts. If you march right up to the front of the line as if you were more important, the cashier would send you to the back of the line anyway. So not only do you still end up last, but you are also humiliated in the process. On the contrary, if you would have just waited patiently at the end of the line, eventually you would become first. It is not until everyone before you is served that you can be served. In the same way, you cannot force your way to greatness in the Kingdom of God or you will be humbled.
But what if instead of waiting in line, you strapped on an apron and started serving everyone in front of you? The manager wouldn’t pay you a wage, but of course would take notice of you and praise you with words or gifts. In the same way God takes notice of those who serve faithfully without expecting a reward or recognition and exalts them. The only way, then, to become great in God’s kingdom is to be a servant. So in the Kingdom of God, Jesus values the least the most.
So now we know how to be great in God’s Kingdom, but logically, to be great in the kingdom, you have to be part of the kingdom. The question then is, “How can I become part of God’s Kingdom?”
In verses 36-37, Jesus sets a little child to be our role model. Now children have absolutely no status or material possession. Everything they have has been given to them and they have no legal rights to make their own decisions. Jesus makes clear that whoever does not accept or welcome children in His name does not accept Him. If we do not accept Jesus we also do not accept the one who sent him, God. And if we do not accept God as our King, how can we say we are part of his kingdom? Only those who welcome the least in Christ’s name are welcome in the Kingdom of God.
But not only do we welcome those of little status but we are to become like those of little status as well. Mark 10:13-16 is the sister passage to Mark 9:33-37. Both contain references to children, both show Jesus hugging children and both are about Jesus receiving children. These two passages were meant to be read together. Here Jesus says in v15 that whoever will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter into it.
We see then, the dangerous idea behind wanting to be the greatest in the kingdom of God. If we consider ourselves to be of privileged status above others, we threaten our own salvation and citizenship in God’s kingdom. If we turn away those in our society who are considered inferior in some way, we also have no part in Jesus Christ, apart from whom no one can be saved. Just some examples of people we might consider inferior are the homeless, prostitutes, gays, people of different race or gender, immigrants, women, children, the physically and mentally handicapped, and the list goes on.
These are the least that Jesus values the most. If we wish to take part in God’s kingdom, we are to be the least by serving the least. Jesus came not to be served but to serve. He became the least among us by humbling himself to death on a cross and so God has exalted him to the highest place. If we wish as well to be exalted by God, we must first humble ourselves in obedience to God and servitude to our brothers and sisters. Think about it. If you consider yourself already high, God can’t exalt you much higher. It is only when you consider yourself lowly that God can then lift you up.
So what have I said? In order to be the greatest Christian, we must become humble, so I should try my best to be humble, right? You missed the point. If being humble was something you could do, then it is also something you can compete with other Christians about. “I’m more humble than Sally.” “Scott is a better Christian than me because he’s more humble.” Being a Christian is not a competition, but it’s more like cheese. Some are more mature than others and some smell a bit weird, but in the end it’s either bread or cheese. There’s no “sort of cheese” or I-can’t-believe-it’s-not cheese.
It’s not about how good your cheese is. It’s not about how many people you can save or about how much you pray or how much you read your Bible. Being humble is nothing you can do, rather it is knowing your place at the end of the line and not cutting up to the front. There is no Christian who considers himself greater than his brothers. Paul himself considers himself the worst sinner, and yet we venerate his life and teachings today not because Paul was any different than us, but rather God has made him great. He considered himself last before all men in service to them so that God might be glorified. So you see, Jesus works the most through the least because Jesus values the least the most.
Let us pray.
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