Mark 9:30-37, Reigning in Life (2)

Our passage in Mark begins in v30-32, where Jesus, for the second time, tells His disciples that He is headed for Jerusalem and the betrayal, death and resurrection that will take place.  Let us remind ourselves of the immediate context.  Jesus first spoke of going to Jerusalem in Mk. 8:31-33, and made it clear to the Twelve and to all the people how they could follow Him (8:34-38).  Then came the transfiguration, the glimpse of Jesus’ glory, followed by the situation with the demon-possessed boy.  They had departed from the region of Caesarea Philippi and were returning to the Galilee (v30).  Jesus sought to have significant time with the Twelve, so He did not just tell them they were going to Jerusalem but He “taught” them things they needed to know as they followed Him to Calvary.  The things He taught them, at least in the rest of Mark 9, had to do with how they would live in this life, in the here and now.  And it revolved around issues of “greatness.”

·       Greatness part 1: 9:33-37.  There was a struggle within the fellowship of the Twelve about greatness.  On the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.  That would have been interesting.  Maybe it arose because Peter, James and John were permitted to be with Jesus on the mountain while the rest were down below, unable to cast out a demon.  We aren’t told so we don’t have to know.  We just know that this is a typical human topic!  It is typical because sinful men pursue the “pride of life” (1 Jn. 2:15).  As Jesus had said of Peter in 8:33: You are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of man.  So Jesus instructed them in the “things of God,” using two pictures: the servant and the child.  In Mk. 10 we will have a more extensive record of Jesus’ teaching on this, where He blesses the children and then gives more detail on the servant attitude.  What is interesting to me is that Mark records this twice.  It is interesting because the common thought is that Mark wrote to the Roman audience.  Rome was all about greatness.  The Romans were the reigning power.  That is how man thinks.  Every religion apart from true Christianity wants to impress you with the greatness of their “god.”  They cannot fathom the idea of a God who becomes a Servant.  But these are the “things of God:” If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all. To reign in life does not require self-importance.  Those who rule are servants with child-like faith.