THE GREATNESS SECRET
MARK 9:33-37
MARK 9:33-37 NKJV
33 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?" 34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. 35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." 36 Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37 "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."
OBSERVATION:
You would think that Jesus' own disciples would have caught on to His message of love and service quicker than everyone else. Nope. These guys missed it pretty badly.
The twelve were having an actual dispute as they were traveling with Jesus. There were other people who followed Jesus during His time on earth, so this dispute may have spilled over to others as well.
Jesus asked them what they were arguing about, and they all got quiet. That would have been a great time for them to have owned up and have been accountable. They were arguing about which one of them would be the greatest.
So, Jesus sits down and has a teaching moment with the twelve. In this moment, He shares the secret to greatness. But this is not greatness by the world's standards. What Jesus explained to the twelve was Kingdom of God greatness.
In God's kingdom, the idea is not to be first but to be last. To be last, you must put others before yourself.
In God's kingdom, the idea is not to be the ruler but the one who serves and helps others.
And Jesus was not done turning the tables on what true greatness looks like.
He took a little child up in His arms and said something astounding. That when a child was received in Jesus' name, it was receiving Jesus Himself. And if Jesus was received, it was receiving from God who sent Him.
To a culture that did not highly esteem children, this must have caught the disciples off guard. They had gotten in trouble with Jesus by shooing children away from Him. Now they were to receive and esteem them? For these twelve men, following Jesus had to be both amazing and confounding at the same time.
APPLICATION:
Jesus had to keep repeating this great secret with His disciples. In the very next chapter, John and James asked for exalted positions of leadership.
The Kingdom greatness secret needs to be a repeated theme due to the fact that it is totally unsupported in our world's system. The great ones rule and are served, and aspiring to greatness means being top dog.
But Kingdom greatness has not changed. And we all still need to be reminded. Put others before ourselves. Look to serve, not be served. Treat all, even little children, with honor and respect.
PRAYER:
Dear Lord, in my efforts to be great I want to make sure I am pleasing to You. Help me to learn more about true servanthood and greatness in Your Kingdom