Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Mark 9:30-37
Pastor: Pastor Schlicht
Sermon Date:  September 23, 2018

It was the first day of 8th grade and Mrs. Seidl told us to line up for lunch. Some of the students, I may or may not have been involved, began crowding around the door to get in the front of the line. Mrs. Seidl found this quite amusing and so she decided that the first would be last and the last would be first. The end of the line became the front and those vying for first place were the last to eat that day. For a few seconds, as we walked to the cafeteria, the 8th graders of Black Creek Elementary experienced the reality of the Kingdom of God. The words from the Gospel ring out, “If anyone wants to be first, he will be last of all and servant of all.” As we get older, we don’t push and shove when getting into line anymore. But we do still find ourselves trying to get a better position in this life. We want to be first; we want to be great. Jesus’ words today tell us that, while this desire is not bad in and of itself, greatness has a different definition. God doesn’t operate by comparison or rank. Greatness in his eyes has nothing to do with accolades or praise. True greatness is about denial and the quest for last place.

Our Gospel Lesson catches up with Jesus and the disciples en route to Capernaum just weeks before his crucifixion. This was something that Jesus wanted to prepare them for. He said, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill him. But three days after he is killed, he will rise.” This was the second time he had laid it out before them in plain speech. They were dark words, dramatic words: “betrayal”, “murder”, “resurrection”. Questions swirled in the disciples’ heads, but silence was the only reply Jesus received. And so they continued on to Capernaum. As they walked he could hear them arguing about something. They spoke in hushed tones, but he knew what they were saying and when they arrived at the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” Again, silence was their only reply. You see the disciples had been arguing about which one of them was the greatest. Confronted with their pride and insensitivity they found themselves at a loss for words. But instead of righteously tearing into them, Jesus simply sits down and begins to teach them. “If anyone wants to be first,” he said, “he will be last of all and servant of all.”

So simple, yet so profound. Firstly, notice that Jesus does not criticize his disciples for pursuing greatness. God has created each one of us with an inherent ambition for greatness and significance. It is true to say that God wants us to come to the end of our lives and know that they were well-invested. But what Jesus recognizes is that the disciples’ God-given longing for greatness had been corrupted by sin. Greatness isn’t based on respect and accolades received by men, it is based on selfless service out of love for God. The disciples desired to be known as great, instead of actually being great. What makes this even worse is that they had this argument about greatness right after Jesus had just told them about being betrayed, and condemned, and killed on a cross. Mark records that the disciples did not understand the statement and were afraid to ask him about it. That’s putting it lightly. The Greek term used here is rhema. The only other use of rhema is in chapter 14 when Peter denies knowing Jesus. Thus, “not understanding the statement” here in Mark is associated with a denial. The disciples were in denial of Jesus’ cross. That’s the only way they could be thinking about earthly greatness. It makes you wonder, how could they be so obtuse? How could they be so insensitive?

The truth is that we are often quick to condemn the sin in others which we have long buried in ourselves. King David burned with righteous anger over a rich man who stole a poor man’s lamb, even though he had just taken the wife and life of one of his own soldiers. So too, it may be easy to see just how delusional the disciples are because we too dream about being great on earth. Sometimes we care more about being seen as great instead of being great. We may exaggerate a story about our success or fib to cover up our shortcomings. We care more about looking great than actually being great and telling the truth. We work hard when the boss is watching, but sometimes waste time when we know we can get away with it. We want to look like a great employee, more so than be a great employee. We sometimes will bend over backwards for a friend but grudging move an inch for our husband or wife. We care more about looking like a good servant than actually being a servant. Or just think about the sins you commit in private. We would never do them in public because there would be shame and consequence. We care more about looking moral than actually living our faith with integrity. We have a desire for greatness, but it has become twisted by sin into a hollow, vein, and false type of greatness.

But thankfully, Jesus was able to redefine greatness for us. “If anyone wants to be first, he will be last of all and servant of all.” Jesus didn’t just say this, he lived it. He became a laughing stock for Roman soldiers who dressed him up in a purple robe, he became hideously disfigured, as one from whom men hide their faces, Isaiah says. He was blamed for the guilt of all our sin, forsaken by God the Father, and murdered. He became last of all. That’s why he is great. He became last to put us first. He paid for our sins and booked a place in heaven. If you need more proof of Jesus’ definition of greatness, then remember that because he became last and died in our place, God raised him from the dead and exalted him to the highest place in heaven. Some might have seen a wretched criminal hanging on that cross, a man who was the farthest thing from great. But we see true greatness defined in the cross. In fact, we see our own greatness defined at the cross. We are great because of Christ. We are perfect in God’s eyes, righteous and pure, and nobody can take that away from us. What comfort we find in this new definition of greatness!

In that small house in Capernaum, Jesus did something striking in order to further explain this new definition of greatness to his disciples. He gave them a living object lesson: “Then he took a little child and placed him in their midst. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them…” Children were the lowest members of society in first-century Palestine. Caring for them came with none of the encouragement and respect that parenting has today. Little children were one step above animals, things that needed to be kept quiet and cleaned once and while. But Jesus takes a child into his arms to show that if you want to be great, if you want to be first, you must serve even those who can give you nothing in return. (I think every parent knows this lesson of servanthood. Although how quickly we forget this lesson once learned. You must give up many personal comforts and conveniences to care for a child.) You must serve with no expectation of earthly praise. That’s what greatness is: the denial of self. You must put even a lowly child before yourself. And then, with the child in his arms, he says, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me, welcomes not just me but also him who sent me.” Everything with Jesus always gets spiritual, doesn’t it? But it’s true, there is no separation between our regular life and our spiritual life. The truth is that even when people aren’t watching God is. And whether you are at work or home, whether you are at church or at a gas station, you can live your life in the name of Jesus. You might be changing another diaper at 2:00am in the morning, but guess what, when you take care of that baby you are taking care of Jesus. When you work you can work for Jesus. (Even if you don’t like your job, you can always like your boss.) When you clean up a mess at home, you can clean it up for Jesus! Whether you eat or you drink, whatever you do it all to the glory of God. (1 Cor 10:31) And that means that whether you’re Lebron James or you live alone in retirement, regardless of what people see, you can do what is truly great in the eyes of God.

It reminds me of when I gave my first guitar away. I got my first guitar cheap at an auction and I fixed it up with my mom, but it was never really a great instrument. My second guitar was so much better than my first guitar, there was no comparison. So when my sister said she was interested in playing, I was happy to give her my old guitar. The same is true in terms of our life on earth. We have been given a life that is so much better, there is no comparison. We have an eternal life in heaven. So we are able to give away our current lives here to serve God and others. We take the last place because we know that God has put us first in heaven. And we do it joyfully because we know that in serving the “least of these” we are showing love for God himself.

My friends, the disciples were afraid of asking Jesus what his cross meant. Let us be bold enough to ask that question. Let us ponder the implications of following a Savior who was willing to be the servant of all, even to the point of death. Let us deny ourselves in the quest for last place. Our greatness was set at the cross, let us now joyfully live in that definition. And let us look forward to the day when we hear our Savior’s voice, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you…Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Mt. 25) Amen.