Servant Ministry
Mark 9:30-40
by J. David Hoke
"And from there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He was unwilling for anyone to know about it. For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, 'The Son of Man is to be delivered up into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise again three days later.' But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him. And they came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, 'What were you discussing on the way?' But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest. And sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, 'If any one wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all.' And taking a child, He stood him in the midst of them; and taking him in His arms, He said to them, 'Whoever receives on child like this in My name is receiving Me; and whoever receives Me is not receiving Me, but Him who sent Me.' John said to Him, 'Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to hinder him because he was not following us.' But Jesus said, 'Do not hinder him, for there is no one who shall perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. For he who is not against us is for us.'" (Mark 9:30-40)
"My skateboard is better than your skateboard," says one young boy to another. What is the reply? "No it's not. My skateboard is better than your skateboard." "Well, my bike is better than your bike." "Is not. My bike is better than yours." "Well, my dad can beat up your dad." And so it goes.
There seems to be something within all of us that is of a competitive nature. I know, at least in boys, they are always trying to outdo one another. And I'm sure the same applies to girls. Everybody wants to be better than the next guy. "King of the hill; top of the heap," as Frank Sinatra so aptly described.
The common view of greatness does not include the characteristic of servanthood at all. Prevalent in our society is an attitude that to make it to the top, one must be willing to aggressively challenge and defeat all comers - that one must almost arrogantly be self-assertive; and if anyone gets in the way, they should be used as a stepping stone. After all, it is a dog-eat-dog world. The marketplace is sometimes referred to a "rat race." But the only problem with being in the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat. You might be a great rat, but a rat nonetheless.
Drastically different is the picture of biblical greatness. To be great as far as Jesus was concerned, is to be a servant. This servant attitude should characterize all authentic Christian ministry. To have other attitudes in opposition to these is to fail. To adopt a worldly view of greatness and success means that we will never be truly great. Those who would be "legends in their own time," often only become "legends in their own mind," and are never very important in God's thinking.
In our text for today, Jesus will challenge the pride and exclusivity of the disciples. In doing so, He will reveal to them a better way, a path to true greatness. Today we shall discover the attitudes essential to true Christian ministry.
"And from there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He was unwilling for anyone to know about it. For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, 'The Son of Man is to be delivered up into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise again three days later.' But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him." (vv. 30-32)
Jesus wanted some time alone with His disciples. He was always involved in the business of teaching them. He had already begun to share with them the sober truths of His impending suffering and death. And here, He again brings up the subject. It was not a very popular subject. They didn't really understand the reason why Jesus was talking this way. What purpose could His death serve? They had just begun to understand some of the things He was trying to teach them. And now, He was talking about dying. There was so much more to know. If Jesus went away, who would teach them? They didn't like the subject. But they listened.
Now Jesus is talking about His death and resurrection three days later. In verse 32, we are told the disciples did not understand what He was talking about, and that they were afraid to ask Him what He meant. I do not believe the disciples feared the rebuke of Jesus. Jesus never rebuked anyone for asking Him a question. They probably were afraid to discuss the subject. Often times when people bring up subjects which make you uncomfortable you say, "Let's not talk about that right now." It may be that the disciples simply did not want to know more of this unpleasant talk about Jesus' death. After all, they had other things on their minds.
"And they came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, 'What were you discussing on the way?' But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest." (vv. 33-34)
What the disciples had on their minds was who was the greatest. We don't really know what precipitated conversation. Perhaps it was because Jesus had taken only Peter, James and John up to the Mount of Transfiguration with Him. As you recall, when they descended back down the mountain, Jesus told the disciples not to relate to anyone what they had seen. Perhaps the disciples who did not go asked them what happened there, to which the three replied in a self-righteous way, "We can't tell you. It's privileged knowledge, only for those of us who are most important." If that truly had taken place, it is easy to see how a debate on who was really important followed.
They thought they were safely beyond the distance of Jesus' hearing, but they were not. So Jesus pressed home the question about their discussion. Verse 34 says that they were silent, like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. They were embarrassed. There was really nothing to say. They knew Jesus knew. The best thing they could do was to keep their mouths shut.
The Lord takes this attitude to teach them something about true spiritual greatness, at least by Kingdom standards. In doing so, He will reveal to them that the attitudes of pride and exclusivity have no place in the Christian. The path to greatness is not paved at the expense of others. He will reveal to them two very important attitudes, out of which we deal with others. The first of which is...
"And sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, 'If any one wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all.'" (v. 35)
Notice here a powerful paradox. It is a paradox in the sense that it runs counter to conventional wisdom. In our society, and in theirs as well, greatness was measured in how many served you, how many obeyed your command, how many catered to your needs. As a matter of fact, in the Jewish culture itself, great time was spent in deciding the relative rank of individuals. It was important to know where people fell on the pecking order. How one dealt with a superior was far different than how one dealt with an inferior. Status, authority, and titles were all important in the protocol of the Jewish religious community. Japan may provide us a modern-day parallel of this.
But Jesus said that if someone wants to be first, that person must become servant of all. What a revolutionary idea! It ran counter-culture, counter-natural to all their thinking. What a paradox, a powerful paradox at that.
Notice that Jesus does not discourage ambition. Ambition in itself is not a negative thing. Jesus said, "If anyone wants to be first..." The desire to be first was not rebuked by Jesus, just defined. Ambition to be great is OK as long as it is not selfish ambition. If our ambition is for self-glory and self-gratification, then our ambition is outside of the will of God. Jeremiah 45:5 says, "Are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them." But on the other hand, if we are seeking to be the best God can make us, if we are seeking first His Kingdom and righteousness, if we are seeking to be great in our service to Him, we are seeking a worthy thing.
The paradox is that in order to be great, the first must willingly be last. True greatness is manifested in servanthood. It is not how many serve me, but how many I serve.
To illustrate this, Jesus models a pertinent parable. He gives them a visual aid, if you will, a living illustration of dealing with people.
"And taking a child, He stood him in the midst of them; and taking him in His arms, He said to them, 'Whoever receives on child like this in My name is receiving Me; and whoever receives Me is not receiving Me, but Him who sent Me.'" (vv. 36-37)
He uses a child to drive home His point. They were probably in Peter's house. That seemed to be a base in Capernaum from which Jesus operated. Perhaps this was one of Peter's children. In any case, the point was it was just a child. Children are examples of individuals who cannot do very much for you. When you receive children, they do not help your social status, your prestige, your power, or your ego. They cannot confer upon you a title, nor can they give you success. As a matter of fact, children require something from you. They represent the poor, the needy, the downtrodden, the ordinary - just plain human beings.
Jesus exhorts us to receive such children in His name. We are not to play favorites, but to receive everyone - the supposed great and the small, the rich man and the poor man, without playing favorites. The point Jesus is trying to make is that when we receive the ordinary person in His name, we receive Him and His Father. Jesus said, in Matthew 25:40, "To the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me." When we receive people in Jesus' name, we ought to receive them all, as we would the Lord Himself. Play no favorites - that is what Jesus is saying.
In the book of James, we receive an exhortation that is much the same as our Lord's concerning the importance of humble servanthood.
"My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, 'You sit over here in a good place,' and you say to the poor man, 'You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,' have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?" (James 2:1-4)
The attitude of a humble servant seeks to serve others without playing favorites. Whether we are rich or poor is no consequence with God, and it should not be with us. Furthermore, we should not play favorites based on what people can do for us. Some people cater to other people because they seek a favor. We should never do so. Rather, we should receive people because they are valuable to God, and every soul is valuable to God.
Humble servanthood - that is the first attitude essential to effective Christian ministry. But there is another. It is...
"John said to Him, 'Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to hinder him because he was not following us.'" (v. 38)
Undoubtedly, when Jesus spoke of receiving someone in His name, John's memory was jogged. A recent encounter troubled him. It was a perplexing problem and he brought it to Jesus. It seems that there had been a certain person casting out demons in the name of Christ. Undoubtedly, this person's ministry was successful. In other words, he was actually casting the demons out. He was doing so in the Lord's name. But because He was not a follower of Jesus with the twelve, they tried to hinder him.
The problem is one of exclusivity. The disciples felt that they were a part of the only authorized company of disciples allowed to minister in Jesus' name. It's the same problem we have today. There are many who look down their noses at others if they are not a part of their denomination or if they did not graduate from the right seminary. If people do not fit our particular pattern, sometimes they are dismissed as being somehow inferior to the real thing.
Believe as I believe, no more, no less,
That I am right, and no one else confess.
Feel as I feel, think as I think,
Eat what I eat, and drink but what I drink,
Look as I look, do always as I do,
Then and only then, I'll fellowship with you.
We must ever be on our guard against the threat of exclusivity becoming our attitude. Rather, we must substitute an attitude of tolerant servanthood. Humble servanthood and tolerant servanthood go hand in hand.
To John's perplexing problem, Jesus offers a potent prescription.
"But Jesus said, 'Do not hinder him, for there is no one who shall perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. For he who is not against us is for us.'" (vv. 39-40)
The prescription Jesus offers is one of tolerance. The disciples should not try to hinder people who are attempting to minister in the name of Christ. Just because they are not in their particular camp does not mean their ministry cannot be valid. Because some churches do not worship in quite the same way, or do not carry the name "Baptist," or do not hold to all the secondary doctrines which we believe does not mean they are not of God. We must be careful in our attitude lest we judge quickly. Exclusivism or jealousy should never be the motive of a believer. Rather, we should receive all who name the name of Jesus and encourage them to be all God can make them.
Humble servanthood and tolerant servanthood -these are the marks of greatness. The attitudes of pride, selfishness, exclusivism and intolerance - these are the marks of hypocritical Christianity. For these very things Jesus rebuked the Pharisees. For these very things Jesus will also rebuke us. Is your spirit humble? Do you have a servant's heart? Are you quick to judge, or are you willing to give people space to be what God created them to be? If you are seeking to serve, you are on the path to greatness.
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