#DailyDevotion If You Want To Be Great Be Prepared To Serve

Mark 9:33-37 ³³They went to Capernaum. When He came home, He asked the disciples, “What were you discussing on the way?” ³⁴They were silent because they had on the way discussed who was the greatest.³⁵He sat down and called the twelve. “If anyone wants to be first,” He told them, “he will have to be last of all and serve everyone.” ³⁶He took a little child, had him stand in front of them, put His arms around him, and said to them, ³⁷“If you welcome a child like this in My name, you welcome Me. And if you welcome Me, you welcome not only Me but Him Who sent Me.”

So, apparently since the disciples were not understanding Jesus about his upcoming suffering, death and resurrection, they started talking about something they thought they knew about—greatness. When they get back to Capernaum, Jesus asks them, “What were you discussing along the way?” It’s like when you were a kid and you were talking with other kids in the midst of your parents and you don’t think they were hearing you and then they ask you all about what you were talking about. They probably looked like deer caught in the headlights. The text says they were silent. They got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Apparently from Jesus’ tone I think they knew they were out of bounds.

So he sits them down to have a pow wow with them about greatness. You see greatness to the world and not greatness in the kingdom of God. Well, let me modify that a bit. The vast majority of the world thinks greatness is about having other people serve you, put you first in their lives, and having power generally. Having received power and authority from Jesus to heal the sick, cast out demons and raise the dead some may have been putting forth their greatness by how many people they did these miracles to. The lack of some of them being able to cast out a demon the other day may have taken a few of them down a notch. Three of them were Jesus’ confidants. Yet those who reach greatness in society actually have to do some work. They have to produce some sort of service to others. Why some are handed power and influence they are never really seen as great unless they put that into service for others.

Now Jesus tells them, “If anyone wants to be first…he will have to be last of all and serve everyone.” Well who wants to do that? First in the kingdom of God is being last and serving everyone. Well that’s what Jesus was talking about a few verses before when discussing his betrayal, death and resurrection. He would become least in the kingdom of God by taking our sin upon himself, the sin of the world, and becoming an atoning sacrifice. His crucifixion pointed him out at being the least of the leasts. Yet in this action he served everyone in the whole world, no one excluded, not even you. Because he did this, the Father exalted him to his right hand and placed in charge of all his creation.

If they didn’t get that Jesus takes a kid and put him before them. Jesus tells them, “If you welcome a child like this in My name, you welcome Me. And if you welcome Me, you welcome not only Me but Him Who sent Me.” Children were pretty much just a notch above slaves in Jesus’ day. Yet a child welcomed in Jesus’ name welcomes Jesus and then you the Father who sent Jesus. Being of service to even a child for the sake of Jesus’ name is servicing Jesus and the Father. Serving the lowly is serving God and that is what makes you great.

Heavenly Father, your Son Jesus Christ humbled himself to serve all of us. Grant us such humility to serve those you put before us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.