Sermon Tone Analysis

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*30 *They went on from there and passed through Galilee.

And he did not want anyone to know, *31 *for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him.

And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.”

*32 *But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

*33 *And they came to Capernaum.

And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” *34 *But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.

*35 *And he sat down and called the twelve.

And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

*36 *And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, *37 *“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

*38 *John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”

*39 *But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.

*40 *For the one who is not against us is for us.

*41 *For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.

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We come now to the end of chapter nine in Mark’s Gospel.

Jesus and his disciples have been ministering in the villages around Caesarea Philippi (Mark 8:27).

Now, leaving from there, they are passing through Galilee, heading south on their way toward Jerusalem.

They arrive in Capernaum on the north shores of the Sea of Galilee.

There, Jesus questions the disciples about a conversation they had had among themselves (vv.

33-37).

Mark then reports to us the words of one of the disciples regarding an unknown exorcist they had encountered and Jesus’ response to the situation (vv.

38-41).

The chapter ends with more teaching from Jesus, including the most graphic words we have heard from him so far (vv.

42-50).

It will take more than a surface glance at this passage to see any connection between these three paragraphs.

And yet, because Mark and the other Gospel writers are not merely relating history to us but rather are writing with specific aims in mind, we need to see the connection.

These verses are grouped together by the setting indicators in Mark 9:30 (“they went on from there”) and in Mark 10:1 (“he left there”), so we have good reason to suspect that there is a central point to be made in these paragraphs.

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THE SECOND PASSION PREDICTION (vv.

30-32)

In attempting to find this central point, we can take our clue from Jesus’ teaching as he traveled with his disciples toward Capernaum.

Again we find the desire for secrecy we have encountered so frequently in Mark’s Gospel (v.

30).

The reason Jesus wanted secrecy here was because he had something to teach to his disciples that he did not want anyone else to know about.

But this was no new teaching.

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/“The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him.

And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.”

/(Mark 9:31)

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This is the second time Jesus has predicted his coming death and resurrection (cf.

Mark 8:31).

And once again the disciples have a hard time handling this news.

Mark tells us that “they did not understand the saying” and that “they were afraid to ask him.”

Their ignorance is not because Jesus’ words are cryptic.

His words are very straightforward, as they were in his first prediction where Mark tells us that he spoke “plainly” about his coming passion.

The fact that “they were afraid to ask him” about this saying indicates that they had an idea about what he was talking about.

They were afraid that if they asked him, they would be forced to dwell on what this coming death would mean for them.

They would rather not talk about it.

What does it mean, then, that “they did not understand the saying”?

This is the only time Mark uses this particular word.

It means that they lacked the capacity for comprehending the full force of Jesus’ teaching.

And this kind of ignorance is a threat to faith and therefore a threat to one’s soul.

For example, in Romans 10:3 Paul says that because Israel was “ignorant of the righteousness of God,” they did not submit to it, choosing instead to attempt to establish their own righteousness.

In 2 Peter 2:12 we read about the false teachers who blaspheme God with this type of ignorance, not understanding who it is they are dealing with.

They will “be destroyed in their destruction,” Peter says.

So Mark 9:32 is a much more important verse than we might think at first glance, and it sets the stage for what Mark—and Jesus—wants to teach us in the next three paragraphs.

The disciples have failed to understand the meaning of the cross and how that meaning will impact their own Christian discipleship.

They have failed to understand by refusing to accept the clear implications of the cross.

The question we need to ask ourselves is if we have done the same thing.

Are we willing to go where the meaning of the cross must take us?

Just where will it take us?

The following three paragraphs will show us where.

Jesus has already told his disciples that if /anyone/ wants to come after him, he must begin by denying himself (Mark 8:34).

This commitment to discipleship will greatly impact how we relate to other people.

As we will see, we are called to deny ourselves so that we can pursue true greatness—the greatness of God’s glory rather than our own.

And we do this by being the servant of all, by valuing the diversity of God’s kingdom, and by furthering faith in one another and in ourselves.

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SERVANT OF ALL (vv.

33-37)

After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, Jesus asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” (v.

33).

The disciples did not want to tell him, “for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest” (v.

34).

But Jesus knew what they were talking about.

They cannot hide it from him.

Arguing about who was the greatest sounds more like the bickering of little boys rather than the serious discussion of grown men.

And the disciples know Jesus will not approve, so they keep silent like the guilty children they were.

But they lived in a culture that valued honor, rank, and status; and as the disciples travel with Jesus on their way toward Jerusalem, they cannot help but to imagine how their proximity to Jesus will lead to their own exaltation.

Jesus does not ignore their argument but takes the opportunity to instruct the disciples further.

Jesus has something important to say to the disciples, and he wants them to “get” it.

So he sat down and summoned them to him.

!! Redefining Greatness

The first thing we might notice in Jesus’ teaching is that he does not rebuke the disciples for their desire to be “great.”

He does not disapprove of their quest.

We were all created by God on purpose and with significance.

The desire you have (or should have) to make an impact is not a result of your depravity.

Our lives count.

God wants them to.

It is not wrong to desire this.

What Jesus does do is redefine greatness.

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/“If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”/

(Mark 9:35)

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This is not the way we or our fellow man define greatness.

But while being the last of all and servant of all may not make you great in the eyes of your neighbor, Jesus says it is the way to be great in the eyes of God.

It is exactly the way that Jesus himself pursued greatness, for his cross is the greatest example of humbling service—the holy Son of God taking upon himself the sins of a hostile humanity.

!! Ministry to the Lowly

But how are we to follow Jesus in this example?

In what way can we aim to be last of all and servant of all?

Jesus shows us how.

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/And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”/ (Mark 9:36-37)

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‎To understand the impact of what Jesus did, we have to understand how children were viewed in first century Judaism.

We today are much more sentimental about children than were the Jews in the first century.

Children, while important, were very low on the social scale.

They were not allowed to freely express their opinions and were typically excluded from the social circle of elite company.

So by bringing a child into their midst, Jesus is demonstrating how to be “great.”

It is by associating one’s self not with the great and mighty but with the humble and lowly, with those who can and will do nothing for your image.

Jesus says this is real greatness because when we receive, or gladly welcome, a child like this into our company, we are actually welcoming Jesus, and no less than God himself.

/In our ministry to the lowly we are in the company of the holy/.

There is no greater “greatness” than finding ourselves in the company of the one who is the greatest.

!! “In my name”

One word of clarification before we move on.

Jesus’ point here is not that if we will hang out with the most underappreciated members of society that we will /automatically/ find God there.