Who Is the Greatest? What Does This Mean?

September 23, 2018


Gospel Lesson: 　Mark 9:30–37 “Gospel” = “Good News”

30[The disciples] went on from there and passed through Galilee. And [Jesus] did not want anyone to know, 31for 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.” 32But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

33And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. 35And 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.” 36And 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.”

Who Is the Greatest? The disciples of Jesus debated about this. People in the church today debate it, openly or in privately in their hearts. It is the common struggle in all aspects of human life: in the family, school, work, government, clubs, and in the church, too. And the Bible tells us this debate started right off in the Garden of Eden. “Who is the greatest, me or God? Let’s eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and we will find out who is the greatest.” They soon found out. The story of Adam and Eve is our story. We too put ourselves as the greatest, even greater than God!

“Not me,” you say. Well, let’s explore that.

In the eyes of the world, the “great” person is the boss that everyone works for. It might take a big staff or team, but everyone supports the boss who gets all the praise. And that boss feels pride. A “great” athlete is one who makes a lot of points so that his team wins. The other team members support him or her, and the MVP feels pride. And in our personal selfishness, we feel that even if we do not get the credit due us, we know that we are the most valuable member of the team/class/work-group/ office/society/ family/congregation.

A lot of “great” people really are good at their jobs. But what is it that makes some of them loved and respected? Jesus gives us the answer. He said, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” (v.35). To show that, Jesus took a child in his arms and said, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me” (v.37). In other words, the “great” person loves the smallest in society, and shows concern and dignity to that person. But it is done in the “name” of Jesus. In other words, it is done in faith, it is done in the power of Jesus. We have no power of our own to do it. You see, since the Fall of Adam and Eve, since the time when people have been striving to become number one, since the time that sin lifts us up and puts others down, it is not human nature to love and serve others. It is only in the “name” of Jesus, it is only in faith that we can really begin to serve others.

We serve because Jesus first served us. Our Gospel reading today tells us how Jesus did that. “30[The disciples] went on from there and passed through Galilee. And [Jesus] did not want anyone to know, 31for 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.’” That is how Jesus served us. He took upon himself the sins of the world: sins like pride and selfishness and distain and bias and bullying. By taking those sins upon himself, he removes them from us. And so those sinful actions like pride and selfishness and distain and bias and bullying should be gone from us and our daily behavior. But we keep eating on the apples.

Is there any hope? There is hope when Jesus takes us in his arms like a little child. The arms spread wide on the cross in forgiveness. And there are the arms of those people who, in the name of Jesus and faith in Jesus, take us and love us and forgive us. They receive us because they have received Jesus and his Heavenly Father.

Josh Armstrong, our church’s English speaking chairman, bought a few copies of the little book “Life Together” by Dieterich Bonhoeffer and asked us to read it. I read it this last week for the first time. It reads like a good Lutheran sermon: Law and Gospel. He shows us the ideal Christian fellowship, which we fall short of, and then proclaims to us the power of Jesus to meet that goal. The key is forgiveness. Jesus served us by forgiving our sin on the cross. That connects us to Jesus. Believers are connected to other believers through Jesus. We forgive each other. We are all forgiven sinners. Jesus served sinners, and so do we. Jesus served the least of us, and so do we.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church


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