Mark 9:30-37 Ambition Exposed
Have you ever been right about anything? Like, absolutely convinced that you were right? Willing to bet any amount, ready to die on that hill? But then, somehow, some way, you found out you really were wrong but maybe that didn’t change anything in your mind and you stayed thinking you were absolutely right when, in truth, you were wrong, you just didn’t like it so you wouldn’t accept it? I have just described to you what feels like my entire life.
We are going to look at Mark 9:30-37 and examine two questions, one unasked, and one unanswered.
Jesus and His disciples were on their way from Mount Hermon in the north, the Mount of Transfiguration, through Galilee on their way south to Judea and Jerusalem. They weren’t taking the highway or the more popular trade routes because Jesus wanted to get through there without any more large crowds. So here we find Jesus and His disciples on the back roads of Galilee…
Mark 9:30-37, page 845 in the pew Bibles.
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.”
Let’s pray.
So let’s look at this first section, the question unasked.
Jesus plainly says to the disciples, “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.”
Clearly the disciples had not read the rest of the story because they didn’t understand what He meant. He couldn’t have said it any plainer than that but they didn’t get it.
Maybe it’s in the language, maybe His words weren’t clear, maybe they didn’t understand who the Son of Man was, or what the specific words that He used meant.
This can’t be true. Jesus referred to Himself as “the Son of Man” six times in the Gospel of Mark alone in the first nine chapters, Matthew records thirteen times, before this time, Luke four times, and John around nine times. The disciples knew that He was referring to Himself.
Maybe they didn’t understand what He meant by “delivered in to the hands of men.”
The Greek word Jesus used, paradidomi, meant: to deliver a person into the control of someone else, involving either the handing over of a presumably guilty person for punishment by authorities or the handing over of an individual to an enemy who will presumably take undue advantage of the victim—‘to hand over, to turn over to, to betray.’
Hardly an uncommon or confusing phrase.
Maybe the word, be killed. It’s a Greek word which means, “to kill someone.” Maybe it was “treis hemera” that was causing the confusion. It means literally “three days.” Or maybe, “anestemi” which means “to rise or get up.”
The words weren’t the problem.
They didn’t understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask Him.
Why were they afraid to ask? Were they afraid of Jesus’ rebuke? Were they afraid that He would give them a hard time for still being so dull?
Jesus had never rebuked them for asking a question before. I’m not convinced that was what kept them from asking now.
I’m afraid that they didn’t understand and they didn’t ask because they didn’t want to understand. They had witnessed a glimpse of the Kingdom on the Mount of Transfiguration, they had witnessed the power of God at work in Jesus at the casting out of the demon just days before, they were convinced that the kingdom of Christ was all about power and so when Jesus said that He would be killed by men they didn’t want to hear about it.
They buried their heads in the sand because they liked their ideas of how Christ’s kingdom would be arranged better. I’d like to say that they got better, and that the church has gotten better. Maybe they did, but not right away.
The question unasked was, “How does your death and resurrection fit into the plan for your kingdom?” But they didn’t want to hear it so they didn’t ask it.
But then in verse 33 and following, Jesus asked them a question and they really didn’t want to answer it.
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.
Think about this for a second. The disciples were arguing about who of them was the greatest. Have you ever wondered how on earth they could be doing this? What would prompt such a ludicrous conversation?
The answer is: context.
Peter, James, and John had just witnessed the transfiguration, they got to see Jesus in sparkling robes, and to see Moses and Elijah back from the dead! The other nine guys didn’t get to see that, Jesus chose only these three. Those other nine guys couldn’t even cast out a single demon, they were obviously second class disciples.
And Jesus just told them that He was going to die, who was going to take over when He was gone? Somebody needed to be the leader! Somebody is going to have to step up!
But when Jesus, knowing full well what they were arguing about on the road, asked them what it was that they were discussing, suddenly stepping up was the last thing anybody wanted to do.
And this simple question, “what were you discussing on the way?” exposes one of the greatest threats to Christ’s church, and that is, selfish ambition.
The Way of Christ is a way of sacrifice, of service, and of selflessness, all completely opposite of our natural inclinations. The world is not the only place where it’s all “me, me, me.”
Alistair Begg said you will not find a greater collection of insecurity than at a pastor’s conference where everybody is scrambling for significance. (I’m paraphrasing.)
But the truth about ambition is that there is nothing wrong with a desire to succeed, there is nothing wrong with being great at what you do or wanting to be better at it whatever it is; but the true way to greatness is not by seeking to be first but by being willing to be last. It’s not by getting others to serve you; it is by becoming a servant of all.
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.”
When Jesus said, “whoever receives one such child in my Name receives me…” The word “receives” means to welcome with friendliness as a guest. And we serve our guests don’t we? Even one as humble as a little child.
Jesus invites us to a radical reorientation. If you want to be first, you must be happy to be last.
When I look at the course of my own life and the choices that I have made in ministry, I find this passage to be extremely convicting.
I look back and wonder, has anything that I have ever accomplished that might be considered good actually have come from pure godly motives? Have I continuously been made first because of my happiness to be last? The sad answer is, no. My own ambition to be first, to be best, to be better than the next guy or to prove my worth in the kingdom has been the source behind almost every move I have ever made in ministry. True confession. I’ll spare you the horror of recounting each selfish step.
But Jesus, in His gentleness, didn’t harshly rebuke the disciples for their selfish ambition. And his rebuke to my heart had been gentle as well.
The disciples’ minds were filled with false notions about the Kingdom of God, and maybe mine has been too. It’s not about a scramble for power or position, to prove your worth, or your ability, there’s no real glory in that, there’s no jewel in our crowns added for that.
Sacrifice, service, and selflessness, these are the pillars of the Kingdom, humbly serving and welcoming as guests the least is how one truly becomes great in God’s Kingdom.
Jesus exercised grace on the disciples with their selfish ambitions and false ideas about Christ’s Kingdom, he has grace for me and mine and for you and yours.
“We hold this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us…”
Amen.
