The Gospel of Mark 9:33-41 - Live as the least if you want to be the greatest
After the greatness of Jesus is revealed with a transformation, and a man is healed, the Disciples find themselves in a place wondering who will be the greatest among them. Jesus does not approve of this but instead instructs them to see themselves as the lowest status, and to seek to serve. Not learning the lesson, the Disciples seek to hinder another man who is not “with them” who is casting out demons in Jesus name. Jesus refuses. Instead He explains that those who are fighting against His enemies are on His side.
Discussion:
“And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.”
Mark 9:33–34 (ESV)
They kept silent
This argument among the Disciples may seem petty to us today, however, this is because we do not live in an honor and shame culture. We do have some elements of honor today though. We give honor to those who serve in the military, to those who save lives, like firefighters, emergency workers, and hospital staff, as well as those who serve their community, like charity workers and ministers. However, we do not view achieving honor as an end goal, but more like a side effect of the goal. In the ancient near east, it would be best perhaps to see honor as an end goal, that is, honor was what they were striving to achieve. This would be more comparable to how some in the west view the pursuit of wealth and the “self-made millionaire.”
The Disciples, being commoners, fishermen, tax collectors, etc, find themselves in a place where Jesus’ honor is growing and so their honor is also growing (as they see it). The question would naturally arise in this situation (Malina and Rohrbaugh 2003, 186). The Disciples find that they have increased honor, so which among them has the most honor, which is the greatest?
Jesus clearly knew what they were discussing, and asking the question was a sort of rebuke in itself. It did not allow them to save face, and indeed, He did not let their silence go unanswered. By remaining silent they are seeking to not shame themselves, yet Jesus doesn’t allow this. They have sought honor in a way that He does not approve of, and so He brings a rebuke to them.
“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.”
Mark 9:35 (ESV)
Servant of all
To understand this we must understand the social rankings of the day. In the Roman world, there was a specific ranking of social status listed below (Jeffers 1999, 190).
Citizenship and Freedom
Wealthy freeborn citizen
Imperial freed (citizen) slave
Imperial slave
Wealthy freed citizen slave
Poor freeborn citizen
Poor freed citizen slave
Wealthy freeborn noncitizen
Poor freeborn noncitizen
Freed noncitizen slave
Urban domestic slave
Farm slave
Mining slave
Thus, the “servant of all” would have been one of the lowest members of society (Ben Witherington III 2001, 270). Jesus is reversing the social ranking, saying that those who are great in the Kingdom of God are least in the kingdom of men! This would have been a shocking and extreme statement. But He didn’t stop there. He also related the kingdom to a little child.
“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 (ESV)
Receives a child… receives Me
Jesus is comparing Himself to a child. Remember that they had perceived that their honor was increasing because Jesus’ honor was increasing. Yet a child was the lowest member of social rank by age (Jeffers 1999, 190).
Social Ranking by age and sex:
Adult male with no living father
Adult male with living father
Widowed adult female with independent resources
Widowed adult female
Married adult female
Child—male then female
Taken together we can see that Jesus is placing the lowest social status, slave and child, and relating them to Himself and those who are great in the kingdom of heaven (Witherington III 2001, 270). Instead of fighting for position within their society, following the norms of society, Jesus encouraged the Disciples to serve each other with humility and not to concern themselves with social order. This would be like someone saying today, “if you want to be truly rich, you must go and be homeless.” This would be a confusing statement, and that is how out of the norm Jesus statement was to their culture.
The Disciples then continue to fight for their social place, for they sought to refuse someone who was using the name of Jesus to cast out demons.
“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.”
Mark 9:38 (ESV)
Casting out demons in Jesus name
Here we get a possible reference to Moses and his desire not to hold on to anointing and honor, but to see all of Israel lifted up (Witherington III 2001, 271).
“And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!”
Numbers 11:27–29 (ESV)
But Jesus wouldn’t agree to stop Him, instead, He instructed the Disciples to leave him alone.
“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. For the one who is not against us is for us.”
Mark 9:39–40 (ESV)
Not against us is for us
Jesus is here referring to a statement by Caesar “We have often heard you say that, while we considered all who were not with us as our enemies, you considered all who were not against you as your friends” (Evans 2001, 65). Jesus is not interested in preserving His rank and status, His honor and creating a special order. Instead, He seeks freedom for people. If someone is fighting against Satan, then He is with Jesus.
He takes it further, it is not just those who cast out demons in His name that will receive a reward, but those who do any good work for God will receive a reward.
“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.”
Mark 9:41 (ESV)
Cup of water to drink… reward
Here Jesus is relating those who serve Him, and His Disciples, as His “agents.” How you treated an agent was how you treated those who sent the agent (Witherington III 2001, 271). The offering of a cup of cold water was a sign of hospitality (Lane 1974, 344–345). Thus, those who show hospitality to those who serve Jesus are showing the same hospitality to our Lord. This reminds us of the statement of Jesus that those who do so for the least of society do so for Him.
“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”
Matthew 25:40 (ESV)
Life Application and Questions to Consider
So how does this apply to our lives today? We don’t live in an honor and shame culture. However, we can apply these principles to our lives. We must live our lives, not in pursuit of greatness, honor, riches, or fame, but instead, seek to make the kingdom Great, serve God, and serve each other.
Are you pursuing God’s kingdom or your greatness?
Do you seek to “live your best life now” or to life your life for His best?
It might be tempting to spend our time and energy trying to grow rich, pursuing money or fame. Yet this is contrary to the Gospel. The Kingdom of God is not about growing rich, famous, or in honor. Instead, it is about service, being humble, and walking with the “lowly.”
To put it another way, this life fades quickly and will pass. It is the eternal that we should focus on. Do not spend your time being great in this world, but instead, spend it on Him. We must live our lives for Him, in all we do, in all we are! If we find fame or riches, we must use it for Him, for the good of His kingdom. But it must not be our goal, our focus. Instead, we must seek His kingdom first.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Matthew 6:33 (ESV)
Connections
Matthew 10:40–42, 18:1–6
Luke 9:46–50
Outline
The Disciples argue about who is the greatest.
Someone casts a demon out in the name of Jesus and Jesus says that those who are not against Him are with Him.
References-
Bruce J. Malina and Richard L. Rohrbaugh, Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, Second Edition (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003), 186.
James S. Jeffers, The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era: Exploring the Background of Early Christianity (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 190.
Ben Witherington III, The Gospel of Mark: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2001), 270.
James S. Jeffers, The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era: Exploring the Background of Early Christianity (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 190.
Ben Witherington III, The Gospel of Mark: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2001), 270.
ibid, 271.
Craig A. Evans, Mark 8:27–16:20, vol. 34B, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2001), 65.
Ben Witherington III, The Gospel of Mark: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2001), 271.
William L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974), 344–345.
