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.
Who Is the Greatest?
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.” (Mark 9:30-37 (ESV)
“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and
whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”
Jesus placed a lot of emphasis on children in his day. It
was unusual. Children were more or less despised in his day. They were often
considered a burden, and when they weren’t considered a burden they were
considered slaves. If it was raining cats and dogs out, you sent the kids into
the orchard to pick up the figs that were falling on the ground before they
were washed away, spoiled or stolen by the neighbors. If pigeons were making a
mess of your harvest in the hot sun, you put children in charge of throwing
rocks at them. They had no rights. There was no concept of child abuse. Oh, as
is natural most parents loved their children and raised them with love. It was
for this reason, and not just the command of God, that parents would circumcise
their children on the 8th day and bring them into the covenant
people of God, and raise them in the faith. Raising children up in the faith,
in the love of God is the most loving thing a parent can do for their children,
it is the reaction of love in response to the love of God who died for our
sins, in response to the love of Christ who first loved us. It is the love a
parent has for their own child that inspires them to share their love of God, to
share God’s love for them in the waters of holy baptism, in morning devotions
before school, it is what inspires them to wake up early on a Sunday morning to
bring them to Sunday school, and sit with them in church. To raise a kid in the
gospel, with the confidence that God loves them above all others, that despite
all the hardships of this life, despite any failures they have to own in life,
despite the messed up relationships, and high school drama, here is Christ
redeeming you, restoring you to your Father in heaven, a love that surpasses
all love, here is Christ reserving for you a place at his table to feast on
forgiveness, to celebrate peace. To raise them in this gospel, in this good
news, in this relationship with God the Father, this is the epitome of
receiving one such child in the name of Jesus Christ that causes one to receive
the Father.
But all of this discussion happens with a background to it.
Jesus is asking the disciples about what they were arguing about on the way
back to Capernaum. What was this discussion you were having in the hushed
excitement of heated debate behind my back as we came down to the shore line?
Jesus knows they were arguing about which one of them was the greatest. Mark
uses this discussion to emphasize just how much the disciples did not
understand concerning the teaching of Christ that he must suffer, be given over
into the hands of men, slain and killed, about the resurrection after three
days. They don’t understand this. Jesus is keeping as low a profile as he can as
he passes through Galilee. He wants to devote his time to teaching the
disciples, to prepare them for the cross. He is teaching them from the 53rd
chapter of Isaiah, the book Luther often referred to as the fifth gospel, so
clearly was the life of Christ foretold in it. Yet, it was so counter intuitive
to the thoughts of man, it hid the path of the Messiah, the Christ, it hid the
cross in plain sight. The people could not see it. It didn’t fit with their
fantasy of Armageddon. Oh, modern day Mormons with their doomsday prep, the
millenialists of our generation who pee their pants excitement every time a
rock chucking Palestinian hits an Israeli in the head, the Walking Dead
enthusiasts giving into every fantastical desire as they play out the zombie
apocalypse in their head, these guys have nothing on first century Jewish
millenialist fanatics, and their messianic fantasies. And it didn’t matter how
many times their revolts were put down, the zealots kept on coming with their
daggers. The Romans could raze the city of Sepphoris to defeat Judas of Gamala
and spike the heads of everyone who rebelled against the census of Quirinius
the governor, the one that led to Jesus being born in the little town of
Bethlehem, but the zealots would continue to carry knives under their cloaks, to
assassinate political leaders. They made Timothy McVeigh to look like a child
playing with a fire cracker as they tried to usher in the golden age, to bring
about Armegeddon. Fancying themselves
warriors for the Christ, they would be slaughtered indiscriminately under
orders of Pontius Pilate as they gathered for the paschal sacrifices in the
temple as the Son of Man made his way to the cross as the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world, dying for the sins of Ponitus Pilate himself. Later
they would even bring about the total destruction of Israel as the temple
burned in 70 Ad. This was the Messianic
fervor, the rebellious milieu of Jesus’ childhood. Sepphoris would have been
razed when he was about 11. But Jesus rejected this kind of rebellion. This
wasn’t what Christ was about, this isn’t what Christ is about. That is what the
world is about as it seeks for glory and fights to be recognized as great.
This is the back drop. The disciples not understanding any
of this about suffering, any of this about death and resurrection, they argue
for who is the greatest. Jesus calls forth a child, so easily dismissed, taught
to be quiet when adults are speaking, the kind from whom nothing worldly could
be gotten, no favors to be given, you ask them to do menial tasks and gather
figs in from the rain because there isn’t anything they can do to you, not much
they can do for you, nothing they can hold over your head. They represent the
poorest of the poor that we can’t understand. Take in one of these in his name,
he says, and you receive the Father, you receive me. If you want to be first,
make yourself last, a servant of all. Take the freedom Christ won for you on
the cross and make yourself a slave to children, a servant to all. For Christ
himself came not to be served but to serve. Offered the nations of the world
and every political advantage, he chose the cross, and died for those who put
him to death, he chose your salvation that he would usher the kingdom of God
into your heart, your soul, and bring to
you the forgiveness of sins.
Now the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep
your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
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