Mark 9:30-50 (November 6, 2022)

If you have your Bible turn to Mark chapter 9, we will be in verses 30 -50 this morning continuing just to go through the book of Mark one section at a time. But before we read our passage this morning, I want to set the stage just a bit.

What we have in this passage is kind of like the book of Proverbs where Solomon the king is taking his son aside and he is teaching him lessons, giving him lessons in kingly wisdom, telling him how to live rightly and wisely.

So here Jesus is taking the disciples aside and he is teaching them, instructing them in kingly wisdom for the way of the Lord. This is kingly wisdom for the way of the Lord. Remember the theme of Mark is that Jesus is the new king, ushering in a new kingdom.

And here he is teaching his disciples how to be the king's true men and how to live in his kingdom. And so we want to read this passage through that framework of kingly wisdom about the way of the Lord.

So let's begin to read verses 30 -37. And God's word says this,. 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.

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. And he took a child, and he put him in the midst of them, and taking him into 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.

This is the word of the Lord to us this morning. Now sometimes Jesus, he speaks in parables and he speaks in ways that are kind of hard to understand or cryptic, but usually when he takes the disciples aside, he speaks plainly.

And that's what he does here. He speaks clearly about what is to transpire. 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.

He is speaking plainly to them, and yet the disciples, they didn't understand. They didn't know what he was talking about. Now it's easy for us on this side of the cross, on this side of the resurrection, to see clearly all that Jesus was talking about, but it couldn't have been easy and clear for them.

They were expecting victory through this long awaited Messiah. It appears they didn't have a category for the cross. For victory by suffering and sacrifice and death. They didn't understand and they were afraid to ask, and so they didn't.

Instead, they suspended belief about what they had just heard and went about fantasizing about their life in the coming temporal kingdom of the Messiah. And they argued about who would be the greatest among them.

Who would be the top man? Who would sit at Jesus' right hand? Who would be first among them? Who would be the greatest? Jesus bit his tongue on the way to Capernaum, but when they got there he asked about what they were talking about on the way.

But verse 34 says, they kept silent. They were shamed. It was not a good look to be arguing and so concerned about who was going to be recognized as the greatest. And they knew this, and so they were silent.

So Jesus sat them down, he took them aside, and he was going to teach them. He was going to give them kingly wisdom for the way of the Lord. So the question at hand first here is this, who is first and greatest?

And the answer is this, on the way of the Lord, the first is last and the greatest is servant. The first is last and the greatest is servant on the way of the Lord. Verse 35 says this, and he said to them, if anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.

The disciples, they had been having a most natural argument. Jockeying for position with one another. This is basic fallen human desire. Humans, because of sin, are inclined towards self-exaltation. Now sometimes we exalt ourselves as a form of protection.

Sometimes we exalt ourselves as a form of advancement. But in all of these cases, it's out of self-interest. We think that this is the way forward for us. That this is the way that we can secure status, or approval, or glory, or goods.

But Jesus teaches the disciples something counterintuitive. And that is, the way to be great is not through self-exaltation, but through self-giving service. The way to be great is not through self-exaltation, but through self-giving service.

The one who would be first must think of himself as last. The one who would be great must work, not only for his own advancement in good, but also for that of others. In other words, the kingdom, the kingdom of Christ, is for the humble.

The kingdom of Christ is for the humble. Now I don't know who said it first, but one insightful way of thinking about humility is this. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less.

The thinking less of yourself flavor of humility still puts you at the center of it. Still puts you at the center, which is not humble. And it's often performative self-deprecation in pursuit of the appearance of humility.

So here's the thing, you might actually be good at something, and you probably are. And so it's no sense lying about it or making a show by pretending that you're not. The thing to do about those things are to receive those competencies and proficiencies and gifts with gratitude, and then get busy figuring out how to bless others with them.

And so you're not thinking less of yourself, necessarily, but thinking of yourself less and thinking of others more. And this is the way of the kingdom, the way of the Lord. Jesus illustrates this point then by taking a child, possibly one of Peter's own children, and sets that child on his lap for an object lesson.

He says in verse 37, Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives not me, but him who sent me. And so Jesus' response to the self-exaltation of men is a child.

For children are weak, dependent, they haven't really accomplished anything yet, they can't pay you back, and this is who Jesus says to receive. This is who Jesus says to serve. And so we should take this object lesson from Jesus at face value and welcome children.

We should love, welcome, and serve children. That's what we often say here at the beginning of the service. We are glad to have kids in here in the worship service with us. We want them in here with us.

And wiggles and squirms and cries are welcome. Because of what Jesus says here. We should also take this object lesson as representative. That is, we should love and welcome and serve all who are weak and dependent and unable to pay us back, whether they're children or not.

And we should recognize that the way of the Lord is not like the way of the world. The way of the world says, show honor to the honorable in the world's eyes. To those who, quote, deserve it. The way of the Lord says, show honor to those who do not naturally or normally receive honor.

The way of the world says, to claim honor for yourself. The way of the Lord says, humble yourself, honor others, and then honor will be given to you. The way of the world says, greatness comes through self-exaltation.

The way of the Lord says, true greatness comes through service. And look what Jesus says here. What happens when you, in the name of Jesus, receive a child. When you love and serve and care for and welcome one who is weak, dependent, and can't pay you back.

He says there, that you receive me. You receive Christ. And not only him, you receive the one who sent him. That is God the Father. And so you get God. Which is to say, you get everything. Because everything belongs to God.

The thing is, the way to God is through humility and service. So I'd ask you just some diagnostic questions. How do you treat others? How do you treat those who are, quote, below you in station and status?

People like employees or children or those in other socioeconomic statuses. How do you treat peers? Do you jockey for position with them? Do you rejoice in their success? Or do you have envy in your bones?

How do you treat those who are, quote, above you in status and station? With resentment and envy? Or with kindness and service? Whose name are you concerned with? Your own name or the name of Christ? Who do you want to get the credit?

Who do you want to be made much of, you or Jesus? And if Jesus bestows honor on someone else, are you glad for it? These are questions that help see how our hearts are tuned. So who is first and greatest?

On the way of the Lord, the first is last and the greatest is servant. The next question is who is on our side? We see this in verses 38 -41. Let's read those verses now. God's word says this. 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. 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.

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. This is God's word to us. So the disciples, they saw someone who was casting out demons in the name of Jesus.

But that person was not one of the disciples. They were not one of the group. They had not been properly sent out to do that. And so John tried to stop him. He becomes zealous against one who did not have the proper commissioning to cast out demons in Jesus' name.

But Jesus puts a stop to John. Mark Horne notes, Jesus does not need a company of zealous men to maintain a monopoly on power. Do not stop him, Jesus says. For the one who is not against us is for us.

And so the question here is, who is on our side? And the answer is, on the way of the Lord, whoever is on the side of Jesus is on our side. On the way of the Lord, whoever is on the side of Jesus is on our side.

So there's this interesting and related story in Numbers chapter 11. So this is where the 70 elders are appointed by Moses to help Moses. And they gathered them around the tent and the Lord came down in a cloud and spoke to Moses.

And the Lord took some of the spirit that was on Moses and put it on these men, on the elders. And they began to prophesy. In that moment, they didn't continue doing it though. And then the spirit came upon two other men, Eldad and Medad, who were among those registered but they had not gone out to the tent.

And they began prophesying in the camp. And so Numbers 11 .27 and following says,. 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. And so prophesying was a profoundly good thing for those elders to do.

And having the spirit on them was a profoundly good thing. And in Mark, casting out the demons in the name of Jesus was a profoundly good thing. And neither Moses nor Jesus were interested in concentrating power in an inner circle.

They were not interested in concentrating ministry among the few. They wanted these good things to multiply. You see the goal was decentralized and dispersed ministry. The goal was decentralized and dispersed ministry and service.

And so when things start growing beyond Jesus in the twelve, and things start to get bigger and start to get a little bit more dispersed, how do we know who's on our side? Who is authorized for ministry and service?

Well whoever is on the side of Jesus is on our side. They're not against us, they're for us. And even the smallest acts are recognized. Even a cup of cold water given to one because he belongs to Christ is met with reward, Jesus says.

So I want to apply this to church life, that is Christians in here. And then to kingdom life, that is Christians out there. Church life and kingdom life. In church life, ministry and service is to be decentralized and dispersed among the members of the church.

Paul uses the image of the body to describe the church. We are many members but we have one Lord. We are different parts that do different things. But we have one mission, the Great Commission. We have many gifts but they are all given by the one Spirit who unites us all.

And so in a healthy church, ministry and service will not be concentrated in just a few people. And so all ministry and service in the church doesn't belong to the pastor. I don't get to hug all the ministry opportunities around here.

And it would be wrong of me to try to attempt to bottleneck everything through my office. As if I were the only one who could serve. It would also be wrong for you to outsource all ministry to me. Because what Ephesians 4 tells me my job is, is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.

My job is to make sure that you have what you need in order to serve others. In order to be servant of all. And so in the same way, all ministry and service doesn't belong to the deacons. They are the chief servants, the head servants of the church.

The ones who model exemplary service to the church. But it's modeled that it might be imitated by others in the church. And in the same way, all ministry and service in the church does not belong to the committee chairperson.

To those who have always done it or whoever has been here the longest. Now appropriate honor and gratitude is required, is due to all of these people. But the point is, all of us have the Spirit. We've all been baptized into the church.

And therefore, we've been baptized into the church's ministry and service. And so to tweak Moses' response to Joshua, I would say, would that all of us would minister and serve. For that is true greatness in the kingdom.

And so the more of us doing ministry and service, according to our gifting, according to how God has made us, how the Spirit has gifted us, the more of us doing that, the more ministry and service that gets done, the more glory that goes to God, the more good that is done to others.

And that is a profoundly good thing. And the ministry of the church will generally kind of fall into one of two categories. Things that we sponsor and things that we bless. Things that we sponsor and things that we bless.

And so things that we sponsor. This is ministry that we fund. This is ministry that we recruit people for. Official ministries of the church, you might say. These are by necessity going to be fewer. They're going to be streamlined and strategic.

They might change over time. We might stop doing some things. We might start doing some new things. Depending on circumstances, need, vision, goals, those type of things. The point here is that we want to be able to allocate limited resources of people and money to allocate those things well.

And so there are things that we sponsor. And so you might think of it like this. Every ministry opportunity that any one person might be really excited about isn't necessarily going to be a formal ministry of the church.

Because we can't do everything. If we try, we won't do anything well. But when you see a need and you are equipped by God to meet it, we want to happily bless that service. And we want to affirm it as good.

So long as it is good.

We trust that it will be good. We want to affirm that. We want to celebrate it. People are free to join you or not according to how God has made them and the opportunities and margin that they have. But the point is, we will cheer you on in that.

We will pray for you and cheer you on in your love and good deeds. And so there are things that we sponsor and there are things that we bless. And so that's in here in church life. What about in kingdom life?

Christians out there. How do we think about other Christians out there? Especially those with other beliefs on secondary matters. One temptation that is always before Christians is to be sectarian. That is to be against Eldad and Maydad prophesying just because they are Presbyterian.

So how do we think about denominations without being sectarian? Well first we realize what denominations are. And what denominations are is they are just prudential arrangements to facilitate ministry according to shared convictions.

It's just a wise grouping and arrangement to facilitate ministry among those who have shared convictions. They are not tests of salvation. The test of salvation is the gospel. It's belief in Christ. It's belief in the triune God of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And so for my part, I want to promote a healthy universality of the church. Meaning, I want my category for who is a Christian, who is a genuine and actual believer,.

I want that to be fairly broad.

And I want to have fellowship and good relationships and to work together where we can with Christians from other churches and traditions. Because if they are not against us, they are for us. Now how does that work?

Does that mean our distinctive convictions don't matter? Or that we compromise on them? Well, absolutely not. Does that mean we give a free pass to anyone claiming the name of Christ even if they are doing or advocating for things actively that harm the church and society?

Well, absolutely not. But it does mean that we maintain a generous spirit towards others who hold different theological convictions and positions and who serve Christ in different church traditions. And so, for one example, I think Presbyterians get baptism wrong.

I remain convinced that we ought to baptize only those who profess faith. And I believe Eastern Orthodoxy gets icons wrong. And that you ought not to use images in worship. And yet, next month, I'm going to get together with a group of men like I do every other month.

And most of them are Presbyterian. And there's a handful of Orthodox. I'm usually the token Baptist. And we'll eat together and sing together and fellowship together and encourage one another toward love and faithfulness and good works.

And it's a really good time. And then tomorrow morning, I'm going to go out to the abortion clinic on Grove Road to preach. And there might be some Catholic ladies and some Pentecostals and some Presbyterians and some Baptists and some non-denominational guys.

I'm out there about every other Monday. And we disagree on a lot. But we come together because we want to persuade fathers and mothers to save the lives of their babies. And we want to see that clinic shut down.

They're not against us. They're for us. And so the question is, are they on the side of Jesus? And if they are, they're on our side. And then lastly, there is a question of how do we live? So we've seen who is first and greatest?

Who is on our side?

And the question is,.

How do we live? And we read about this in verses 42 through 50. Let's read God's word. Whoever calls us one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled with two hands than with two hands to go to hell to the unquenchable fire.

And if your hand causes you to sin,.

Cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye.

Than with two eyes.

To be thrown into hell where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good,.

And we will live in peace.

With one another. Amen. So the question is how do we live? And the answer is on the way of the Lord we live with total devotion to Christ. Jesus mentions hand,.

Feet,.

Eyes. Some people have taken these as references to what you do,.

Hands, where you go,.

Feet,.

What you see,.

Eyes.

Basically all of human life. And that devotion to Jesus should determine how we live our lives.

What we do, where we go,.

And what we watch,.

What we look at. So that is one way of viewing this. There is also this connection to Old Testament priesthood ordination here. And so Aaron and his sons they would be consecrated into service with this ceremony where they would anoint.

With blood.

Their right thumb, their right big toe,.

And their right ear.

Each of those representing the hand, the foot, and the head. And all of this symbolizing that these must be sacrificed for the sake of service to God. That these must be sacrificed for the sake of the kingdom.

And so Jesus' words here allude to that priestly consecration and teaches us what is required of Christians. And that is whole body, whole person, total devotion.

To Christ.

That is what is required for those who have been baptized into the priesthood of all believers. We are to be living sacrifices Romans chapter 12.

Tells us.

Offering our very lives as service and worship to God. And so that means dealing with our sin.

And being ruthless with it.

Not coddling it like it's a pet.

That won't bite.

Because it.

Will.

It would be better to cut your hand off if it causes you to sin Jesus says than to go to hell.

With two hands.

Now I don't think Jesus here is arguing for physical mutilation. But rather he is speaking in metaphorical language. And the reason is this. Does your hand actually cause you to sin? If you sin with your hand let's say you slapped somebody.

That you shouldn't have.

Is it your hand that really caused that? Or is it your heart? I think Jesus told us earlier that all sorts of.

Wickedness comes.

Out of our hearts and so what we really need.

Is we really need.

Our hearts cut out and we need new hearts given to us by the Holy Spirit of God. This metaphorical language then is meant to teach us this halfway measures won't do when it comes to our sin. Halfway measures won't do in dealing with sin.

The famous.

John Owen quote is absolutely true.

Be killing sin.

Or it.

Will be killing.

You.

Be killing sin.

Or it will be killing.

You.

Let's end.

With that curious verse at the end. Verse 49.

It says.

For everyone will be salted.

With fire.

Everyone will be salted with fire.

Fire.

Comes.

To everyone. To unbelievers who remain in their sin who refuse.

To repent.

And confess Jesus as Lord Jesus says they will go to hell a place of unquenchable.

Fire.

Now this is neither.

A popular.

Nor a pleasant doctrine or topic.

To talk about.

But it is the truth and so we will say it. Those who are not.

United.

To Jesus Christ.

By faith.

Upon their death they are judged and cast into a literal hell a place of never ending conscious.

Torment.

And it is good.

It is a good.

Right.

And just condemnation for their sins.

And while.

Being scared.

Of hell.

Will save no one the reality.

Of hell.

Should cause us to snap to reality and see God.

And our selves.

And our sin clearly and it all leads.

To repentance.

For everyone.

Is salted.

With fire unbelievers in the fires.

Of hell.

Believers in the fires of sacrifice.

Salt.

In the Old Testament is associated.

With sacrifice.

In Leviticus 8 and it is.

Associated.

With covenant in Numbers 18 and 2 Chronicles 13.

And so.

When Jesus says in verse 50 to have salt in your selves He was referring to offering.

Ourselves.

As living sacrifices in total devotion to Jesus Christ in response to His covenant faithfulness.

And so.

We take action to put to death.

Any sin.

In our lives including the sins mentioned earlier in this passage. So rather than jockeying for position.

With others.

We live in humility as servant of all especially the weak.

And dependent.

And rather than being sectarian or territorial about ministry and service we join ranks with all who are on the side of Jesus and that leads us to the end.

Of verse 50.

Where He says this and that.

You will be.

At peace.

With one another.

We will be.

At peace with one another.

Let's pray Our Father in Heaven.

I ask that You.

Would give us.

The mind.

Of Christ Jesus.

Who though.

He was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied Himself by taking.

The form.

Of a servant.

By being born.

In the likeness of men and being found in human form He humbled Himself.

By becoming obedient.

To the point of death even death.

On a cross.

Father I pray.

That we would have.

The mind.

Of Christ.

Like that and we ask it.

In the name.

Of Jesus.

Amen.