Who Is The Greatest

It is a super feeling to feel great! I feel great after I work on a car and it runs after I’m finished. I might get mad and frustrated while working on the car, but there is a sense of victory at the end.... or a sense of defeat. We all like to feel great! No matter what we do in life, we always appreciate the slap on the back followed by the comment "Great Job!" We are all humans and have desires to be the greatest at something. As kids, we were fueled by games, sports, and school grades through competition. Wouldn’t it be great to be the world chess champion, world 42 champion team, to make the game winning catch, to set a world record in the 100 meter race, to be Tiger Woods, to play like Michael Jordan, to fight like Mohammad Ali, to be valedictorian, win the national Spelling Bee, to bake the winning Blue Ribbon pie or to produce a piece of art that is highly acclaimed in the art world? Wouldn’t it be great! Oh, the feeling... ! We know the sign of victory, the holding up the arms and jumping up and down in excitement. We would all like to be the greatest! Some would even jump up and ask the question "Who is the Greatest!"

Today’s sermon is from the Gospel reading that has three distinct sections in it. Jesus shows us what it means to be great. It is a different picture than what comes to our mind. Let’s listen again to the teachings from the Gospel lesson. It reads...

Mark 9:30-32

30 They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise." 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

Notice that Jesus took his disciples away from everyone else to teach them. It is imperative to teach the disciples and to prepare them for the future. Jesus tells them an important prophecy that they will see revealed. Jesus tells them quite bluntly that He will be killed and will rise again after three days. This is the second time that Jesus has revealed this message to them. It is obvious that they did not understand the first message, nor the second message, for the Scripture tells us "32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it." Now I ask, how much clearer could Jesus have made the message? Jesus is instructing the disciples privately and they still do not understand. Not only do they not understand, but they are afraid to ask him about it. How often do we sit back and not understand something, but are to afraid to ask for fear that "we" will look stupid? How often do we hesitate to ask Jesus about our own worries today that cause fear or frighten us? What Jesus is telling them does not fit into the disciples idea of who Jesus is. They wanted Jesus to become an Earthly king and to establish His ruling kingdom here on Earth. Jesus however is focused on carrying out His purpose. Jesus purpose is to come to earth through a virgin birth, live a perfect life, to be nailed to the cross, to die, and to rise again on the third day. This is clearly confessed in the Apostles, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds. Jesus had to die; He knew what He was talking about! Jesus is focused on God’s will, the disciples are focused on their own will! Who is the greatest? Jesus came not to receive glory, but as a humble servant, carrying out God’s will that he suffer and die for the sins of the world. Greatness is measured through humble service, not glory!

The disciples still don’t understand the purpose of Christ. The disciples will not understand the purpose until after Easter and they will recall that Jesus fulfilled the very words they did not understand. It is then that they will understand that the Greatness of Christ is not found is a glorious mighty king, but greatness is carried out through a humble servant, dying on the Cross for the sins of the World. Instead, the disciples still are focusing on themselves and on glory. The Scripture states:

33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. 35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."

The disciples had been talking on the road, in fact, they were more than talking, but was more in the form of reasoning or arguing over "who was the greatest". We can see this childish behavior in all people today, both young and old. They had been arguing over the issue, but not in front of Jesus. Jesus, although he knew what they were talking about, puts them on the spot by confronting them and asking "What were you arguing about on the road?" We do this in the work environment, at home, at church, or where ever... We will be discussing something with a group in private and when confronted by the boss, spouse, or whoever, we will "keep quiet". Who are we putting first, our selves or God?

The question remains "who is the greatest?" Jesus continues teaching them in private, having them sit down and tells them: "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." This is hard to understand from a worldly perspective. The disciples wanted a worldly king. A worldly King would have a staff of servants waiting on him. Jesus is a different kind of King. He comes not as a "royal king", but as a servant. To be great is set aside worldly glory and to be a servant of God. True greatness is determined, not by deeds which receive the greatest outward attention, but by humble service which is often scarcely recognized. Jesus explains "greatness" in a third fashion. He states:

36 He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."

I can picture this in my mind. Jesus taking a child, wrapping His arms around him and welcoming him with the love of God. This is a very warm picture. Children are a treasure and they accept love without reservation. Jesus tells us whoever receives one of these little children "in my name" welcomes Jesus himself. The name of "Jesus" pertains to the whole person of Christ and his purpose. His purpose was not to bring glory to himself, but to live and die for your mistakes. He died for you. This happened 2,000 years ago and was His action to you. What roll did you play in your Salvation? None! Jesus has done everything for you. Today, he holds out his arms to you, welcoming you in His name. Jesus loves you and cares about you. He has given you faith through His Word and gives you the precious gift of Salvation, a gift that we don’t deserve. It is a great and warm feeling when we receive a gift from someone that we have wronged. We can see the love in their action. It cuts through guilt with a welcome gift of love. Today, Jesus welcomes Bailey Elise through the loving arms of Baptism. Salvation is hers. She did nothing! Baptism is the work of God. The same applies to you through your Baptism. You have been saved by faith. Your sins have been forgiven. Eternal life is yours through the blood shed on the cross. Through Jesus life, death, and resurrection, Jesus is serving you. Who is the greatest? True Greatness can only be found in the one named Jesus Christ. Amen