Gospel-Centered Discipleship - Mark 9:30-37

Gospel-Centered Discipleship

Mark 9:30-37

Introduction: I like the title of a book by James W. Moore: Yes, Lord, I Have Sinned but I Have Several Excellent Excuses. That is a sermon in itself! In that book he tells a story that is a good introduction to our passage today…

In the golden days of the settling of the West, one of the major means of transportation was the stagecoach. But did you know that stagecoaches had three different kinds of tickets — First class, second class and third class? A first-class ticket meant you could sit down. No matter what happened, you could remain seated. If the stagecoach got stuck in the mud or had trouble making it up a steep hill, or even if a wheel fell off, you remained seated because you had a first-class ticket.
       A second class ticket meant that you got to sit down until there was a problem, and then you had to get off until the problem was solved. You got off, stood to the side, and watched somebody else fix the problem. When the situation was corrected, you could get back on the stagecoach and take your seat again because you had a second-class ticket.
       A third class ticket meant that you got to sit down until there was a problem, and then you had to get off and push! You had to put your shoulder to it and help solve the problem, because you had a third-class ticket...

     …When I was living in China I saw the principle of the third-class ticket in action. I was riding on the bus one day on a six-lane road when we passed another public bus at an intersection. That bus had broken down and so everyone had gotten off and the passengers were pushing their bus through the intersection! It is assumed that because you are riding on the public bus you have a “third class” ticket. Second class ticket holders take a taxi and first-class ticket holders have their own car or a car and driver.

He then makes his point that “Here in North America we lead a first-class ticket lifestyle where no one would think passengers should push a public transit bus down the road.” What kind of ticket do you think the disciples were thinking they should have in our context? What was Jesus trying to teach them about what it means to follow Him? Let’s make it personal: What kind of ticket do you and I think we should have?  Are we here to be served, or to serve? If we see a need, do we step in and put our shoulder into it, or step back, and assume someone will do it? What did Jesus mean when he said He came to serve? What did He mean when He said that we need to serve one another? That brings us to…

The Maine* Idea: Jesus came as the promised Servant, and He calls us to serve Him by serving others. We’ll look at that from three perspectives, 1. The Foundation, 2. The Attitude, and 3. The Practice of Authentic discipleship.

I. The Foundation of Authentic Discipleship: The Gospel (30-32). After being with the three disciples on the mountain, Jesus came down and set free a boy who had been demon-possessed. His ministry is now focused primarily on teaching the 12, but He is still moved with compassion by the needs He confronts on the way.

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.

          Jesus is heading south toward the Sea of Galilee and the town of Capernaum, which had become His base of operations for the ministry in Galilee and beyond. We are told that He “did not want anyone to know.” Why? He was passing “through Galilee” on His way to Jerusalem. He was focused on teaching the disciples about what would happen, what had to happen, when they got there. Just as He had told them in 8:31, he tells them again here, and still they don’t understand. “The Son of man is going to be delivered into the hands of men…” The same verb appears in the Greek translation, the Septuagint, of Isaiah 53:6, and then twice in 53:12. That context of course is a detailed prophecy of the Suffering Servant, the One who would bear our sins. Jesus is laying a foundation for the disciples’ future understanding of the Cross and Resurrection in the light of Scripture.

        “…they will kill Him…” The Son of Man will be delivered in the hands of men and they will kill Him. “Delivered” is the passive voice. Delivered by who? At one level by the religious leaders. At another level, by the will of the Father (Acts 2:23; Rom 8:32). It was necessary for the Messiah to die—He came to give His life as a ransom for many. I don’t think the disciples could understand the meaning of Him rising from the dead, because they couldn’t grasp the idea that He would be killed.  All of their messianic hopes were focused on victory and deliverance. It was unthinkable that the Messiah would be rejected and killed. That was an oxymoron, it was a contradiction, it made no sense. That is why they could not even get to the second part of Jesus’ statement: “…after three days He will arise…”  Even coming down the mountain after the transfiguration the three were questioning among themselves what this rising from the dead might mean. So,“they did not understand…” At least not yet. John Calvin said, “So great is the influence of preconceived opinion, that it brings darkness over the mind in the midst of the clearest light.” Soon the veil would be lifted. After the cross and resurrection Jesus would “open their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:44,45). We are part of the post-Pentecost church. So we understand that the foundation of authentic discipleship is the Gospel. That means we must understand who Jesus is and what He did for us. And we must be willing to take up our cross and follow Him. Jesus came as the promised Servant, and He calls us to serve Him by serving others.

II. The Attitude of Authentic Discipleship: Humility (33-35).

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." 

          Alistair Begg preached this passage focusing on two questions: 1) A question the disciples were afraid to ask (32), and 2) A question the disciples were ashamed to answer, which we see here in verse 33, “What were you discussing on the way?” Why would they have been ashamed? They kept silent because “…they had argued with one another about who was greatest…”! Think about that in light of what Jesus had just been teaching!  He would soon be delivered up and killed. He came to lay down His life for all who would believe. The disciples not only did not understand, they were afraid to ask about it and turned the subject to themselves. Remember Mohammed Ali’s line, “I am the greatest!” My dad used to like the country song that had a line, “It is hard to be humble when you are perfect in every way.” Pride is something that fallen humans don’t have to learn it seems! Benjamin Franklin said,

There is perhaps no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive. Even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility. 

None other than the famous preacher Dr. Harry Ironside told a story on himself. He was once convicted about his lack of humility, and a friend recommended as a remedy, that he march through the streets of the city wearing a sandwich board, while shouting the scripture verses on the board for all to hear. Dr. Ironside agreed and he did it. When he returned to his study and removed the board, he said "I'll bet there's not another man in town who would do something as humble as that."   Oh well! We can learn from the words of some saints from the past. Augustine famously said, “Should you ask me: What is the first thing in religion? I should reply: the first, second, and third thing therein is humility.” Let me quote again this eloquent statement by Andrew Murray on the subject…

“Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and above is trouble.” 

Remember that Jesus had just been teaching the disciples about His impending suffering and death, and rather than searching what that might mean they were arguing about which of them was greatest! Paul reflected on the Christ’s example when he told the Philippians, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…” (Phil 2:5). The Cross would be the ultimate example of the attitude of THE Servant. Just in chapter 8 He had challenged the crowd along with the disciples: “If anyone would be my disciple, let them deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Me.” They were not there yet… instead of pondering or even questioning Jesus, they were sounding a little like Mohammed Ali, arguing about which of them was greatest!

      Jesus asked them what they were talking about on the way, but, apparently they were ashamed to answer. Obviously, Jesus knew what they were talking about—His teaching afterward shows that. But, as the Master-teacher, He was using questions once again to provoke their reflection, in this case to expose the attitude that they will need as His disciples. Jesus himself was their example. Becky R. is working on a Good Friday program, which includes the scene in the upper room, as Jesus, God incarnate, washes the feet of His disciples. As they are no doubt embarrassed by the humble service rendered by their Master, He concludes, “As I have done for you, so should you do for one another.”

       “…if anyone would be first he must be last, and servant of all…” The path to greatness is not what they expected. It is through humility, through serving, through putting others before ourselves. It may have been Andrew Murray who  said, “the humble person does not think meanly of himself, he simply does not think of himself at all!” Rick Warren paraphrased that when he said, “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” So we don’t conjure up some sense of humility, because once you think you’ve achieved it, you’ve lost it. Instead it is found in focusing on the Lord, on knowing Him and loving Him and serving Him, and then seeing with His eyes the needs of people around us. Charles Spurgeon put it this way,

…he who would be chief, must always be aiming at the rear rank, willing to do the most humble service and to be the lowest menial in his Master’s service. Only in this way can we rise. In Christ’s Kingdom, the way to go up is to go down. Sink self and you shall surely rise.

That is contrary to popular thinking! God’s ways are not man’s ways. Jesus came as the promised Servant, and He calls us to serve Him by serving others.

III. The Practice of Authentic Discipleship: Serving (36-37).

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."

       Remember the three questions that Mark is answering for us as he writes his Gospel: 1) Who is Jesus? 2) Why did He come? And 3) What does it mean to follow Him? The disciples are starting to get a sense of the answer to that first question, at least realizing that Jesus is the Messiah, and slowly perceiving that He is more than a mere man. Why did He come? He has begun to teach them explicitly about His impending death and resurrection, but the meaning of His words seemingly eludes them still, they cannot understand. They are obviously struggling as well in understanding the answer to the third question. What does it mean to follow Him? Here, He gives them an illustration, taking a child from the crowd, then picking him up in His arms.

       “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me…”  Children were not the center of the universe in the first century. They were to be taught the truth. Godly parents understood that they were called to train them in the way of the Lord. But children and women had worth only in relation to the head of the household. Remember the reaction of the disciples when parents brought their children to Jesus? The disciples wanted to keep them away! We’ve got important things to do, important teaching to hear! They had no time for a bunch of kids. That is until Jesus said, “Do not forbid them… of such is the Kingdom of God!” I am thankful that we have parents in our church who prioritize teaching their children, and workers that dedicate themselves to partnering with parents in training their children. They are so close to the heart of God that Jesus says here, “whoever receives one such child in my name receives me…” By holding up a child, one who was considered of little worth, Jesus is calling His hearers to not think more highly of themselves than they ought.

        “…whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” Later Philip says to Jesus, “Show us the Father and it is enough for us!” Jesus answers, “Have I been so long with you and you still do not know me? He who has seen me has seen the Father!” Such is the unity in the Godhead – Father, Son, and Spirit. Three persons, one divine essence—one God! To receive Jesus is to receive the Father. “No man has seen God at any time, but the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known!” Now remember the sequence: receive a child, receive Jesus, receive the Father. Children are close to the heart of God. God doesn’t call only the highly exalted in the eyes of society – He doesn’t only call the powerful – we are called to bring the message of his grace to the humble and to outcasts: Jesus said “I have come… to call sinners to repentance!”

What is God saying to me in this passage? We are called to Gospel-Centered discipleship. The foundation is the Gospel: Jesus came as the promised Servant, and willing laid down His life for us. He humbled himself, taking the form of a Servant. He obeyed the Father’s will, even to the point of death on the Cross. He calls us to follow Him—to serve Him by serving others.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? Remember Moore’s book I mentioned at the start: Yes Lord, I have sinned, but I have several excellent excuses! Really? One writer said, “An excuse is the skin of a reason, stuffed with a lie!” Do you believe that Jesus came as the Suffering Servant prophesied in the Scriptures? Do you understand that we are called to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and to follow Him?

       Are you willing to serve? God gets to make the rules, and He has committed to us the ministry of reconciliation, so we urge men on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God! All of us have a part in that mission. He has molded each of us into the unique person we are. He does all things well, and He has a plan. You and I are a part of it. Though we are all different, we are all called to serve God by serving others. None of us can do everything, but all of us can do something.  You might think, “I’ve done my part.” Really? I truly believe that God will give us work until our life is over, and life until our work is done. So let's put our shoulders to it, together. Until He returns or takes us home, we need to be fully engaged in His mission together!  AMEN.