The Road to True Greatness....

What would happen if a person that the world considers great worshipped with us one Sunday morning? For example, what if Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Elon Musk of Tesla or Grammy award winner Beyonce were in this very service? Of course, social media would blow up and their presence would be a conversation topic for weeks. Many people would ask for autographs and some may even ask for a job interview. The reason for this is obvious: greatness, by the world’s standard is defined by achievement, fame, power, wealth and self-promotion. Briefly stated, our Culture sees greatness as “ascending” (higher status, more control). In contrast, Jesus teaches that greatness is found in “descending” (lower status, less control). Culture asks, “How much have you achieved?” Jesus asks, “How well have you loved and served?” Obviously, these two definitions point in polar opposite directions. In today’s passage, Mark 9:30-50, our Lord shows us five signs that we must display if we, as Christ followers, are on The Road to True Greatness. While all five signs are equally important and worthy of study, this writing will highlight two signs: 1) Greatness begins by embracing the rejected King and 2) Greatness begins by welcoming and serving the weakest.

In Mark 9, Jesus twice taught his disciples about His coming death and resurrection (Mark 9:9-10, 30-32). Both times, the disciples were silent. Why? Because the last time one of them (Peter) spoke up to object to this teaching, he was harshly rebuked by Jesus (Mark 8:33). Unfortunately, in the disciples mind at this time, greatness was not death and it certainly was not Rome rejecting the Messiah; conversely, they thought that greatness was Rome submitting to the Messiah as He built His political kingdom on Earth. In summary, the disciples did not understand how Jesus could be great if He was killed! Furthermore, they were primarily concerned with their own self-interest and wondered the following: If they kill the Messiah, what will they do to me!? Friend, as tempting as it is for us today to also think in self-serving ways, we must not make this error – for the salvation that was offered to the disciples then and is currently offered to each of us now was only accomplished through this selfless king who was rejected by others and consequently crucified on a Roman cross! If we truly desire to be great in God's eyes, we must fully embrace this rejected King and His gift of salvation!

Additionally, while at the same time as not embracing Jesus as the rejected King, the disciples also began arguing over who, among them was the greatest (Mark 9:33-37; Luke 22:24-27). In Jesus’ day, political greatness was displayed by Rome's military power. Economic greatness was displayed by the amount of booths in the marketplace and the number of trade ships on the Mediterranean Sea. Religious greatness was displayed by where a scribe and Pharisee sat in the temple. And, as evidenced in these verses, even Christ's disciples were influenced by this worldly concept of greatness. In our culture, greatness among middle class Americans may be defined by the size of our house, the possessions that we own, the amount of money that we have or our career success. However, Jesus combats this thinking, both then and now, by doing and saying the following: "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 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 9:35-37). What a powerful way to illustrate the path to true greatness!

Historically, the American Christian church has modeled the concept of welcoming and serving the weakest well. Sunday Schools were started to help poor children learn to read. The Methodists began their hospitals in the 1880’s and the Lutherans followed by establishing theirs in 1897. Baptist hospitals founded by state conventions in the early 1900’s helped to provide health care to poor people who resided in minority neighborhoods. Orphanages, addiction ministries and rescue missions in the largest cities have been founded and funded by Christians. Recently, our church hosted the SBTC Disaster Relief Director to share how our denomination is serving those in great need after being struck by a disaster. Within our own church, we also see many examples of greatness as we faithfully “descend” to serve others. Some examples are our Sunday School teachers, Kidz Church disciple-makers, faithful nursery workers and those who faithfully translate our weekly worship service for Spanish speakers. Finally, one of our best annual displays of greatness is when over 50 volunteers come together each summer to serve the kids in our local community by providing one week of VBS. Brothers and sisters, each person serving sacrificially in these and many other ways are examples of the greatness that reflects Christ’s glory! To those who are already displaying this true greatness by welcoming and serving the weakest, thank you! And, to those who do not yet faithfully do so, will you begin today?....

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