Do you want to be great?

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.

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.”

38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name,6 and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 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. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us. 41 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.

42 “Whoever causes 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. 43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 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, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ 49 For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Mark 9:30-50

How do you measure greatness? If you are like most, you do it by comparison. A person becomes the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) when the world recognizes them as better than all other competitors. Being great at something requires doing it with excellence, but that’s not where it ends. It is not enough to do well. To “be great” we often believe we must do it better than everyone else. Doing something well means you are good at it, but being great means that you are better than everyone else at being good. 

Jesus catches the disciples jockeying with one another over the title of “the greatest disciple.” How did they determine who is greatest? What was their criteria? Peter, James, and John must have believed they were front runners since Jesus would often take them along and leave the others behind. After Jesus sent the twelve out to preach, heal, and cast out demons, did they keep score? We would be naive if we think they didn’t compare their ministry “results” with one another when they reconvened. 

Jesus’ sense of irony is thick here. If you want to be first, you have to be last and the servant of all. Before, the goal was to be the “best preacher, healer, or disciple,” but now, the goal is to help others become great. Spend time meditating on how Jesus’ life and death modeled true greatness.