Pastor Tim Patoka He Has Done All Things Well: Correcting False Ambitions th 18 Sunday after Pentecost September 26, 2021 Humbly Serve All Mark 9:30-37 If you want to be great, you typically do it by standing out from others. One way you see this often happen is by having people make their accomplishments known among the who’s who. Think of the workplace where people compete against each other to become top dog or across the globe as countries compete for superpower status and influence. Another way you could achieve greatness is by being uniquely good at what you alone do. Although I’m not a fan of either team, it was fun seeing the highlights of last week’s football game between the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs, specifically how Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s unique blend at throwing and running helped them get an upset win over the heavily favored Chiefs. But no matter how you achieve greatness, you end up with the same thing – you become great by being the first and/or the center of attention. You would never look to the person who’s last or far down the totem pole. Yet, that is what God does when it comes to finding someone who is great in his sight and first among forgiven sinners. And as Jesus tells us in our verses this morning from Mark chapter 9, a Christian will inadvertently become great when they humbly serve all. Humble Service to All is Key This lesson of humble service to all was something that Jesus’ 12 disciples needed to hear. We find them this morning arguing amongst themselves about who was the greatest. It was already becoming clear that Jesus had an inner 3, a group of 3 disciples in particular who were privy to some private moments with Jesus like when he raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead or the still-kept-secret details of what happened on the Mount of Transfiguration. When Jesus and company reach Capernaum, he finally addresses the elephant in the room and asks them what they were discussing while traveling. And like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar, the 12 stayed shamefully silent. So, acting like the only mature adult in the room, Jesus rebukes their selfish ambitions while simultaneously telling them how one becomes great before God. Jesus says, “If anyone wants to be first, he will be the last of all and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35b EHV)
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Pastor Tim Patoka He Has Done All Things Well: Correcting False Ambitions th 18 Sunday after Pentecost September 26, 2021 To be last of all means to be the furthest thing away from important in terms of rank, value, or situation. This would be the person whose name is the last to appear on a movie’s or show’s credits. Though their contribution was part of the whole production, few people will never know about because they’ve already left the room or changed the channel. To be the servant of all highlights the primary role a person has in meeting the needs of another and assisting them in a way that is feasible and wise. This doesn’t imply that the person serving is of any lesser value. It’s simply talking about the work they do. As I’ll be saying throughout our sermon, you can summarize these two points as humble service. Jesus makes it clear who we include in our humble service. With his 12 disciples around, Jesus takes a little child in his arms and says, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me, welcomes not just me but also him who sent me.” (Mark 9:37 EHV) This child was probably no older than 7 years old. And in this day and age, children were often viewed as “adults-in-waiting” rather than our current view as “our most precious treasure” or “the next generation.” As such, little children like these were often overlooked and undervalued in the 1st century Israelite world. No one expected would have expected Jesus and company to make time for this little child, let alone welcome him. And yet Jesus did, teaching his disciples that they were to extend their humble service to all – even those who we often overlook and undervalue, who cannot return the favor or make it worth your while. As Jesus teaches his 12 disciples and also us, we are to humbly serve all. We Struggle With This As disciples, the 12 certainly did their share of praiseworthy deeds by sharing God’s Word with the people, correcting those who detoured believers off the straight and narrow path to heaven, and functioning as God’s instruments of love and compassion to those around. Yet for all the outwardly good things they did, these 12 struggled with selfish motives. Why else were they arguing about who was the greatest on the road to Capernaum? Why did Jesus need to teach them that the key to becoming great before God is humble service to all? As children of our God through faith in his Son, we have a lot in common with these 12 disciples. Assuming we are doing the praiseworthy deeds that God has asked of us in the first place, we too struggle with selfish motives. Our service to one another is not always humble. We serve our fellow neighbor because
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Pastor Tim Patoka He Has Done All Things Well: Correcting False Ambitions th 18 Sunday after Pentecost September 26, 2021 someone makes us, to soothe our guilty conscience, to pad our resume, or to gain someone’s favor. Or perhaps our humble service is lacking in who we give it to. Think again of that little child Jesus took in his arms. Do we take after our culture that overlooks certain demographics of our community without realizing it? Are we slow to welcome those who can’t or won’t make it worth our while? Do we hold back from humbly serving those different than us? As with the 12 disciples, we cannot honestly say we follow Jesus’ instructions to humbly serve all. Jesus Models Such Humble Service But Jesus certainly does. He practiced what he preached to his disciples when it came to humbly serving all. But Jesus’ way of doing this would look a little different. As he told his disciples, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill him. But three days after he is killed, he will rise.” (Mark 9:31b EHV) Jesus repeatedly calls himself the Son of Man which was a specific title from Daniel chapter 7(:13) with known Messianic connotations by this time. For Jesus in particular, this title emphasizes how he true man, just like us in every way except without sin. And as the singular Son of Man, his humble service to all would include betrayal, death, and resurrection. It would not be long until the 12 would see how these events would unfold. How the Son of Man would be betrayed by one of these same 12, Judas Iscariot, into the hands of the Jewish ruling men and later into the hands of Pontius Pilate. Then would come their act of killing the Son of Man by orchestrating a sham of a trial and sentencing an innocent man to be nailed to a cross. After 3 silent days, the Son of Man would then rise from the dead and have the whole world talk about it ever since. It is through his betrayal, death, and resurrection that Jesus humbly serves us all as the Son of Man. As the last of all, Jesus made himself nothing more than just another condemned man. As the servant of all, Jesus literally gave of himself to help and assist everyone else. And he did this on purpose. Jesus knew about his coming betrayal, death, and resurrection. He could have prevented it all from happening before it even began! But he chose to go through with it. Because it would be on that cross that Jesus would pay the price for all our sins, including those of our selfish motives 3
Pastor Tim Patoka He Has Done All Things Well: Correcting False Ambitions th 18 Sunday after Pentecost September 26, 2021 and selective service. Jesus’ resurrection assures us that our sins have indeed been paid for in full. No longer are sins on our eternal record, no longer do we have God’s wrath hanging over us, no longer are we barred from entering our heavenly home! Instead, Jesus humbly serves you and me by giving us the forgiveness he won on the cross and assuring us that we are now one with him. We Inadvertently Become Great Because Jesus has humbly served us in this way, we therefore humbly serve all in Jesus’ name. We heard Jesus mention that phrase of “in Jesus’ name” to his 12 disciples when he had the little child in his arms. And when we do something in Jesus’ name, it means to do it on behalf of or because of Jesus. This “in Jesus’ name” attitude requires a person to know and believe how Jesus has humbly served them as we just talked about. And whenever a Christian serves their neighbor in a humble way, they very likely do it in Jesus’ name, even if it’s not consciously thought or verbally said. For Jesus as the Son of Man, his humble service to all included betrayal, death, and resurrection. We are not the Son of Man. As such, our humble service to all will look different. But we can start with the people who God has placed in our lives and spheres of influence. As you picture these people, how can you be the last of all, that is, to have a humbly heart? How can you be the servant of all, that is, to meet their needs and assist them were feasible and wise? Remember, your humble service to them is not for your benefit but for theirs. Thinking of that little child that Jesus took in his arms, who might you be overlooking whether it’s on accident or on purpose? Include them as well. As you humbly serve all, be sure to do so in Jesus’ name – because of what he has done for you and on behalf of him. It is Jesus and his humble service to us with his forgiveness, love, and blessings that motivates us to humbly serve all and that it may be done in Jesus’ name. And do you remember how Jesus told his 12 disciples how they could become great in God’s sight? By humbly serving all. As such, let yourself be surprised when you inadvertently become great in God’s sight as you continue to humbly serve all in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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