The Great Reversal

Mark 10:32-45

One day Jesus and his friends were walking along the road, on the way to Capernaum (Mk 9:33-37). Jesus had just said he was going to be betrayed and killed, and then rise after three days. The disciples were baffled by all this. You’d think that their walk talk would have been about this. But no! Instead they talked - in fact argued - about which of them was the greatest.

So what was Jesus’ response? “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” Like the child that he then took in his arms and set in their midst. And like the one who had just told them that he would be betrayed and killed.

Not long after that a young man, whom many would have considered to be among the “first” because of his great wealth, came to Jesus. He asked what he had to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him to sell all that he had and give to the poor. In other words, just like he had told his disciples, instead of wanting to be first, he had to be willing to be last. This was too much for that young man, and he “walked away sad.” 

And that leads to Mark 10:32-45, where, just like he had done earlier, Jesus told the disciples about his coming suffering. He mentioned being betrayed, condemned to death, mocked, spit upon, and killed. Then, just like before, a discussion ensued about true greatness. James and John asked for places of honor when Jesus came into his glory.

Jesus stuck to his story, and said again what he had said before about true greatness: “Whoever wants to her great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” The slave of all, just like the one who would soon die a criminal’s death.

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

In his book, Humilitas, John Dickson asserts the surprising fact that humility was not a respected virtue in Jesus’ day. This is why Jesus says so categorically, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. “ 

This is certainly still true in our day. Many of our political or organizational leaders are not known for their humility, for their pursuit of greatness through smallness. They all too often seek greatness not through serving others, but through getting others to serve them. Sadly, this is even true of many church leaders. Jesus stood against this so called “greatness” in his day, and he still stands against it in ours. The cross of Christ, which we especially venerate during the Lenten season, shouts across the ages: “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last.” There’s hardly a person more “last” than a crucified one!

But lest we consider that this injunction from the suffering Christ applies only to the “rulers of the Gentiles who lord it over them,” we must remember that Jesus spoke these words to two brothers who were fishermen. It’s unlikely that they were lording it over anyone. Maybe over fish, but probably not over people. And yet, there they were, making a request of Jesus like he was their genie. “Just give us one thing, a place of honor.” 

I notice as I read the gospel stories that I am often quick to criticize the disciples for being spiritual dunces, for so often not getting what Jesus was saying. But what’s the old saying about pointing the finger? When you point a finger at someone, three of your fingers are pointing back at you.

A few yeas ago, in my work as a Restoration Technician at the Lighthouse Mission, I had to perform an extensive and exceedingly disagreeable job related to an undetected sewage leak (don’t ask for details). As I was doing the unpleasant work, I started feeling like the job was “beneath” me. It then occurred to me that it was only beneath me if I thought too highly of myself. I was embarrassed before Jesus, that I wasn’t willing to live a small life.

So, in conclusion, I pray: Oh Lord Jesus Christ, our suffering savior, you showed by your life and backed up with your teaching what it means to be truly great. Help us to resist the ever present pressure to be great as the world around us views greatness. May we, instead, follow you who became first by becoming last. Amen.