Sunday Sermon | The Gospel of Mark: The Pride of Greatness

Good morning, church family.

Turn with me in your Bibles to Mark chapter 9.

Mark 9 · chapter mention

Mark chapter 9.

Mark 9 · chapter mention

As we continue our walkthrough, our sermon series and the Gospel of Mark.

We wanted this morning to look a little different because, truthfully, Jesus is going to be quite fierce with us this morning.

Okay?

Recall that we have turned, we've we've crossed the mountain in uh in the Gospel of Mark, and we are headed straight for the cross.

And recall that the disciples do not think they need a crucified Messiah.

Okay?

And so what has happened is Mark is going to increasingly expose the heart of the good ones.

Okay?

Us.

Okay?

He's gonna show us, even those that follow Jesus and love Jesus and give Jesus our best.

He's going to expose our deep, deep need for the cross, right?

His death and resurrection.

And so he's gonna take square aim at us this morning and our pride.

And so we be we wanted to begin with just a tone of repentance and confession, humility before the Lord.

Alright, hold your spots there in Mark chapter 9.

Mark 9 · chapter mention

I'm gonna begin reading in verse 30 here in just a moment.

Miguel de Cervantes spent his entire life searching for greatness.

He fought in one of the great battles of his time, but he was badly wounded, and he was captured by the enemy, and he would spend five years in prison.

Now, when he was finally released, he tried to make his name as a playwright, but success never came.

Eventually, this wounded soldier and failed playwright and now struggling tax collector found himself in prison again.

Life had stripped away many of the illusions that he had built in his mind.

But there in prison, he wrote a story about a man so desperate to be great that he could no longer see the world the way that it was.

His name was Don Quixote.

And the great irony of that is the book that Cervantes wrote, exposing man's foolish obsession with greatness, became the very thing that made Cervantes great.

400 years later, we're still saying his name.

Because his story connects with something in all of us.

We want to matter.

We want our lives to have significance.

Okay?

We want our lives to count for something.

And now there's nothing wrong with wanting your lives to count.

But the danger becomes when we are driven by applause and self-importance.

Now, apparently, there's nothing new to that.

Because as we turn in our Bibles to Mark chapter 9, that's exactly where we find the disciples.

Mark 9 · chapter mention

Jesus and the disciples are walking to Capernaum, and Jesus is walking ahead, and the disciples are having a conversation behind, arguing which one of us is the greatest.

Listen, as I read, beginning in Mark chapter 9, verse 30, I'm going to read through 37.

Mark 9:30

Again, hold your spot because we're going to continue through this text in a moment.

From there they went out and began to go through Galilee.

Now Jesus did not want anyone to know about it, for he was teaching his disciples and telling them, The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and when he has been killed, he will rise three days later.

But they did not understand the statement, and they were afraid to ask him.

They came to Capernaum.

And when he was in a house, he began to question them, saying, What were you discussing on the way?

But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with uh they had discussed with uh one another which of them was the greatest.

Sitting down, he called the twelve, and he said to them, If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all.

Taking a child, he set him before them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, Whoever receives one child like this in my name receives me, and whoever receives me does not receive me, but him who sent me.

Will you pray with me?

Our Heavenly Father, as we come to your word this morning, we pray that your Spirit would teach us.

You're gonna completely redefine greatness.

And Father, we we just confess to you how prone we are to feed our own flesh and to uh stir up comparison and to cut others down so that we can seem and feel more important, that so much of our lives is is a search for significance, and and yet your word teaches us completely different.

And Father, I pray this morning that that would sink deep into our soul, that we would genuinely know and understand true greatness as displayed by you, King Jesus.

Teach us this morning.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Jesus has set his face towards the cross.

He again plainly tells his disciples that he is going to die.

He will suffer, he will be rejected, and then he will be killed.

But the idea of a crucified Messiah makes no sense to the disciples.

They do not understand.

And yet they are afraid to ask.

You will recall the last time that Peter kind of raised his voice, he was sharply rebuked.

And so their questions remain silent.

Now, instead of wrestling with what Jesus has just told them that he is going to die and resurrect, they have occupied themselves on the journey with a completely separate conversation.

Which one of us is the greatest?

They've been arguing as they travel.

Who do you think is the most important?

Which one of us deserves the most recognition?

Their hearts are filled with comparison.

They quietly build a case for their own importance, and the contrast could not be greater.

Jesus is moving downward towards shame, humiliation, the cross, in order to save sinners.

But the disciples are trying to move upward towards recognition and status, self-exaltation.

And so Jesus sits down and calls the twelve to himself.

Now, what I want us to notice is that Jesus doesn't stop them from wanting their lives to matter.

Right?

He doesn't even say, stop desiring to be great.

Instead, he redefines greatness.

You see, like Don Quixote, they have allowed the world to define greatness, to be greatest, to be noticed, to be above others, to prove that you are more significant than other people.

But Jesus turns the definition upside down.

If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.

You see, in the kingdom of God, greatness isn't measured by how many people recognize you, but instead it's based on how many people are you willing to serve.

You see, the great one sees other people, sees the value in them because God has made them, and then recognizes their needs.

And then instead of using his strength to push himself above others, the great one stoops down and serves with mercy and compassion and doesn't need to be noticed.

And Jesus says, you know, that one is great.

And then taking a child, he set him before him, taking the child in his arms, he said to them, Whoever receives one child like this in my name receives me.

Now remember, of course, people in the ancient world they loved their children.

But children possessed virtually no social status, okay?

No influence, no ability to advance your position.

So now follow the flow here.

Because Jesus has just redefined greatness, and now he reaches for someone that is the most insignificant in the eyes of the world.

He takes this child and essentially says, You want to know whether you've learned kingdom greatness?

Then watch how you treat someone that cannot increase your social status at all.

Because we naturally serve upward, don't we?

We notice the influential.

We make time for those that can help us.

But Jesus reaches for someone that can offer them nothing in return and says, Receive this child as though you are receiving me.

Because in the kingdom of God there are no insignificant people.

Now, as we go to the next section, you need to understand that Mark has not left the subject.

In fact, he wants to expose how blind the disciples have become because of their pride.

So in verse 38, John said to him, Well, teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.

But Jesus said, Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in my name and be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me.

For he who is not against us is for us.

For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name, as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.

Now remember where we were last week.

Do you remember that the disciples could not cast out a demon?

Right?

Their prayerlessness had led to them being powerless.

Now, ironically, John is telling Jesus, hey, we came upon a scene where there was this guy and he was casting out a demon in your name.

And it worked.

Right?

Picture the scene, guys.

The disciples have walked upon someone.

There was someone enslaved to demonic activity.

And they, someone else cast out the demon, and that prisoner was set free.

And you would think the disciples seeing that, they would be thrilled.

They would rejoice.

They would say, look at how, look, look at how God's kingdom is advancing.

But that's not.

John says, and we tried to prevent him.

Why?

Because he was not following us.

Us.

Not Jesus, he wasn't following you.

Because he wasn't following us.

Don't miss how pride has caused the disciples to become territorial.

They're not part of our group.

Who gave them authority?

Could you imagine if people started recognizing them?

Here's the crazy truth.

When I am preoccupied with my significance, even the advancement of God's kingdom can feel threatening when it's not happening because of me.

And Jesus corrects them.

Don't hinder them.

They are for us, they're on our side.

Stop making yourself the measure of what God is doing.

You know the kingdom is bigger than you.

And then Jesus takes them to the opposite end of the spectrum.

He says, listen, you don't have to cast out a demon in order to be important in God's eyes.

You could give someone a cup of water.

Right?

Something so unnoticing as a cup of water.

But if you do that in the name of Jesus, Jesus sees it.

And he will not forget it.

That's kingdom greatness.

Serving someone in the name of Jesus without needing to be noticed.

Now I want you to watch how pride continues to take us down.

Because it doesn't just distort our definition of greatness, pride also changes the way that we see people.

Because when I become preoccupied with my own significance, the people around me become less than.

And Jesus now gives us one of the strongest warnings in the gospel.

Look at verse 42.

Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if a heavy millstone hung around his neck and he was cast into the sea.

Now, at this point in the flow of the argument, little ones doesn't only mean children.

Rather, little ones who believe in me stands for the group of those that we would say are insignificant followers of Jesus.

The new believer, the socially awkward, the person with no influence.

And Jesus says to us, we had better be extraordinarily careful with their faith.

Because you know what pride does?

When my significance becomes the priority, people either become tools for my advancement or they become obstacles in my way.

And tragically, we can do this in the name of Jesus, right here in the church.

Right?

A pastor can become so concerned with his building a successful ministry that people either are tools for his success or threats to be controlled rather than souls that have been entrusted to his care.

But that's not just a danger for leaders.

What about the struggling believer whose needs are pretty complicated, who requires more than a quick conversation for you?

Are they worth our time?

Parents, we can be we can be so obsessed with raising impressive, godly looking children that our children begin to believe that their struggles will threaten our reputation.

So then when they have doubt or they fall into sin, they're afraid to come to us.

Because we've made protecting our image more important than shepherding their hearts.

What about when someone's needs inconvenience you?

Their weakness requires patience.

Do you and I see a person to be loved or an obstacle that's standing in the way of whatever we're chasing at that moment?

Do you guys see the danger of pride?

It can make us so careless with souls of people that Jesus loves.

And Jesus takes that very seriously.

He says, it would be better if an enormous millstone were hung around your neck and you were cast into the sea, than to be an instrument through which one of these little ones has been led away from believing in Jesus.

It's talking about when we put a stumbling block in front of others' faith.

I want you to notice the reversal.

Because the disciples, right, they've been worried about being the most significant.

And Jesus takes, he presses, like, hey, listen, those that you and I are tempted to overlook, Jesus says, Let me show you how significant they are to me.

The people that pride teaches us are not worthy of our attention are the very people that Jesus commands us to protect.

And then in the final movement of our text, Jesus turns his disciples away from managing everyone else.

I want you to notice this temptation in us to always have our eyes fixed out here about all the problems that are going on and how we should fix all of them.

And he turns the disciples' eyes inward, towards our own sin.

Verse 43.

If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off.

For it would be better for you to enter life crippled than having two hands to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire.

If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off.

It is better for you to enter life lame than having two feet to be cast into hell.

If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out.

It is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than having two eyes to be cast into hell.

Where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.

For everyone will be salted with fire.

Salt is good, but if the salt becomes unsalty, uh with what will it be made salty?

Again.

Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.

So here's the movement, right?

Back in verse 38, the disciples have been ruthless towards outsiders and remarkably patient with their own pride.

And Jesus reverses the posture.

And he says, Listen, be gracious with what I am doing in other people.

Be gracious with them.

But be ruthless to what sin is doing within you.

If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off.

If your foot, cut it off.

If your eye, throw it away.

Now Jesus has already clearly taught us that sin is an issue of the heart.

So he's not commanding mutilation.

He's using shocking language to say, kill your sin.

Because judgment is real and terrifying and eternal.

And so why should we play with sin like it is a toothless tiger?

Church, I want you to think about what we tolerate, the bitterness we nurture, the pride we defend, the envy we excuse, the lust we entertain, the sins that we've just learned to live with, that Jesus is calling us to put to death.

And I want to linger for a moment about what Jesus says about the eye.

Because I think that's particularly important in our day.

Because what we look at shapes the way that we think.

And it captivates our attention.

And it shapes our affection.

What we chase after.

You know, if you look at something long enough, I hate going to the store, I hate going shopping with my family because when I'm sitting at home, I don't need anything.

And then I go out in the store and I walk around and I'm like, oh, I can't live without that.

Right?

It shapes us.

Listen, we live in a culture addicted to distraction.

While our news feed, right, sells us with fear and outrage.

Our phones intoxicate us with constant stimulation.

You know the whole thing is wired to make your brain addicted.

Our social media feeds us with comparison and self-importance.

And pornography makes lust available at the touch of a screen.

And truthfully, church, we consume it all.

Without ever thinking about the danger that it's actually doing to our souls.

And we wonder why we're anxious and so discontent.

And why prayer is so difficult.

See, our hearts are so easily led astray, away from Christ, because of what we're feeding them.

First Peter repeatedly calls believers to be sober-minded, clear-headed, spiritually alert.

But how can we be sober-minded when we're constantly surrendering our minds to whatever captures our attention?

You know that's the game.

To capture your attention so they can sell advertising dollars to get you to do one more scroll, one more scroll, because they're going to make money off of one more scroll.

I got a question for you to ponder.

How would you take you out?

And Jesus says, if your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out.

In other words, stop treating harmless, that which is drawing your heart away from me.

So maybe that means deleting the app or turning off the news or putting boundaries on your phone, confessing that hidden sin, ending that relationship that is pulling you away from Jesus.

Whatever it is, do not make peace with sin that Jesus died to save you from.

Because in Leviticus chapter 2, verse 13, we're told that every grain offering is supposed to be seasoned with salt.

Leviticus 2:13

There's probably an echo of that imagery here in this passage when Jesus says, everyone will be salted with fire.

Now, whatever the precise meaning is, what is clear is that Jesus is saying, discipleship is costly holiness.

That following Jesus is not painless, that the road to the resurrection goes through death.

And holiness involves painful surrender.

Deny yourself.

Take up your cross.

Become the last.

So remember where we began.

Twelve disciples arguing about who was the greatest.

Competing for recognition and status and significance.

So consumed with their own importance that they're trying to stop other people from advancing the kingdom.

And all the while, Jesus is walking towards the cross, towards shame, humiliation, and death in order to save sinners.

What I love about the scripture is it helps us see, because it's easy to see what pride has done to the disciples, isn't it?

It's easy to see.

But then do we recognize it in ourselves?

The way that we compare ourselves to others.

The way that we overlook those that we say are insignificant.

The way that we excuse the very sins that Jesus calls us to put to death.

And we realize we are no different than those twelve men.

The disciples do not yet understand the need for the cross.

But we do.

We see it.

And all the while Jesus is walking towards Jerusalem.

What's amazing is it's not because the disciples have become worthy.

You see that in the text, right?

They're still blind.

But it's because they need a crucified Savior.

And so do we.

You spoke everything into being.

Everything is from you and through you into you.

You are the first and the last.

And yet you humbled yourself, King Jesus, by coming obedient, obedient to the point of death.

There is no God like you.

God help us to completely reorient our minds on everything that we chase.

Help us to know that we have worth because you made us and you loved us so that you died for us.

That is what gives us worth.

Spirit, help us to see that value in others and to not be so prone by self-exaltation and importance and status.

Help us to see other people and to serve them in a culture that is just obsessed with views and everyone looking at us.

God help us to be different.

Help us to be set free to serve you and to live our lives in a radically different way.

As we lay down our pride, take up our cross to follow you.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Church family, the praise team is gonna lead us in two songs of response.

As always, we give a chance for you to respond to whatever the Spirit of God has said to you.

That is always the command.

What has God said, be obedient.

Okay?

We have ministers down here at the front who would love to pray with you.

I'll be standing here.

You don't need to pray alone if you want to use these steps as an altar to pour out your heart before the Lord.

But church family, let's get serious about our sin.

Let's cut it off.

Whatever the Spirit of God has said to you, you respond.

Would you stand?