Over the past few weeks and months, we’ve observed how Mark uses this middle section of the gospel—while the disciples are on the road to the cross—to highlight Jesus’ teachings about the upside-down kingdom.
Jesus is guiding both His disciples and us from spiritual blindness to spiritual sight. He demonstrates what it means to “deny oneself” and “take up one’s cross and follow Him.” He explains that the first shall be last and the last shall be first, emphasizing that it is better to serve than to be served.
Bless their hearts, the disciples just aren’t grasping these concepts. In Mark 8:31, when Jesus first informs them about His impending death and resurrection (very plainly, by the way), Peter rebukes Him. Then, in Mark 9:32, after Jesus speaks about His death and resurrection for a second time, the disciples still do not understand and are afraid to ask questions. Instead, they immediately start arguing among themselves about who is the greatest.
This morning, as we examine the disciples’ response to Jesus’ third prophecy about His death and resurrection, we see that they remain uninterested and focused on other things. We shouldn’t be too hard on the disciples, as Jesus’ teachings are revolutionary. He stands in stark contrast to the Jewish understanding of the kingdom and offers teachings that reflect the opposite of worldly wisdom.
In the world, one is often expected to self-promote and step on others to “get ahead” or achieve success—even when pursuing what is considered “good.”
As we unpack the text this morning, I pray that we are encouraged to align our hearts with God’s will:
- That we seek to serve instead of being served;
- That we put to death the sin in our lives so that we may walk by the Spirit;
- That we focus on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, instead of our own exaltation or reward
