“If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
9:35b GNB (Good News Bible)

This is the 11th memory verses that I will use as a guide/focal point to writing these articles. The “Table of Contents” is available here in the series introductory article.

Immediate & Passage Literary Context

Mark 9:35 is part of an 8-verse passage, starting from Verse 30 and is title Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time. The following is from the NIV:

30 They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

36 He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

From this passage we can see the context of our key/memory verse was an argument between the disciples. Understanding verse 34 is important since it explains what they were arguing about “who was the greatest”. This phrase and argument could be interpreted in many ways, but the most accurate understanding is that throughout Jesus’ ministry on the road and around Galilee, his disciples, as typical Jewish countrymen, would have acknowledged him as Messiah and saviour of their people. Just like today’s modern Jews, it was quite likely that they expected a military leader who would bring them out from under the oppressive rule of the Romans and restore a Jewish monarchy with Jesus as an earthly King. Given this insight into the likely mindset of these men, the thematic and favourite argument of the twelve was about who amongst them was the greatest, after Jesus. Ultimately, they each wanted to know who Jesus would consider his closest associate.

Jesus took it upon Himself to then put an end to this bickering by addressing this very topic head on. When he asks them about the argument, their silence (verse 34) is equally insightful; they were ashamed of their petty mentality in vying for power and worthiness. Further, already, without saying anything further, Jesus question alone shook some sense of shame into them. However, Jesus was not content to simply let them momentarily be filled with guilt. Verse 35 reveals how Jesus completely overturned their worldly and human notion of how to define greatness. He spoke of greatness in the sense of being first and foremost. Verse 35 is also best coupled with the next two verses since they all are interconnected in explaining Jesus’ teaching:

And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”

The core essence of His words is to instruct us on the nature of greatness from God’s perspective. The very first thing Jesus did before he spoke was that he took the time to sit down and call the disciples to attention. It is important to remember that up until this point, the group had been travelling on foot, and walking to some particular destination. Jesus was very intentional; he recognised that the disciples had not been just idly chatting, but that there was a core underlying value driving at the nature of their topic of conversation and here was a teaching opportunity. Now, it does not state explicitly how and where Jesus sat down, but one clue is in the very next part of verse 35 where he “called the twelve”. Calling the disciples clearly got all their attention and made them not just stop their chatter, but it drew focus solely to Jesus, so that he could speak freely and authoritatively to the entire group.

Jesus’ words are incredibly insightful. He knew that the question that had been debated was “who is the greatest?” He could very easily close this debate out by stating the obvious – He was and is the greatest. The end. No more discussion. However, what Jesus says is the last thing the disciples expect to hear. He creates a reverse logic – the first shall be last.

From our perspective, we know that Jesus is the greatest. So, when he refers to the last and servant, He was in fact explaining, somewhat cryptically, that He himself would be the last and servant. Indirectly, He was describing His own nature. Drawing upon the theology of John 1, Jesus was there in the beginning as the Word, the first. So even though he was truly the first, He made Himself last of all and servant of all, for our sake.

Wider Literary Context

Since this memory verse is also from the Gospel of Mark, the same commentary and article content from Memory Verse #9: Mark 12:30 applies.

Application

Jesus’ challenge to us is to adopt the mindset of being last. To seek praise and recognition are human traits, but to choose to be last is the aim of His teaching. The act and mindset of humility and grace helps us to ensure we put Jesus on the throne as the greatest, and makes us the least and last.

Jesus challenges us to be the servant of all. In the worldly idea of power, the great man is distinguished by how many people serve him. In ancient China, it was fashionable for wealthy men to grow their fingernails so long that their hands were unusable for basic tasks. This was to demonstrate that they did not need to do anything for themselves; there was always a servant there to wait on them. The secular world may think of this as greatness, but God does not. Jesus declared that true greatness is shown not by how many serve you, but by how many you serve.

In this way, there is a nature tension between the way the world wants us to act, in valuing power and greatness, whereas a Kingdom focus and value is the complete opposite. It is also important to understand that humility, like love, is not a sign of weakness or lack of strength. Whilst we pursue a life of servanthood, and prioritise others before ourselves, it often takes more courage and strength to be able to demonstrate this kind of lifestyle.

Further, one of the key parts to this is our ability to choose to be last, or to serve others. Sometimes, we are last or are in a position of servanthood not by choice. Slavery is not what Jesus is advocating here – slavery is different because it is NOT a choice, but a condition of the human existence being forced on to others. Servanthood is therefore a form of love; both are a choice and are incredibly powerful lifestyle choices because of that freedom. The ways in which we serve and love one another will differ from time to time, and person to person. You see it in the little things, when we as a host, offer food and general hospitality to our guests first, we make ourselves last. In some cultures (Japanese/Asian) we honour our guests above ourselves intentionally. Being consistent in this attitude and lifestyle creates a strength of character infused also with humility.

Within a community of believers, there is great harmony when we all share this common value and lifestyle of serving one another. The relativity of being last on an individual level applied within a community of believers means that we all take care of each other, and thus create a sense of harmony where we are all equal. We all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory; we all need Him as our Saviour.