30 They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, 31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
33 And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. 35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” – Mark 9:30-37 ESV
For a brief time, Jesus tried to keep some secrecy about His whereabouts so He could spend more time instructing His disciples. This was not easy because Jesus attracted large crowds wherever He went. But Jesus did what He could to remain incognito as He passed through Galilee. He needed to prepare His disciples for what was to come, and the information He was about to share with them was for their ears only and not for mass distribution.
These men, who had confessed Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, needed to confront the reality of His earthly mission. Jesus knew they had drawn wrong conclusions about His role as the Messiah and were still expecting Him to set up His earthly Kingdom. To them, all the miracles and messages were simply the opening acts of the main event: Jesus establishing Himself as Israel's next king. And because they were His faithful followers, they believed they were destined to play significant roles in His royal administration.
So, for the second time, Jesus attempted to realign their expectations by revealing the facts concerning His coming death in Jerusalem. The first time Jesus broached this uncomfortable subject, Peter sternly rebuked Him. This outspoken, overly impulsive member of Jesus’ inner circle found the news disconcerting and unacceptable and told Jesus so. And a closer look at what Jesus told them makes Peter’s reaction somewhat understandable.
Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and after three days rise again. – Mark 8:31 NLT
For Peter and his companions, this information seemed outside the realm of possibility. If Jesus was the Son of God and the Messiah for whom they had long been waiting, how could His life end in death? What possible good could come from a dead Messiah? How was He supposed to rescue His people from their enslavement to Rome if He was dead?
Jesus had spoken plainly and quite bluntly. He did not sugarcoat the news or present it in terms the disciples might find more palatable. At the same time, He offered little further explanation. Yes, He mentioned His resurrection, but so briefly that the disciples failed to grasp what He meant.
So, Jesus revisited the topic. But it’s important to recall the event sandwiched between these two disclosures. The transfiguration of Jesus was intended to give the three disciples who witnessed it a glimpse into the future. They were privileged to see Jesus in His glorified state as He discussed His coming departure from this earth with Elijah and Moses. That remarkable experience must have sealed the deal for Peter, James, and John. The vision of Jesus in His glory, the presence of Israel's two prophets, and God's audible voice declaring Jesus His Son provided incontrovertible evidence that Jesus was the Messiah. The time to establish His kingdom had come, yet as they came down the mountain, they could think of only one thing: what Jesus meant by “rising from the dead” (Mark 9:10).
The transfiguration likely made Jesus’ comments about His death and resurrection even more confusing to the disciples. They struggled to reconcile what they had seen on the mountaintop with what Jesus described as His future fate. Fully aware of their lingering inability to process His words, Jesus simply repeated them.
“The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” – Mark 9:31 ESV
And Mark indicates that they remained just as confused as before.
…they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him. – Mark 9:32 ESV
These men weren’t afraid to ask Jesus questions; they did so all the time. But they feared the truth, so they kept their mouths shut. As the old saying goes, “Ignorance is bliss.” Little did they know they were on their way to Jerusalem, where everything would take place just as Jesus had predicted. They could ignore the topic, but it wouldn't go away.
When they returned to Capernaum, their unofficial headquarters, Jesus asked the disciples what they had been discussing along the way. Once again, they chose to remain silent, and rightfully so, because an admission would have been embarrassing. But Mark spills the beans, revealing that “they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest” (Mark 9:34 NLT).
Before we paint the disciples as egotistical, self-centered power-mongers, let’s look at the facts. They had been handpicked by Jesus. Jesus had chosen them as His followers and given them authority to heal and cast out demons. When Peter had confessed that Jesus was the Christ, Jesus had said, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19 ESV). Jesus had chosen Peter, James, and John to witness His transfiguration. So, these men were justified in assuming they would play important roles in Jesus’ coming kingdom.
The problem was that they argued over who was the greatest. They had taken their eyes off Jesus and begun focusing on their own self-worth. There is little doubt that Peter, James, and John were justifying their superiority with tales of their experience at the transfiguration. Rather than discussing Jesus' death and what His reference to rising again might mean, they were busy debating their own value to the kingdom. This jockeying for position will continue in the next chapter, where Mark reveals that James and John come to Jesus and make a bold request: “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left” (Mark 10:37 NLT).
These men operated from a purely secular, temporal perspective. They saw Jesus as the coming King of Israel and hoped to secure key posts in His administration. While Jesus spoke of self-sacrifice, they argued over their perceived value and qualifications for promotion within the new kingdom. But Jesus gathered the 12 together and gave them a much-needed lesson on spiritual leadership.
“Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.” – Mark 9:35 NLT
This comment must have caught the disciples by surprise. First, it revealed that Jesus knew the topic of their conversation, which must have been embarrassing for them. Secondly, His words were incongruent; they didn’t add up. In their culture, servants were considered inferior and unfit for leadership. Leaders were meant to be first, not last. The thought of willingly subjugating yourself to serve someone else would have made no sense to these men. They had spent their entire lives in subservient roles and hoped that their relationship with the Messiah would improve their status.
To drive home His point, Jesus gave them an object lesson. Picking up a small child in His arms, He said, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me” (Mark 9:37 ESV).
In their culture, children were considered the least of the least. They had no rights or privileges, and were viewed as powerless and helpless. Yet Jesus stood before the disciples, holding one of these seemingly insignificant children in His arms. Four times, Jesus used the word “receives.” He spoke in Aramaic, but Mark recorded his words in Greek. Dechomai can be translated as “receives,” but carries a fuller meaning: “to embrace, make one’s own, approve, not to reject.”
In their society, people often ignored children, but by holding this child in His arms, Jesus gave “the least” the highest honor. He embraced the overlooked and disenfranchised. But this message escaped His disciples. On another occasion, some parents brought their children to Jesus to be blessed, but the disciples tried to chase them away. When Jesus saw what they had done, He became angry and rebuked them.
“Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them. – Mark 14:14-16 NLT
Jesus wanted the disciples to see the children as models of innocence and trust. Children lack duplicity and pretense. They are naturally dependent and understand their need for protection and provision. They recognize their weakness and rely on others for help. Jesus wanted His disciples to know that entrance into His Kingdom had nothing to do with merit, approval, status, or superiority. It was all about faith.
When Jesus spoke of receiving a child in His name, His words should have sounded familiar to the disciples. Just prior to sending them out on their first missionary journey, He said something similar.
“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.” – Matthew 10:40 ESV
He used the very same formula: To receive the least — is to receive Jesus — is to receive God.
The disciples were to be the least and the servants of all. In other words, their role was to be the lowest, not the highest. Their status was to be measured by humility, not glory. From a worldly perspective, a child has no inherent worth or value because he has yet to accomplish anything with his life. A child can’t boast about his education or business accomplishments. But Jesus chose to use an insignificant child to convey a deep spiritual truth. The disciples didn't understand that Jesus would use them to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth, not because they were great, but because they were the least. All who receive the disciples and their message receive Christ, and receiving Christ restores their relationship with God.
God sent His Son to become the least. As Paul wrote to the believers in Philippi, Jesus “gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7-8 NLT). And Paul reiterated this willing subjugation on Jesus’ part when writing to the believers in Corinth.
You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich. – 2 Corinthians 8:9 NLT
Jesus was willing to become the least of these. He was born an innocent, helpless baby who required the constant care of His earthly mother and father. He left His Father’s side in heaven to take on human flesh and sacrifice His life for sinful humanity. Jesus didn’t die for the healthy, whole, and holy. His crucifixion wouldn’t benefit the self-righteous and unrepentant. But if someone comes to Him with childlike faith, placing all their hope in Him, they will be blessed.
“I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them. – Mark 10:15-16 NLT
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.