And they came to Capernaum.

And when he was in the house he asked them, What were you discussing on the way? But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. 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. And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me. Mark 9:33-37 This text gives us a glimpse into a very important lesson that Jesus taught his disciples. A lesson on seeking greatness. As we gather each week as a church, we seek to glorify God. And we know since we are called to be his disciples today, we want to serve him and this world. On the surface this text seems to be very straightforward. In fact we can easily summarise the teaching to a term thats even being used for corporations: servant leadership - if you want to be an effective leader, serve your people. So what is there for us to learn? His disciples did not leave their families and jobs to follow Jesus because they wanted fame or fortune. He was neither wealthy, nor powerful. And he got into trouble with almost all the important, powerful people of his day. Yet they were arguing among themselves about which of them was the greatest. It shows that even the disciples who placed their faith in God, had an innate desire to be great. Then look at Jesus answer. If anyone wants to be first. He did not scold them for seeking greatness, but taught them the true way of being great. So lets look at what Jesus taught them. From this Id like us to see:

The true meaning of greatness Our dilemma in pursuing greatness, and The source of true greatness

The True Meaning of Greatness

When we esteem a person for some attribute of character, such as wisdom or bravery, or some achievements in his life, what we esteem is called greatness. Some men are recognised as great only after they die, when generations can finally see their actions and how they benefit and contribute. Also, some people achieve a status considered great because they are somehow related to a great person or family. And it is a very human characteristic to be recognised as great. You may not admit it, I dont like to admit it, but deep down I hope that I can become somebody great. Is that fine? Why does it sound wrong to desire to be great? In fact Jesus never faulted his disciples for wanting to be great. But he had to show them the true definition of being great and keep them to that truth. Notice, Jesus said that if anyone wants to be first, or great, he has to be last of all. Paradox. The person who is great must not seek to be great. He has to actually be in last place. I dont think it means that he is actually the worst or remains mediocre, and then Jesus says thats true greatness. No. It means being considered last even when youre not. Its not thinking less of yourself than you really are, but its thinking of yourself less. When a truly great person has done something good, but not getting recognised for it, he or she is perfectly happy with it. No complaints in the heart. No sense of injustice.

Do you see how it is really costly? There is something inside each human being, that when we have done something good, we want SOMEBODY to know it. Whether its the whole community, or its known to someone we consider important, or even if its just a stranger, we would be so gratified if SOMEONE could see, someone could know. So in true greatness, there is a willingness to stay unrecognised: the unsung hero. There are people like that. People who dont like the limelight. But notice it doesnt say last of the twelve. Or one of the last few. It says the absolute last. Why? Last of all! It means a willingness to give way to others, All The Time! Think about it. Never being recognised for what you deserve. Never getting the perks. Further, he must serve all. What is service? Performing an action thats for the good of the other person. At first it sounds like something all good people will do. Serve others. But when you look carefully as see he means serve ALL, we must realise the implications. True greatness is being willing to do good to ANY person. No criteria. To understand this, we must see why Jesus took one of the children in the house, lifted her and put the child in their midst. What was the significance of receiving a child? Dont think about our cultural lens where we often speak of children as our future and treat them with such care. In many ancient cultures children were marginalised as unimportant. In fact it would be demeaning for any man of any importance to spend too much effort on a child. Only the women were to do that. Remember how the disciples felt it a disrespect for the parents to let their children clamber all around Jesus? Thats the culture. Yet Jesus wanted them as his disciples to come to be able to see a child, and accept a child, receive, (or give hospitality to)

the child as if she was as important as Jesus their master! True greatness means investing time and energy to receive and serve and care for the ones that everyone else has rejected. And treating them as well as we treat our own family, our peers at work, people from the same social standing. Say you were asked to postpone your weekly table-tennis session to give a ride to a pastor from an overseas sister church to the airport. Nobody else could do it and the pastor really needs to catch the plane. Would you do it? Now what if its a migrant worker whom you barely know but your friend asked you to fetch him for treatment at Changi hospital? Would you give up your table-tennis game just as readily? True greatness does not distinguish how deserving or worthy is the task. In fact, when Jesus says its as if we are receiving him, and therefore receiving not just him, but God, hes asking us to change our way of evaluating worthy service.

Our Dilemma in Pursuing Greatness

Now we see a dilemma. Either Jesus truly expected his disciples to be able to do this and thus be great, or he was just setting them an impossible ideal and exhorting them, and us, to just try our best to live up to it? There are certainly countless disciples who served selflessly and tirelessly. The twelve disciples attained it. We think of the Mother Theresas, the Brother Yuns. All the great men and women of faith in church history. If they can do it, all we need is to follow their example right? But too many Christians who serve end up being burned out. So many desire to obey Jesus teaching to selflessly serve others, and they do

for a season, but cannot sustain it. Some quit church altogether. Granted, there is a type of service that doesnt know proper boundaries. Giving that ignores spiritual and emotional health. Im not talking about those. Is the solution simply to cut back on our devotion, to not be so serious? Is it about not aspiring to be that great, serve within our boundaries? No. There is a level of service that only attempts what we can do comfortably. That doesnt require faith, nor pushes me out of my comfort zone. It may sound like a healthy compromise to Jesus command, but I want us to see that is not the right solution. That is a form of self-reliance. It merely ensures Im still doing my part without getting tired out, but underneath, the root issue is the same. We are merely trying but there is no real change, no real power. [explain weightiness, reality of God vs concept of God] To see the way out of this dilemma we have to understand that there is a true source of greatness.

As long as we are not carrying the stone for Jesus, we will be doing a lot but not feeling the joy and power. First, how can we be said to be carrying the stone for ourselves? How can we tell? We have to understand the gospel. You see, many people come to Jesus and think that becoming a Christian means believing he is God, and then obeying all the things he commands. So, make disciples of all nations. Be the last and servant of all. Commit to the church, make sure you come every week. But you see, that is not what being a Christian is about at all. You see, why we yearn for greatness is because we are not all right with where we are. Whether we believe in God or not, deep down we sense we are somehow lacking. C. S. Lewis. is a writer who explains this brilliantly. He said one of the great driving motivations of the human heart that is usually unrecognised is the desire for the inner ring. We need to feel that we are on the inside of some group that we admire, that we think is great, or we cant live with ourselves. He says he notices a lot of scholars working hard on their scholarship, are probably not really after the scholarship. Their biggest concern is to get inside the inner ring of the academic elite; they want to be accepted by the academic elite. He sees people working hard to make money, but it is not the money they are after. They want to know that they can get into that club, that they can get into that exclusive building, because then they are in the inner ring. Think: what are street gangs? They are kids desperate to know that they are in the inner ring. And that is what is making us strive. We feel like Unless I am on the inside of some ring of people that I really respect, I am so insecure.

The True Source of Greatness

Jesus said Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me. There is a lot that the words in my name implies. We try to serve, and we think as long as were doing what Jesus said to do were doing it in his name. Elisabeth Elliot tells a story. Its not true, you cant find it in the Bible. [story]

Do you know who is the greatest Person, the only one who counts? The ultimate inner ring is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The gospel, which is Good News that Jesus came to announce and seal in reality, is that what he came to DO would admit us into his inner ring, would elevate us to his greatness. You do not need to be first any more, and you can accept all kinds of assignments and all kinds of service from God. If you dont know that you are saved, accepted by Gods grace - if you dont know that he loves you and has made you significant - then you have to desperately get your significance from elsewhere, and try to be great. And you know that trying to be great really doesnt help you become great. Until you know you are in the inner ring, all your service is about you. You struggle and cannot give joyfully because youre really doing it without the certainty of Gods full acceptance. Youre doing it for your own assurance. You say How can I know that? How can I know that I am really, really accepted? You read in the verses before this text, Jesus says he will be killed. He went to the cross. In Philippians 2 Paul writes: Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. On the cross, Jesus poured out everything. The most important, the greatest Person in all the universe, the One with the most weight, became empty, for you. What are the things that make a person small? What is the opposite of true greatness? Humiliation. Weakness. Going to the cross, Jesus

Christ our Lord, suffered the worst forms of humiliation and weaknesses. He endured all the mockery and shame. He received all the suffering of our smallness and pride. He cried My God, my God, why has though forsaken me? (Mark 15:34). He was utterly rejected. He lost his connection to his Father, his place of greatness. He was forsaken from the inner ring. Do you know what this means? Because Jesus was humiliated and forsaken in your place, God will never forsake you. Everything that we feared, everything that we deserved, fell onto him, and now he will never ever, ever, ever forsake you. And now, completely apart from having to earn any of it, you have the accolade, the applause of God, before which no other honour or greatness can compare. Do you know this assurance? Do you see how great a salvation and what a source of power this brings to you? Trust in Jesus. Trust what he has done for you, that you are completely accepted by God and you are already important to the only One that matters. No longer say I will serve, therefore God will make me somebody. Believe the Gospel that says God has accepted me and made me his, therefore I will serve. This is the gospel that is the power of God to accomplish the greater things that God has in store for you in this church.