Mark 9:33-37

Mark 9:33-37 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, “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.”

Matthew 23:5-13 “Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’ “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

In the above passages, Jesus is talking about leadership. In the Mark verses He is telling the disciples if you want to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, you must be a servant to all. He illustrates this by picking up a child and telling them that 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. Children are usually quite powerless and helpless in a community. They depend on others to bring them status and influence. To formally welcome a child in your home would mean you would put them in a place of honor. You would place them at the head of the table, you would present them the choicest of food, you would seat them in the most comfortable chair. You would gladly serve them and seek to meet all of their needs. Jesus says if you welcome a powerless and helpless little one in that way, you are bringing great honor to him and to the Father above, for you are truly displaying the nature of God to the world.

In Matthew 23, Jesus is telling them not to be like the Pharisees, for they do everything to honor themselves. They make sure that people greet them with respect and look to them for wisdom and knowledge. They want people to call them names such as holy father, honorable teacher, wonderful master. He is telling the disciples not to desire these kind of titles. Once again, He reiterates that servant is their title. They are to be servants of the Most High. Again, they are to be those who welcome and serve children--the helpless, the downtrodden, the poor, the meek, welcome them graciously and joyfully. We, in our carnal flesh, want venerated roles such as master, teacher, father, mother, for those are the roles of control and of authority. We want our children to respect us because we are their mother or father. "Honor me for I am the mother here." "This is my house and I make the rules, and you obey them." Yes, honor should come to fathers and mothers because of their roles. However, Jesus is talking about another role, a greater role, a spiritual role. The greatest among you will be your servant. Otherwise, if you want spiritual power, heavenly power, influence with your children or anyone, you must serve them wholeheartedly, without reservation. Jesus is talking about lasting leadership, eternal leadership, that which is passed down from generation to generation.

In the heavenlies, Jesus serves the Father, the Holy Spirit serves the Son, the Father serves both of them. They do this willingly, without obligatory reciprocation. And the Godhead also serves us in the same way: Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. (Luke 23:34) The Holy Spirit has come to serve us unreservedly. The Father lovingly sent his only begotten Son to earth to ransom us from sin and death. Even the Old Testament teaches that God is slow to anger and quick to forgive, full of mercy and grace. As Christians, our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. (Philippians 2:5-7) We should desire to serve. We should want to be like Jesus. When we serve with Christ's love, we turn the world upside down. In the kingdom of righteousness, no longer are leaders those who force control, who dictate, who direct, who discipline. No, those who wash the feet of everyone are the true leaders. They will be recognized as such in the millenniums to come. The world will never understand this concept of loving leadership. But you who are in Christ, know that there is no other way to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven other than servanthood.