Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

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17 April 2010
Passage: Mark 9:33-50
Focus: “…on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.”  Mark 9:34.

            “I bet I can run faster than you!”  “Well, I caught more fish than you did!”  “But my bike is better than your dumb bike!”  “So what!  My dad can beat up your dad!”  “But I got to go to Silver Dollar City—and you didn’t!”

            “I bet my school team can beat your crummy school team!”  “Well, our family is better than yours—my  granddad came from Italy—and yours came from Antarctica!”  “But who would want to go to your dumb church anyway?!  You don’t even kneel to pray!”

            Of course you can see what’s going on here.  It’s certainly not very mature.  But when grownups don’t grow up, we have the same kinds of competitive conflicts going on.  Only the words and issues change.  But not much.

            Human ego is probably the biggest obstacle to the Kingdom of God.  Jesus had to address the issue with His own disciples.  They were grownups—but still needed a lot of growing up.  Here we see the ego of the disciples displayed in two forms.  Jesus responds to both forms, then gives the standard of eternity for measuring ego.  Without a lot of commentary, maybe I’ll just present my approach this way:

            INDIVIDUAL EGO (vv. 33-37).  “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.”

            GROUP EGO (vv. 38-41).  “’Teacher,’ said John, ‘We saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.’”

            EGO TESTED AND RATED (vv. 42-50).  “And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck…And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.  It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’”

            Oh, come on, Jesus—You can’t mean all that!  Oh really?  You decide.

            In Matthew 5 Jesus stated, “You are the salt of the earth…” (Mtt. 5:13).  I judge that one of the ways salt is realized in the way Jesus intends is when those who represent Him and His Kingdom bring their egos into check and conformity to His standard.  Mark records the same idea this way: “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?  Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with each other” (Mk. 9:50).