1) The "greatest" argument must end.

Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament:

They had been disputing (verse 34) not about the coming death of the Master but about the relative rank of each of them in the political kingdom which they were expecting him to establish. Jesus had suspected the truth about them and they had apparently kept it up in the house.2) You have to be in last place--Lk 22:24-30; Matt 18:2-4, Text: vv36-37

Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament:

Mark 9:35: He sat down and called the twelve (kathisas ephoôneôsen tous doôdeka). Deliberate action of Jesus to handle this delicate situation. Jesus gives them the rule of greatness: "If any man would be first (proôtos), he shall be last (eschatos) of all, and minister (diakonos) of all." This saying of Christ, like many others, he repeated at other times (Mark 10:43f; Matthew 23:8ff; Luke 22:24f). Matthew 18:2 says that he called a little child, one there in the house, perhaps Peter’s child. Luke 9:47 notes that he "set him by his side." Then Jesus, taking him in his arms (enagkalisamenos, aorist middle participle, late Greek word from agkaleô as in Luke 2:28), spoke again to the disciples.

Albert Barnes:

They had supposed that he was to be a temporal prince. They expected he would reign as other kings did. They supposed he would have his great officers of state, as other monarchs had, and they were ambitiously inquiring who should hold the highest offices. Jesus told them that they were wrong in their views and expectations. No such things would take place. From these notions they must be turned, changed or converted, or they could have no part in his kingdom. These ideas did not fit at all the nature of his kingdom.

And become as little children--Children are, to a great extent, destitute of ambition, pride, and haughtiness. They are characteristically humble and teachable. By requiring his disciples to be like them, he did not intend to express any opinion about the native moral character of children, but simply that in these respects they must become like them. They must lay aside their ambitious views and their pride, and be willing to occupy their proper station--a very lowly one. Mark 9:35 says that Jesus, before he placed the little child in the midst of them, told them that "if any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all and servant of all." That is, he shall be the most distinguished Christian who is the most humble, and who is willing to be esteemed least and last of all. 

The Believers Study Bible: 10:45: This is the key soteriological verse in Mark’s Gospel. Jesus here gives His disciples His own example of selfless service for others. He tells them that His true mission as the Messiah is to "give His life a ransom for many." These words echo the Suffering Servant passage of Isa 52:13-53:12. The word "ransom" (lutron, Greek) means "price of release" and refers to the payment made to free someone in bondage. As our ransom, the death of Jesus frees us from our bondage to sin (cf Rom 6:20-23; Titus 2:14; Heb 2:14, 15; 1 Pet 1:18, 19).

Albert Barnes re: a parallel verse, Mark 10:45: To give his life a ransom for many--the word "ransom" means literally a price paid for the redemption of captives. In war, when prisoners are taken by an enemy, the money demanded for their release is called a ransom; that is, it is the means by which they are set at liberty. So anything that releases anyone from a state of punishment, or suffering, or sin, is called a ransom. People are by nature captives to sin. They are sold under it. They are under condemnation, Eph 2:3; Rom 3:9-20, 23; 1 John 5:19. They are under a curse, Gal 3:10. They are in love with sin. They are under its withering dominion, and are exposed to death eternal, Ezek 18:4; Ps 9:17; 11:6; 68:2; 139:19; Matt 25:46; Rom 2:6-9. They must have perished unless there had been some way by which they could he rescued. This was done by the death of Jesus--by giving his life a ransom. The meaning is that he died in the place of sinners and that God was willing to accept the pains of his death in the place of the eternal suffering of the redeemed. The reasons why such a ransom was necessary are:

For many--see also Matt 26:28; John 10:15; 1 Tim 2:6; 1 John 2:2; 2 Cor 5:14-15; Heb 2:9.

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CHILDREN’S MESSAGE ON MARK 9:30-37

Visual aid: a crown such as you might find at Burger King or a picture of a crown, two yardsticks

I’ve been thinking about you off and on all week. I was thinking about how much you have listen to older people--your parents, your teachers, your coaches, even big brothers and big sisters.

Well, I want you to know that Jesus says that today it’s your turn! Jesus had a problem with the disciples. They all wanted to be the leader and there really can be only one leader. So they were arguing while walking on the road about which of them was the greatest and who would have a lot of power in the kind of kingdom they thought Jesus was going to have. They thought Jesus was going to a very powerful earthly king and that they would be big shots in His kingdom.

But that’s not the kind of kingdom Jesus came here to bring. His kingdom is one of love and of serving one another in love. Jesus said: "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."

They thought it would be just great to be one who does all the talking, the one who bosses other people around, the person that people have to bow down to.

But Jesus said something like this: "There will be serving all right, but you will be doing the serving. You will be on the giving end, not the receiving end." He said elsewhere:

... whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave--just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

This is the difference between God’s people and the people who live only to please themselves. An old parable is told about a man who visited both hell & heaven. Hell was a place with the best food you’ve ever seen, but everybody is starving. No one is eating any of that wonderful food. The problem was that there were no forks or spoons, only 3-foot long chop sticks, like these yardsticks. You can’t feed yourself with these.

In heaven the man saw the same long tables, the same great food and the same 3-foot long chop sticks. But in heaven everybody ate as much as they wanted of all their favorite foods. The difference? In hell, people starved because they were interested only in feeding themselves. In Heaven, they were feeding each other!

Jesus said: "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." I pray that you will be a great servant in the life that God has given you to live, just as Jesus was.

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