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Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the text for this morning comes from the Gospel reading. You may be seated. Though it is thought that Abraham Lincoln said this statement, it applied directly to the Twelve this morning. And that statement is, better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak directly and remove all doubt. The Twelve remained silent. They did not want to appear foolish when Jesus revealed to them a very profound statement, and a most applicable statement for their salvation. When he says, “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 again.”
The text says they were silent, and the text says they were afraid to ask him. Can you imagine what your spouse would do, or your parents, or your children, if you said to them, “I’m going to die, these people are going to kill me,” and they didn’t say a thing to you? They didn’t ask a question? They didn’t seek clarification? They didn’t seek to understand what is happening? No. You would probably kind of wonder, do you really love me or not?
These Twelve heard Jesus say he would be delivered into the hands of men, and they did not ask how they could stop it, how they could correct it, or why it was necessary. These Twelve were told that he will die, and none of them asked, “Why is that important? Why is that necessary? How will that apply to you and to me?” And obviously, if you’re not going to ask why it’s important to die, you’re not going to ask why it is important to rise again in three days. So they would rather be thought a fool than to open their mouths and ask questions. They were afraid.
But I will tell you very clearly, he made it clear to them that it would be, as we’ve heard Jesus say before, the vineyard workers who kill the son of the vineyard owner. They themselves would be who kills Jesus. No different than your sin and my sin was what crushed and killed Jesus. And they don’t ask for clarification. They don’t ask why. Is it so profoundly important that you sacrifice yourself? And why is it that my sins are what sacrifices you for them? And what is so important about rising again on the third day? How does that benefit me?
But they argued about something else. They weren’t afraid to ask one another this question, “Who’s the greatest among us?” Oh, they were all about that, weren’t they? Like a bunch of crows on a telephone line, were they calling to one another, determining who’s the greatest among them. And neither Peter, nor James, nor John, nor any of them said, “Whoa, fellas, stop. He would be the greatest among us, would he not? If he just said he would die and rise again for us?” But that wasn’t on their mind, was it? What was on their mind was their standing, their relevance, and their importance amongst one another.
Jesus is so loving. The text says he takes them into his house. He calls them to himself and quietly asks them this question. Knowing the answer already, he asks them, “What is this that you were speaking about along the way?” Now when they have a chance to confess their sin, they’re also what? Silent. “I’m not going to confess it. Are you going to confess it? I’m not going to confess it. You need to confess it.” Nobody confesses it. They feared asking him about his passion more than they feared him hearing them talk about who’s the greatest amongst themselves. That is some serious misplaced fear.
But that fear makes a beautiful nest in your and my heart every single morning. You and only you know those areas in your life when someone touches it, it is a raw nerve. It strikes your pride. You are affronted by them questioning you in that area, accusing you of something in that area, being seen as not having it all sewn up nicely in that area. Wow! But only you know it, and only a few rare people around you know it. We like it that way. Less hassle. We can maintain our dignity and pride. Wow! And yet, do you and I not see the disconnect between that and him being the greatest?
We’ve been going through the commandments. The first commandment is very clear. You shall have no other gods. What does this mean? We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things. They feared more their place and their standing and their importance than they feared God, being found out about talking about such things. They were more concerned about their importance amongst one another than they were about the one thing that he just told them about what he’s going to do for them. How he’s going to serve them. But they don’t see themselves as being needy. They don’t see themselves as being dependent.
It is very interesting. He shows them clearly what he’s going to do for them. And you would have thought he spoke in a different language because they heard not one word of it. So he gives them the most supreme object lesson he could. He gives them this object lesson by taking a child amongst them. And then Mark writes this very important point that’s not in Matthew or Luke. The child is amongst them, but only Mark talks about Jesus putting his arms around that child. With that child’s head popped up between his arms, he says, “If you want to be the greatest, the first, you must be last of all. If you want to be the servant, you must be, or the greatest, you must be the servant of all. If you receive this child in my name, you receive me. And if you receive me, you receive the one who sent me.”
Well, if they didn’t get it about him telling them that he would be handed into the hands of men and be killed and rise again, it does make you wonder if they get this. But let’s be honest. Do you get this? You see, we think in terms of the least, the one who is like that child. We think that they’ve got this beautiful sign around their neck that says, “I’m needy, help me.” And that’s the most obvious sign. But I see before my very eyes every man, woman, and child in here with that placard around your head. And you see it on my chest emblazoned.
We wish not to admit how much we are dependent upon God, but we are definitely a child who needs Jesus. We need to hear his forgiveness. We need to hear his mercy. We need to know we are his child and baptized into Christ. If we think that we’re not that needy, good luck trying to find someone to receive you as one who wants to offer something to them because you will come off as pious and self-righteous. You can only serve if you’ve been served. You can only help someone who is needy if you yourselves admit and confess your need.
We’re too concerned, like the Twelve, about what our standing is amongst one another. And if we think that that’s not true, why is our pride pricked at various times, and it hurts, and we notice it? We think, “Oh, those people are truly the ones who need to be served.” But I say to you, as Jesus has said, it’s the person sitting next to you in the pew that needs to be served. It’s the person that you have talked to and have met in this parish. You have shaken their hand and have passed the peace who need to be served. And that person is you. Is you.
The Twelve couldn’t see it because it was in front of their face. All they could see was that everybody else needed something. “I’m the best. I don’t need it.” That was how they determined the pecking order. And then there are always the false humility. “Okay, I’ll be last. I’ll be last. I’ll be last.” By golly, in my mind, I’m going to know that I’m really the first one. I’ll never say it, though. No, no. Both play the game. Who truly is utterly dependent and utterly needy? And it better had been you and me.
When Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they shall inherit the kingdom of God,” we’re all about, “Okay, that’s me. I want to inherit the kingdom of God.” But being poor in spirit means that we need God. What Jesus has to offer, and it’s not affirmation of our abilities, it’s truly receiving what we lack and affirming we lack everything.
Paul said it in a different way. “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in 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 man and being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
What Paul is saying here is the same exact thing that Jesus said to the disciples in this morning’s text—the need for him to be handed over to the hands of men, the supreme need you had for him to die for you, and the supreme need that you have for him to be raised from the dead for you. And the supreme need for you to see how totally dependent you are for him to give that to you.
You see, we like being around people who are a little less than. Hence why people love to serve other people. But typically, who do we love to serve? People who it is very obvious that they’re less than we. Those are the people we love to serve. It makes us feel so good about ourselves. Why is it if someone serves you and you feel undeserving of it that you do not like that? Because it does what to you and me? Humbles us.
James said, “Humble yourselves before the Lord. He will exalt you.” I don’t like being humbled like that. James said, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” I want to draw near to God, as James exhorts us to do. I want God to draw near to me, as James promises he will do. But you better be ready to be humbled and served. That is the way God gives himself to you. You have to be the least so that he is the greatest.
Then ask, always ask. He will show you people in your family. He will show you people in these pews whom you need to serve. They won’t look like it. They will look like they have things all sewn up in their lives, and yet they need it. I need it. I need to hear from you about God’s mercy and grace. Even if it looks like I’ve got things all sewn up. Lord, have mercy. If I look like that, you’ve got to be that way. Ask. God will show you.
But we have to be served by him first. And it’s humbling to be served by him. Humbling. But it’s exalting at the selfsame time. In the name of Jesus who serves you. Amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding. Keep your hearts and minds on Christ Jesus, to life everlasting. Amen.
