As disciples of Jesus, we must continue to learn and grow, and there should never be a time when we stop learning. Sometimes being taught can be humbling and painful – some of us seem to always have to learn things the hard way.Jesus spent much of His time teaching not just His disciples but those who opposed Him. It seems that, just as it is for most of us, we have to be taught several times before we can “learn” the lesson.One of the lessons that Jesus had to teach was about pride and humility. In Mark 9:33-37, Jesus delt with this important issue. Jesus and His disciples were making their way through Galilee going back to Capernaum. During this journey the apostles began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest in the coming kingdom of God. The apostles were just like us, and so they struggled with the desires of greatness and recognition.But this clearly shows that the disciples had not yet understood the real meaning of Jesus’ Messiahship and the true nature of His kingdom. They were still thinking of His kingdom in earthly terms and of themselves as holding the chief positions. This was the typical Jewish understanding of that day.Jesus started with a powerful principle about humility and greatness. Jesus knew what they had been talking about and He wanted to correct their false notions of greatness in His kingdom. Jesus said: “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last and servant of all” (Mark 9:35). This was such a revolutionary principle and was completely opposite of what most people have always believed, including the apostles. The prevailing idea throughout human history has been: “If anyone wants to be first, then they must be in charge and be served by all.”Jesus, always the perfect example, explained: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). When Jesus thought of greatness in service, He didn’t think of serving as leaders, emperors, or as famous persons, but of taking care of children, widows, orphans, and the poor.There are many lessons that Jesus needed to teach His disciples and some of the lessons needed were hard to learn. This lesson was about pride, because the way to greatness in God’s kingdom is through humble service ...
