Upside Down Kingdom
Notes
Transcript
Intro: We are looking at the second time in Mark that Jesus tells the disciples what is going to happen to Him.
Hook: When me and my little sister would argue it could go on forever. We would bicker and argue about anything and everything. One of the times we were most likely to argue—backseat of the car! It didn’t matter what we were arguing about, she would be ready with one phrase that would blow our minds—”If you can be mean, you can clean!” Jesus disrupts a backseat argument from the disciples today, and in doing so, turns how they view the world completely upside down.
I. Too Scared to Ask(v. 30-32)
They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “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.” But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
Jesus tells his disciples again what is going to happen to him. But it tells us this time they didn’t understand what he was saying. Meaning, they probably didn’t understand it the first time either. Which it is a heavy topic.
But it says they were too afraid to ask him what he meant. It also may be because the last time they responded to this news, Peter was rebuked.
The story of the gospel is contrary to what we want. It bids us to come and die and that news can be difficult to handle!
We can always ask God for understanding, but know that we need to be ready for the answer!
II. GOAT Talk (v.33-34)
And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.
Jesus asks them what they were discussing on their journey. They kept silent because they were arguing about who was the greatest disciple.
Jesus being all knowing...already knew.
But they hear this news of Jesus being killed and raised from the dead, but their mindset was on who was the GOAT disciple.
There’s a sports segment on everyday talking about GOATS. Greatest NBA player, quarterback, tennis player, etc… You might discuss these things with friends—greatest pop start, fast food place, maybe just what is the BEST THING EVER. Everyone’s criteria for these arguments is different.
They’re priorities were messed up! They were focused on themselves.
We get like this too. We don’t think about how God sees people and the world, we think about how we look to others, what we can achieve, etc...
But God is calling us to something greater!
III. Upside Down Kingdom (v. 35-37)
And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”
Jesus criteria for the GOAT is placed here. He starts to teach them, addressing what they were arguing.
You want to be the greatest? Be the greatest servant. You want to be the best? Be like a child.
In whatever they had in their mind of what following Jesus would be like, being last wasn’t part of it. But Jesus calls us to something radically different than what we think and believe.
