Continue our study of the gospel of Mark, and we're still in chapter nine, going through it one section at a time, verse by verse. And so we're gonna continue that this morning. I'd like to start off with some prayer, and then asking the Lord to bless our time, then we'll get into the lesson today. So let's pray as we open up. Father, thank you, Lord, so much for your love. Thank you for your word. how it always speaks to us, Lord, how you're always working, how the Spirit is always working in our hearts. He's always directing us, he's teaching us, reminding us of what you have said to us, Lord. So, Lord, help us as we study this next section in this blessed book. Help us to be mindful of the Spirit, how he leads and the ways that he directs and even sometimes gives us warnings, Lord. chastises us at times and encourages us. So help us to have ears to hear to what the Spirit would have to say to us today through the word. And we pray this in Jesus' name, amen. All right, so the title of this section is we're looking at Mark 9, verses 30 to 37. These eight verses here, we're titling this section, None Can Compare, None Can Compare. Do you ever end up or get caught up in playing the comparison game? The last line, finish this phrase for me, keeping up with the Jones. I don't know how the last name Jones got put in. Is anyone here with the last name of Jones? Okay, well, it's this imaginary family, I guess, neighbor or someone, it really represents anyone. And it's this unspoken need, sometimes a spoken need. to be successful as the people around us, our neighbors, our family, our friends, even fellow believers and fellow church attenders or members. But the comparison game is really a trap. We're gonna see the disciples fell into the comparison game in this passage, where they were comparing each other with each other. It's really a trap though. There's no winners in the comparison game. It's a trap. because it doesn't end up keeping the promise it makes. The comparison game makes a promise and says, if you are successful or better than the people around you, you're going to have true success. You're going to have joy. And it never really keeps that promise. And it's really not keeping up with them, right? It's really surpassing them. That's what our flesh wants to do. And that's the temptation that's in front of us. It's always not just keeping up with the supposed Joneses, whoever they are, it's about getting ahead of them. And the disciples fell into this trap in this passage as they argued about who was the greatest among them, among the 12. Now, sometimes when we read this account, It's real easy for us to come into this passage with a little bit of maybe subtle haughtiness or self-righteousness, because we look at those guys like, those poor guys, look at they're struggling with that. And we have this, God has given us in the gospels, this window, into the lives of these men. It's as if he's placed them up on the screens for us to look at. And then I think, what if my life was written about in a book like this, and I was up on the screen? I don't think I'd be too comfortable all of the time, and I don't think you would either, if we're gonna be honest. So as we come into these passages, and this is not the first time the disciples will struggle with this. And then it leads us to ask, well, why did God put it in his word? Was he just trying to embarrass them? No. Get them back for what they did? No. It's there because they're real people. They're normal men. They're normal people, just like we are, and they struggle with the same issues that we struggle with. So we find a connection between how the disciples dealt with things, whether good or bad, and how we deal with them. And understand that 2,000 years really doesn't make any difference because we're talking about humanity. We're talking about the issues of life. And these men were facing them. So we need to be vigilant against this issue of comparison just as they should have been. You know who never fell into the comparison trap? Jesus. Jesus was never about comparing himself to anyone in the way that the disciples were doing it. He didn't need to do that. He was God in the flesh. As we look at this and we consider how great Jesus was, we must conclude that when it comes to Jesus, none can compare. When the disciples are comparing with each other, we're gonna talk about that, Hope probably found little things where they kind of were a little, well, I'm better at this, and I'm better at that. But when it comes to Christ, all of that fades away. No one is comparable to Christ. So as we walk into this passage, we need to learn the lesson that the disciples needed to learn. And our prayer should be, Lord, help me stop comparing myself to other people. And help me instead to focus on Christ. When it comes to Jesus, none can compare. So we've broken this up into four sections. Number one, we're going to hear the communication from Christ. This sets the tone for the passage because it should have revealed to the men, and it reveals to us, who is the greatest among them? That's Christ's communication. Then we're going to have this conflict with the disciples as they argue with one another, then Jesus is gonna give a criteria, some two main criteria for being the greatest in God's eyes, and then he's gonna give them a case in point. He's gonna show them an example. So if you're taking notes, Roman numeral number one is the communication. We find that in verses 30 through 32. Let's look at the first two verses. So if you're with me, open your Bibles up to Mark 9 if you're not there already, and we're gonna start in verse number 30. It says this, then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and he, that's Jesus, did not want anyone to know it, for he taught his disciples and said to them, the son of man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and after he is killed, he will rise the third day. So we saw this same approach that Jesus is taking here back in Mark 7 when he pulled away, he retreated from the pressures of public ministry to spend time with just the 12, his men, and tell them about these events that would soon transpire in Jerusalem. Mark is beginning to pivot. in his gospel away from all the ministry, there's still gonna be some public ministry that we're gonna look at, some public teaching as we're gonna see in the coming weeks and the coming passages and chapters. But there is a shift now as Jesus turns, begins to turn his face toward Jerusalem and he's trying to get the men ready for that. The teaching he's giving them is not, was not for public consumption. It was specifically for the disciples. The disciples who spent most of their lives with him during this three years, they struggled to understand it. How much more would the crowds have rejected or misunderstood this? And so it could have caused a massive problem. We've already seen in Mark, often the crowds are a negative. They cause problems for Jesus in his ministry, nothing he can't overcome, he's God. but nevertheless they caused obstacles and so Christ is pulling away from that and Coming to the disciples and just a little bit of application I I think I thought of as we as I look through this Sometimes Jesus wants us to step out of the busyness of life Sometimes he just wants us to just sit with him and his word so he can show us certain things It's wonderful to come to worship to come to adult Bible fellowship, to come to Bible studies, but nothing can replace your one-on-one time with the Lord. Nothing can replace that. Coming once a week, twice a week, three or four times a week, depending on how many different groups you're part of or studies you're in, is really good, and that needs to happen, but nothing replaces that very precious, private time with the Lord. So keep that in mind. There are things, I believe, that, I'll be careful how I say this, because the word of God is the word of God, so we can learn no matter where we are. But there are certain benefits, certain things that I believe are specifically taught by God when we're together, just the two of us with Him. So keep that in mind, and I wanna encourage you to, I know many of you do spend time with Him, continue to do that. If you're finding yourself faltering a little bit, be encouraged to just take that time. Sometimes Jesus wants to speak to us one-on-one. He mentions Galilee. Notice that they're passing through Galilee. Galilee had been Jesus' main center of ministry, especially the Capernaum area, but now he's passing through. Jesus has his sights focused on Jerusalem. In fact, this is the last time that Galilee will be mentioned in the Gospel of Mark until after the resurrection. Notice also that he mentions the betrayal as we just kind of take in some points here and understand the context. Notice that the betrayal is in the present tense. Though it kind of gives us a little insight into what's going on in the heart of who? Judas, right? The one that would betray him. He's already starting to perhaps turn away and reject Christ. We don't believe that Judas ever truly believed on Jesus. He was the one out of the 12 that did not believe. So Jesus gives the timeline along with this, the betrayal, the death, and the resurrection. Now, as we think about none can compare, I just, we'll come back to this in a minute, but who else could say these things about himself and be accurate? Think about what Jesus is saying. Jesus is, is he the king? Is Jesus the king? Is Jesus our high priest? Is Jesus also a prophet? Yes, he's prophet, priest, and king, right? Here he's showing his prophetic power, if you will, to prophesy, to predict exactly what's about to happen. No one else can do this. And this is where we need to consider the fact that the men should have taken these statements and stood in awe of them. Remember, the first time he shared this, Peter rebuked him. Now they're not rebuking him, but they should have taken this as an understanding that this separated him from them. Along with being God in the flesh, he's living it out by being able to say these things about himself. Who else would be bold enough to say these things about themselves as if it were true? Now, there are false prophets and there are people that are false teachers even today, but Jesus had proved himself to be a true teacher already. He had proved himself to be God with his miracles. as they have been living and spending time and ministering with Him for all this time. Him saying this should have gotten their attention off of themselves and onto Him. But unfortunately, that's not what happens. Verse 32 says, but they did not understand the saying and were afraid to ask Him. Now, remember, this is all new territory for them. For us, it's real easy, hindsight. We have four gospels, not just one, four different points of view, all looking at the same life, all written as biographical sketches of Christ, each portraying him in a little bit different way. None of that was available to them. They were living it out in the moment. And this is probably only the second time, perhaps, that they have heard about this idea of Messiah going and being killed. See, in the Jewish mindset, Messiah was the conqueror. He was the one to overthrow Rome and give them freedom. But as we've talked about many times in Mark, his portrait of Christ is the suffering servant. First, he had to be that before he could be the conquering king. So keep in mind, if we were in their places, I would dare say our response would be, at least very similar to theirs. Notice that they don't understand it. They have a lack of understanding. And they have a fear that's come upon them. So there's fear and confusion. Do you ever read the Bible and get confused? Yes, I'm included. Or is there some things that perhaps strike fear because of the misunderstanding? Yeah, we struggle with it too. So we're right there with them, and here they are. We have the benefit of knowing exactly what Jesus meant here, but think about what he said back in these verses. He's being betrayed. Wait, how could that happen? Betrayal means somebody you trust stabs you in the back, in our modern vernacular, right? So it had to be somebody he knew. Wait, somebody he knows is gonna betray him? and then he's gonna be killed, and then what's this about rising the third day? That's rising from the dead, a bodily resurrection. This should have, obviously, the confusion and fear are there, and I think that's the natural response. But so quickly, the disciples move to a different topic, and that comes as a form of conflict. So number two, conflict. Excuse me. We find that in verses 33, and 34. Then he came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house, he asked them, what was it you disputed among yourselves on the road? But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. All right. Once again, the men are silent. Remember, they were silent when he told them about this prediction of his his betrayal and his death and his resurrection. They were silent then, and they were afraid to ask him what he meant. Now they're silent again, but for a different reason. This time they're silent because they know that the topic of their conversation wasn't really the best thing to be talking about. They instinctively know it was wrong, and so I think they're silent here, it seems, out of shame. So fear kept them silent earlier, now shame. And how easily fear and shame can control us, can't they? So we need to find these connections with these men and try to relate to them and then see how God wants us to overcome these things. Sometimes we're afraid to pray. Sometimes we're afraid to serve the Lord as we ought because of issues with shame and issues with fear. So we remain silent. and we remain paralyzed, unable to serve because of these things. So we are ashamed because of unconfessed sin, but we forget about the promise in 1 John 1, 9 that He is faithful and just to forgive us if we confess our sin to Him. And so we need to make sure that we're not allowing those things to paralyze us from doing what God wants us to do and understanding His word. Now, of course, Jesus asked the question, what was it you disputed? Was that because he didn't know? No. Being God, Jesus knew everything. He knew all along, and we're gonna see from his response, that he was giving them an opportunity to do what? To be honest, yeah, to confess, right? Nothing is hidden from the Lord's gaze. Just as he's giving the men opportunity to confess, doesn't he give us the same opportunity? And we need to take that opportunity. Nothing's hidden from his gaze. He sees all, he hears all. We hear some echoes of Eden in this question. What was it that you disputed on the road? Remember what God came into the garden after the fruit had been eaten in Genesis 3? Do you remember what God said? He asked a question. The Lord God called to Adam in Genesis 3.9 and said to him, where are you? Did God know where Adam was? Yes. Did Jesus know what had been talked about on the road? So we see God's love, his compassion. These questions are not for God's information. They're stated as an invitation to return. to restore fellowship, and that's the heart of our Lord. And he's doing that to us today. He's asking us the same questions. He's calling out to us and saying, where are you? He's calling us out by name, just like as he did to Adam. Just as Jesus spoke personally in the house, not out on the road, not with the crowds, but in the house, in the privacy, in the personal space there, he asked them this question out of love. You see the heart of the Father in Christ? So it's an invitation of compassion, an invitation to return, an invitation to restoration. So even in his rebuke, God proves himself gentle and loving. Jesus said, come unto me, all you who weary and are heavy laden, I will give you rest. He says, I am meek and lowly of heart. That's the heart of our Lord. Going back to our text here, notice on Mark 9.34, Mark tells us, probably, as Peter is describing, we believe Peter had a great influence on John Mark as he's writing this. Probably John Mark was one of his disciples. In fact, the scriptures state that. So likely, much of Mark's accounts are from Peter's perspective. So Peter lets him in. Well, the truth is, We were disputing among ourselves who would be the greatest. Notice that they're disputing among themselves. The comparison game that we talked about when we started is at its most intense and most problematic when we compare ourselves just to one another. The disciples had been boasting, being prideful, as they spoke to one another about who was gonna be the greatest, probably greatest in the kingdom. I think Matthew's account adds that development or truth to it, that concept. They should have been focused on the one who just gave an amazing prophecy about himself. I'm gonna be betrayed. In fact, I am being betrayed. and I will be killed and rise again. That should have taken their breath away. That should have taken all their focus off of themselves. Their focus should have been 100% on Christ, but they got ambitious. In fact, their ambition for greatness had overcome their desire for holiness. How easy it is to fall in this trap. And again, we're right there with them. We don't live these high and lofty lives, I don't think, above these men. This is right where we live. It's right what we struggle with, all of us, myself, all of us included. And I call this a trap because just when we think we've reached the top, if we're really playing this comparison game and we're constantly thinking about how we're doing better, that person and this person. Just when we think we've reached the top, we look up and see that someone has climbed just a little higher. They've made just a little bit more money. They've had a little bit more success, collected just a few more toys, had a slightly larger house or property, a little bit more expensive vehicle. Or maybe it's not about the physical goods of this life. Perhaps we look at things and look at others and we think, oh, they're just a little bit more spiritual. Now I say this with a caveat that there are good examples of spiritual leadership and we need, you know, the older teaching the younger, that's a scriptural thing, Titus 2. But sometimes we take that to a degree that we shouldn't. Or perhaps it's a social thing. As you ladies might look at other women and think, well, they're just a better wife, they're a better mom, and that mom guilt. kind of comes in and robs your joy because you're comparing yourself with someone else. Or even for us as men, as husbands and fathers, and looking at other men and other dads, his kids really like him, he's a way cooler dad than I am, and we start to compare ourselves, and again, our joy is robbed, and our focus comes off of Christ and onto ourselves and onto others. And we just, just take Facebook for example, right? Nobody posts on Facebook the fight they had the night before. They post the breakfast they're enjoying the next morning, okay? And we get this idea that that's how their life always is. Oh, their family's smiling for a picture. You didn't see what happened right before that picture and how many threats were made to the kids to get them to smile for that picture. You didn't see any of that. That never makes it on social media somehow. And we look at people and we assume, oh, they've got this better life and we're doing this comparison when we're supposed to be focused on Christ. One example I have of this, it's not one of those that I just mentioned, but more of a physical example. Many years ago, our family took a trip around Lake Michigan and we stopped on the Michigan side at the Sleeping Bear Dune Park. Has anyone been to Sleeping Bear Dunes? Okay, you should really go there. It really is a cool trip. and it's a really neat place. We pulled in, I believe it's a state park if I'm not mistaken. So we paid our fee and we pulled in, we parked in the parking lot, we got out. Now this is in the summer, it's hot, it's sunny. And so we walk up to the sand. It is like a mountain of sand, not a rocky mountain of sand, but like a massive hill. And you're looking at, there are people sledding down and going pretty fast. on their sleds, and this is a huge hill. So we've got our swim stuff, and we're ready for a day at the beach, okay? So we're like, okay, we gotta get up this hill. Of course, the kids are running around getting sandy, and we're just, so we start this climb up this hill. What we're expecting to see at the top of this hill is to go down and go to the beach, and the water's gonna be right there. That's what was in my mind. Some of you are laughing, because you've been there. We finally make it to the top, Out of breath, because of the climb, it's pretty steep angle. Do you know what we saw? More sand. No water. And some of the sand dunes were higher than the ones we had just climbed. So we thought, well, let's go to the next one, because surely after that one, there's going to be the downhill to the water, and we're going to spend... We never got to the water. Not at that place. We had to go somewhere else to find water and to find a beach to enjoy. And I thought of that as I think about this comparison because it just never really ends. We think we arrive at a plateau but someone's always doing a little better, got a little bit more, seems a little bit more successful. We really fall into that trap. That's what these men were struggling with. It was a no-win situation. They couldn't, there was no way to win, there was no way to come on top, because as soon as one would say something, another one would come up with some other claim. They had just had their rabbi tell them, I'm gonna be betrayed, killed, and rise from the dead. They should have been looking together, all converging on Christ, but instead, they look at each other. I'm picturing the men walking, one of the commentators mentioned that some of the pathways in that region are very narrow. So you have this long line of 12 men and Jesus probably out in front walking forward, them back there over their shoulder in front arguing about who was better, who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Think about some things that have already happened in Mark. You had the healing of Jairus' daughter. Did all 12 men go into that room? Who went? Peter, James, and John. A couple weeks ago, we studied the Mount of Transfiguration. Who went with up on the mountain? Peter, James, and John, right? We're gonna see them again in the garden. They're called to go deeper and closer and more intimate with Christ. Do you think that that may have sparked some competition? What did you guys see in that bedroom anyway? What happened up on that mountain? Well, that's for us to know and you to find out. I guess Jesus knows quality when he sees it. I don't know if that's what they said, but I think we're pretty close to what is being described here, as they're disputing amongst each other who was greatest. The apostle Paul addressed this issue in 2 Corinthians 10, 12. As he's defending his apostleship to the church at Corinth, he's defending his position to them. He says, we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. Self-commendations are always flattering, I think, is something like that. But they, notice, measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are not what? Wise. That means they're foolish. Anything that's not wise is foolishness in scripture. Might be a narcissist type of attitude, sure, yeah. That inward focus. That inward focus causes a lot of issues, causes a lot of problems. Inward focus can lead to depression. It can lead to anxiety. It can lead to arrogance and narcissism and pride, which is actually a blindness about who we really are, as we are really broken people before the Lord. And so inward focus, a lot of problems. Outward focus to others and upward focus to Christ, that's what he's called us to. We must be on guard against this unwise comparison game. Even in the great hall of faith found in Hebrews 11, where Moses and Abraham and all these different ones are listed, how great their faith was, as we get into Hebrews 12, verse two, does he say, looking unto all these people? and measuring yourself by them? No, they're examples, but who are we supposed to look to? Hebrews 12, two, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Very similar wording to what Jesus just told the disciples. I'm gonna be betrayed and killed and rise again. We see echoes of that here in this verse. Looking unto Jesus. Notice, not looking unto one another, not looking unto the great saints of old, necessarily, although they're there for an example, but the looking unto, it's the fixing of our gaze. It's what's your focus? It's good to have examples, both in scripture and in our lives, but really, what's our focal point? It's got to be Christ. It's got to be Christ, that's the point. Well, Jesus, he doesn't make them answer. They're obviously embarrassed about what they've been talking about. They knew it wasn't right. So he begins to give them this criteria. Notice what he does in verse 35, Mark 9, 35. And he, Jesus, sat down and called the 12 and said to them, if anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all. Last of all and servant of all. Jesus doesn't keep asking the question about what were you talking about? He's not really directly reprimanding them. Remember his call of compassion and restoration is his goal. He takes the opportunity as a teaching moment. And I'm so glad he does that for them, he does that for us as well. So in the Jewish culture, of course, the rabbi would be seated. Jesus takes the posture of a teacher. He proceeds to teach the men a life lesson on God's view of greatness and the criteria that God has what true greatness is. He's basically saying, you guys are measuring yourselves wrong. You're measuring yourselves by yourselves and by your own self-righteousness. Let me tell you what God, how God views What are his criteria? And the wording here, it's really a deliberate, it's even a formal time of teaching. It's not just kinda as they were walking, sometimes Jesus would teach that way. Or as they were eating, right? Or relaxing around the fire. Who do men say that I am? This is formal. He pulls up his chair and he assumes the posture of a rabbi and he calls them around him. And he begins to teach them this truth, this central theme here. What he tells them here, if anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all. It goes right along with Mark's key verse, which is Mark 10, 45, for even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Jesus would Not long after this, where we are in Mark 9, he would live out what he's telling them to prove who was the greatest. We return to the text here. If anyone desires to be first. Notice that Jesus was not discouraging the desire to be first or greatest. He was not discouraging that. He was really, pointing out first by whose standard? How are you defining what greatness means? You guys are defining it wrong. Let me redefine this. The world, sometimes ourselves, the disciples certainly, defined greatness as the one on top. Remember the comparison game. The one that's in charge, the one that's got the most influence, the most followers, the most subscribers, the most wealth, the most influence. How does God define greatness? Well, Jesus defines it right here. I like what D.L. Moody said, the beginning of greatness is to be little, the increase of greatness is to be less, and the perfection of greatness is to be nothing. nothing in man's eyes, everything in the eyes of God. In God's economy, greatness is not measured by wealth, status, or power, it is measured by servitude. God's measuring scale is totally different than our world's and often ours. God is looking for the servants. He's looking for the helpers. He's looking for those that silently carry on with the work of the hands-on ministries like prayer and service to others with little to no recognition, no earthly reward given. He's looking for those. So he gives these two criteria. First of all, last of all, if that makes sense, first of all, last of all. But the first one was last of all. Notice, he sat down, he called the 12, he said to them, if anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all. So to be last of all is to think of others first, to have an others and an upward mentality to Christ, to release the self-centered ambitions, to release those. Not that we don't provide for our homes and our families and make sure that we're healthy and strong and do those things that are self-care and that's all good. This is God's temple and we're to care for it. But it's about what's the priority in life in general? Is it always about me or can I look around to the people around me? Choosing devotion to Christ over all else. It's a principle of a shift in priorities is who do we think of the most, it's not thinking of ourselves not at all, just thinking of ourselves less than others. The disciples were trying to be first of all, they were trying to be the greatest by their own measurement, their own economy if you will. Proudly arguing for their own greatness, but that attitude is the smallest in the kingdom of God. It's the one that he considers the least. He considers greatness when we are less. So last of all, and then secondly, servant of all. If anyone desires to be first, if anyone desires to be the greatest, he shall be last of all and servant of all. Service for others is the heartbeat of God for mankind. It's one of, if not our highest calling to choose to serve is to choose to live like Jesus. One commentator, R. Allen Cole, put it this way, in that case, the deeper principle will be that if we desire spiritual greatness, which it's good to desire that, If we desire spiritual greatness, then what we desire is the place of service to others. That's it, those are equal. And so we must deliberately choose the lowliest and most humble place. There's a temptation to assume or to think of this in only a half-hearted way. What I mean is that, okay, I'm gonna be the last of all and I'm gonna be the servant of all, but eventually, I'm gonna get my due reward. In other words, we look at being last of all and servant of all, I think at times, as a pathway to greatness. Like I've paid my dues, and now I'm gonna get my comeuppance. I'm gonna get my reward. And we are supposed to be looking for those eternal rewards in heaven. But what Jesus is saying here is that being last of all and servant of all is not the pathway to greatness, That is being the greatest. That is the greatness that God is looking for. That's the greatness in his eyes. Now Jesus, in verses 36 and 37, gives them a case in point. And he's gonna continue using this little child in his arms as an illustration in the coming lessons, because this conversation is, we're gonna pause because of time, but it continues on. We're gonna pick it up, Lord willing, next time. But in verse 36, It says, then he, Jesus, took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when he had taken him into his arms, he was literally hugging this little boy. He was holding him tenderly, loving him. He said to them, he's holding this little child, and he's looking into the eyes of the 12. He says this, whoever receives one of these little children in my name receives me. And whoever receives me receives not me, but him who sent me. So not for the last time, this will come up again, Jesus chose a child to illustrate an important truth. This might have been one of Peter's children, we don't know whose child this was. When it says in the house in Capernaum, in all likelihood that was Peter's house. That's where the base of operations was in Galilee. No matter whose child it was, Jesus, he purposefully took this small boy, could have been an infant, but probably an older child, not older, but maybe that toddler age or that young age. He brings the child into the middle of them. They're all standing around. And gave him a hug. He's getting their attention off of themselves. Think about the lofty, bragging that it just happened, and now this little child is being brought and made the focal point. The word here, to receive, that he had taken the child, or rather, whoever receives, that word receive is mentioned I think four times in verse 37. The word receive there means to be receptive, to welcome, to welcome someone. So think about what Jesus is saying here. Whoever receives one of these little children in my name receives me. Whoever receives me receives not me, but him who sent me. So if we just kind of put it in this order, to receive a child in God's name is to receive Jesus. Now we're not talking about receiving Jesus as your savior for everlasting life, okay? He was talking to a group that 11 out of the 12 were believers. I believe this is truth for believers. It's the way that we operate in the Christian life. So to receive a child in God's name is to receive Jesus. To receive Jesus, God the Son, is to receive God the Father. So how do we receive a child in the name of Jesus? To welcome a child in the way that Jesus would welcome. He's showing with tender love and affection, protection, care and concern and love. Jesus says, when you do that to a child, you're doing it to me and to the father. You see, you have to put yourself in first century culture and how children were viewed at that time and even among the Jews there. They weren't seen the same way that children are today. Children were mostly ignored. not really thought of as arrived, and they were good illustrations of the last of all that Jesus just challenged the men with in verse 35. Due to high infant mortality rates and the great need for manual labor, children were not thought of in sentimental ways most of the time, like we think of children today. So the thought of welcoming a child here To us, that seems kind of normal. We have children's ministries, we have nurseries, a lot of us are parents, we hold and hug and touch our children because we love them. But the thought of what Jesus is doing, this welcoming of a child, was uncommon. It was even strange to them to consider this. He was teaching something radically different than the cultural norms. They had just been arguing about who was greatest. Do you think any children were in their mindset when they were having that argument? Not one, not one. They weren't thinking of the least of these. They weren't thinking of the last of all. Children were the farthest thing from their minds. But here comes Jesus with this small child in His arms, showing His care, showing His concern for one that they thought of as a nothing, to teach the men, to teach us that God has a different economy. The men had been disputing, and we're wrapping up here, because we're out of time, but the men had been disputing about who was greatest in the kingdom. The answer was, He's right in front of you, men. The greatest in the kingdom is seated there holding that little child. That's greatness. That's greatness in God's economy. Philippians 2.8, our final verse here. And being found in appearance as a man, he, Jesus Christ, humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. So Jesus set the example. God's standard of greatness is humility. If we want to be great, and we should want to be great in the kingdom, that's the point. None of this false modesty like, oh, I don't want to be the greatest. No, God is calling us to be the greatest by being the servant. He's calling us to be the greatest by being last. Do you see the God's economy, his measurement of our humility is measured in how we treat the least of these. And that's the lesson I believe he's trying to help us learn. When pride takes over, we have in essence rejected God. That's really what pride is. It's a rejection of God. It's a puffing up of the self and an ignoring of the least of these. So we need to focus, and the encouragement here for us is to focus on becoming humble servants and resist getting caught up in the trap of comparison. Father, thank you for the time. Thank you for everyone's patience, Lord. We went over a few minutes, but Father, what a powerful lesson that Jesus is teaching us here. And Lord, we so often find ourselves, just like the disciples, caught up in the comparison game. the comparison trap. Oh, Father, may we be free of that. May we understand that while we have good examples around us, our focus, we need to fix our eyes on Christ. And we also need to have the goal of being the greatest by being the least. And the way that we treat the least of these is the way that we think of and treat you. So Lord, help us to understand your measurement of greatness and help us to measure ourselves by that standard and none else. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Thank you guys for being here. Have a great day.