These words are among the most difficult and, at the same time, the most practically significant sayings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Their practical value lies in the opportunity they give us to transform human pride and the craving for honour into something that...
These words are among the most difficult and, at the same time, the most practically significant sayings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Their practical value lies in the opportunity they give us to transform human pride and the craving for honour into something that would not be sinful. Indeed, if a person is so eager to be better than others, why not try to surpass those ‘others’ on the path the Lord Jesus points out? It is the path of service, the path of renouncing one's own glory and honour for the good of one's neighbours—a very definite path, in fact. The difficulty is that human resolve is usually insufficient for this, and we need Christ's gracious help.
It is also important to listen carefully to what precisely the Lord means. The usually quite accurate Russian Synodal translation misses certain shades of meaning here. In quoting Christ's words ‘be last of all’, the evangelist Mark uses the Greek word eskhatos. Its primary meaning is ‘last’ in the sense of ‘least’—rendered as ‘lesser’ in the Church Slavonic Bible—‘least honoured’, ‘least significant’. Yet it has other meanings too, the most important of which is ‘outermost’, or, in Russian, krayniy. In contemporary Russian, this word has acquired a slang meaning, and it is precisely that meaning which matters to us here: the person left to bear the consequences of others' actions, the one who becomes a victim for others. It is this sense that applies to the Lord Jesus, who, in His own words, ‘came to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many’, as Mark will record in the following chapter (Mk 10:45).
Here two other important roots also coincide, in the words ‘servant’ and ‘to serve’—in Greek, diakonos. The Lord is thus saying, ‘Whoever wants to be first, imitate Me.’ The evangelist John adds to this thought: ‘Whoever serves Me must follow Me’ (Jn 12:26). It is in this service to others, in accepting the position of the one who bears the consequences and is least honoured, that we follow Christ and serve Him.
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9:30 They passed through Galilee - Though not through the cities, but by them, in the most private ways. He was not willing that any should know it: for he taught his disciples - He wanted to be alone with them some time, in order to instruct them fully concerning his sufferings. The Son of man is delivered - It is as sure as if it were done already. Mat 17:22; Luk 9:44.
9:32 They understood not the word - They did not understand how to reconcile the death of our Saviour (nor consequently his resurrection, which supposed his death) with their notions of his temporal kingdom.
9:33 Luk 9:46.
9:34 Who should be greatest - Prime minister in his kingdom.
9:35 Let him be the least of all - Let him abase himself the most.
9:36 Mat 18:2; Luk 9:47.
9:37 One such little child - Either in years or in heart.