Second Sunday of Lent, 2024 - The Heart of Discipleshp

It’s the heart of the gospel of Mark. 

Chapters 8, 9, & 10 contain the heart of the gospel writer’s teaching about discipleship. In them, he describes the heart of discipleship—what is involved in being a follower of Jesus.

These chapters record Jesus’s journey from Caesarea Philippi north of the Sea of Galilee, down the Jordan River Valley to Jericho, as he made his way to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. Throughout that journey, he attempted to prepare his disciples for what would happen in Jerusalem—suffering, death, then three days later raised from the dead. In spite of his efforts, his disciples could not accept what he was teaching. It went against their understanding that the Messiah was a warrior-king like David who would throw off the hated Roman yoke, reestablishing the nation’s independence.

In these three chapters, the gospel writer recorded three different occasions in which Jesus taught the disciples about what he would experience in Jerusalem—Mark 8:31-33; 9:30-32; 10:32-34. These were not the only time he sought to help them understand. Mark 9:31 specifically says “he was teaching them.” The original language indicates he was repeatedly teaching them.

The gospel writer used these three occasions to anchor Jesus’s teachings about what was involved in being his follower—a disciple. In these three teachings, the gospel writer presented the heart of discipleship.

The first and foundational description is found in Mark 8:34-37. “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). This description (addressed in last week’s blog) defines a follower of Jesus as one who lives in relationship with Jesus, learning from him a different way of thinking and living—follow me. The language of the original indicates this learning-based relationship is an ongoing process. This new way of thinking and living is radically different from the thinking that governs the world. Consequently, a follower of Jesus is out of step with the way the world thinks and functions. S/he lives as an insurrectionist against the ways of the world—take up their cross. In learning this new way of thinking and living, a follower of Jesus lets go of the identity s/he built by following the thinking of the world—deny themselves. This identity is an egocentric identity we all manufacture based upon what the world said we need to do and be in order to be accepted and valued. Letting go of this manufactured persona frees us to discover and live out of the person God created us to be—our authentic, true self.

This new way of thinking and living is further defined in the second teaching about discipleship, Mark 9:33-37. It describes the heart of discipleship.

As Jesus and the disciples made their way through Galilee, the disciples were arguing among themselves about who was the greatest. Their argument grew out of the transfiguration experience (Mark 9:2-8) in which Jesus chose Peter, James, and John to go with him on the mountain retreat. That opportunity suggested these three were Jesus’s inner circle—a distinction that, in their thinking, set them above the other disciples. The argument was about which of the three was the greatest. The other disciples likely argued that they were just as great as any one of the three.

Their argument was rooted in the thinking of the world. It was hierarchal thinking in which those at the top of the hierarchy were considered to be greater than those beneath them. The disciples were comparing and competing. They were competing with one another in an effort to gain a higher position in the hierarchy. In doing so, they compared themselves to one another. They were seeking to prove they were at least as great as any of the rest, if not better. Comparing and competing, status and standing are tactics used in constructing the egocentric self.

Jesus used their argument as an opportunity to teach them about greatness and about being a disciple. Greatness in the kingdom is based upon a different standard than that used by the world. “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35). The new and different way of thinking Jesus taught was about being a servant—giving oneself to address the needs of another. True greatness is found in being a servant, not in being at the top of the hierarchy.

The heart of discipleship is a servant spirit.

We cannot live out of a servant spirit while clinging to our egocentric identity. Our egocentric, manufactured identity is based upon hierarchical thinking. It involves comparing and competing. We must relinquish this false identity—along with the thinking upon which it is built—if we are to live as a servant. We must deny ourselves.

A servant spirit is seen in how we treat those who are viewed as insignificant in the world—those who are at the bottom of the social hierarchy. The little child (Mark 9:36-37) represented these insignificant ones. To welcome the child—the insignificant—is to embrace him, treating him as someone of significance and value. The egocentric, constructed self—living out of comparing and competing, following hierarchal thinking—struggles to embrace and value the insignificant people of the world.

A servant spirit requires a transformation deep within—an inner transformation of the heart. The egocentric, constructed self inherently lives out of a self-serving, what’s-in-it-for-me spirit. Obviously, this self-serving spirit is at odds with the servant spirit that is the mark of authentic discipleship.

This transformation of the spirit out of which we live is not something we can accomplish through self-effort. It requires the transforming work of the Spirit. Our role is to recognize and acknowledge the deep-seated, what’s-in-it-for-me spirit that is at play in our lives. It is to give the Spirit permission to address it, knowing that dying to this governing spirit will likely involve struggle and pain. Our role is to maintain constant vigilance, knowing this egocentric spirit does not die easily. This spirit is deceptive, inserting itself in our very efforts to serve others. Our role is to consciously choose to live as a servant, giving ourselves to address the needs of others. Our role is to live in glad dependency upon the Spirit to do what we cannot do in our own strength.

Discipleship—being a follower of Jesus—is a life-long process of transformation in which the Spirit, transforming our hearts and minds, engrains a servant spirit within us.

The heart of discipleship is a servant spirit.

Next week, I’ll address the third teaching about discipleship found in chapter 10. This third teaching further clarifies what it means to live out of a servant spirit.