Week 3 of the Lenten Journey, 2025

What was happening among the twelve was not that surprising, actually. It is something that happens in every group—including those of which we are a member. In fact, what was happening among the twelve was predictable.

As Jesus and the twelve made their way from Galilee toward Jerusalem, the twelve became embroiled in an argument over which one of them was the greatest (Mark 9:33-34). The argument was probably triggered by the transfiguration experience in which Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him on the mountain retreat (Mark 9:2-8). The selection of these three—excluding the other nine—indicated these three held some kind of significance and importance in the mind of Jesus. The ensuring argument was about which of the three was the greatest—with perhaps some of the others arguing that they were just as important as any one of those three. The argument was fueled by the expectation that, when they reached Jerusalem, Jesus would be revealed as the messianic king and would establish the long-awaited messianic kingdom. As those Jesus had hand selected (Mark 3:13-19), they expected to play a significant role in the new kingdom. They anticipated being someone important—someone others would call “great.” The unanswered question was “what would be the pecking order?” Who would have the most important position? Who would be the greatest?

The argument among the disciples is a window through which we can see ourselves. Like them, we want to know where we stand in the groups to which we belong. We want to know (1) our place in the group which reflects (2) our value to the group. Unlike the twelve, most us of do not openly argue about our place or our value, but we are acutely aware of both—especially when our place and value are not as great as others in the group. How we function in the group reflects our sense of our place and our value to the group OR the place and value we desire in the group.

The twelve argued over who was the greatest. For them, greatness was linked to a position in the group. It reflected one’s standing in the group. It defined one’s value to the group.

Their argument provided Jesus another opportunity to teach them about discipleship. The disciples’ argument reflected how the world had taught them to think about greatness. Jesus taught them how greatness was defined in the kingdom.

“Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35).

Jesus did not reprimand the twelve for their argument or for the desire which fueled it. Rather, he undermined their argument by changing the standard by which greatness is defined. In the kingdom, greatness is defined by a servant spirit—the willingness to use one’s power and position to address the needs of another. A servant spirit frees us from concern about our standing in a group. It frees us to be “last of all and servant of all.”

A servant spirit is reflected in how we view and relate to the least “significant” people in our culture—those who have little or no status or standing, those who are powerless and vulnerable. “Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me’” (Mark 9:36-37). To welcome another is to treat the other with dignity and respect—as a person of worth and value—as a beloved child of God.

Claiming our own identity as beloved child of God frees us from the comparing-and-competing game in which we are constantly jockeying for position in relationships—the way the world defines greatness. It frees us to embrace the servant spirit Jesus taught and lived. It frees us to live as a servant who joyfully uses our power and position to address the need of another.

Prayer for the Lenten journey: As we walk this Lenten journey, Lord Jesus, teach us again the ways of the kingdom. Move us beyond the way the world trained us to think. Help us embrace the servant spirit by which greatness is defined in the kingdom. Fashion within us, Spirit of God, the likeness of Christ that we may live out of his servant spirit.