Pastor Lowell Nelson teaches about Mark 9:33-37 "The Supreme Standard of Servanthood" on 3/8/2026 for our Sunday service.
Mark 9:33-37
33 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?" 34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. 35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." 36 Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37 "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."
This fits with the change of direction of this gospel. Jesus had been mainly ministering to the multitudes proving and validating who His is. The Messiah. The Christ. But after the confession in Mark 8:29 who do you say that I am? And Peter answers “The Christ.”
The narrative shifts from His works John 3:2 to begin to really teach His disciples what it really means to be the Christ. Mark 9:31. Not only is He trying to teach them about what the path of the Christ really is, He is trying to teach the about suffering, the cross, and the humility of Kingdom servanthood.
This passage is part of that training stage. The difference of pursuing human values and goals or pursuing the kingdom values and goals.
