Servant Of All

Mark 9:30-35  They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he would not have anyone know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask him. And they came to Caperna-um; and when he was in the house he asked them,“What were you discussing on the way?” But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve; and he said to them, “If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” 

Before the resurrection you can imagine the disciples being taught by their master that the unimaginable was going to happen. They had seen wonders and miracles including Jesus raising the dead, but to have a dead person rise from the dead on their own, that was impossible to comprehend. These people had put all their marbles in Jesus camp and they were afraid of some of his teaching. We read elsewhere that his family came to get him because they were told he was talking crazy. What would you have thought if someone told you they would rise from the dead? They couldn't deny everything they had seen and heard while following Jesus, but what could they do with this? I'm not sure about the disciples discussion about who was the greatest, but many have thought they were talking about the greatest among them. The word was in who was the greatest makes me think they were talking about the other leaders and prophets of Israel.

Jesus doesn't follow with a convincing discussion of his future rising from the dead. I think he knew that was not going to help. He instead takes up the topic of the greatest. He responds that the greatest must be servant of all. All the other leaders were servants of those that were their contemporaries, but Jesus in his dying and rising again was to be the servant of all. Jesus provided the possibility of salvation for all humanity through his willing surrender to his death upon the cross. He is the only one who has been or will be servant of all. Jesus is unique in history, the one and only servant of all.