The First Must Be Last

The First Must Be Last
By: Pastor Amie Donovan

To be first, you must first be last.
 
“They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” -Mark 9:33-35
 
God asked Adam, “Where are you?” God asked Jacob, “What is your name?” God asked Moses, “What is that in your hand?” God asked Jonah, “Have you any right to be angry?” Jesus asked the paralytic man, “Do you wish to get well?” Jesus asked Peter, James, and John, “Are you still sleeping and resting?”
 
Jesus, in Mark 9:33-35, asks His disciples, “What are you arguing about?”
 
Let’s get something straight. When our God asks us questions, it’s not because He needs an answer. It's because we do. He’s addressing the core of something deeper. I love that Jesus waited to have this conversation until they arrived at the house, and He was sitting down. Sitting down in that time assumed the posture of a teacher. Jesus wasn’t just correcting their thoughts; He was teaching them how to think. He wanted them to understand, the greatest among them is the one who takes the lowest position. He wanted them to grasp His definition of the greatest, not the worlds. If they wanted to truly be great, it would come through putting others before themselves. If they truly wanted to be first, it wouldn’t come through comparison or competition. It wouldn’t be aggressively pursued the way the world pursues it. It would come through humility. It would come through serving. It would come because they have the right heart regarding the mission.  
 
The greatest among us lived as a servant.  
 
How about you?