Date: Sunday April 18, 2021       Scripture: Mark 9:30-41    Title: Being a Humble Servant.

Link: Region around the Sea of Galilee

Contents

Introduction. 1

1. The Example of a Humble Servant. 3
2. The Explanation of a Humble Servant. 5
3. The Care of a Humble Servant. 8
4. The Embrace of a Humble Servant. 9
5. The Reward of a Humble Servant. 11

Introduction

Mark chapter 9 and verse 30. Will you follow along as I read our text for us this morning? Mark chapter 9 and verse 30.

30 From there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know about it. 31 For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.” 32 But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.
    33 They came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest. 35 Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” 36 Taking a child, He set him before them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me.”
    38 John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. 40 For he who is not against us is for us. 41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.

We live in a me centered world. In a world where it's all about me. In fact, if you look back over the past 50 years, there has been a lot of me popping up. Baby boomers have been referred to as the Me Generation. The 1970s, they've been called the Me Decade. In 2013, Time magazine ran an article titled this Millennials the Me Me Me Generation. And they actually ran this on the front cover of Time magazine with the subtitle Millennials are lazy, entitled Narcissists, who still live with their parents...why they'll save us all. As you look around our world today. People aren't getting less selfish. Why? That's the human heart. That's what's in the human heart, we like to think about ourselves and how great we are.

We like to be #1. And number 1 in our world means that I am on the top. And others are here to serve me because it's all about me. In fact, Warren Wiersbe says this, “the world’s philosophy is that you are great if others are working for you.” We like to have others serve us. And have them make my world a better place for me.

We live in a self-centered world that tells us that we should be looking out for number 1. It's all about me. But that's not the message of Christ. That's not the message that Jesus is teaching His disciples. In fact that was not the life of Christ. Think about this…Christ is the King of the universe, and He had every right to command that others serve Him as he walked around here on this earth.

What does Christ say about His coming in Mark 10:45 “for even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

And the disciples needed to learn this lesson. This was a lesson that they needed to learn in their life. They needed to learn about being a servant and not just any ordinary servant, but they needed to learn what it means to be a humble servant.

You see that the disciples were popular amongst the people. The people knew who Jesus was and they knew who the twelve were. You remember last week when the demon possessed boy’s father comes to find Jesus? Jesus isn't there. He was up on the Mount of Transfiguration. But who did this father find? The disciples, the other nine who were there. He found these disciples, and he knew who they were. They were associated with Jesus...this popular teacher, this popular rabbi, they knew who they were.

The scribes even show up and the scribes are arguing with the disciples. Why are the scribes there? Because they know who these guys are…they're popular. These disciples know who Jesus is. They know who Jesus is at this point. Remember, they have declared that Jesus is the Messiah.

And everything that they have been taught about the Messiah is that He's going to come and conquer Rome and save Israel from the evil Romans. That's what the Messiah was going to do. And they're on that team. Right? They've just declared He's the Messiah. He's the one who's going to come and conquer and rule and reign. And guess what? We're friends with Him. We know Him. We're on His team. And they must be feeling pretty good about themselves. We're on the team of Jesus.

And this selfishness is in their blood and their selfishness that rises up in them. Not only because they're sinners like you and I are, but also because they were raised in a self-righteous religion, thinking that they were better than everyone else. That's what they've been taught their whole life. You're Jews, you're better. You’re God’s chosen people. You're the best.

Remember the Pharisees? What did the Pharisees love to do? They love to practice their religion in front of others so that all would look at them and see how great they are. In fact, listen to Jesus and how Jesus describes him in Matthew chapter 6 as he gives instructions of what not to do.

He says this in Matthew chapter 6.

6:1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
    2 “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. (Matt 6:1-4)

Jesus goes on. Then He talks about prayer:

     5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. (Matt 6:5-6)

These hypocritical religious people loved to show everyone else how great they were. And so when they're giving --when they're tithing and making a sacrifice-- they wanted everybody to know. Here I am. Watch me, I'm putting it in. See how great I am. And they love to stand out on the street corners and pray, look at me, how religious I am. I'm so great. You don't pray like I do. Look at how good I am. I'm great. They wanted everyone to know that they are number one. They're the best. They're on top.

But Jesus comes along, and He condemns all of that. And He says, if you want to be first, you must become what? Last. You must become last. You want to be great. We don't do that by having others serve us. But we do what? We become servants who serve others. That's what Jesus is teaching His disciples here in our passage this morning.

DL Moody once said, “the measure of a man is not how many servants he has, but how many men he serves.”  And these disciples need to learn what it means to be a humble servant. And so, let's look at our passage here this morning, and we're going to see what it means to be a humble servant. Now, as we look through this passage here, it seems kind of like these are random things that are going on --random verses that are here, and how do they all tie together? But they do. 

As we work our way through this passage, I want you to see it all ties together, and there is one great theme that Jesus is here teaching His disciples and it's this… humility. They need to learn humility. And so, we'll break it down into five parts, and we're going to see what Jesus says here about being a humble servant. Point number one…we'll call it the example of a humble servant.

1.   The Example of a Humble Servant.

Look at verse 30.

 30 From there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know about it. 31 For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.” 32 But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him. (Mark 9:30-31)

Now, if you remember back to last week, and what we had talked about…Peter, James, and John have just come down from the mountain. They were up on the Mount of Transfiguration with Christ, where they saw Christ transfigured there. And they come down the mountain, and they come, and they run into chaos. There's chaos that is going on down at the bottom of the mountain there. The 9 disciples are there. The scribes are there, the crowd’s there, and there's a father who has a demon-possessed son. And the disciples aren't able to cast this demon out of this little boy. But Jesus comes along, and Jesus heals this boy. And Jesus heals the father, and confronts him in his lack of faith. And Jesus at that point is teaching his disciples about faith. What true faith is, and that they need to have faith.

Now remember, this is Jesus’ purpose in His ministry at this point. He is now focused on teaching the disciples lessons. They need to understand what it means to be a follower of Christ. And so, Jesus, now at this point is in His ministry, is no longer going to be focused on doing miracles, but He's focused on the twelve here. He’s focused on teaching them. 

Jesus is going to go to a cross and He's going to die, and He's going to rise again. And then He's going to ascend to the Father, and He's going to commission the twelve to go out and to preach the gospel, and to live as Christians -- as little Christs -- out in the world. What does that look like?

That's what Jesus is now teaching them in His ministry. This is teaching time. And so, they go from Caesarea Philippi, where Jesus had just healed this little boy, and they're now headed south through Galilee. Verse 33 tells us that they're going to Capernaum (Mark 9:33). Their original headquarters, in the home of Peter…if you remember from previous studies in Mark.

And as they're walking there, it's about a 25-mile trip. Jesus doesn't want anyone to know where He and the disciples are. Why? Because He wants to focus on the twelve, it's teaching time with them. That's His aim. That's His goal. That's what He wants to do… is spend time with these boys. Which is exactly what verse 31 tells us where He was teaching His disciples and telling them. This was full-time school now for these guys. No longer walking around and seeing all of the miracles, and all the things that Jesus is doing. This is school for them. They need some alone time with Jesus so that Jesus could teach them. And He does it here as He's walking along with them so that there wouldn't be any distractions.

Many of us need less distractions as we study, right? Too many distractions in our lives. We try and learn. Jesus knows there are distractions that come along and here He takes the disciples alone with Him on this walk as he begins to teach them.  And what was Jesus teaching them? Verse 31, that the son of Man is to be delivered in the hands of men. (Mark 9:31)

They will kill Him, and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later. Now remember, this is not the first time that Jesus has told them this, right? Back in chapter 8 and verse 31. (Mark 8:31) He says that after they've declared that He's the Messiah, He says that He's going to suffer and He's going to die and He's going to rise again.

But notice what He says this time. What does He say this time? Notice what it says there… He is to be delivered into the hands of men.  Last time He said He would suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes. But now He says He's going to be delivered…or another way you could say that He is going to be handed over.

And who is going to hand Jesus over? Well, we know that Judas would be one, right? Judas would betray Him with a kiss and would hand Jesus over so that Jesus could go and be crucified. But there's another agent involved in this handing over as well…who is that? It's the Father. It's the Father. Christ is to be delivered over into the hands of men by the Father. Listen to Romans chapter 8 in verse 32.

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? (Rom 8:32)

What does Paul say there in Romans? It was the Father who delivered Him over. It was the Father who handed Him over so that Christ would go to a cross and be the sacrifice for sinners like you and me.

Christ here is the Messiah. Christ is the King who's going to rule and reign over Israel. He's going to die. Why? To save His people from their sins. And here is the perfect example of what it means to be a humble servant. Christ is giving them an example. This is what it means to be a humble servant. He's the perfect, spotless Lamb of God who never, ever sinned. And yet He's telling these guys that He is going to die.

And we know that He's going to die like a criminal, although He's completely innocent of any crime. What a humble servant. And He would do it as the perfect example for us of what it means to be a humble servant. Listen to Philippians chapter 2 verses 5 and 8. Paul says to the Philippians:

5. “Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus…” 8. “Being found in appearance as a man. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Phil 2:5, Phil 2:8)

What an example for you and I. This Jesus told them this. Verse 32 says,

But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him. (Mark 9:32)

What happened the last time that they confronted Jesus about this? Remember that? Peter comes and rebukes Jesus and says “no, You can't die.” And what does Jesus do? He rebukes Peter and says what? Get behind me, Satan. (Mark 8:33), Jesus tells them again, He's going to be delivered over into the hands of men. Any questions anybody? They're all silent. They're afraid to ask. What does it mean? We don't really know what it means, but I'm not asking Him. Last time we confronted Jesus, it didn't turn out well for us. Peter was rebuked. And so they're not going to ask any questions this time.

But as they keep on walking on this journey to Capernaum, the disciples are there, and they're walking along with Jesus, and they're discussing something among themselves. And Jesus would have to continue to teach them about humility, as they have this discussion. Most likely what's going on is Jesus is out in front of them and they're behind Jesus and they're talking with one another and Jesus is going to teach them a lesson about this discussion that they have amongst themselves. Which leads to our second point, point #2, the explanation of a humble servant.

2.   The Explanation of a Humble Servant.

Look at verse 33.

They came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest. 35 Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:33-35)

And so they reach Capernaum, and they come and they enter into a house. We don't know exactly what house this is, but most likely a lot of commentators think that it's Peter's home. That's where Peter lived with his wife and with his family. And they're now alone, Jesus and the twelve disciples are there in this house alone, without the crowds around them. They're able to sneak into town, and they're able to get into this house. And Jesus, knowing all things, asks them a question.  They're not going to question him, but Jesus will question them.

And He says, what were you discussing on the way? On the way to Capernaum, what were you guys talking about? What were you discussing? And what is their response? Silence. Complete silence. Why? Because of conviction. Because of the conviction and the shame that was brought upon them, knowing that they were guilty, in this discussion that they had amongst themselves.

What were they guilty of? They were discussing with one another which of them was the what?  The greatest. Which one of them is the greatest? Anyone want to volunteer the information to Jesus and let Him know what you were talking about? Hands anybody? No?  Why? Because you're guilty. You're talking about who is the greatest. These guys are acting like kids. And they're embarrassed.

As Jesus is walking before them, they're behind Jesus and they're going at one another, arguing amongst themselves as to who is the greatest… “We are the,”, “I'm the greatest,” “No, I'm the greatest…” acting like children as they have this argument amongst themselves. And this wasn't some just little discussion that's going on, but this was in fact an argument that's going on amongst them.

But notice this. Notice this, they have this argument when? When do they have this argument amongst themselves? They have this argument right after Jesus tells them He is going to be delivered over, and He's going to die and rise again on the third day.

And what are these guys focused on? Jesus? No. Themselves. Did you guys understand what he's… no? Anybody want to ask? Nope, I'm not going to ask Him, alright? Well, I'm the… I'm the greatest. No, I'm the greatest. And they have this argument amongst themselves. Like little kids, walking behind Jesus arguing about who's the greatest.

It’s sad, but that's what they are focused on. Now Jesus knows exactly what they're arguing about, right? He knows what's going on. He knows this discussion that's going on with these guys. And so why did Jesus then ask this question? What are you guys discussing? What were you guys talking about on our journey here? He asked them this question because He has to take their big heads and their pride and He has to crush it. He wants to make them feel guilty. Guilt is a good thing…it means you've done something wrong…and He wants to make them feel guilty. Why?

Because He has to teach them about humility. He wants to teach them about humility, and He asked them this question to convict them about their pride. These were prideful guys. But Jesus has to bring them low, and He does that by asking this question. That's why they don't respond to Him. That's why they're silent...because they're convicted. Which is exactly what Jesus wanted to do -- to convict them.

And then notice, Jesus sits down in the house. He goes and he sits down in this house. Why does Jesus sit down? Well, because that's how rabbis taught. They didn't stand up before people, but they actually sat down. We now have people stand up. Pastors stand before you and they will preach.  Back then they sit down.  Well, not all…some sit on stools and that kind of stuff…but we stand in a pulpit, right? Pastors stand in a pulpit and preach. But back then, the rabbis would sit down when it was teaching time.

And so Jesus sits down and He calls to Himself the twelve, because He wants to teach them what it means to be a humble servant. And what does He say? Look at verse 35,

“If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and” (what?) “servant of all.” (Mark 9:35)

They were just arguing about who is the greatest, who was first, who was going to be greatest in the Kingdom of God? And they're thinking that the greatest one is the one who's in first place. That was what everyone was trying to obtain in that culture. And that's true even of our culture today, right? Try and be the greatest… be number one. We want to be the best. Everyone wants to be first. We want to be well known amongst people. We want to have the most likes on Facebook and the most views on YouTube. You'll want to have all of this and be #1 and be the greatest. That's our culture today and that's what was going on back then.   Be the greatest, be the best, be the wealthiest and die with the most toys. That's what our culture is teaching, right?

Malcolm Forbes is attributed as saying, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” That's what it's all about. That's what the world is teaching. The world says if you get all of that, you have reached the top, you are the greatest. You are number one. And if you reach that point, you won't be serving others. No, no, no. You'll have others serving you. That's where you want to get in life. You don't want to be a servant of other people. No, you want to have other people serving you.

But Jesus completely turns that whole idea, and that whole aspect of worldly thinking, on its head. He turns it upside down. And this must have shocked these boys and must have shocked these guys. Wait be last? But we want to be the greatest. And you're telling us, Jesus, that we need to be last?

One commentator says, “Jesus’ definition of greatness stands the world’s ordering of priorities on its head and radically challenges a fundamental assumption about achievement.” We think that we have achieved something if we've made it to the top and have others serving us. But Jesus says no, not in My Kingdom. That's not how it works in My Kingdom. We have to become last. We have to become last, and these guys are thinking what do you mean Jesus, we have to become last? But everyone around us, including the religious leaders, have been telling us that we need to be first, we need to be the greatest. That's what we're after.

But Jesus says, if you want to be great, you need to become last. Back in Mark 10:43-44, Jesus is going to say, “but it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. If you want to be great, you must be willing to serve others, and to be a slave of others.

And this action here, of being a servant, that Jesus is talking about here, is a voluntary action. It's  something that you must be willing to do. Not that you're pushed into it. But you must have a heart where you are willing to serve others. This is not just getting a job and submitting to your boss so that you can get paid well type of thing. It's not what Jesus is talking about here. This is a voluntary action where you are willing to humble yourself and be last in your own circles. That's what Jesus calls for.

And not just last, but notice what Jesus says there… to be the servant of all. One who renders free service to others. Called to be a servant. And so Christ gives them an explanation of what it means to be a humble servant. You guys need to become humble servants. You're proud. You need to be humble. But Jesus isn't done teaching them. He's going to continue to give them an illustration of what being a humble servant looks like, which leads to our third point, point, #3. The care of a humble servant.

3.   The Care of a Humble Servant.

Look at verse 36

36 Taking a child, He set him before them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me.” (Mark 9:36)

Here's a little boy that's there nearby them in this house. Who is this little boy? We don't know, but if they're at Peter's house, it's possibly Peter's son. It's a little boy that's there. Jesus, being a master of illustrations, takes a little boy who is old enough to stand. A little toddler probably he's a little boy, and Luke says He “took a child and stood him by His side. (Luke 9:47-48).

And He put His arms around this little boy in a loving, gentle, caring way that Jesus does with children. Because He cares about children. And He loves them. And He takes this little child there, and He says, whoever receives one child like this in My name, receives Me.

Now what is Jesus talking about here?  Is Jesus talking specifically about children? No, He's not talking specifically about children here. He's not saying that if you specifically take kids into your home, it's like receiving Christ…that's not what He's saying here. He's using this child here as an illustration. This child is an illustration for Him, and an illustration of what? You might ask? An illustration of weakness…of trust, of dependence, lack of accolades…children were powerless. They haven't achieved anything in their life. They had no honor in that culture. And in that culture of the day, children were seen as insignificant and having zero social status. You have no social status. Which means welcoming a child like this means these guys are going to have to break social norms. And they're going to have to accept someone who is lower than they are.

And what could that possibly mean to them? It could jeopardize their own position of power and prestige. It could jeopardize a job for them. Or status among the people. But being a humble servant of Christ is not about power and prestige. It's about bringing honor and glory to the name of Christ. That's what we're called to do.

One commentator says, “As a servant loses his identity by serving others, he takes on the identity of his master.” And that's what Jesus is calling these disciples to do…to take upon themselves His identity…as He loves and cares for the low.

That's what we do. We take on the identity of our master when we serve others in the name of Christ. We lose our own identity and take on the identity of Christ who came to serve the low and humble.

Now, who does this child represent then in this illustration? There's debate about this, but I believe that this child here represents a believer. This child represents a believer. Notice what Jesus says, He says whoever receives a child like this in My name, notice that… in My name. What is the name that He's talking about when He says in My name? Well, that name represents a person. The name represented a person, and therefore a child who is in the name of Christ is saying that they belong to Him. They are representatives of Him. We, as believers, are representatives of Christ. We have taken upon His name as Christians. He is our master and we have taken upon His identity.

And what Jesus is saying here is how you treat a fellow believer is how you treat Me.  How you treat a fellow believer is how you treat Me. And therefore, if you reject a fellow believer because you think that somehow, you're greater than they are, Jesus is saying, then you reject Me. We don't show favoritism in the body of Christ. We serve one another. We love one another. We care for one another because that shows what we think about Christ. We're representatives of Christ.

Jesus goes on in verse 37 and He says, and

“Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me.” (Mark 9:37)

If you receive a fellow believer in Christ, you not only receive Christ, but you receive who? The Father as well. You receive the Father. Look, true servanthood flips social hierarchy on its head, lifting up and serving those of lower status in the eyes of the world. And that's what we're called to do. A humble servant of Christ has care and concern for other believers and especially of those who are the weakest and least significant. As followers of Jesus, we received them as our own, because we belong to Christ and they belong to Christ. And we all belong to who? The Father. You belong to the Father.

Well, there's more that Jesus has to teach these guys about humility, which leads to our fourth point point, #4. The embrace of a humble servant.

4.   The Embrace of a Humble Servant

Look at verse 38,

John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. 40 For he who is not against us is for us. (Mark 9:38-40)

Now, what's interesting here, in the Gospel of Mark is that this is the only time where we see the apostle John speaking alone here. This is the only time where John speaks alone. But it helps us to know a little bit about John so that we can understand why John would make a statement like this.

Oftentimes when we think about the apostle John, we think about him as an old man on the Island of what? Patmos. Writing what? The Book of Revelation, right? There he is…this old man on the island of Patmos. Oh John, such a sweet old man. In fact, he's also known as the disciple of love because he wrote a lot about love. But that love that he writes about was something that he had to learn. He had to learn love.

You see, John is the brother of James. They were the two guys who went up on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus and with Peter. Peter, James, and John. These two guys are brothers and both John and James are very passionate brothers. In fact, Jesus gives them the nickname Sons of Thunder. Sons of Thunder why? Most likely because of their zeal. They had zeal and they had passion. In fact, they had so much zeal and so much passion that shortly after this event here in Mark, while they're making their way over to Jerusalem, they wanted to travel through a Samaritan village. And those in the village said, “Nope, you don't get to travel through here.” And you know the response is of John and James? They ask Jesus, “Lord, do you want us to command fire down from heaven and consume them?” (Luke 9:54) Lord, should we just wipe them out? They're not going to let us go through their village. How dare them? Do they know who we are? We'll just command fire from heaven and consume them.

These guys are passionate. These guys are zealous men. They're very zealous brothers. And therefore, John tells Jesus, here in our passage, that he saw a man casting out demons in Jesus’ name. Now we don't know exactly when this happened. We know that it happened because John tells us it. It's here in our passage, but we don't know the exact time of when this happened. But John says we tried to prevent him because he was not following who? Us. He wasn't following us, Jesus.

You know us twelve and You. You chose us. Remember we're chosen by You. And he's trying to cast the demon out. He's not one of us, so we tried to stop it. Don't worry, we tried to take care of it here, Jesus. We got it. You see, the pride of John. Puffed up. Thinking he was great, he was someone special. And we care so much about you, Jesus. And about your name and everything… we tried to stop him. We got it. But they didn't know who this man was. They had no clue who this man was. They didn't know this man's heart. They didn't know what Jesus had done in this man's life.

So how does Jesus respond? In verse 39, “Jesus said, do not hinder him. For there's no one who will perform a miracle in My name and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. (Mark 9:39)

Now we know that these twelve apostles were able to cast out demons, right? When they were sent out two by two, Jesus gave them authority to go and cast out demons. And they could do it. Except for the last time…with the little boy…when this little boy was brought to them. Not that time. Not able to cast out demons. But they knew the power. They knew the power. They knew the power of Christ and they knew the power and the authority that they were given as they were sent out by Christ. And they knew what it takes to cast out a demon.

But they think at this point that they are exclusive. They're the only ones who can do that. Someone else puts their faith in Jesus… well, good for them, but they're not part of the twelve. They're not one of us. No one else in the land is like us. And so what does Jesus do?

He admonishes John here. And He tells him don't stop this person…don't hinder him. Why? Because that man was a follower of Jesus. Maybe not like the twelve were, but he was a follower of Christ. He had put his faith in Jesus. And Jesus says, if that man performs a miracle, he not only does it, but he does it in My name. Notice that… he does it in My name because he is what? Associated with Me. He is a follower of Me. He does it under My power and My authority. And so, you guys don't stop him. My name is being put on display, My power is being put on display.

What does Jesus mean when He says in My name? He means that this man is a believer and you just tried to stop a believer from doing something that I was giving him the power and authority to do. Who do you guys think you are? They were so proud. They thought “no, no one else can do this.” What does Jesus mean here?

He means don't stop another believer from following Me and doing work in My name. These guys didn't know this man's heart. And because of their pride, they became exclusive instead of inclusive. And oftentimes, we can do that as believers, right?

We can do that as Christians. With others who are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. But we need to remember that they are brothers and sisters in Christ. We may not dot every “I” and cross every “t” like they do… and they do the same with us. But that doesn't mean that they are not fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. And we need to remember that. And we need to humble ourselves before them and before God. Making sure that we care for them. That we serve them. That we love them that we embrace them as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We can't become exclusive. We can't push other brothers and sisters away. We need to embrace them. Love them. Care for them.  Point them to the truth. Serve them and humble ourselves before them. And that's what Jesus is saying here in this verse. Look what He says in verse 40 “for he who is not against us is” what? “For us” (Mark 9:40)

Look, they’re for us. Why are they for us? Because they're for Christ. We're all for Christ. Finally, point #5. Point #5.

5.   The Reward of a Humble Servant.

The reward of a humble servant. Verse 41.

41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward. (Mark 9:41)

Now think about this action here, and what Jesus is talking about. This action is a small action. It's a small thing, of simply just giving a cup of water to drink. It's a small, active service, and even though it's a small active service, what is Christ say? He will be what? Rewarded. He will be rewarded. God recognizes and God sees how we treat each other. He sees that. And sometimes we think that we have to do something great for the church to be recognized to be noticed. Maybe to lead music, or to lead a ministry, or teach the Bible, or do something in the eyes of men that get a lot of accolades. If I can just reach that position, I'll have greater reward.

But what does Jesus say? That man, who simply does a small act of giving a fellow believer a drink of water, who serves his fellow brother or sister…will be rewarded. That person will be rewarded. God sees the small acts of service that we do for fellow brothers and sisters. And although you don't play an instrument, or sing in front of people, or preach in front of people. God sees the humble servant who serves in the way that God has gifted him. God knows. God sees it.

He's not looking for something that might seem great in the eyes of man. He's looking for an obedient, humble servant. Giving someone a drink of water was a small act of service that would soon be forgotten. Wouldn't even be remembered by a lot of people. But God will never forget it. God will always remember that small act of service that's done out of a humble heart for Him to serve His people. God knows it and what will God do? He'll reward that person for their obedience and for their humble service.

So often we think that people with the greatest rewards in heaven will be men who have been written about in history. The great men that we've studied in the Reformation, and the great men and all of these men that have been written about, oh their reward is going to be so great. We think about men who have written books and men who preach on the radio and speak throughout the world. Oh man, imagine their reward. It's going to be so great in heaven.

But I think those with the greatest rewards are going to be people that you and I have never even heard of. People that we've never heard of. Why? Because they're humble servants who love the Lord and seek to serve Him and His people. They're faithful. They're just a bunch of humble servants. Who love the Lord and who seek to serve Him by serving others.

Father, we thank You. We thank You for this passage here before us this morning and for it speaks to every one of our hearts. We can be prideful people…we can think that we are great. Father, I pray that you would remove pride from us…that we would be humble servants of You. That we would seek to serve one another, care for each other, love one another, and that we would learn this same lesson that Jesus taught His disciples here in Mark chapter 9. Father, I pray that You would use us as humble servants, to care for each other. To care for fellow brothers and sisters. Father, that we wouldn't do it for our own accolades, that we wouldn't do it for our own glory…that we would do it because we desire to serve a humble King. A humble King who came, died on a cross for our sins, and rose again on the third day to offer us eternal life with Him. Father, may we learn this lesson here this morning and apply this to our lives, and be reminded daily that You're opposed to the proud, but You give grace to the humble. Help us to be humble servants of Yours. We pray in Christ's name. Amen.