Instruction
Scripture: Mark9:30-37
These passages record conversations that Jesus had with His
disciples as they traveled. In the first conversation we find Jesus once again
teaching that He will be handed over to be killed, but that He would also rise.
In the second conversation Jesus confronts the disciples’ desire for greatness.
The text shows us an example of how people hear God’s Word, but still miss the
point and focus on themselves.
Teaching
Jesus teaches us that He came to die and to rise. This is
His purpose and His method to rescue us from sin and death. People become
confused about this when they focus more on what they ought to do instead of
what Jesus has done for them. Without Jesus’ sacrifice, they are left with
their insecurities about greatness, while Jesus shows that greatness is all
about service.
Life
Jesus is the greatest because He is the one who served us
all by allowing Himself to be killed for us and then rising from the dead. In
this act of mercy He serves us in such an incredible way that it transforms our
priorities. We don’t need to be first. We don’t need to be greatest, or to get
our way. Because He gave Himself for us, we are now free to give ourselves for
others, too.
Prayer
This prayer is written
in the themes of Instruction, Thanksgiving, Confession, and Petition.
Lord Jesus, You stated very clearly that You would be
delivered into the hands of men and killed. Not only that, You would rise after
three days. You laid down Your life for us. That is hard to understand, indeed,
it can only be fully grasped by faith. We are not, therefore, to consider
ourselves to be the greatest or the most important, but we can be humble and
serve even the most insignificant people in our midst.
Thank You for allowing Yourself to be killed for us. Thank
You for rising from the dead. We are so grateful that You have rescued us from
sin and death. Thank You for saving us from our fears and insecurities about
being the greatest, and for freeing us to serve those that the world considers insignificant.
And Thank You for showing us that when we serve others we serve You and our
Father!
We confess that the desire for greatness still lingers in
our hearts and we must wrestle with it. We also confess that we sometimes want
to make our faith less about Your cross and more about our deeds; especially
deeds that make us look good in the eyes of others. Forgive us, Lord Jesus, for
the sin that we see in our lives (and that which we’re not even aware of) is
why You were killed and rose again.
Please give us the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts so that
we would always have Your cross at the center of our faith and life. Shape us
by Your gracious salvation so that we will be humble and place ourselves last
and make ourselves servants of even those that the world would consider the
least. Help us to receive You and Him who sent You by receiving many people in
Your name. Amen.
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