Mark 9:31-35
Mark 9:31 (KJB)
For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered
into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he
shall rise the third day.
As they continued to abide in Galilee, Jesus had continually prepared their
minds for the upcoming betrayal, trial, and crucifixion. It seemed that the
disciples had not paid attention to that facet of the ministry of Christ and
when the events began to unfold in Jerusalem, they were caught off guard because
of their neglect in including this part of Jesus’ ministry in their thinking.
Then Jesus continues on with the upcoming ordeal by telling them that not only
will He be betrayed but He will also be killed because of their hatred for Him.
Jesus also includes the fact that He was going to be raised from the dead on the
third day. The fact that Jesus was going to die brought much sorrow to the
disciples but it seemed they neglected to understand the last part of Jesus’
statement that He was going to rise from the dead. It seems to me that this
would have brought some level of joy knowing that Jesus would not remain dead
but would be raised. Unfortunately, it seems we hear only what we want to hear.
Mark 9:32 (KJB)
But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.
There must have been a tremendous amount of mixed emotions among the disciples
when Jesus spoke about His upcoming death and resurrection. He had been telling
the disciples that this was going to happen for quite a long time and each time
Jesus mentioned it, they seemed to block it from their minds. The worst part is
that they have known Jesus very well and He never denied them any information
and yet they were afraid to ask Him concerning the upcoming ordeal in Jerusalem.
Maybe they were afraid to ask because Jesus might have told them that they would
be dying with Him and they did not want to hear that. So instead of clearing up
any wrong speculation, they decided to remain ignorant of that event.
Mark 9:33 (KJB)
And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that
ye disputed among yourselves by the way?
This marks the end of Jesus’ withdrawal into the northern area. The house which
Jesus stayed in was probably the house of Peter. There Jesus took the time to
ask the disciples what they were discussing as they walked along. The word
“disputed” in the Greek carries with it the meaning of “thoroughly reason or
deliberate.” So they were not just superficially discussing it, they were going
into serious deliberations and yet, when they could not understand on what the
saying meant, they would not ask Jesus, instead Jesus had to bring up the
subject. The interesting thing is that Jesus was focusing on His upcoming death
and the disciples were discussing positions in the Kingdom.
Mark 9:34 (KJB)
But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves,
who should be the greatest.
It seems from the type of discussion, the disciples were still looking for an
earthly kingdom and that may have prompted them to ask the question about who
should be the greatest one. Previous to this Peter was called a rock and then
he, John and James were taken up to the Mount of Transfiguration and this may
have added to the desire to know who is the greatest. The word in the Greek for
“greatest” carries with it the idea of “being great by comparison.” They were
looking at some kind of rating as to who would be the best disciple thus making
him the greatest.
Mark 9:35 (KJB)
And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire
to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
Jesus then sat down and calls over the twelve ready to answer their question as
to how one gets to be the greatest. The world has its own formula to get to the
top of the social or the business ladder. Jesus then tells them that in the
Kingdom of God it is just the opposite. The one who is the greatest is the one
who serves, not the one being served. This subject probably came up because
Jesus had picked Peter, James, and John as His inner circle even inviting them
to the Mount of Transfiguration while the rest of the disciples were not privy
to what they were privy to. This may have been the reason that this subject had
cropped up among them. In the Kingdom of God, it is humility not pride, it is
service not being served, it is being crucified and not being free, it is
placing others first and yourself last, etc. It is this kind of true mindset
which will yield greatness in the Kingdom of God.