They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.
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.”
He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:30-37 NIV)
There’s a big city out east in the United States that’s named after a famous Roman general who lived 2,500 years ago. Do you know which city? I know it’s dangerous to ask questions about history. What big city out east is named after an ancient Roman general? Washington? No. He was an American! Here’s a clue: This city is in Ohio. Does that help? Here it is: Cincinnati. Cincinnati is named after a Roman general named Cincinnatus who lived 2,500 years ago.
Why would they name it that? Well, have you heard the story of Cincinnatus? Cincinnatus was a Roman politician who retired to his farm outside the city of Rome. But in 458 B.C., Rome was attacked. Rome’s armies were defeated. The people panicked. They needed someone to rescue their city! So the Roman Senate elected Cincinnatus to be dictator. A dictator was given absolute power over everything. They found Cincinnatus on his farm plowing his field. They threw a toga on him and pronounced him the dictator of Rome. Cincinnatus raised an army, defeated the enemy, and rescued the city. All in just 15 days! But winning that battle isn’t what made Cincinnatus so famous. After those 15 days of absolute power, do you know what Cincinnatus did? He stepped down from being dictator and went back to plowing his fields. The people were amazed! To give up power is one of the hardest things in life to do. That’s what Cincinnatus did.
That’s not what we’re used to. That’s why people named cities after him! What are we used to? We’re used to people fighting for power. Striving to be great. Looking for more influence. By nature, we look at the world like a pyramid. There are lots of people on the bottom. There are only a few people on the top. And where do we want to be? On the top! No matter what area you’re talking about—sports, business, politics, beauty—it’s like a pyramid. Trying to get to the top! Envy and selfish ambition are everywhere. That’s what makes a guy like Cincinnatus stand out. He was at the top, and he gave it all back. It’s hard to give up power. Who does that?
You know who else did that? Jesus. Actually, Jesus gave up a lot more! Cincinnatus gave up power over Rome. How about Jesus? He gave up heaven. Cincinnatus went back to his farm and lived in peace and prosperity. Jesus? He told his disciples, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” It’s like Jesus was thinking of things upside-down, isn’t it? Jesus thought about dying. About giving his life for the sins of the world. Those were his daydreams. While everyone fights to get to the top, Jesus fought to get to the bottom. He made himself lower than everyone else. He died on the cross for us. What an amazing Savior we have! I think we should name more cities after Jesus.
But Jesus’ disciples didn’t understand. When Jesus predicted his death, “they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.” Jesus’ words were simple enough—he was going to be betrayed and killed and rise. But the disciples couldn’t understand. What Jesus said went completely against what they expected. “He’s the Savior. Are you telling me he’s going to let people put him to death? That doesn’t make sense!” “Leaders are supposed to get to the top. Are you telling me that Jesus is going to lead us by dying? That doesn’t make sense!” Jesus’ words sounded upside-down. So the disciples ignored him and talked about something else.
When they got to Capernaum, Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you arguing about on the road? But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.” It sounds comical—like kids caught doing something wrong. “So, what were y’all talking about?” “Oh nothing, Jesus. We weren’t talking about anything.” Jesus was thinking about suffering and dying for their sins. They didn’t understand that, so what were they talking about? “Which of us is the greatest?” Could there be a greater difference between Jesus and his disciples?
We can imagine how that arguing might have gone. Peter said, “Sorry, guys, but I’m clearly the leader of this group.” But the others said, “Are you kidding? Just like last week you said something so foolish that Jesus called you Satan!” So, James and John said, “That’s why we’re the greatest. We were the first ones to be Jesus’ disciples.” But Andrew interrupted: “First ones? No, you weren’t! I was the first one to listen to Jesus!” But Matthew said, “Hold on! I’ve got the biggest house. I’ve got the most money from my days as a tax collector. You four are just fishermen!” But Judas said, “Oh yeah? Jesus lets me keep the money bag. I must be the most trustworthy…” And then Jesus said, “Hey, what were y’all talking about?” “Oh, nothing.”
It sounds so foolish, doesn’t it? Except, if Jesus were to stop you and me in the middle of our conversations—or in the middle of our thoughts—how often would he catch us thinking or talking about us being great? About us being right? A lot! How much of the conflict in our lives is a result of our constant battle for control? We can be very stubborn, can’t we? We never want to give in. How much of our anxiety is a result of pushing to get to the top? We hate the very concept of submission or service. “I don’t want to have to answer to anybody!” Life is like a pyramid, and in my little world, I want to be on top! If Jesus were to catch us in the middle of the day and ask, “What are you thinking about?”, how often would we quickly say, “Oh, nothing.”
Jesus walked around daydreaming of giving his life for the world. We walk around daydreaming of how we can be great. Could there be a greater difference between Jesus and us? The result of all our envy and selfish ambition is constant disappointment and anxiety. But there’s a bigger problem. The bigger problem is that we are the opposite of Jesus. The opposite of what God asks us to be. Sinful. You’ve got the King of heaven who gave up his power and made himself nothing and humbled himself on the cross. And you’ve got the disciples and you and me who fight for popularity or power—greatness. Can you see the difference? Can you see the problem? We have no business being with Jesus. Not on earth. Not in heaven. We’re opposites!
Yet, watch what Jesus does. The disciples stood in silence, too proud to admit that they’d been arguing about who was the greatest. Jesus had every right to explode. Instead, he sat down, called them over, and began to teach: “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” In God’s kingdom, you have to flip that pyramid upside-down. Jesus didn’t come to rule and be served. He came to serve and to give his life for us. That’s grace! Jesus made himself the very last, the servant of all, so that from the bottom he could lift up and save and forgive us all. You don’t have to fight to be at the top. Jesus puts you there. His child. By grace.
Then Jesus turns to you and me and he says, “It’s not wrong to want to be great. Just understand that with me, things are upside-down. If you want to be great, pursue the things in last place. Pursue being the lowliest of all. Pursue placing yourselves below others.” This upside-down idea is found everywhere in Jesus’ teachings. Remember how Jesus’ great Sermon on the Mount starts? “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:3-5). If life is all about us winning, we missed the memo. Jesus already won for us!
As he so often did, Jesus then showed the disciples exactly what he was talking about. He called a little child over and picked up that little child in his arms. Wouldn’t it have been cool to be that little boy or girl? And Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” What a simple, yet powerful, example! What do you think of little kids? If you think, “Not important. Not worth my time. Loud and noisy. They should stay over there by themselves…”, then you probably have the wrong view of greatness. But if you think of little kids, “They are gifts from God for me to serve. To help. To teach. To care about for Jesus’ sake,” you’re getting it!
It’s upside-down, isn’t it? Long ago, a Christian pastor named Augustine taught this lesson to people like this: Obverse how a tree grows. If a tree is going to be strong, what direction does it need to grow? Down. A tree first grows downward, shooting its roots as far down into the ground as it can possibly go. Only then, after it has gone down low, can it begin to send its leaves and branches toward the heavens. You can’t grow up into the air without a root. That’s not growth, but a certain collapse. It’s through humility and faith, it’s through sending our roots down low into the grace and forgiveness of Jesus that we’re able to rise and grow through him. Got it? “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
Sound simple? This is so hard. It will always be hard. Do you know what happens in the very next chapter? Parents bring their little children to Jesus, and what did the disciples do? Send them away, because those children weren’t important enough. Ahh! So Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me!” (Mark 10:14). Right after that, James and John came up to Jesus and asked to sit at Jesus’ right and left in heaven. Ahh! So Jesus reminded them, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Those disciples needed constant reminders—and grace and forgiveness!—just like you and me.
We can only understand this in view of Jesus’ cross. Cincinnatus gained legendary status by giving up his power and going back to his farm. Who does that? Jesus did more for us! He gave up his life for us on the cross. What god does that? Only Jesus! What person does that? Only Jesus! The cross sounds foolish, unless you believe that through that cross Jesus forgave our envy and selfish ambition. At that cross, Jesus bore the wrath of God so what we could become the children of God by faith. “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” Jesus’ sacrifice for us is what changes our attitude for others. The Christian’s life is a pyramid, it’s just that it’s upside-down. Whom can you serve today? Whom can you love today?
About five years ago, I decided to start putting all the sermons and devotions that I write on a blog—a website. It’s not hard to do. The hardest part was deciding what name to use for the blog. I didn’t want to use my name. It’s not about me. As you can imagine, there are lots of Christian blogs and websites… I didn’t want to copy any of those names. So I choose the name “Upside-Down Savior.” Can you see why? The message of the Bible is the story of God’s upside-down grace to us in our Savior Jesus. We have a God who daydreams about dying for us. Isn’t that amazing? So let’s daydream about serving with him. Our upside-down Savior.
(To listen to this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior podcast, please click HERE. To watch this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior YouTube channel, please click on the link below.)
Upside-Down Savior 