In this episode, Bible teacher J. Mark explores the values Jesus taught His disciples in Mark 9:30-41. As Jesus continues preparing the disciples for His coming death and resurrection, He challenges them by emphasizing three values of His kingdom: anonymity, humility, and inclusivity. J. Mark shows how Jesus modeled servant-hearted living as the suffering servant, welcomed the overlooked, and called His followers to work together in unity. This episode encourages believers to seek first the kingdom of God by embracing these values.
Transcript
It’s a privilege to be with you and study the Word of God together. Thank you for being there and listening to Hope for Today, a program produced by Heralds of Hope. We are a small media ministry from central Pennsylvania, and we believe our time together in the Word will benefit both of us.
If you were to summarize Jesus’ teaching with a word or two, what words would you use? As I reflect on the life of Jesus and his teaching, I would say His life revolved around His kingdom. He talked about it a lot, in public, privately to His disciples, he discussed it using object lessons, parables, and stories, and continually taught them and us more about His kingdom.
Our title today is Kingdom Values. Please go with us to Mark 9, and Bible teacher J. Mark will share three values prevalent in His kingdom.
Core values are not just words on a page. They are the guiding principles that shape our actions and decisions. At Heralds of Hope, our core values, including our commitment to the authority of the Scriptures, our pursuit of organizational excellence, and our dedication to growth, are deeply ingrained in our culture.
Our commitment to the authority of Scripture is the bedrock of everything we do. We believe the Scriptures are God-breathed, inerrant, and infallible, so we open the text and let it determine the subject. The divine wisdom of the Scriptures guides our understanding, teaching, and application. We strive to fulfill Jesus’ last command to make disciples: “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” We want our listeners and readers to become passionate followers of Jesus Christ, with the visible fruit of holy living.
As we continue studying Jesus’ life, we observe His core values. In today’s text, Mark 9:30-41, Jesus communicates “Kingdom Values” to His followers.
30Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it.
31 For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise on the third day.”
32 But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.
33 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house, He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?”
34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.
35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”
36 Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them,
37 “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”
38 Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.”
39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me.
40 For he who is not againstus is on our side.
41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.
In this text, Jesus highlights several kingdom VALUES can transform our lives and our service.
The First Kingdom VALUE is,
Anonymity
In our previous episode, we examined the various kinds of faith present in the healing of the demon-possessed boy. Immediately after that notable miracle, Jesus leaves the region with His disciples. The reason for His secrecy was twofold: uninterrupted teaching time with the Twelve and renewed predictions of His death in Jerusalem. “He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise on the third day.”
As in earlier predictions of His death, He reiterates the rising on the third day. The Twelve were skeptics regarding His death and resurrection, even the three in His inner circle. And just as they had been afraid to ask Him what He meant after their descent from the Mount of Transfiguration, they continued to be afraid to ask Him.
Some may think the concept of anonymity is misplaced, especially applied to Jesus. After all, He attracted massive crowds of people wherever He went. But did you ever consider that Jesus never did things intentionally to be noticed by others?
Isaiah wrote, “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold… He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street” Isaiah 42:1 and 2. Jesus’ physical appearance also tended toward anonymity. Here are more words from Isaiah. “He has no form or comeliness, and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him…” Isaiah 53:2 and 3.
When the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, Judas told them, “The one that I kiss, He’s the one you need to arrest.” He evidently blended in with those around Him in appearance and dress. His goal was to point people to His Father, not to Himself.
Our bent toward selfishness leads us to place too much emphasis on physical beauty. Physical beauty is often used to manipulate people into serving us. People should be attracted to our character more than our appearance. Our radiant countenance should draw people’s attention to our faces. I believe that is what attracted people to Jesus.
Can you and I embrace the kingdom value of anonymity?
Another Kingdom VALUE is,
Humility
To the unredeemed, humility is not a virtue; it is often misunderstood as a weakness. We are born with a bent toward pride; only a genuine encounter with Christ can change that.
Humility is closely related to anonymity. Would you have struggled to exercise humility if you were a follower of a miracle-working Rabbi? I would have! After all, Jesus has many followers, but He picked me as one of His small group of twelve. I must be exceptional!
When the disciples and Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, Jesus asked them, “What were you arguing about among yourselves as we traveled?” Their response was silence. Most likely, they were ashamed that He discovered their rivalry about who would be the greatest in His kingdom.
So, Jesus gathers the Twelve around Him and says, “If anyone wishes to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” Imagine their shock. Everyone knows that if you want to be first, you must put yourself forward! Jesus’ kingdom is genuinely an upside-down kingdom.
To illustrate His words, He picks up the child, making him the center of attention. We know that the Twelve didn’t consider children important. Picture the child sitting on Jesus’ lap, oblivious to prideful thoughts or actions. What a rebuke to the attitudes of the Twelve.
This humble, simple trust is the condition for entering the kingdom. “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven,” Matthew 18:3. Do you value the children in your life?
Are you willing to be seen as the least in heaven’s kingdom and serve without recognition? I think of the words of Philippians 2:5. “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”
Jesus had every right to be first and expect to be treated as royalty. Yet He died on a Roman cross like a criminal, freely giving His life for our sins. Oh, the irony! The spotless Lamb of God lowered Himself to redeem us, wretched, hopeless sinners. This is the kingdom value of humility, and it leads us naturally to the final value in our text.
The Final Kingdom VALUE is,
Inclusivity
As Jesus teaches the Twelve, and they view the child on Jesus’ lap, John’s mind is active. Something is bothering him. “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.”
Jesus responded to John’s statement: “Stop hindering him because no one who works a miracle in my name will carelessly speak evil against me. Because the one that is not against us is for us. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
This is the kingdom value of inclusivity. It is the universal brotherhood of all genuine Believers. It crosses all barriers of race, class, sex, and economic status. Every service done in the name of Christ for His glory will receive a reward, no matter how small.
If the church is to be victorious, all Believers must work together. Paul wrote in Romans 12, “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,so we, being many, are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them…”
How human of us to be like John, to want to protect our turf! I find it a challenge to embrace my biblical convictions and applications wholeheartedly and without apology while humbly admitting that I don’t have exclusive rights to the truth. While I may disagree with some details about how you live out your faith in Jesus, I know God uses diverse people to accomplish His plans and purposes. If you’re not violating clear biblical principles and commands, I must accept them as legitimate. That is the message in this text.
In summary, we must be as inclusive as possible while maintaining the exclusivity that the Scriptures and Jesus demand.
So, what about you and me? Are we willing to be “unknown” in the eyes of the world or even in the community of Christ-followers? Or do we seek attention and prominence?
Are we willing to adopt the ethos of Jesus when He said, “I did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life a ransom for many?” Are we willing to confess with John the Baptist, “He must increase, I must decrease?”
Are we willing to accept the diversity of the global Body of Christ and recognize that all who genuinely embrace faith in Him have a role in building His church? Are we willing to celebrate the efforts of others to share the Gospel, even when those efforts may overshadow our own?
If you and I can understand and embrace these kingdom values, our service to Christ will be authentic, powerful, and effective. May God help us to become more like Jesus!
Thanks, J. Mark, for reviewing these three kingdom values. Thinking about that last point, J Mark said, “It’s a kingdom of inclusivity, a brotherhood of all genuine Believers that crosses all barriers of race, class, gender, and economic status.” This is incredible; there is nothing else like His kingdom. Nothing has stood the test of time and continues to grow and revolutionize cultures.
Has His kingdom changed your allegiance? Has “seeking His kingdom first” revolutionized your life? We would love to hear more about your story. Our email address is hope@heraldsofhope.org. Or you can contact us via our website. Go to Heraldsofhope.org. There you will find “contact us,” under the partner tab on the top right. Click that to message us directly. We would love to hear from you.
Thanks so much for listening. The life of Jesus was centered on His kingdom, and he told us, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” As you go, may this be your focus and goal.
