Mark 9:33-37

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.”

Also found in Matthew 18:1-5 and Luke 9:46-48.

the house (v.33) — Peter’s home in Capernaum, where Jesus and the twelve lived when they were in that city.

they kept silent (v.34) = lit. “they kept on being quiet”

Jesus had just told them of His coming death, and they didn’t ask Him about it. Instead, they argued amongst themselves about which would have the greatest rank in the coming kingdom.

if (v.35) — not a conditional “if,” but a fulfilled condition — “since you desire to be first …”

servant (v.35) = one who ministers to another

child (v.36) — The answer to the question as to who is greatest is found in the character of the child, “the most childlike and trustful, the least self-conscious and self-sufficient. He who recognizes and welcomes such, because he sees in them the type of character which Christ Himself approved and exhibited, recognizes and welcomes Christ Himself — is a true and loyal disciple. — Wuest, page 189.

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It was a sweet and gentle prudence, which had not corrected them publicly nor while their tempers were still ruffled, nor in the language of severe rebuke, for by the way they had no only reasoned but disputed one with another, who was the greatest.

Language of especial honour had been addressed to Peter. Three had become possessed of a remarkable secret on the Holy Mount, concerning which hints on one side, and surmises on the other, may easily have excited jealousy. The failure of the nine to cast out the devil would also, as they were not humbled, render them irritable and self-asserting.

But they held their peace. No one asserted his right to answer on behalf of all. Peter, who was so willingly their spokesman at other times, did not vindicate his boasted pre-eminence now. The claim which seemed so reasonable while they forgot Jesus, was a thing of blush for in His presence. And they, who feared to ask Him of His own sufferings, knew enough to feel the contrast between their temper, their thoughts, and His. — Chadwick, page 252.

The issue here isn’t whether the apostles will have lofty rank in the kingdom — they will (Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:30). The issue is their attitude about, and motivation for, service.