Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 9:35
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.
35. And he sat down ] Observe the many graphic and pathetic touches in this and the following verse. (1) He sits down; (2) He calls the Twelve to Him; (3) He takes a little child, and places it in the midst of them; (4) He takes it into His arms, and then He speaks to them.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Matthews recital of this passage expounds Mark; he saith Christ said, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of God. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. Luke also relates this passage something more shortly, but without any contradiction to what is said by the other evangelists. The sense is plain: our Saviours design was to check the ambition and ignorance of his disciples, never more unseasonably showed than now, when a suffering time was so hard at hand. He at first did it by word of mouth, telling them,
If any man desire to be first, he shall be last of all, the least valuable in the eyes of God, and he would have them value such a person least. Humility is that which most exalts a soul in the eyes of Christ, and setteth it highest in his esteem. But it is observable our Lord doth not say, he that is the first, but he who desireth to be first. God is a God of order, not of confusion; there can be no order without a first as well as a last. But Christians (ministers especially, for he is here speaking to the twelve) ought to be sought out for, not to seek places of preeminence and dignity: he that is first in seeking them, is usually last as to any true worth deserving them, and ought last to obtain them. Then he teacheth them humility by the type of a little child, which he setteth in the midst of them, telling them they must be like that little child, (saith Matthew,) not in all things, but in the want of ambition, in a carelessness as to the great things of this life. And whosoever entertained or showed kindness to such a one, Christ would take it as done to himself; and what kindness was showed him, reached not to him only, but to his Father who sent him. There are also other things in little children commended to us in holy writ, but this is manifestly what our Saviour here intends.
See Poole on “Mat 18:1” and following verses to Mat 18:5.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
35. If any man desire to be first,the same shall be last of all, and servant of allthat is, “lethim be” such: he must be prepared to take the last and lowestplace. See on Mr 10:42-45.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he sat down,…. As their master, as one having authority; and in order to examine into this matter, and pass judgment upon it:
and called the twelve; all the disciples, who though they might not be all engaged in this dispute, nor equally criminal, yet were all, possessed of the same notion; and therefore Christ calls them all unto him, what he had to say, being pertinent unto them all:
and saith unto them, if any man desire to be first; to have the pre-eminence, and be in the chief place in the kingdom of the Messiah,
the same shall be last of all, and servant of all: his pride and vanity shall be checked; his ambitious views shall be frustrated; instead of being first, he shall be last; and instead of having superior reverence and respect, he shall be debased, and treated with neglect and contempt; and instead of being the master over others, shall be the servant of all. Some copies read, “let him be”; and so the Persic version, “let him be last, and minister to every one”; and the Ethiopic thus, “let him subject himself to all, and be servant to all”; for the only way to preferment in Christ’s kingdom, or in the Gospel dispensation, is humility and meekness, and performing the lowest services to all, with diligence and cheerfulness.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He sat down and called the twelve ( ). Deliberate action of Jesus to handle this delicate situation. Jesus gives them the rule of greatness: “If any man would be first () he shall be last () of all, and minister () of all.” This saying of Christ, like many others, he repeated at other times (Mark 10:43; Matt 23:8; Luke 22:24). Mt 18:2 says that he called a little child, one there in the house, perhaps Peter’s child. Lu 9:47 notes that he “set him by his side.” Then Jesus
taking him in his arms (, aorist middle participle, late Greek word from as in Lu 2:28) spoke again to the disciples.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And He sat down and called the twelve,” (kai kathisas ephonesen tous dodeka) “And sitting down He called the twelve,” the apostles, for an intimate moment of council and caution.
2) “And saith unto them,” (kai legei autous) “And addressed them,” while seated, as follows:
3) “If any man desire to be first,” (ei tis thelei protos einae) “If anyone really wants to be first,” to have priority of rank, position, or honor (from God), or preeminence among men, in religious matters, Mat 20:24; Mar 10:43.
4) “The same shall be last of all,” (estai panton eschatos) “That one shall be last of all,” in order, rank, or position of honor among men; God’s way up is down! The highest exaltation of Jesus followed His descent from heaven, to the cross, and into the grave, 2Co 8:9; Php_2:5-11.
5) “And a servant of all.” (kai panton diakonos) ”And a servant of all, in their common needs,” much as Paul considered himself, 1Co 9:22; 1Co 15:9; Mat 20:27-28;
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
‘And he sat down and called the twelve, and he says to them, “If any man would be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” ’
The words of the few clearly disturbed Him. He recognised that there were strong feelings among them about their own greatness, and that this probably applied to all the twelve, so He called the twelve together and ‘sat down’ to teach them as a Rabbi would sit down to teach his pupils (or simply perhaps because He was tired). Then He explained what true greatness consisted of. It consisted of taking the lower place, indeed seeking the last place. It consisted in serving others (see Mar 10:43-44; Mat 20:25-27; Mat 23:10-12). It consisted in counting others better than themselves (Php 2:3).
But the point, of course, was that such an attitude had to be genuine. If they merely did it to be ‘humble’ it would be no good. The truly great man does not make a show of being humble, he is humble because he knows the truth about himself. (Today the one who insists on washing other people’s feet is often not as humble as the one who allows it to be done, unless of course there is some genuine need for the feet to be washed. It is so often only outward show. Nothing is worse than ostentation. In those days people washed men’s feet because it was necessary and because it was the task of a servant, not in order to achieve greatness).
Matthew tell us that at some point the disciples asked, “Who then is greatest under the Kingly Rule of God?” (Mat 18:1). And in Matthew that had led on to similar sayings to those that follow in Mar 9:36.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
35 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.
Ver. 35. He sat down ] Tanquam serii quicquam traditurus: the teacher sat, the learners lay at his feet. See Trapp on “ Mat 5:2 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
35. ] See Mat 20:26 , and note.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mar 9:35 . , etc.: every word here betokens a deliberate attempt to school the disciples in humility. The Master takes His seat ( ), calls His scholars with a magisterial tone ( , for various senses in which used, vide references, Mat 20:32 ) the Twelve ( .), called to an important vocation, and needing thorough discipline to be of service in it. , etc.: the direct answer to the question under discussion who the greatest? = greatness comes by humility ( ), and service ( ).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
sat down = took His seat (as Teacher).
called. Denoting solemnity in so doing.
If any man, &c. The condition is assumed as a fact. App-118.
desire. Greek. thelo App-102.
shall be = will be.
servant. Greek diakonos, a voluntary servant. Compare Eng. “deacon”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
35.] See Mat 20:26, and note.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mar 9:35. , , , sitting down, He called, the Twelve) solemnly.–, the last-servant) These two words differ. He who is the last is not by that very fact proved to be a servant. Therefore the has rather this force, he ought to be, than, he shall be, by way of punishment. For a servant [minister] implies something of a voluntary character.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
If: Mar 10:42-45, Pro 13:10, Jer 45:5, Mat 20:25-28, Luk 14:10, Luk 14:11, Luk 18:14, Jam 4:6
Reciprocal: Mat 20:26 – it Mar 10:43 – whosoever
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
5
True greatness is the subject of this speech of Jesus. In earthly kingdoms it is usual for men to seek prominence and try to become great from the standpoint of authority over others. In the kingdom of heaven it is just the opposite of that. One reason is that this kingdom is an absolute monarchy, and in such a government any attempt of the citizens to attain to greatness in the nature of authority must be interpreted as an infringement upon the king.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mar 9:35. If any one would, or, desires to, etc. See Mat 20:26; Mat 18:4; Mat 23:12. If the desire is selfish, the plan will fail, he shall be last of all; if he would be truly first then he will take this lower position voluntarily, and be servant of all.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
By seating Himself, Jesus assumed the traditional position of a rabbi. He taught them that greatness in His kingdom depends on sacrificial service. All three synoptic evangelists recorded His words, indicating the importance of this lesson.
"The spirit of service is the passport to eminence in the Kingdom of God, for it is the spirit of the Master Who Himself became diakonos panton ["servant of all"]." [Note: Swete, p. 205.]
The Greek word for servant, diakonos, describes someone who serves willingly. It does not describe the servile status of such a person, which doulos (slave) suggests. The desire to excel need not be unspiritual (cf. 1Ti 3:1). However it must include willingness to put the welfare of others before selfish interests. [Note: See Santos, pp. 20-23, 25.]