God’s grace, peace
and mercy be with you. My sermon title is Dumb Disciples Deliver. My
focus is Mark 9:35, where we read, “He sat down and called the
twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all
and servant of all.” Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist
wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of
the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to
hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our
hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity.
Amen.
Dumb Disciples
Deliver.[1] You may never hear another
sermon entitled Dumb Disciples Deliver. As I unpack the definition
of the words and relate them to the Gospel and our lives, you will agree that
dumb disciples deliver.
First,
definitions. We define dumb as mute or lacking the power of speech or
temporarily unable to speak. Humans consider animals dumb because they
cannot communicate as we do. Gabriel struck dumb Zechariah, John the Baptist’s
father, because he doubted.
In Old
German thumb meant both mute and stupid. The latter meaning
made its way into Modern German. Subsequently, in Modern English, the German
word dumm became synonymous with our word for foolish or ignorant.
Disciples.
Disciple comes from the Latin word discipulus, meaning pupil or
follower. Its root word, discere, means to learn. We define
disciple as one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of
another. We refer to those who belonged to Jesus’ inner circle as
disciples.
Early in his
public ministry, Jesus called his disciples. In Mark, we read, “Passing
alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew … casting a net into the
sea. … Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of
men.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” Later,
James and John followed him. Many people became disciples of Jesus, and
many disciples turned away and no longer walked with him.
After Jesus called
his first disciples, he “went up on the mountain and called to him
those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he
also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out
to preach and have authority to cast out demons.”
Jesus’ method of
choosing disciples differed from the ways of Jewish rabbis or Greek
philosophers. In his day, Jewish students sought rabbis, and Greek teachers
enticed students. Jesus alone chose these twelve from among his followers. No
patrimony or politics here.
Note that Mark
wrote, “that they might be with him.” Jesus primarily
chose these Twelve disciples for fellowship, indicating his human need for a
support group. Secondly, they witnessed Jesus’ vision of the Kingdom of God
through their preaching, teaching, miracles and martyrdom. In short, disciples
witnessed to the world Jesus’ vision of the Kingdom.
We move to
deliver. Jimmy John’s, Papa John’s, Grub Hub, Door Dash and dozens of other
restaurants will deliver food to you table. UPS, FedEx, Amazon and the Post
Office deliver to our doorsteps dog food and dietary supplements, prescriptions
and packages large and small. I once worked as a delivery driver for a catering
company. Indeed, sending something to a recipient is the primary definition of
deliver.
Deliver has other
meanings. Doctors and nurses delivered us, our children and grandchildren into
the world. We hope our candidate can deliver a speech; our team delivers a
championship or our new car delivers on gas mileage.
Deliver comes from
the Latin word deliberare, specifically from two words: de meaning
away and liberare meaning to free. Christ delivered us
from Satan, sin and death. He taught us to pray, “Deliver us from evil.”
Enough for
defining dumb, disciples and deliver. How do these words relate to our Gospel?
Today’s passage
opens on Jesus’ turf, Galilee – from which he called disciples to follow him,
through which he led them to Jerusalem, and where they returned after he rose.
The journey through Galilee was secret. Because Jesus was teaching his
disciples, he wanted to escape attention.
This passage was
the second of three passion predictions. Each prediction varied slightly. If we
examine the differences between the first and second, we notice what’s gone and
what’s new.
What’s gone?
The emphasis on the necessity of the passion and the
resurrection, and references to the suffering of the
Son of Man and his rejection by elders, chief priests and the scribes.
What’s new?
Instead of repeating that the Son of Man would suffer, Jesus declared that the
Son of Man would be delivered into the hands of men. Like
his earlier expression of suffering many things, to be delivered alluded to the
suffering servant in Isaiah, showing that his passion was according to
God’s plan and purpose. Because “delivered” was commonly
used to describe the fate of the prophets, Mark employed it not only to
describe Jesus’ suffering and death, but also the arrest of John the Baptist
and the betrayal of Judas.
Early Christians
understood delivered as an expression of the divine necessity
of Jesus’ death, and of their own inevitable experience in the service of
the gospel. Paul wrote in Romans that God did not spare His own
Son, but delivered Him over for us all. Acts recorded Paul’s words
to his brothers in Rome, “I was delivered as a prisoner from
Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.” In short, we understand
that God delivered Jesus into the hands of men.
We understand that
God delivered Jesus into the hands of men, but the disciples failed to understand.
The phrase – “they did not understand” – normally meant ignorant, but here it
meant incomprehension and fear. Frightened by Jesus’ remarks, the disciples did
not even ask him what he meant.
The irony is clear
in the next segment, when Jesus caught his disciples jockeying for position in
God’s kingdom by debating who was the greatest. The Great One said that the
route of self-sacrifice, not self-aggrandizement, is the way to go, but the
disciples headed full speed in the other direction. Jesus spoke of passion;
they discussed leadership succession.
When asked to
explain their discussion, the disciples were struck dumb with embarrassment.
They were not only dumb, but also blind. Jesus fixed his eyes on his rejection
and martyrdom, while the disciples cast theirs on status and leadership.
Failing to understand Jesus’ vocation as Son of Man and how this involved them,
they continued their discussion down the road when James and John boldly asked
what each disciple desired – to sit at Jesus’ left and right in his glory. In
today’s passage, Jesus challenged the point of their discussion – the true
nature of Christian greatness.
Jesus did not
despise the desire to be first, but in God’s kingdom, his definition of
greatness stood the world’s ordering of it on its head and radically challenged
a fundamental assumption about achievement.
Because it was
vital for the Twelve and Mark’s fellow Christians in Rome to understand Jesus’
teaching, he recalled all the important details. The setting was Capernaum,
Jesus’ adopted home. The house – where teaching in intimate privacy between
Jesus and the Twelve could occur – conveyed that Jesus directed his words
primarily to committed disciples.
Finally, as he
pulled close the Twelve, Jesus sat down.
Sitting indicated important teaching. In Matthew, we read, “Jesus
said to the crowds and his disciples, ‘The scribes and Pharisees sit on Moses’
seat, so do whatever they tell you.” Jews understood that sitting
while teaching meant one was making a serious point.
His teaching was
so radical that it needed constant repetition to the Twelve and early
Christians. Jesus characterized greatness in God’s Kingdom through lowliness
and service, like that of a domestic servant.
Jesus identified
himself with the child – the lowliest, least and servant of all. A child ranked
lowest on the social scale. A child had no self-determination and was not
concerned with greatness; nor was Jesus. On the other hand, his disciples were
preoccupied with greatness.
Here, Jesus did
not instruct the Twelve to become like the child, but to welcome the child as
they welcomed a friend or guest. His teaching reversed the ancient protocol
where slaves and children, indeed all subordinate members of the household,
were to serve the male head of the family. Jesus not only identified with the
helpless and most vulnerable family members so that they may be helped, but
also taught his closest disciples, the Twelve, to rid themselves of the usual
hubris and power struggles for dominant positions, and serve even a child, a
humiliating task in the minds of some.”
So, how do the
words relate to today’s Gospel? … Eventually, Jesus’ dumb disciples delivered.
They delivered the Good News of salvation by preaching Christ crucified and
practicing his teachings. Like Jesus, they were delivered up for the sake of
the Gospel. Although it took the Resurrection and Pentecost, the disciples
delivered the Gospel and were delivered up because they followed the Risen
Lord. Called out of Galilee into Jerusalem to witness his suffering, death and
resurrection, on Pentecost the Holy Spirit impelled them to deliver the Good
News of salvation.
Now that we
unpacked each word’s definition and related them to the Gospel, we ask how my
phrase relates to life today.
A few weeks years,
I attended the Global Leadership Summit. Apart from the barrage promoting
speakers’ books and the Summit’s app, I took away one concept – Pastor Albert
Tate’s dumb ideas.
Tate said you
never know when God is going to put His hand on a dumb idea. For example: Before
Pharaoh, Moses insisted upon freedom for his people. It’s a dumb idea for a
fugitive to stand before the nation’s leader and insist upon freedom, but God
put his hand on this dumb idea. Against Goliath, the shepherd boy David felled
him with a slingshot. It’s a dumb idea to face a giant outfitted in armor and
battle gear with only a strap of leather and a few smooth stones, but God put
his hand on this dumb idea. Tate then reminded us that Jesus specialized in
using dumb ideas.
Jesus' problem was
disciples who tried to show him how to do things correctly. In Mark 6, we read
that after Jesus taught the 5,000, his disciples said, “Send them
away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves
something to eat.” Then Jesus said something very dumb. “You
give them something to eat.” They had five loaves and two fish.
Then, without consulting his staff, Jesus commanded everyone to sit, took the
loaves and fish, looked to heaven, said a blessing, and gave them to the
disciples who set them before the people. All ate and were satisfied.
Like the
disciples, we, with our worldly wisdom and street smarts, would have suggested
a better plan. … So, how do I take Jesus’ command to welcome a child in his
name? How do I fulfill his lesson to be last and servant of all? How do I apply
his teaching regarding greatness in God’s kingdom? How do I dedicate myself as
a dumb disciple and deliver the Good News of Christ crucified?
Folks, maybe you
are a leader in your community, maybe you sway opinions or execute authority,
maybe people count your vote and consult your voice. Maybe not. Being Christian
is not so much about leadership, but discipleship. Be a dumb disciple of Christ
Jesus and you will deliver the Good News through the actions you speak. Those actions
feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, visit the sick and imprisoned. Welcome
the unwelcome and unnoticed in Jesus’ name, and you welcome the one who sent
Christ.
When you do, do
not think highly about yourself, but pray Martin Luther’s prayer posted in many
churches. Lord God, You have appointed me as a Bishop and Pastor in
Your Church, but you see how unsuited I am to meet so great and difficult a
task. If I had lacked Your help, I would have ruined everything long ago.
Therefore, I call upon You: I wish to devote my mouth and my heart to you; I
shall teach the people. I myself will learn and ponder diligently upon Your
Word. Use me as Your instrument - but do not forsake me, for if ever I should
be on my own, I would easily wreck it all. Amen.
Brothers and
sisters, imitate Luther’s humility. Devote your heart to our Triune God so that
he can use you as his instrument, and when you do, may the peace of God that
surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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