Mark 9:35

9:35 Jesus sat down, assuming the role of a teacher (see 4:1-2; 12:41; Matt 5:1; Luke 4:20; 5:3). True greatness in God’s Kingdom involves being the servant of everyone else, not the master, as Jesus would make clear by his own example in Mark 10:45.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mar 9:35. Καθίσας, ἐφώνησε, τοὺς δώδεκα, sitting down, He called, the Twelve) solemnly.—ἔσχατος—διάκονος, 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 ἔσται 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.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar 9:35 . καὶ καθίσας , etc.: every word here betokens a deliberate attempt to school the disciples in humility. The Master takes His seat ( καθίσας ), calls His scholars with a magisterial tone ( ἐφώνησεν , for various senses in which used, vide references, Mat 20:32 ) the Twelve ( τοὺς δ .), called to an important vocation, and needing thorough discipline to be of service in it. εἴ τις θέλει , etc.: the direct answer to the question under discussion who the greatest? = greatness comes by humility ( ἔσχατος ), and service ( διάκονος ).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Matthew’s 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 Saviour’s 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.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And he sat down, and called the twelve. He sat down, with the authority of the great Teacher, to inculcate solemnly a fundamental principle of the Christian life. If any man would be first he shall be last of all, and minister of all. These words are capable of two interpretations. They might be regarded as analogous to our Lord"s words elsewhere, "He that exalteth himself shall be abased;" as though they indicated the penalty which attaches to unworthy ambition. But it is surely far more natural to regard them as pointing out the way to real greatness, namely, by humble service for Christ"s sake.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Let him be the least of all - Let him abase himself the most.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

35. Servant of all. The two conditions of true greatness are humility and service; not to be the servant of friends, or kindred, or of a class, or even of church members, but of all, like Christ.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

35. καθίσας ἐφώνησεν τοὺς δώδεκα. Mk alone has this picturesque detail. He commonly sat to teach (see on Mar 13:3), but here He may be resting after the journey.

Εἴ τις θέλει. If any man desireth to be first.

ἔσται πάντων ἔσχατος. This does not mean that the result of striving to be first is degradation, but that the way to be first is self-suppression and service (Mar 10:43-44); de humilitate ad summa crescimus (Cypr. De zelo, 10). This saying is echoed in Ep. of Polycarp 5; see on Mar 14:38.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

35.] See Mat 20:26, and note.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

35. πάντων ἔσχατος καὶ π. δίακονος—he shall be last of all, and servant of all. This is the way to be great among the disciples of Jesus. It does not point out the penalty of ambition, as we might gather from the certain disapproval of the ordinary ambition by Jesus, but the way of satisfying Christian ambition. But the method is a paradox, like the beatification of sorrow. The Christian way to be first is to be last, to fall to the rear, to efface yourself. But it is not only humility that is demanded, but service. This again is a paradox, since primacy means dominion, the faculty not of serving, but of levying service on others. But these things, humility and service, in the kingdom of God, not only lead to greatness, they are greatness, i.e. they are the supreme marks of the Christian quality. And it is one of the signs that the world is becoming a seat of the kingdom of God, that rulers, leaders, employers, and others, are beginning to recognize this idea of service as the meaning of their position.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.