Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
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As I was packing on Wednesday I came across an old paperback from 1973.
(It has become painfully aware that I do save things for apparently no reason.)
This paper back was the Guinness Book of World Records from 1973.
Should have tossed it but . . .
well, I do save things for apparently no reason.
The book (and future editions) contains records like
Largest cowboy boot sculpture
Most teeth in the mouth
Largest hot dog cart
Tallest married couple
Some people seemed to be obsessed with records and record breaking.
Just this past week Milwaukee Brewer’s outfielder Christian Yelich was the first baseball player in 100 years to hit for the cycle twice in one season against the same team.
Clay Matthews seems to be trying to break the record of most roughing the quarter back penalties that could cost you the game.
It should not come as a surprise then that even Jesus’ own disciples were wondering about superiority when they were arguing about “Who was the greatest.”
Not a surprise . . .
but disappointing nevertheless especially their timing.
This discussion takes place near the end of Jesus’ ministry.
He is preparing his disciples for a world changing event that is about to take place.
We consider the text.
This takes place shortly after Jesus was transfigured and his disciples had seen his glory.
Although he was very popular and large crowds often came out to be with him, Jesus chooses to be secluded so that he can teach his disciples without being interrupted or distracted.
Modern day example would be a retreat or how some companies intentional take a media break for a week at a resort.
The lesson could not have been more profound.
He taught about his upcoming death and resurrection.
This is the second time he teaches them but they are having a hard time grasping or wanting to deal with what he meant.
It also frightened them so they avoided the subject.
But this does not mean that they weren’t thinking about things.
As they considered the future, they argued behind his back about who was the greatest.
(Matthew reports that they came to Jesus and asked him so it isn’t clear just how the subject came up between them and Jesus.
Perhaps it was discussed several times.)
For our purposes we stay with Mark’s account.
Who is the greatest?
I can’t help but think of Mohammed Ali on this one.
When I Googled the phrase, one of the responses was the top ten sports figures of all times.
He is listed there as number 2 although he boasted he WAS the greatest.
Muhammad Ali will be a controversial choice for second place in this list as he is often regarded as the greatest sports person of all time.
Ali competed in some of the greatest fights in boxing history, including The Fight of the Century, The Rumble in the Jungle, and the Thrilla in Manila.
He was also famous for his political stances, and Ali was stripped of his heavyweight title after refusing to be conscripted into the US military to fight in the Vietnam War.
Arguably more famous than all of this, however, are Ali's timeless quotes.
"Floats like a butterfly, sting like a bee", "Joe Frazier is so ugly that when he cries, the tears turn around and go down the back of his head" are among the dozens of one-liners that Ali is famous for.
But perhaps the quote that best sums up Muhammad Ali and why he deserves his place on our Top 10 Greatest Sports People of All Time is as follows: "I'm not the greatest; I'm the double greatest.
Not only do I knock 'em out, I pick the round."
The disciples were not debating which of them was the best athlete but which of them would have the positions of authority when Jesus rose again and ushered in his new kingdom.
They were still under the impression that the kingdom of God would be an earthly kingdom.
What would it mean to be the greatest in such a kingdom?
Most talented.
Most powerful.
Most authority.
Ruler of largest area.
All worldly pursuits and accomplishments.
Application: Even today we may slip into some wrong ideas about what it means to be a great Christian.
Is it the one who has the most influence in the local congregation?
Is it the biggest contributor who seeks to control through money?
Is it the most talented musician, most knowledgeable teacher, most dynamic preacher, most compassionate person.
We consider certain members to be pillars of the congregation and others of little or no significance.
We judge a person’s ministry based on the size of their church.
I heard once that pastors of small congregations deserved to be there because they had little or no talent.
This from a WELS pastor of a large church who must of at least thought subconsciously that he maybe wasn’t the greatest but he was certainly greater than others.
Well, in that line of reasoning neither your pastor nor our congregation is all that great.
We may feel not only worth less than others but at times worthless.
But this is NOT kingdom culture.
Jesus would often say and teach that whoever exalts himself with be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
St. Paul would later teach on where true greatness is derived from.
In Mark Jesus teaches by example what it means to be great in the kingdom of God.
Our greatness does not come from what other do for us but on what we do for others.
Our greatness is defined by our humble service.
As an illustration he used children which were not empowered as they are now.
The were considered to be the least influential of people and in some cases a commodity.
Here he emphasizes humble service by welcoming them.
On another occasion he applauds the faith of children and that we are great when we trust in God’s word without doubt or questioning.
Jesus showed himself to be the greatest but doing the most humble thing of all.
He willingly submitted to suffering and death so that we would be saved.
As a result, we cannot argue that he is the greatest for he alone is the savior of the world.
He used his greatness to serve and teaches us to do likewise.
This teaching comes in the next chapter which shows that some lessons take longer to teach than others.
Conclusion: One of the problems the disciples had was comparing themselves to each other and vying to be considered the greatest.
The Guinness Book of World Records reminds us that we still compare and seek out superlatives.
Perhaps in the past you have compared your pastor with other pastors and will do so in the future.
Perhaps you judge others based on your own opinion of yourself.
Well, in God’s eyes often the greatest are those others consider to be the least.
(Empowering the child)
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