我可以作首先的吗？
耶稣再次告诉祂的门徒，祂将会被捕、受害、然后从死里复活，可是门徒们却不明白。所以，为了不面对这个令人感到非常不安的问题，他们便转而争论他们中间谁是最大的，藉此分散大家的注意力。
为了回应他们的争论，耶稣坐下来。我很喜欢这里描述的这个细节。
门徒正在彼此互撕来玩“占山为王”的游戏，与此形成对比，圣经告诉我们，耶稣坐下来。犹太教师都习惯坐着授课，耶稣藉此让门徒看见，正当他们运用手段向上爬时，他们真正的需要乃是低头聆听祂的话。
耶稣教导说，在神的国中对于伟大的定义和我们通常的认识刚刚相反。凡愿意作首先的，必须“作众人的用人。”藉着祂的一生和为我们受死，耶稣表明祂是神的儿子 － 是最伟大的仆人。
这是一个极为重要又极难领悟的功课 － 如果你禀赋与我相仿，这将是一个需要你穷其一生去学习的功课。我们很容易便会把自己与别人相比，以为自己高人一等。然而，耶稣却邀请我们认识到，祂的使命乃是要忠心服事，甚至愿意为服事牺牲自己的性命。
当我们学习耶稣的话语和榜样时，我们自己争强好胜的心便会变成谦卑仆人的心了。你正在什么事上实践从自我中心转变为服事人呢？
主啊，求你因耶稣的缘故塑造我成为一个仆人。阿们。
马可福音 9:30-37
30他们离开那地方，经过加利利，耶稣不愿意人知道。
31于是教训门徒，说：“人子将要被交在人手里，他们要杀害他，被杀以后过三天他要复活。”
32门徒却不明白这话，又不敢问他。
33他们来到迦百农，耶稣在屋里问门徒说：“你们在路上议论的是什么？”
34门徒不作声，因为他们在路上彼此争论谁为大。
35耶稣坐下，叫十二个门徒来，说：“若有人愿意做首先的，他必做众人末后的，做众人的用人。”
36于是领过一个小孩子来，叫他站在门徒中间，又抱起他来，对他们说：
37“凡为我名接待一个像这小孩子的，就是接待我；凡接待我的，不是接待我，乃是接待那差我来的。”
Can I Be First?
“Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” - Mark 9:35
Jesus again tells his disciples that he will be arrested and killed and then rise from the dead. But the disciples don’t understand. So instead of dealing with that very uncomfortable issue, they let themselves get distracted in a dispute about which of them is the greatest.
In response to this, Jesus takes a seat. I love that little descriptive detail.
In contrast to the disciples who are climbing over each other to play “king of the hill,” the Bible tells us that Jesus sat down. It was customary for Jewish teachers to sit down while teaching, and in this way Jesus showed his disciples that in the midst of all their jockeying for position, they really needed to listen to him.
Jesus teaches that in the kingdom of God, the definition of greatness is reversed from what we would expect. Whoever wants to be first must be “the servant of all.” And by his life and death for our sake, Jesus shows that he, the Son of God, is the ultimate servant.
This is a profoundly important and hard lesson to learn—and if you are like me, it’s taking a lifetime to learn. It is so easy to want to compare ourselves to others, thinking we can come out on top. But Jesus invites us to see that his mission was to serve God so faithfully that he would give up his very life for our sake.
As we learn from Jesus’ words and example, our personal competitiveness turns to servanthood. In what ways are you turning from self to serving?
Make me a servant, Lord, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳
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