Questions Jesus Asked - Week 5: March 22, 2026

Pastor John Benda

Transcript

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Good morning, everybody. It's good to see you. I actually missed you guys last week. Uh, we got the flu at my house. I don't recommend it. I was under the impression that the flu and the flu shot had a gentleman's agreement. But apparently that's not the case this year. So we had to miss last week. I did get to listen to last week's message though, which is a treat. I got to hear from my friend Aaron, who was here, which was super cool. If you missed last week and you also would like to hear the message, you can do what I did. We've had this cool project we've been working on here at the church. We haven't really talked about it much yet. But we have started recording and archiving all of the Sunday messages in like a very simple podcast kind of format. It couldn't be easier. So if you get the flu, or if you just if you're if you're gone for any reason, right, and you want to hear a message you missed, um, or if you were here and you just want to go back and hear something again, or if you want to be able to easily share a message with a friend or family member or whatever, it's really easy. All you have to do is one of two things, okay? One is that you go to the Connect Church website, connectchurchlawrence.com, and click on the button that says media, and there they are. All of the sermons from this series and the last in order. Super easy to get to. You can do that. The other option is if you're kind of a podcast aficionado and you have a place where you like to listen to podcasts, we're on basically all the platforms now: Spotify and uh Amazon, Apple, Good Pods, Castbox, a bunch of things I've never heard of. We're on all those places. So if you like to listen to podcasts, you can find us there. Just search for Connect Church Lawrence and you'll find it. Sound good? Okay, let's get into today's message. We have been memorizing a verse together in this series. I'm not gonna quiz you on it, but I do think we should say it aloud together now. This is this wonderful proverb, Proverbs 18, 2. Would you read it aloud with me? A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion. Amen. I love that. I love that so much because, man, look, some days I'm not in the mood for understanding. Right? I find no pleasure in it today. I don't want to learn any new lessons. I don't want to have my beliefs challenged by some new information. I don't want anyone trying to broaden my perspective. I don't want any internal conflict. I just want to say what I think, and I want someone to listen to me and nod their head approvingly. Right? I just want to be heard, and you know what? I think that's my right as a human being. I think I deserve that much. That's what would delight me today. You ever feel that way? And this proverb is here to say, that's fine, John. Maybe that is your right. Maybe you do deserve that. But do you know what that makes you? Oh, I can be a real fool. Lord have mercy on us when we act the fool, when we choose the foolish delight of airing our own opinions over the God-given pleasure of understanding. Amen. Okay. Uh in related news, I have some opinions I'd like to air today. I'd appreciate if you would all just nod your head approvingly, okay? Let's read today's text. We're in a series called Questions Jesus Asked, in which we read and discuss some questions that Jesus asked. It's very clever. I get a real kick out of today's passage. This one comes to us from the book of Mark in chapter 9. We're gonna begin reading in Mark 9, verse 33. I'm not gonna say anything about it yet. We're just gonna we're just gonna read it. Uh just know Jesus is traveling with his disciples. Okay? Here's what it says. After they arrived at Capernaum and settled in a house, Jesus asked his disciples, What were you discussing out on the road? But they didn't answer because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else. Then he put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me, but also my Father who sent me. Would you all pray with me this morning? Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. It is good and it is true and it is edifying, and we have much to learn from it. We thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit. Come this morning, Holy Spirit, help us to make sense of what it is you have for us today. We invite you here as we partake together in your word. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay, well, there's something that I love about the Bible. There are several things I love about the Bible, but one of them is that the Bible is full of stories of people who have the right idea, and also stories of people who have the wrong idea. And I don't mean that in a grand cosmic black and white, right and wrong kind of way. I mean that in the way that we would use that phrase colloquially. So-and-so sure has the right idea about something, right? Or so-and-so really has the wrong idea about how that works. Um if you think that 10 p.m. is a good time for you and I to have a serious and meaningful conversation, you have the right idea about me. That's my time of day, man. Let's go, right? If, however, you think that we should talk about something important at 7:30 in the morning, and you think that I will remember the conversation, let alone be civil towards you, you've got the wrong idea. You know what I mean? And I love that the Bible is such a combination of people who have the right idea and people who have the wrong idea. Some people have the right idea about some things and the wrong idea about other things. That's normal, isn't it? Some people have the wrong idea and then they learn something new or they have a new experience with God, and hey, now they've got the right idea. And I love this about the Bible because I can relate to all of that. And I bet you can too. I decided to read the Bible this year, the whole the whole thing, beginning to end, which I haven't done in a while. I'm not really sure what possessed me to do that this year, but uh, you know, it's March, so I'm still kind of in the beginning. Been reading a bunch about Moses lately, okay? And I love that Moses sometimes very much has the right idea about God and sometimes has the wrong idea. Once God said to Moses, Moses, these people are really starting to tick me off. But but you're all right. Uh what if we just wipe them out completely and start over with just you? And Moses says, Yeah, they're kind of starting to tick me off too. But you did make a covenant with them, and you've always been so very merciful to us. I think you should show them mercy. Right? On that day, Moses had the right idea about what God was like. Another time, though, God said, Moses, it sounds like the people need water again, but you're out in the desert. Let's do a miracle. Go talk to that rock, and I'll make water come out of it, and everyone will have some water to drink. And Moses says essentially, Well, uh, last time we needed water, you told me to hit the rock with a stick. That's what worked before. You know, maybe you forgot. You know what, God, don't worry about it. I'll go ahead and correct your mistake for you. I'll just go hit the rock with a stick again. I've got this problem solved. Okay? On that day, Moses had the wrong idea about what God wanted from their relationship. You know what I mean? And if the Bible was just meant to be some kind of instruction manual for us about how to live nice, productive, helpful lives in the modern world, only one of those stories would be in it. But the Bible isn't an instruction manual for us. It's the perfect, irreplaceable word of God presented to us with the human fingerprints of the writers all over it, but without a single flaw or mistake. And in it we get both stories. We get wrong ideas and we get right ideas. And I appreciate it because sometimes a person has the right idea and sometimes he has the wrong idea. The Christians in the first century, they had the right idea about something concerning Jesus. Okay? You know, they didn't have the Bible yet. They had the Hebrew Scripture, what we call the Old Testament, and they had a bunch of letters to pass around, but they were building a theology. They were building orthodox belief, a system of belief as a community in real time. They had great leadership and they had the Holy Spirit keeping them on track, but they needed all the help they could get. And so they did something that would have seemed very natural in a society where most people couldn't read, where very few things were being written down, but it was becoming increasingly important for everyone in the churches to be on the same page. So what are you gonna do in this situation, right? Things aren't getting written down, not everybody reads. We gotta make sure the information is being passed along accurately. What are we gonna do? Well, they made up a lot of poems, hymns, sayings that you could memorize easily and pass around verbally. And sometimes they would set those things to music. Because music is a great vehicle for memory, isn't it? I would almost guarantee it that you still remember every word to whatever your favorite song was when you were 10 years old. I know I do. If you don't think that music is helpful to remember things, then uh I want you to try and experiment, okay? Go find somebody who's lived in Lawrence for 20, 25 years and ask them what the phone number is for pizza shuttle. And then don't be surprised if they sing it to you. Right? Okay, so the churches are trying to make sure that everyone has the right idea about who Jesus is. Okay, well, Paul, meanwhile, is writing a letter to one of these churches, the one in Philippi. He also wants to make sure that they have the right idea about Jesus. And so he says this in Philippians chapter 2. Paul says, Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ, any comfort from his love, any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Remember again, it's very important to him that as the church grows, it stays united. So he goes on. Now, some scholars think Paul wrote it himself, but most scholars believe that what follows was actually one of these hymns that was circulating around the early churches, most likely put to music to help people remember it. Something that was meant to help people have the right idea about Jesus. Here it is. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had, Paul writes. Then here's this song. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges. Some older translations say, he emptied himself. He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross. Therefore, meaning because he humbled himself in obedience to God, here's what happened: God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Wow, that is a song. Now we call this passage uh the Christ hymn, the Christ hymn is what this is called. That's wonderful. So that song that was making the rounds in the early churches, and I'm sure when Paul heard it, he said, Yep, that's the right idea. Let's keep that going. I'm gonna write that down. And I think that hymn was important at the time, not just because it's the right idea about Jesus, which it is, and not just because it's so beautifully written, though it certainly is. I think it was very important because there was another popular idea at the time that was very much the wrong idea about Jesus. And this wrong idea had been growing and flourishing and spreading since long before Jesus even showed up on the scene. In fact, by the time Jesus showed up on the scene, this wrong idea was so well known and so widely accepted that people immediately began to assume some things about Jesus that weren't what he was saying. And Jesus immediately had to begin correcting people's wrong assumptions about what he was like and why he was there, what it all meant. When Jesus showed up on the scene, he announced, I am here to establish a new kingdom. It's a kingdom where things are going to be like they are in heaven. It's not what you would expect, though. Power doesn't mean what you think it means. Success and honor don't mean what you think they mean, but it's going to be wonderful. You know, you know what? Just listen to me, I'll tell you all about it. And the people say, ooh, Jesus. Yes, we've been waiting for this. You know what? Don't worry about it. We don't need you to explain what your kingdom's gonna be like. We know what it's gonna be like. We've literally been waiting for it for generations. We were beginning to think that maybe it wasn't gonna happen, but you're here now. And we know what's gonna happen next. We know what's gonna happen. You are gonna overthrow the oppressive Roman government and reinstate the kingdom of Israel to its former glory, aren't you? Oh, just tell us when you want to start the revolution, Jesus. We're ready. Well, the people's country was occupied by the Romans, right? So their main desire was for the Messiah to come and drive the Romans out. And I think if you could ask the people, hey, what's the what's the precise nature of this kingdom that you think is coming? What kind of kingdom do you want restored exactly? I think the people would say, well, we want it to be like when David was on the throne and Israel was experiencing her greatest glory. Those were the good days. Let's let's have it like that. Well, Jesus taught them differently, of course. He spent three whole years teaching them differently. Luke says in his gospel that Jesus said, the kingdom of God is within you. But the people weren't expecting that kind of kingdom. They were expecting a different kind of kingdom. So what were they looking for exactly? Well, it's fairly simple, actually. They had three things in mind. Okay, there's a a well-known pastor and theologian, Bible teacher named James Montgomery Boyce, who died about 25 years ago, but who wrote a wonderful essay back in the 80s that I read this week. I mentioned that because what I'm about to tell you is going to sound like maybe I'm making a commentary on current events or current politics or something, which is not true. A, I didn't come up with this, and B, it was written before I was born. Okay. But here's what James Montgomery Boyce says the people had in mind in Jesus' day, they had three things in mind. One, they were looking for a political kingdom. Okay? We know this because they keep asking Jesus if he's there to restore the kingdom of Israel. Now, Jesus wanted them to envision something new, something better, something that had never existed before on earth, but that's not what they have in mind. They want to return to something they already know. Make it that way, Jesus. Okay? So they were looking for a political kingdom. Secondly, they were looking for an ethnically restricted kingdom, something that would be specifically for the Jews. They weren't interested in an ethnically diverse kingdom or a Gentile kingdom. They they hated the Gentiles. Now, if you had said, guys, hold on, shouldn't we include the Gentiles? Aren't you being a little, you know, standoffish? They would have said, well, I guess we can include the Gentiles. Gentiles are welcome in the new kingdom as long as they become Jews. Right? So they were looking for a political kingdom, they were looking for an ethnically restricted kingdom, and thirdly, they were looking for a geographically restricted kingdom. Suppose you could ask them, hey, where do you guys think this kingdom should be located? They would have said, no question about it, it has to be Jerusalem. Okay, Jerusalem is God's city. It's where David and Solomon reigned back in the day. It's obviously where the Messiah should reign too. But what about the Greeks? What about the Romans? Well, I guess if they want to be part of the new kingdom, they're welcome too. As long as they come to Jerusalem. Okay, they gotta come to us. Okay? You understand? People were looking for a political kingdom, an ethnically restricted kingdom, and a geographically restricted kingdom. And the problem with all that isn't that it doesn't make sense. It actually makes a lot of sense. The problem is simply that it was the wrong idea. And it is so, so hard to undo a wrong idea and replace it with a right one. Ultimately, it would take all of Jesus' teaching and miracle working, his death, resurrection, and ascension, plus the gift of the Holy Spirit and the good corrective leadership of the early church community to get these people from the wrong idea that the Messiah was there to make them great, to this right idea that we saw in the Christ hymn. This idea that Jesus has been made great because he chose to humble himself in obedience to God. So let's return to today's passage in the book of Mark. We're gonna look at it again with a little bit of context, and I want us to look for two things. Okay? Look for one, the wrong idea about Jesus being there to restore the glory days of the kingdom of Israel and to make all of them great. And also, look for how Jesus points them toward the right idea about what things are actually going to be like in the kingdom he came to establish. Okay, so the disciples have had quite a week. Okay? Here's their week. Three of them got invited to tag along with Jesus to go up the mountain to a meeting he had scheduled with Moses and Elijah, both of whom have been dead for hundreds of years. So there's that. Okay? And when the meeting is over, Jesus tells those three disciples, uh, don't tell anybody about this until after I've risen from the dead. So there's also that. The three of them and Jesus then go back down the mountain to meet up with all the disciples, the rest of the disciples. They find the rest of the disciples in a great big crowd of people who are arguing, okay? Well, it turns out what they're arguing about is that there's a little boy who is possessed by a demon, and the disciples have been trying unsuccessfully to exorcise the demon in front of this huge crowd of people, which includes the boy's father, who I have to imagine is completely distraught over his son's condition, and also probably a little bit annoyed that he's having to deal with Jesus' disciples instead of the man himself. Right? Like, I think I'd like to speak to your manager, please. Anyway, Jesus steps in, he exorcises the demon from the boy, chastises his disciples for not being able to do it themselves, and then disperses the crowd. So there's also that. And then Jesus tells the disciples, hey, let's get away from this crowd. I got something I want to talk to just you guys about. And when they're alone, he says, So here's the plan. Uh I'm gonna be turned over into the hands of my enemies. They're going to kill me, but don't worry about it. Three days later I'm going to rise from the dead. So there's also that. Right? The disciples are having quite a week. And I have to think, they're like, What are you talking about, Jesus? We thought you were here to restore the kingdom of Israel. What is even happening? And the scripture says that the disciples didn't understand what he was saying and that they were afraid to ask him what he meant. It's been it's been that kind of week for them. Okay? So now they're on the move again. They're headed to Capernaum, and it would seem, given their week, that they would have plenty to talk about. Right? Uh, guys, we're not supposed to say anything about this, but we saw Elijah and Moses. Moses, the Elijah and Moses. No, no, no, no, hold on. Before you tell that story, we gotta tell you this story about this demon-possessed kid. This is the craziest thing. Jesus just stepped in. We couldn't, you know what I mean? And also, like, did you guys hear him say what I heard him say? Did he say he's gonna die and come back three days later? Right? Plenty to talk about, it would seem. And yet, here's what we have next in the scripture. This is where we started reading earlier. After they arrived at Capernaum and settled in a house, Jesus asked his disciples, Hey, what were you discussing out there on the road? But they didn't answer because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. Oh my gosh. Just this week they've had transfiguration, exorcism, Jesus predicting his own death and resurrection, and they're arguing about which of them is the greatest. Are they idiots? Are they selfish? I think it's tempting to read that into the story, but no, no, I don't think so. I don't think they're idiots. I don't think they're any more selfish than you or me. They just have the wrong idea. They just have the wrong idea about Jesus. They were getting to know him, right? But they had an idea they just could not seem to let go of. That's why they're arguing. Not because they're selfish, not because they're so selfish that they couldn't see what was happening. They could see it. They could see what was happening. They just had the wrong idea about what it meant. And it is so, so hard to let go of a wrong idea. But look at the kindness and patience of Jesus. He knows what they're, he knows what they're arguing about. He knows. But rather than embarrassing them or chastising them, he waits until he's alone with them and he simply asks, What were you arguing about? And they don't even want to say, right? They don't want to say, Jesus, we are so confused about what we've seen this week. We're seeing these crazy things, and you're talking about dying. We don't know what's happening, we don't know what's going to happen. So we're just doubling down on this idea that you're here to start a political revolution to overthrow the government, and we're arguing about which one of us is going to have the most power when you do that. Right? They can't say that. So they just don't say anything. But Jesus is on a mission to correct this wrong idea, no matter how long it takes, and to replace it with the right idea about who he is and what he was here to do. So he sat down, it says. He called the 12 disciples over to him, and he says, Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else. I keep telling you guys, he says, This kingdom is not what you think it is. You want to be great? That's fine. I won't talk you out of that. You can be great if you want to be great. But here's how you do it: you take last place for yourself voluntarily and serve everyone else. That's what I'm going to do, Jesus says. We read earlier, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross, the Christ hymn tells us. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor. Okay? That's the right idea. That's the right idea, not only about who Jesus is, but about how to be great. Jesus continued teaching them. Here's the rest of this passage. Then he put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me. And anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me, but also my Father who sent me. The disciples assumed, and not unreasonably, that success would be defined by how many people serve them. But Jesus wants them to know that success in his kingdom is defined by how many people they serve. They're not idiots, and they're not any more selfish than average. They just have the wrong idea. And it is so, so hard to let go of the wrong idea. Remember what James Montgomery Boyce said were the three things that people were looking for? What they were expecting this new restored kingdom to be. They were looking for a political kingdom, something that would restore them to the position of social and political privilege that they remembered from another earlier time. They were looking for an ethnically restricted kingdom, something that would center and prioritize them, but would make no provision for people who were ethnically different. And they were looking for a geographically restricted kingdom, something that would put a certain place first. I think that 2,000 years later, these things still sound like a good idea to some folks. And I think they're still the wrong idea about the kingdom of heaven, as Jesus explained it. What about a political kingdom? Well, Jesus taught that political leaders and systems would come and go, but that his kingdom would endure. And not only were the disciples not restored to political and social positions of privilege, most of them were executed as enemies of the state. What about an ethnically restricted kingdom? Well, Jesus taught that the people most at home in his kingdom wouldn't be from a specific ethnic group. They would be people who were unimportant, humble, peaceful, and spiritually poor. And the Bible shows us that at the end of this whole thing, when the kingdom Jesus established is completed, that every distinct nation and language in the world will be represented. What about a geographically restricted kingdom? When Jesus taught that the kingdom wouldn't be in a specific city or state or country, but it would be inside of people, that everywhere followers of Jesus go, the kingdom goes, that its rules and laws would be written on people's hearts, that it would have no human enemies, just powers and systems and spiritual beings working against it. And as the Christ hymn states, that when the name of the king is proclaimed, every knee will bow, not just in a specific city or state or country, but on the whole earth and above the earth and below the earth. I think that we are a lot like Jesus' disciples were then, arguing with each other based on having the wrong idea about what the kingdom is supposed to be like and what our place is in it. And when we have the wrong idea, we tend to forego our unity and instead fall into arguing about who's going to be the greatest. You know, after Jesus' whole ministry on earth was finished, everything he said would happen did happen, right? He was betrayed into the hands of his enemies. They did kill him, and three days later, he did come back. And the first chapter of Acts tells us that he met off and on with his disciples over the next 40 days after that. Do you know what he talked about? The guy just came back from the dead for Pete's sake. They're going to listen to whatever he says. What is he going to talk about? Acts 1 says that he met with them over a period of 40 days and he talked about the kingdom of God. He's still trying to get them to the right idea about the kingdom. And look at this. This is so wild. This is Acts 1, verse 6. Then they gathered around him and asked him, Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel? Oh my gosh, you have got to be kidding me. They just they can't let go of this wrong idea. But just like when he caught them arguing about who is the greatest, Jesus is so kind and so patient and so generous. He said to them, It's not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. And after he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They all got the right idea eventually, but it wasn't easy. It is so, so hard to let go of the wrong idea once you've gotten a hold of it. But we have some things going for us. We have Jesus' teaching in the Bible. We have his death, resurrection, and ascension. We have the power and presence of the Holy Spirit living within us and among us, writing the laws of the kingdom on our hearts. We have the good and helpful and corrective leadership and accountability of our church community. It can be done. We do not have to settle for arguing about who should be great. We can follow Jesus' example. Jesus, who chose to humble himself in obedience to God, and as a result was made great. Amen.