Jesus' Leadership: Mark 9

Transfiguration
vv 2-13. Of late, the disciples had been misunderstanding what Jesus was all about. Peter had confessed the Christ, but immediately rebuked His for foretelling His death. After allowing this confusion to simmer for a week, Jesus decided to give the inner circle an undeniable experience of who He was. This was clearly strategic. Peter was probably the eldest and was the leader of the apostles and their spokesman (Acts 2). It seems that this experience sustained Him throughout His lifetime as He references this in His final letter (2 Pt 1:16-18). John was the youngest and would go on to be the longest lived. Perhaps having witnessed the Deity of Christ first hand allowed Him to genuinely write the beautiful prologue his gospel decades later. I am not as sure about Jame's role. He was the first martyr (Acts 12:2) among the apostles, so perhaps this vision gave Him strength in trial. He was also John's brother, one of the "Sons of Thunder." With such a name they likely had influence among the apostles. As a witness to the transfiguration, James' influence from that point on was surely shaped in a powerful way by this event. Or maybe Jesus was being wise about sibling relations, knowing the jealousy that could arise from sharing with one brother but not the other!

Spiritual Healing
vv 14-29. Jesus is not present at the beginning of this episode indicating that the disciples were ministering on their own...indicating that Jesus was in the process of multiplying Himself. Where then was Jesus? Though we can't know, it would not be surprising if He was praying in a lonely place.

As a leader, sometimes it's necessary to get the job done yourself. This brought to mind memories of working construction. We'd be trying to accomplish a task with framing, for example, when the boss would show up. Without rebuking us, he'd step in and bang out the job in no time. We'd sit back in awe of how he seemed to so easily handle what was frustrating to us. We'd be inspired to continue with like tasks and our admiration for the boss grew. It seems this is a similar situation. Though the disciples were being empowered to minister, there still comes a point when the boss needs to handle the job.

A Retreat
vv 30-32. Jesus did not want anyone to know where the were, because He was teaching His disciples. Man, to have been there! Why have such verses not registered in my brain in the past? At least from a leadership perspective, there is a vital principle at work here. It seems Jesus has established a rhythm to the ministry, interspersing time of work with times of solitary rest and group retreat. Perhaps He recognized that the disciples still had much to learn following the previous incident. Perhaps they were simply worn out. Regardless, it seems that Jesus jealously guarded this time of being with only the 12. These, apart from Judas, would be the leaders of the church upon His death. It was imperative to intentionally train them, both in hands on experience, and in intimate retreat.

Who's the Greatest?
vv 33-37. Despite the retreat, it's clear the disciples still had much to learn! In response to their arguing about who is the greatest, Jesus introduces a powerful and counter-cultural lesson about leadership: It's not about being the best and receiving the highest honor as they knew it and imagined it, it's about sacrificially serving. Later Jesus would act this out by washing their feet. Here He shames them by directing their ministry toward a child. In this cultural, children were not valued as ones to be ministered to. To serve children first, the least of these in a sense, would demonstrate a truly great servant heart.

If You're not against Us, You're for Us
vv 38-41. This is great little snapshot that points toward future denominational squabbles. The context of this argument is confined to those already within the church. This is important because later Jesus will say "If you're not with us you're against us." There He is talking about those outside the church. Today denominations may squabble about who has the best youth group, who has the best missions, who does worship right or preaching right. Some may emphasize teaching while some emphasize service. It is so easy to thing we have the best way of doing it. Jesus calls us to remember that we are part of a worldwide and multi-cultural body. Truth is, is the work is authentically being done in Jesus' name, we need to remember that we are all on the same team! Satan would love to drive wedges between us by inciting ministry "turf wars." I really appreciate Jesus' foresight in gifting us with this bit of wisdom.

Causing Other to Sin: Bad Move
vv 42-50. Our actions affect more than just ourselves. When we sin it is evident to others, especially when we a re in a position of influence. As leaders, this is a great call to responsibility!