Making Disciples – part 1
052 Making Disciples – part 1
Mark 9:30-50 (30-35)
July 5, 2026
We are all aware of The Great Commission
Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
As has been taught on many occasions,
The emphasis in Jesus’ statement is not simply on going.
· The emphasis is on making disciples.
· The means by which we make disciples is by going, baptizing, and teaching.
If you’ve ever wanted a good example of disciple making,
Then look no further than our passage this morning.
That is precisely what Jesus is doing.
He is making disciples.
Oh, I know
· These 12 men already have the title.
· I know Jesus has even already commissioned them on mission trips.
· But as part of the process of sanctification, the work of discipleship never
ends.
We never stop being discipled and we never stop making disciples,
Even of those who have already been baptized.
We are constantly at work to mold and be molded.
We are constantly seeking to be more like Christ
And to help others be more like Him as well.
That is what makes this passage such a wonderful one to study.
It is Jesus taking on the duty of discipleship to the 12.
· He is confronting.
· He is teaching.
· He is correcting.
· He is encouraging.
· He is warning.
All of which are very important tools
As we embark on the process of discipling and being discipled.
I would start simply with THE SETTING of this passage
Which Mark gives to us in the first couple of verses.
(30-31a) “From there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know about it. For He was teaching His disciples…”
“From there” is a reference to the showdown we witnessed Sunday night where Jesus cast out a demon that His disciples could not.
· Jesus had been on the mountain with Peter, James, and John.
· We think it was the mountain close to Caesarea Philippi, which would have
made it Mt. Hermon.
· At the base of that mountain the other 9 disciples got their tales kicked by a
belligerent demon.
· When Jesus came down, He addressed the situation and cast the demon out.
It was a story used by Mark to emphasize to the disciples
That they were NOT in a world that would embrace them.
They were in a hostile and unbelieving world
That would fight against them and turn on them at the drop of a hat.
But that scene is now over, and as we read:
“From there they went out and began to go through Galilee…”
This would have been what is known as “Upper Galilee”,
Which is the area north of the Sea of Galilee.
Since verse 33 says, “They came to Capernaum”
We have a pretty good idea of the path Jesus took.
· Capernaum was that adopted hometown of Jesus.
· It was also the home of Peter,
· It is most likely that Jesus and the disciples were headed to Peter’s house.
We also read that
“He did not want anyone to know about it.”
The public ministry was now over.
· He had shined the light of truth sufficiently all over that region
· He had even pronounced judgment on Capernaum, Chorazin, and Bethsaida for their refusal to believe such obvious truth.
· Now Jesus is pouring into the His disciples.
“For He was teaching His disciples…”
AND THAT IS THE SETTING.
They are headed home from Caesarea Philippi
And Jesus has discipleship on the brain.
What we see in this text is that He is about to go to work on them.
In this text He will address 5 areas of their lives that need work.
· While they have left everything and followed Jesus…
· While they have accurately confessed Jesus as the Christ…
· They are still not a finished product, and Jesus knows it.
· He is leaving in a few short months
· He has a short time to prepare them for the life of ministry that He will soon commission them to.
Therefore there are some areas which must be addressed.
I think you will find His teaching very relevant even to our lives.
· These are 5 areas that we need addressed in our lives,
· These are also 5 areas that we must address in the lives of one another
As we seek to be discipled and to make disciples.
#1 STUBBORNNESS
Mark 9:30-32
You can raise your hand
If you’ve already found an area that is relevant to your life.
The disciples are certainly walking in stubbornness,
Though it may not be the kind of stubbornness you immediately think of.
As we noted a moment ago, Jesus “was teaching His disciples”
This teaching on the way back from Caesarea Philippi
Is a continuation of the teaching He started there.
Mark 8:31 “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”
· There we saw that “He began to teach…”
· Here He is continuing that theme.
You will remember that when He started discussing this topic
Peter immediately pulled Him aside and rebuked Him.
· In short, the teaching was rejected.
As Jesus and Peter, James, and John came down from the mountain,
Jesus told them again that He would suffer,
· But you’ll remember that they quickly changed the subject.
So far the disciples have NOT BEEN INTERESTED in this topic.
AND AS YOU WILL SEE HERE, THEY STILL AREN’T.
They are stubborn about it.
(31-32) “For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.” But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.”
Jesus is back on topic of His suffering.
One of the things I want to point out here is
The way Jesus announces His suffering this time.
THE FIRST TIME, back in chapter 8 Jesus introduced this subject as that which “must” happen.
· Remember He “must” suffer and be killed and be raised.
· And we talked about why His suffering, death, and resurrection where absolutely necessary for us to be saved.
Here Jesus announces it a little differently.
He says, “The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men…”
Here it’s not “must”, here it is “is to be”
What Jesus speaks of here is the sovereign plan of God.
It is God who has decreed that Jesus will be delivered over to death.
· It is all the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God here.
· This is God’s plan.
Not only must it happen for salvation to occur,
But it absolutely will happen as a result of God’s sovereign decree.
You may have heard Jesus say, “must”
And still held out hope that you could come up with another way.
Here we find that God has already weighed in on the issue,
AND THIS IS THE WAY.
· It is going to happen.
· There is no chance of it not happening.
· God has decreed it to be so.
“they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.”
This is a sovereign certainty.
But once again we see a disappointing response from the disciples.
(32) “But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.”
I suppose some might read that as though the disciples were totally clueless regarding things like death and resurrection.
That is NOT what Mark means.
They know what He means when He says death.
What Mark is pointing out is:
They don’t know why He keeps bringing it up as some necessary thing.
· He is the Christ…
· He is the Son of God…
· Why does He keep talking suffering and death?
But “they were afraid to ask Him.”
That doesn’t mean
They were afraid He might “bite their head off” for asking.
LET’S ILLUSTRATE IT LIKE THIS:
Let’s say you and a few of your friends are at a café
· And one of your friends (the outspoken one who doesn’t mind making a scene)
just found a hair in their food.
· They immediately get up and charge away from the table.
· One of your other friends sitting at the table says, “Where are they going?”
· And you say, “I’m afraid to ask.”
It’s not that they don’t understand words like suffer, death, & rise,
It’s that they don’t like the topic
And aren’t interested in discussing it anymore.
THAT IS WHY WE CALL THEM STUBBORN.
· They are NOT stubborn in some refusal to follow Jesus.
· They are NOT stubborn in some refusal to do what He says.
Their stubbornness is seen in their refusal
To recognize what it truly means to follow Jesus.
The disciples refused to acknowledge the fact that
The calling of Jesus on their lives was a calling to sacrifice.
They stubbornly refused to accept
That He had called them to lay down their lives.
But He had:
Mark 8:34-38 “And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? “For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
He was clear wasn’t He?
· He talked about denying self.
· He talked about taking up a cross.
· He talked about losing your life.
The calling is to sacrifice your life.
The disciples had not wanted to accept that.
HOW ABOUT YOU AND ME?
· Have I come to the place yet where I can say that the goal of my life is to lay it down for others?
· Have I come to the place where I can say that I am looking to sacrifice my life for Christ?
This was part of the discipleship training that the disciples still needed.
· They weren’t there yet.
· But if they were to be disciples they would have to get there.
· And if we are to be true disciples we must get there too.
AND THAT IS WHAT JESUS IS ADDRESSING.
He is reminding them again of the necessity of the cross.
He is reminding them again of the direction this whole thing is going.
AND WE NEED THAT REMINDER TOO.
How many passages in the New Testament remind us that we are called to surrender our lives for kingdom?
Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
Romans 14:7-9 “For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”
1 Corinthians 6:20 “For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”
1 Corinthians 7:23 “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.”
Paul said:
Philippians 2:17 “But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all.”
2 Timothy 4:6 “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.”
· He understood the calling.
· It was to sacrifice his life for the kingdom.
CHURCH, WE MUST GET THAT THROUGH OUR HEADS.
We are called to lay down our lives for Christ.
We are called to lay down our lives for our brother.
The calling of Christianity is a calling to self-sacrifice.
If we don’t understand that
Then we are not very good disciples of Jesus
BECAUSE JESUS WAS ALL ABOUT THAT.
· He left the glory of heaven
· He submitted Himself to the Law
· He embraced every temptation
· He endured scorn and suffering
· He yielded Himself up to death
All of that so that He might save you.
And we are called to follow in His steps.
It is impossible for any of us to call ourselves disciples of Jesus
If we are unwilling to sacrifice ourselves for our brother.
Peter said:
1 Peter 4:1-2 “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”
THAT IS THE CALLING.
And we could spend a long time this morning just reading New Testament passages that remind us of that calling.
· “Greater love has no man that this, that he lay down his life for his friends”
· “Bear one another’s burdens and thereby fulfill the law of Christ”
· “Do nothing out selfishness or empty conceit but with humility of mind consider one another as more important than yourselves”
It’s everywhere.
But so far the disciples have been stubborn and refused to see it.
It is evident that they are in this thing only for themselves.
That must change.
Jesus is addressing it.
It must also be addressed in your life and my life.
And we must address it one another’s lives.
Let’s look at the second thing Jesus addresses.
#2 ARROGANCE
Mark 9:33-37
Well now they’ve come to “Capernaum”
And we read that “when He was in the house”
· Most likely it was Peter’s house so that they could meet in somewhat seclusion.
And Jesus is ready for round 2 of His discipleship class.
“He began to question them, “What were you discussing on the way?”
· Now, He knew exactly what they were discussing.
· This is like when you’re a kid and your mom asks you, “What are you doing?”
That’s a loaded question. She already knows what you’re doing,
Now she is checking your honesty level.
That’s where we are with Jesus.
But you’ll notice that conviction has already set in.
Just by Him asking the question,
They already know that they are in the wrong.
They’ve been caught red-handed, and now Jesus wants to talk about it.
(34) “But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another, which of them was the greatest.”
Now BEFORE we address this specific issue,
I would like to make just a side point here about discipling others.
I know there are a lot of models out there for discipleship.
I know that there are a lot of people who offer advice for how it should be done.
· I hear people talking about so much bible reading, so much prayer, so many devotionals, etc.
· And I know that many parents have pondered many times, what is the best method to discipling your kids?
Well let me highlight the method of Jesus for you, even as parents.
Are there times when Jesus sat down and specifically and intentionally taught truth to His disciples? Absolutely!
· Your kids need to hear you teach the word of God.
· They need to hear you take a passage and explain it.
· They need to see what you believe the Bible says, so that they can evaluate whether or not you are obeying it.
Jesus was certainly the master at that.
He definitely sat down and taught doctrine to His disciples
And then reinforced it with the way He lived.
BUT THAT IS NOT ALL WE DO.
I am very much a fan of what Jesus does here,
That is where He addresses where His disciples are at the moment.
He takes what they’re talking about, and He addresses that.
This is immediately relevant to the situation.
And I would also add that this only happens relationally.
· You cannot participate in this type of discipleship if you do not spend time with a person.
That means that if you want to be a faithful at making disciples
· You not only need to have times where you determine to teach or pray,
· But you need to spend time with people so that you can address life as it happens.
Jesus didn’t set the topic here, they did.
But Jesus will seize the opportunity to teach them in the midst of it.
This is excellent discipleship.
Spend time, listen, watch, and address biblically.
THAT’S A GREAT WAY TO MAKE DISCIPLES!
Anyway, the disciples had been discussing
“which of them was the greatest.”
The MOTIVATION for this topic is obvious.
Peter had just made the bold confession of Jesus.
Matthew’s gospel even records Jesus saying to him:
Matthew 16:17-19 “And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”
It’s not hard to see why Peter would think
That he was clearly the greatest of the disciples
After a commendation like that.
Of course Peter did almost immediately get called “Satan” by Jesus
· So it’s also not hard to see the ammunition that the rest of the disciples would
have against him.
Peter, James, and John had just been specially selected to accompany Jesus on to the mountain to see His glory.
While these 3 were not allowed to describe what happened,
You can be certain that the phrasing was something like,
“Trust us, if you had been allowed by Jesus to come where He took us,
You’d see why we outrank you.”
And then we remember how the other 9 had been totally embarrassed by a demon at the base of the mountain while Peter, James, and John were gone.
And the CONVERSATION is not hard to imagine.
Jesus announces again that He is going “to be delivered into the hands of men”.
None of them really want to talk about it.
· Peter says, “As the greatest among you I’ll have a talk with Him.”
· John, “What makes you the greatest? Didn’t He call you Satan?”
· James, “I was right there on the mountain too, and since I’m older than John, I am the greatest.”
· Matthew, “I was the most successful, I am the greatest.”
· Peter, “Then why couldn’t you cast out that demon? Oh that’s right, your faith was too small and you didn’t pray.”
· Thomas, “I’d like to throw my hat in the ring as the greatest.”
· Philip, “You’re too much of a pessimist to be the greatest.”
And on and on and on and on…
Now they made it to Peter’s house and Jesus wants to know about the conversation and they are all rightly a little ashamed.
None of them really wants to own up to the fact
Of what they had been arguing about.
It is arrogance, it is pride, it is self-centeredness, it is narcissism.
They know it’s sinful, but Jesus wants to address it.
And if we’re honest, there is plenty of application here for our lives as well.
OUR CULTURE
· Loves to promote self-esteem, and self-worth, and they have succeeded at.
· Talks about ambition like it is a good thing.
We are all influenced by a culture that is fixated on self.
Part of our discipleship is to have that rooted out.
Jesus already told the 12:
Mark 8:34 “And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
“deny himself” is first on the list.
There is no room for a selfish follower of Christ.
Part of the discipleship process is to teach us to crucify our flesh,
To quit loving ourselves and to start loving others.
If selfishness remains, we need to be discipled.
If we see selfishness in others, we need to disciple them.
That is what Jesus is about to do here.
(35) “Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”
What a great statement from the Lord.
Brief, and yet packed full of wisdom and truth.
“If anyone wants to be first…”
It is important to note that Jesus DID NOT condemn wanting to be first.
There is no cast system in Christianity.
Hinduism holds to the cast system where a man must not try to improve his status or station. If he’s born poor, he must remain poor and not try to better his situation or else when he is reincarnated he will start out worse.
Jesus DID NOT rebuke the disciples for wanting to be in leadership.
We even read regarding overseers:
1 Timothy 3:1 “It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.”
Pursuing leadership is a fine work.
That is NOT the problem.
The problem is pursuing leadership for the wrong reasons.
Or pursuing leadership with a wrong understanding of what it is.
The disciples wanted to be the greatest
Because they reckoned that was the seat with the most honor.
That is what they had undoubtedly learned from the Pharisees.
Matthew 23:1-7 “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.”
Those are men who pursued a leadership role,
But who clearly did it for the wrong reasons.
One does not pursue greatness so that they might dominate others
One pursues greatness so that they might benefit others.
And that is what Jesus points out here.
“If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”
You notice TWO very important realities listed by Jesus in that statement.
First has to do with status and the Second has to do with scope.
Jesus says that the secret to greatness
Is not in trying to be first, but seeking to be last.
“he shall be last of all”
That seems like an impossibility.
How can a man be first in leadership if he is last in importance?
Maybe think about Moses.
Moses was clearly first in leadership
· He spoke to God face to face.
· If any problems were too difficult for the people they took them to Moses.
· Clearly he was first.
And yet we also read about Moses:
Numbers 12:3 “(Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.)”
In position Moses was clearly first,
But in importance, he considered himself last.
Think about what Paul to the Philippians
Philippians 2:1-8 “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Consider others as more important.
And then Paul uses Jesus as the example.
· Clearly Jesus is first
· But when He came He acted like He was last.
THAT IS WHAT JESUS TELLS THE 12 HERE.
If you are seeking a position of greatness
It can only be for the purpose of service.
We don’t pursue the chief seat and the fancy robe,
We seek the opportunity to be of service to others.
So if you want greatness then don’t seek a high status, seek a low one.
Seek to “be last of all.”
And that’s not all.
He also adds “and servant of all”
How important that is!
Don’t pick and choose who you are willing to serve.
True greatness is found in a low self-view
And in a willingness to serve everyone.
There is no one below your level that you can’t serve.
Incidentally that word “servant” is (DEE-ah-ko-nos)
It is where we get our word for deacon.
It can be defined as “one who executes the command of another.”
Jesus DOESN’T use DOULOS which spoke of a bond-slave.
A slave is the lowest rank and has no choice but to obey.
A deacon makes himself the lowest by his decision to serve and obey.
And here Jesus expands that role to include “all”.
A deacon doesn’t pick and choose which members of the body he serves.
A deacon serves everyone not just those that benefit him.
Do you remember what James taught?
James 2:1-7 “My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called?”
James looked at people in the church who were doing it wrong.
· They were fellowshipping wrong.
· They were using fellowship as a means of getting ahead in the world.
That is not what fellowship is for and that is not what service is for either.
We serve and we serve all
So that we might be a blessing and a benefit to all.
The disciples were not wrong to seek a great role,
They were wrong in why they sought it.
They wanted to be greatest so that others might do what they say.
Jesus said the true greatest is the one who does what others say.
The greatest is not the one who gives the commands,
It is the one who executes the commands he is given.
What a necessary lesson in regard to being a disciple like Jesus!
Did He not come and humble Himself for the benefit of others?
We already read Philippians about Him leaving the glory of heaven that He might die for us.
But what about the scene in which He humbled Himself
And washed the disciples feet?
And even there He said:
John 13:12-17 “So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? “You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. “Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”
· Do you see where true blessing is?
· Do you see where true greatness is?
It is in making yourself the lowest and then serving all
Even Peter who would soon deny
Even Judas who would soon betray.
Now, we’re not finished here, for Jesus is about to illustrate it,
But we’re out of time and need to make some application.
Our objective is BE disciples of Jesus and to MAKE disciples of Jesus.
We must be those who:
· Embrace sacrifice as the mission
· Encourage sacrifice as the mission
· Seek the last position that we might serve all
· Encourage others to humble themselves and do the same
THAT IS DISCIPLESHIP
So this morning, I encourage you to seek to lay down your life for the kingdom of Christ. I encourage you to seek the great position as last in our church and to determine to execute the commands of someone else.
And in turn, I expect you to encourage me to do the same.
That is how we grow into the image of Christ.