Devotion for Today
“First shall be Last.”
Mark 9:30-37
They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it. They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
A couple of years ago, our small groups went through a workshop called, “When Helping Hurts.” This material taught us the best way to help those without homes, without hurting them. While the material did give practical suggestions, it taught us that the only way to truly help the homeless community was to change our perception of ourselves. Rather than coming from an “I am better off than you, so let me help you” mentality, we need to recognize that we are no different. Because of our sin and our wretchedness, we are in need of Jesus to rescue us. It is only through this lens, that we can truly embrace those without homes. Through embracing the marginalized, we are embracing Jesus.
In this passage, Jesus sits with the Twelve and talks about the “Upside down kingdom.” He mentions in verse 35, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” However, to make His point clearer, He equates welcoming a child to welcoming the Father. How do these two verses connect?
In ancient Israel, children were considered fundamentally deficient and not yet human in a full sense. They were physically small, underdeveloped, and vulnerable.[1] This child represented all people who were disregarded by society; the weak, the poor, the sick, those without homes, tax collectors, and prostitutes.
I believe Jesus is telling us that in order to become first in the kingdom of God, we need to embrace those who are marginalized in our society. More than just meeting their physical needs, followers of Jesus need to welcome them with open arms. Because of our sin, this difficult act requires us to lower ourselves and to see that they are no different than us. This cannot be accomplished by our own strength, but only through the transformational work of the Holy Spirit! Today, let’s spend some time asking the Lord to give us hearts of compassion for the marginalized people of our society. As we embrace the oppressed, we embrace the Father.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You that you are a compassionate Father. Please remove any obstacles in my heart that prevents me from seeing that I am no different than the oppressed. Help me to love them the way You love them. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Phil 2
Lunch Break Study
Read Micah 6:6-16: “My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me. I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam. My people, remember what Balak king of Moab plotted and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.” With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Listen! The Lord is calling to the city—and to fear your name is wisdom—“Heed the rod and the One who appointed it.[b] Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house, and the short ephah,[c] which is accursed? Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales, with a bag of false weights? Your rich people are violent your inhabitants are liars and their tongues speak deceitfully. Therefore, I have begun to destroy you, to ruin[d] you because of your sins. You will eat but not be satisfied; your stomach will still be empty. eYou will store up but save nothing, because what you save[f] I will give to the sword. You will plant but not harvest; you will press olives but not use the oil, you will crush grapes but not drink the wine. You have observed the statutes of Omri and all the practices of Ahab’s house; you have followed their traditions. Therefore I will give you over to ruin and your people to derision; you will bear the scorn of the nations.[g]”
Questions to Consider
- In verses 3-5, what is the Lord’s attitude when He begins His case against the Israelites?
- According to verse 8, what does the Lord require of Israel?
- How does the Lord judge the Israelite’s wickedness? (see vv. 14-15)
Notes
- The Lord begins with questions which reveal the Lord’s sadness for His people. The Lord reminds them all that He has done for them. Yet, Israelites reject His love by acting wickedly.
- The Lord requires the Israelites to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with their God.
- The Lord judges the Israelites by taking away their blessing. The imagery He uses in verse 14-15 show that the Israelites will work hard but never reap the benefits.
Evening Reflection
Today, we learned that to be first in the kingdom of God, we need to be last. Jesus gives us a practical advice of how to follow this kingdom principle. He calls us to love and embrace those who are oppressed and broken. Spend some time this evening asking the Lord to give us strength to take the first step to love those who are marginalized in our society.
The AMI QT Devotionals from April 9-15 are provided by Emerson Lin. Emerson, a graduate of University of California, San Diego, serves as a missionary in E. Asia. He is married to Annie.
Kobe Beef is known all around the world as a very expensive type of beef. It is valued for its fatty flavor, tenderness, and marbled texture. People from all over the world travel to Hyōgo to taste this delicacy. Because Japan takes their Kobe Beef very seriously, each meat has a certificate indicating that it is certified Kobe Beef. Not only do they provide a certificate, but also a cow genealogy to ensure people that the meat they are eating is authentic.
In my college years, I was incredibly anxious about the idea of marriage. Even though I knew I wanted to get married, eventually, so many things about marriage scared me. Perhaps the scariest thing for me was the proposal. For some reason, whether through movies or people telling me grandiose stories about the proposal of a friend of a friend, I had gotten it in my mind that my proposal had to be this epic, historic event… otherwise my fiancée wouldn’t be happy. In college, I wasn’t even dating yet, but the thought of having to put together such a monumental feat made my palms sweat just thinking about it. There’s something about making a public declaration that makes most people at least a little bit nervous.
“I do, we do, you do.” My wife is a teacher in Boston, and this is one of the phrases I hear her use all the time. If I were a teacher, the idea is that in order for me to teach something, an effective strategy is for me to first demonstrate the action while the students observe (I do). Then, I repeat the action, but this time I incorporate the participation of the students, while still being involved in the step-by-step process (we do). Finally, I pull my hands out of the process and let the students do it a third time, on their own (you do).
There are several members of our church who study or work in the field of Occupational Therapy. From my limited understanding, the job of an occupational therapist (OT) is to evaluate a person’s physical/mental disability, and use individualized intervention strategies to help people do meaningful daily activities. For example, if someone has suffered a stroke and has lost motor control of their right arm, an OT would help this person figure out a strategy to rehabilitate their arm and/or help them relearn how to do their daily tasks such as typing, putting on clothes, eating, etc. What I found remarkable is that an OT’s work is extremely specific to the person(s) they are treating. In other words, their method of healing is constantly shifting, based on each individual and their specific situation/need.
As a child, I grew up under the notion that one must never question God. I believed that doing so would not only be a show of irreverence to Him, but also signaled a lack of faith. And while I still certainly believe that we ought to be reverent to the Lord, when I look at Scripture, I see many men and women of faith asking questions and making requests to the Lord: In Genesis 18, Abraham is, in a sense, bargaining with God to spare the city of Sodom. In Judges 6, Gideon asks God for multiple signs. In 1 Samuel 1, Hannah pleads with God, that He would give her a child. The Psalms are full of questions being raised up to God: “How long, O Lord? Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?” These are just a few examples of Scripture that lead me to believe that our Heavenly Father is not only willing to hear our questions/requests, but He desires to respond to us!
Several years ago, I was driving back to Boston from the New Jersey area. It was late at night and I was surprised at the number of cars that were on the highway with me. Even more unusual was the number of cars that were honking and high-beaming. A car would swerve in front of me, and honk obnoxiously, and then speed ahead. I thought to myself “Yup, Massachusetts drivers… rude!” Another car kept high-beaming me from behind, for 5 straight minutes, before swerving around me and speeding off. My frustration with these terrible drivers was coming to a boiling point. It was in this moment that I looked down at my dashboard and realized that my headlights had been off during my entire drive. I had been driving 80mph, lightless, in the dead of the night, putting myself and everyone in my vicinity in danger. No one was around to see, but my face turned bright red in embarrassment as I realized, the problem was me.
The AMI QT Devotionals April 2-8 are written by David Son, who serves as the college pastor at Symphony Church in Boston. David, a graduate of UC Berkeley (B.S.) and Gordon-Conwell Seminary (M.Div.), is married to Grace who teaches at a public school. (Two more news about them: first, they just had their first baby (Eli); second, they will be going to Taiwan as church planters later in the year.)
The dawning of the first day of this particular week was a spectacular day, because it followed the death of Jesus. The old things have passed and new has come (1 Cor. 5:17), as Jesus’ body was not in the tomb. When Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James, arrived at the tomb to endow spices upon the Lord’s body, an angel tells them, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said…” (v.6). Then he instructs them to go quickly to tell the disciples that He is risen! Jesus had resurrected as promised.