The GOAT

Mark 9:33-37 “They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. 35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” 36 He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 “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.” [NIV]

There is a phrase that has been reduced to four letters that is popular in society and speaks to something that is the Greatest of All Time (G.O.A.T.) People will use GOAT to refer to sports celebrities, popular actors, or whatever else they believe is the greatest of all time. Often, what is the GOAT comes down to discussions that are purely matters of opinion. For example, one thinks Larry Bird was the greatest; another thinks Michael Jordan was the greatest, and so on.

It is human nature to want to know where we stand socially; even small children engage in comparisons and quickly develop hierarchies in preschool classrooms. Who are we among our peers? Do we stand out among our peers? And for the more competitive, are we greater than those around us in some area that makes me look greater? In this passage from Mark’s gospel, we see the disciples discussing who is most significant among them. Although they are embarrassed when Jesus asks them about it, they long to know where they stand.

Although they do not confess to their self-absorbed cases in the argument, Jesus, knowing what they walked about, begins to answer them. If you want to be great, serve. If you want to know what great looks like, look at this child. The child is not prominent in society, nor does a child hold influence in society the way a powerful person does. Serve. The answer to your argument is to lack all societal power and serve everyone. If you have social influence and power, use it to serve everyone. In whatever your sphere of influence, serve everyone.

In the end, when you do this, people will welcome you. And when they welcome you, they will be welcoming me. Fulfilling our roles in this generation is about bringing people to follow Jesus. In a world of self-centeredness and arrogance, what is needed is humility and a heart prepared to serve others in a way that they will see their need for Jesus. Jesus is the GOAT!