Mark 9:33–34

While they were "on the way" with Him, they forgot whose disciples they were. Their Master was gentle and humble in heart. He was made a little lower than the angels. He had come, humbling Himself, not to be served but to serve. On the road to Capernaum the apostles argued hotly among themselves about which of them ranked first. The Lord rebuked them, but not publicly.

At first sight how strange, yet how common, is this inability to enter into the words of Jesus! What causes it? Self unjudged. They were ashamed to let the Lord know the real reason, but the Lord brings it out... No wonder there was little power in the presence of Satan; no wonder there was little understanding in the presence of Jesus. There was a dead weight behind — this spirit of thinking of themselves, of wanting some distinction to be seen and known by men now.

The Lord's heart was full of the sufferings that came with it, and of the cup He had to drink. It was full too of the need for His disciples to understand this path and to take up their cross. But what were the disciples' hearts full of? They were thinking about who should be the greatest. How incapable our heart is of receiving God's thoughts, of thinking about a Saviour humbled to death for us!

He did not ask for information, for He knew everything. He asked so that they might feel the shame of what they had done. In His presence they were speechless. They were in the presence of the Lord of glory. He had veiled His divine glory and stooped down into lowly circumstances. He had just told them that the Son of Man would be killed and rise on the third day. And yet they argued about who should be greatest.

How often since that day the desire to be the greatest has been the real root of many a dispute among the people of God. Whatever the subject being discussed, underneath there has often been a great deal of self in the dispute. Self not only wants to be great, it wants to be "the greatest." If a believer wants to be the greatest, sooner or later that will lead to a dispute. In it he will seize on any small slip in a brother, to belittle him and so exalt self.

Out of His presence they argued among themselves; in His presence they were silent with shame. So with us. Our quarrels and our empty pride only prove how little we have lived and walked with a conscious sense of His presence. Think of our difficulties and conflicts. How much of what we said and did could never have been said or done at all, if we had been aware that we were standing in the presence of the Lord!

Peter's fall seemed to come very suddenly, but the rivalry among them shows us that the secret roots of it went a long way back into the past.

When we are safely housed, not in Capernaum but in heaven, will He not have good reason to say to us, "What were you discussing on the way? What is it that through all these centuries of My absence has caused so much contention and strife?"

The Lord's heart was full of the sufferings that this path brought. He thought of the cup He had to drink. He thought of how His disciples needed to understand this path and to take up their cross. But what filled the hearts of the disciples? They were thinking about who would be the greatest. How unable our heart is to take in God's thoughts, and to think of a Saviour humbled to death for us!

They want to be something. This twists their judgment… At first it seems strange, yet how often it happens: they cannot take in the words of Jesus! Why? Because self is not judged… No wonder there was little power in the presence of Satan. No wonder there was little understanding in the presence of Jesus. A dead weight lay behind it all — this spirit of thinking about themselves, of wanting some distinction that others could see and know now. It was clear unbelief about what God feels, and what He is going to display, in His kingdom. For there is only one thought before God: He means to exalt Jesus.

The same word can mean "discussing" in general, or more exactly "reasoning", or even "arguing", as in Mark 9:34; Acts 17:2; Acts 24:12; Jude 9… Only the context can decide.

Away from His presence they argued with one another; in His presence they were silent with shame. It is the same with us. Our quarrels and our empty pride only prove how little we have lived and walked with a real sense of His presence. Think of our difficulties and conflicts. If we had known ourselves to be standing before the Lord, we would never have said or done so much of it. In His presence we cannot think or talk about self.

Ever since that day, how often the desire to be the greatest has been the real root of many a dispute among God's people. Whatever the question being discussed, underneath there has often been a great deal of self in the dispute. Self does not only want to be great; it wants to be "the greatest." If a believer wants to be the greatest, sooner or later it will lead to a dispute. In it, people seize on any little slip in a brother to belittle him and so exalt self. The very thought of being great shows how little the disciples understood the truth of the Kingdom. They failed to see that the Kingdom is there to display all that God is in love, righteousness, grace and power.

Peter, full of self-confidence, claimed that he would not stumble, even if all the others did… What lay behind it was the unholy rivalry among them about who should be the greatest… Peter's fall seemed to come very suddenly, but all this shows us that its secret roots went back a long way into the past.