The Greatest Person in the Room | Mark 9:33-37

The Daily Devotional by Vince Miller

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Today's shout-out goes to Christina Muscianese from Johnson City, TN. Thank you for your partnership with us through Project23, which is helping people hear and respond to the truth of God’s Word. This one’s for you.

Our text today is Mark 9:33-37:

And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” — Mark 9:33-37

Jesus and the disciples arrive in Capernaum. They enter a house. And Jesus asks them a question—one he already knows the answer to: “What were you discussing on the way?”

They fall silent. Why? Because they were arguing about status. About greatness. About who would be first in the kingdom.

Let that sink in. Jesus just told them—again—that he would suffer and die. And they follow it up by debating rank.

But here’s what makes this moment even more ironic and powerful: the greatest person in the room is the one teaching them what true greatness really is. The Son of God—radiant in glory, worthy of all worship—sits down and calls them close. And then he turns greatness on its head: “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

Then Jesus does something shocking. He takes a child—a symbol of weakness, low status, and dependency—and pulls him into their circle. Not to say, “Be like this child,” but, “Receive this child.” Welcome the unnoticed. Embrace the vulnerable. Value the ones the world forgets.

Jesus isn’t just telling us what greatness is—he’s embodying it. The King of all is stooping to serve. The highest is showing us how to go low.

In God's kingdom, greatness is not defined by visibility but by humility. Not by power but by service. Not by the spotlight but by sacrifice.

So, if you want to be great, stop climbing. Start kneeling. Serve those around you today, and learn his greatness!

#ServantLeadership, #KingdomGreatness, #Mark9

ASK THIS:

1. What definition of greatness have you bought into?
2. How does Jesus’ model challenge your own ambitions?
3. Who are the “children” around you God wants you to welcome?
4. What would it look like to choose service over status today?

DO THIS:

Humble yourself by serving someone with no influence—someone who can’t repay you—just as Jesus did.

PRAY THIS:

Jesus, I confess I chase the wrong kind of greatness. Teach me to see, serve, and value others like you do. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

“Make Room.”