By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
September 29, 2024
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Mark 9:38–50 (ESV)
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward. 42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ 49 For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
I have been a minister of the gospel for twenty-one years. I have heard many messages presented and I have spoken many times over those years. I have sat in meetings, I have listened to leaders talk and debate. I have participated in many of those debates. Over that time frame I have witnessed many things. Things that surprise me at times, as well as things that do not.
People like to look at church leaders as if they have everything together. We assume that to be a leader within a church those individuals have it all together. I want you to know, pastors and every leader you come into contact with in the world all have problems. This is why Paul in his letter to Timothy actually advises people against entering into the leaders, even though we see the letter to Timothy as a handbook or guidelines to finding good leaders.
There are basically two types of leaders. Those that want the power and influence and those that do it reluctantly, they simply step up because something needs to be done. In Timothy, Paul says in the third chapter, “If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach…” He then makes a list of what we should be looking for in a leader. I encourage you to read the letter wrote to that young pastor serving in Ephesus. I encourage you to consider what it is Paul is telling him as he writes those words. But I challenge you to read it with the understanding that in Ephesus, women are the dominate religious practitioners in their society. And this personal conversation between a young pastor and his mentor is his encouragement given to a man serving in a position that culturally was different.
I begin in this way because, in today’s passage we can see the humanity of the disciples. We often read through the pages of scripture, we see the words on the pages, but often we come away from the stories with the idea that these first disciples were magnificent people. We might recognize a few instances of their humanity like when Peter denies Christ at the trial, or when Thomas doubts, but there are instances throughout the pages where the disciples are so human. They jockey for power and influence, they miss the point that Jesus is trying to make, they twist the words that he clearly says and interpret them to mean the opposite because they want him to say something different. Yet Jesus continues to hang out with these annoying individuals.
That is the most important thing right there. Jesus continues to hang out with them, he continues to teach them and encourage them. They constantly contradict him. They are persistent in their almost willful ignorance. And yet Jesus continues to encourage them.
The best parts of the bible is when Jesus shows a bit of his annoyance with them, like in Matthew 15:16, where he says, “Are you also still without understanding?” When Peter asks him to explain a parable to them. Jesus literally calls them stupid or dull. I laugh every time I read that. I laugh because I am right there with the disciples. I have been a pastor for twenty-one years. The majority of my adult life has been preaching and teaching scripture to the Meetings I serve, and yet I am right there with the disciples. I still find myself amazed at my own lack of understanding.
In case you were wondering what parable Peter struggled with, it was the blind leading the blind into a pit. We might laugh at Peter’s lack of understanding, but if we take the time to really examine our own lives, we would find that we can easily find ourselves in that situation. We can find ourselves listening to someone that might say the things we want to hear, and we follow them. We follow without even taking a second to consider what they mean, and suddenly we find ourselves speaking and doing things we never would have done had we not blindly followed.
Today, Jesus rags on one of his closest friends, John. Mark does not often single John out in his gospel accounts, usually John is mentioned in conjunction with his brother James. They tend to get into these ridiculous schemes where the plead with Jesus to call fire down from heaven to consume a city that did not react the way they wanted to, or they with their mother are trying to convince Jesus to letting them sit at the right and left when he comes into his kingdom. But today John is not mentioned with his brother. This means John spoke and people remembered what John said.
“John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’”
This seems like a innocent enough thought, John was jealously protecting his teacher. He loved Jesus and wanted to make sure no one was cheapening his authority. “We tried to stop him,” John says. He not only took offense but he actively engaged.
To get a better view of what is going on, it is important to back up a bit. Jesus and his disciples had recently made a trip to the northern boarder of the ancient land of Israel. They visited Caesarea Philippi. This city was named after Caesar and Herod Philip the tetrarch. This particular son of Herod the Great, is one we only hear about a few times because he inherited the land of Herod’s kingdom that is not often associated with Israel. But he is very much from Herod’s immoral dynasty. His brother, Antipas was the one that killed Jesus’s cousin John the baptist because he promised his daughter anything she wanted up to half his kingdom because he enjoyed her sensual dancing, who was not his daughter but his step-daughter. His step-daughter from his older brother and his wife, who Antipas happened to take for his own wife. This woman was not only the ex-wife of his brother, but she was his cousin, the daughter of his father’s sister.
Philip ended up marrying Antipas’s dancing step-daughter, he married his niece. And the reason they kept things in the family is because they were concerned with maintaining their power and influence. They did not trust outsiders, they could not even truly trust their own family, but they wanted the power, and the only way to maintain that power was to keep outside influences at bay.
Caesarea Philippi was a city rebuilt in honor of the Emperor, and this honor untied the power of Philip in that region with the Emperor. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, this city was not merely a center of Emperor worship, but it was the city at the base of Mount Hermon, the mountain where many pagan religions believed their deities descended from the heavens to the earth. And it was also the site of a system of caves called Pan’s grotto, the gates of hell, or tartarous. It was at that place Jesus asked the disciples the most important question, “Who am I?”
Their response was championed by Peter, who said that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus then took Peter, James and John up to the top of a mountain to pray. We are not specifically told what mountain they climbed but given the location they were in, we could assume they climbed Mount Hermon. On the top of that mountain, Jesus was transfigured before them. We are told that his clothes became radiant and intensely white. And he met with Moses and Elijah, and from the clouds they heard a voice telling them that Jesus was God’s beloved Son, and that they should listen to him.
They left that mountain, and as they traveled home, they were met by a man whose son was often gripped by an unclean spirit. Jesus met with the man, he healed the child, and then the man asked why his disciples could not drive out the demon. Jesus told that man that, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”
They continued to travel home, and Jesus taught them as they went, but the disciples, because of their ignorance could not understand and instead of asking questions to show their lack of knowledge they argued about which of them was the greatest. As they met to eat Jesus asked them what they were discussing along the way and they were shamed into silence. But as he spoke to them he brought a child before them and said, “whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”
Last week I mentioned that Jesus was telling us to encourage the world around us. To be open to the questions and walk with someone as they grow into faith. From here we can understand John’s interaction more fully. He saw someone outside of their group casting out demon’s in Jesus’ name. And John actively tried to stop him. Jesus responded, “Do not stop him,” This is a commanding verb. And Jesus speaks so passionately about it because John failed to listen to what Jesus said just one verse prior.
When Jesus brought that child, probably one of Peter’s children, in front of him he was telling them to encourage everyone in the faith. Yet John openly admitted to the opposite. He was trying to restrict. Jesus understands our passions. He understood that John greatly desired to honor Jesus, this is why he is referred to as the disciple Jesus loved, at least by John himself. Jesus challenged John, this beloved disciple and said, “For the one who is not against us is for us. For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.”
Often when people read this passage they are struck by Jesus’s teaching. Its something hard to understand because the context is difficult. Some might say that this is a call to unity, others might say that it is a statement of universalism. We often get caught in the narrow view because we are not looking at the wider picture.
The wider picture is attached to the disagreement of who is the greatest among the disciples. The wider picture is about Jesus telling his disciples if you want to be great you need to become the servant of all. The wider picture is that they were concerned with power and influence, they were wanting to make a Christ centered Caesarea Philippi, where they could be honored along side their great teacher when he overcame the might of the emperor and the tetrarch.
We focus on the power. We focus on the miracles. We want to see and experience the greatness of that divine energy flowing through us. Jesus is telling us that is something that can and will happen, but it is not where our focus should be. The focus is receiving the child, it is offering the cup of water. True power and influence is not in the big showy display but it is in the small seemingly insignificant act of serve.
Do not stop people from ministering in the name of Christ, but instead encourage them. This is something that is seen in the interactions of that great apostle Priscilla and her husband Aquila. They had ministered with Paul, they had gone out into the world to encourage others in the church, and they came into contact with a man named Apollos. Apollos was from Alexandria, he is said to have learned under the school of Philo. He was a logical teacher, a man that was attempting to spread the truth of the one true God using the understanding of the Greek culture. And he taught the baptism of John the Baptist. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him speak, they did not go and challenge him with the teachings of Jesus, instead they encouraged him, they took the time to listen to his story and answer his questions. And as they encouraged him, they were able to teach him about Christ. Apollos became a great minister of the Gospel, his influence was so great he was included in the list of rivalries of the early church leaders.
Apollos was active in ministry, and this couple did not call him out instead they gently encouraged him. They empowered him. This is what Jesus is teaching the beloved disciple John. So what if they are a Baptist and we are Quaker, encourage them where they are.
Now we come to one of the most misused portions of this interaction. Mark has not indicated that they have left the house so as we read this the child is still there with Jesus in front of them. John has made this statement, and had listened to Jesus’ rebuke. And the child is still there. This is not a fire and brimstone message, but one of intimate encouragement. Jesus had just said that it is the cup of water that is more important than if you have the right credentials. He then continues, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believes in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.”
This phrase, “whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,” can also be translated as stumble or offend. The King James translation uses the term offend, “and whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believes in me.” I want us to think about that for a moment. What is your initial reaction to that phrase? The King James version was and is the most widespread English translation, and unfortunately language has changed from 1611 to today. What was once clear centuries ago has become cloudy once again. The little ones that Jesus is speaking of are the children but not only the children, it is everyone that is maturing in their faith. He is using the child as the illustration to the topic.
How would we speak to a child when we are trying to encourage them? We are patient with them as they ask a million questions. They express a desire to help cook dinner so we help them cut the vegetables with the knife, taking their hand in ours as we guide them through the process. That is the image of discipleship. It is walking with someone as they explore their life of faith. It is encouraging them each step along the way.
We often look at the King James translation and we see the word offend and we begin to think it is our duty to rid the world of all offenses. We make laws that legislate behavior, because that behavior is offensive. Why can you not buy alcohol in Kansas after a certain time on Sunday? Its offensive. We get riled up about cancel culture today, friends Christians have been the instigators of cancel culture for centuries, we are now experiencing a return on our investment. And it is not pleasant.
It is not pleasant because its not discipleship. We told people how they should act and we forced them to do it through our laws. We forced without explaining. We did not invest the time to show the little ones why we believe what we believe, we only wanted them to follow the rules. Well in a society where laws can change, when we failed to encourage a deeper understanding of the belief those that do not understand will change the law. And it would have been better if we had a millstone around our neck because now we have to work even harder.
The idea is not offensiveness, it is discipleship. We need to show in our lifestyle and our words. We can say things like “love the sinner but hate the sin,” till we are blue in the face, but our words will not be heard unless we first bring the cold cup of water to the one we are trying to love.
Jesus then gives us a hard teaching. He speaks about “Offending the little ones” or causing them to sin, but he it is almost as if he does not tell us what the offense is. Except if we look at the wider context we will get the deeper understanding. This string of the conversation was initiated by John saying that he saw someone doing something in Jesus’s name, that was not following them. He then said that he tried to stop him. He tried to stop the person from pursuing a life and lifestyle devoted to the name of Christ. Historically we have interpreted this as ridding our society of sin, it is outwardly focused. It is keeping them from doing something offensive. And often when this is played out the problem is not that it offends them but it offends us. We do not like it so we will restrict it. We all grew up with this concept. Your parents hated your music and forbid you from listening. They did not like the person you were dating and forbid you from seeing them only to instigate greater desires within you. This is the plank eye syndrome. We are attempting to take the speck out of the eye of our brother without taking the big board out of our own eye first.
This is why Jesus follows this with, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell.” We could focus on this if I wanted but the point of this all is that we need to walk the walk if we are going to talk the talk. If we want our children to grow into respectable adults, we need to show them what a respectable adult looks like. If we want those within our Meeting to be loyal disciples of Christ, we need to show them the love Christ has for them and us. Examine your own life.
John was offended that someone was casting out demons in the name of Jesus, he tried to stop him from doing so, but moments before Jesus helped a family suffering from the presence of an unclean spirit that John and the other disciples could do nothing for. That man asked why, and Jesus said that kind could only be driven out with prayer. Do you see the irony of the situation. This man that John was rebuking was doing something they could not do. And they could not do it because they were not living the life. They wanted the power and influence yet did not want to serve. They wanted the respect but did not want to receive and encourage the little ones. They wanted to be the greatest in the kingdom but they were ignorant of the kingdom’s nature.
“For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
This concludes the conversation they had that day. Jesus tells them you will face trials, you will experience things that will resemble hell on earth. Struggles that you would not wish on your worst enemy. And Jesus tells them that this is a good thing. It is good because it is how we handle the trials of life that speak the most. It is easy to live a pious life when you have enough to eat, when you are not worried about the rent or if you children are literal saints. It is difficult to reflect true faith when everything seems to go wrong. How are we responding in the fiery trials we face today. Are we lashing out in the same manner of those who have no faith or are we continuing to reflect the love of Christ even when it seems as if there is no point.
I began today speaking of the amount of time I have minister among Friends. During this time I have watched leaders become so offended about things others have done that they were beside themselves with rage. They would quote scripture in defense of their actions. I have watched myself become offended and enter into arguments that were completely unproductive and if I wanted to be honest probably caused more harm than good. I have watched it in others, I have observed it in myself. If Jesus were here today I am certain he would say to me, “are you still without understanding, are you still so dull or ignorant.” And I would have to honestly confess yes. I am all you say and more. But Jesus does not leave us in that place. He, like he did with John so long ago, tells us, “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Stop focusing on what others are doing wrong, and focus on what you are doing wrong. Stop legislating based on offense, instead encourage. That is the point of salt, it is an additive, it makes things better. Without salt we are bland, and if we have too much salt we can cause harm. If what we have loses the saltiness, if our faith is no longer additive and encouraging what are we doing? We have become instruments of our own destruction instead of agents of hope. We have become just like the world instead of becoming the light to the nations. We have become the dividers instead of healers.
It is not about having power and influence. The life, the lifestyle God is calling us to. The redemption Jesus came to ensure for each of us, the restored life we were created to live in. A life of mutual profit with each other and creation. We do not get to this life by arguing and demands, we obtain that life through submitting to God and to each other. We can have that life if we confess Jesus as our Lord and clothing ourselves in his life and lifestyle.
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 12, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 1:3–9 (ESV) 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born…
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By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
September 22, 2024
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Mark 9:30–37 (ESV)
30 They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, 31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him. 33 And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. 35 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.” 36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”
As we look at today’s passage, I think it is important to just stop and consider the humanity of the men and women in scripture. They are often similar to us. They are scared, confused, passionate, and completely wrong. It is refreshing if you take the time to think about it.
Jesus had just taken the disciples on a journey. They traveled to the very gates of hell and Jesus proclaimed that upon the foundation of his life he will build his church and those gate would not over take it. Imagine if you had heard those words. Imagine if you had been standing in the middle of the most pagan place within your nation. The place where the most depraved things humanity could envision were being acted out all around you, and someone stands in the middle of it all proclaims that everything you see happening will not stand. It will not overtake the righteousness of God.
Can you imagine this? Can you imagine standing on a street in Las Vegas with escort services being advertised with the most explicit pamphlets out in the open. Imagine someone standing in an alley as illegal substances are being traded saying even this will not consume the true kingdom. Imagine a trader on the floor of the stock exchange proclaiming the greed and chaos of the most raw form of capital exploitation will not triumph over the will of God. Imagine.
Today Jesus and the disciples are traveling south away from the Syrian borderlands, returning the Galilee. They are leaving the land of the wicked and returning to the safety of home. As they walk, Jesus once again explains to them what the near future will hold.
“The son of man will be delivered into the hand of men.”
There is a slight difference in the manner of this declaration in reference to the prior explanation. The first mention of this passion event, Jesus said that he would be prosecuted by the religious leaders. This time he says that he will be delivered into the hands of humanity.
There is something about that nuance that I find interesting. Jesus is challenging society as a whole. His teaching first affects the righteous. He challenges the wicked within the religious community. He points out their hypocrisy. Only after he highlights this he then takes on the depravity of those that reject the lifestyles of the disciple. The first to condemn Jesus will be the conservatives or those with faith. But both the seemingly righteous and the injustice of society will possess hands that hold the instruments of death.
I wonder if we can see what exactly is occurring in the words that Jesus spoke about himself. The righteous will utilize the injustice of humanity to maintain the perception of power and influence. In the end their hypocrisy will become their downfall as all people are judged according the the knowledge they possess.
Jesus says these things. He tells them that he will soon suffer under the thumb of the injustice of their exploiting overlords. He tells them that he will suffer, die, and be buried. He tells them that his death will not be the end, but only the beginning. And the disciples are silent as they listen.
We are told that they are silent because they are afraid. And the usage of the language here implies not only that they are afraid, concerned, or worried but they are in a state of ignorance. It is important to point this out because this is the truth. We often do not understand. We often find ourselves operating with incomplete knowledge. And we are required to make decisions based on this ignorance. But the disciples are silent, they are afraid.
They do not understand, yet they are unwilling to stick their neck out to ask a simple question to gain greater knowledge. They are unwilling to admit their ignorance, because they are afraid that their lack will cause them to lose favor in the eyes of their teacher.
We often find ourselves in a similar situation. I recall just a few years ago when we faced something that had not been faced in our nation for generations. As an elder within the Yearly Meeting during that time, we were facing questions. These questions were being asked and we did not have answers. There were strong opinions urgently and passionately being expressed on all sides and we sat in the midst of this chaos feeling as if the weight of the entire future of the church was being placed on our shoulders.
I want each of you to remember back, I want you to remember your passion and you fears. There was no right answer and what ever decision we came to threatened to divide the church. Each resolution held within it the potential to cause a schism that would seem irreconcilable. Will we live by faith or trust science? Will we cave to the rule of the mob or will we stand trusting in the guidance of the Spirit?
The righteous condemned us, humanity judged us. And yet I feel we made the proper move as the elders searched through scripture, look at the lessons of history, and as we prayed for guidance. We were ignorant, yet we did not let fear lead us. Instead we asked questions and we sought answers knowing full well that we were operating in ignorance.
But this is not the example the disciples show us as they listened to the teachings of their teacher. Jesus told them that he would face the injustice inherit in the systems of human governance. He spoke and they were not even paying attention. Instead of asking a clarifying question of their teacher, they argued among themselves. They argued about which of them was the greatest.
I have been in conversations like this. I remember several instances while I was in elementary school where the topic of conversation was, “My dad could beat up your dad.” Looking back I find those discussions very humorous because none of us really knew any dad well enough to make any real contribution to the conversation. All I knew was that my dad was strong. And even then I did not know my dad well enough to know that in all likelihood my dad would never participate in a competition of that sort, and neither would most of the other dads in question. Yet, that did not deter the imaginations of boys, as they defended their father’s pride.
Hierarchy was important in many cultures. In their systems someone had to lead, and there would always an advisor or a bodyguard standing next to them. The faithful were not different than the world in this. We like hierarchy because with that structure we have a sense of security. We are not required to know the reasons why we do something because we are simply following orders. And on the other side, we do not have to do any of the dirty work because we can force those we rule to it for us. The beauty of this system is that there is always someone to blame. And no one is fully held responsible for anything. We might argue and say that the king is ultimately responsible, but in systems of men, we can always cast blame. We can always set up a scape goat to divert attention from our own ignorance. We see it daily on our social media feeds and splashed across the news. All our problems are caused by Ukraine, Russia, the Haitian immigrants, the people on various aide programs, or big business. There is always a scapegoat to take on the ire and blame of society.
These systems no matter if they are in the most authoritative dictatorship or our own nation are filled with corruption and ignorance. People do or say things to give an illusion of competence, and often it would have been best for them to keep their mouths shut. Yet they manipulate and work the angles of society to obtain the position because once they have that position they will no longer be required to work. They just dictate and take the spoils of the labor of others. Jesus taught that the poor will always be among us. This means not that their will always be poverty but that there will always be systems of governance where there are the exploited or the poor, and the exploiters or the rich. Those that are ruled over and those that rule, or the governors and those that are governed.
The disciples, while Jesus was telling them how he would challenge the very gates of hell, how he would reverse the injustice and corruption of the nations, were arguing among themselves which of them would be the rich and who would be the poor. They missed the entire point Jesus was making, and they remained silent in their ignorance.
As they settled for the night in Capernaum, Jesus took them aside in private and again spoke to them. He took them into a place of intimacy. He did not openly challenge their ignorance and hypocrisy. Instead he took them to a place where they were not distracted by the requirements of culture. Where they were not worried about saying or doing the right thing to maintain the appearance of piety. He took them aside and spoke to them as friends. And he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”
The disciples were again silent. This time it was not ignorance that kept them silent. It was not the fear of being exposed as foolish that kept them silent. It was quite the opposite. They had full knowledge. They knew what they were discussing and they were ashamed. They knew that they were participating in the very life and lifestyle they had observed their teacher oppose so many times over the course of years. They had listened to the sermons, watched as Jesus challenged the status quo, and had experienced the grace he offered. They knew all this, and yet as the walked from the gates of hell to the safety of their homeland, they argued about who was better than who, and which of them deserved the positions of power and authority in the kingdom to come.
Jesus asked them a question. Mark alludes in the wording that Jesus was aware of what they were discussing, but the disciples at the time did not know of the omniscience of Jesus. At this point Jesus to them was like every other religious leader of that day. He had wisdom, he had a gift of prophecy where he was able to speak with authority into the situations at hand but they had yet learned the fullness of who Jesus is.
He asks this question, and the disciples remain silent, unwilling to expose their guilt. We remain silent out of ignorance, fear, and guilt not much has changed over the years. And those that challenge our ignorance, fear, and internal guilt are often the recipients of the injustice found within the systems of men.
At this point. While the disciples are looking at the ground and avoiding eye contact, Jesus looks around the room. His eyes fall upon one of the children in the room. They are in the house at Capernaum. As we read through the words of scripture we can assume that they are likely in Peter’s house, as that is where Jesus is said to have made his lodging while he was in that town. This child was not just a random child within the community but this was most likely Peter’s child or the child of one of Peter’s closest relatives. It was a child within his family.
Jesus see this child, this child he had probably seen multiple times over the years. He calls that child over to him. This kid knew Jesus, he had probably spent many moments playing games with Jesus as they waited for supper. He had probably laughed with Jesus as they shared stories. Jesus looks up at this child, and the child knew Jesus was calling to him without saying a word.
The child knew at a glance what was being said even without words. We often communicate like this with children. My mom could speak volumes with her eyebrows and a snap of her fingers. This child in the silence ran to Jesus. There was not shame, there was not guilt, there was an acknowledgment of their own ignorance, and an innocence in asking for clarification if it was needed. I have never met a child opposed to asking a question. It is only after being told countless times to be quiet that they stop asking questions.
Jesus calls this child to him and the child comes running. This child is not jockeying for position. This child is not ashamed about who they are. A child is fully themselves as they are in that moment. And the disciples watch as Jesus allows that guilt filled silence to linger. They watch as he opens his arms to this child. They see him welcome this child into his arms. They sit there in that solemn place with downcast eyes while this child runs to embrace Jesus.
Jesus reaches out to this child. As the child nears he says to his closest friends, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all. Whoever receives a one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives not me but the one who sent me.”
The writer of the Proverbs wisely teaches that we should train up a child in the way they should go; even when they are old they will not depart from it. Have we really considered what that Proverb means? This means we should know our children, we should see what inspires them, we should observe what drives them and what challenges them. If we want what is best for our children, we will encourage them to dream and pursue those dreams. We might want them to become a doctor or an engineer, but sometimes our children are passionate about music or art. If we push them to pursue medicine when their passion is art, we are not encouraging them but setting them up for a life of disappointment and failure. But if we train them in the way they should go, if we teach them how to value their time and their expertise even in a career path as uncertain as art they will thrive.
This is what Jesus is showing the disciples. They are jockeying for position, but Jesus is telling them their value is not in the position they hold. Their value to the kingdom is not a hierarchy but it is living into the aspect of God’s image He created and called us to reflect.
We are created in the image of God. We are created to reflect in our lives and in our lifestyle the value that each person has in God’s kingdom. We bear his image but often we are ignorant, afraid, or ashamed. We like the disciples argue about which of us is greatest instead of listening to who we are and encouraging us and those around us to pursue that area that God is calling us to. The disciples desired power and influence, they wanted the things of the world and Jesus tells them, that is not what is important. The meaning of life, the universe, and everything is found in one place, the face of a child.
We serve children willingly because they are unable to serve themselves. We encourage children willingly because they eagerly respond to our encouragement. We love children. We love when they are around even when they annoy us to no end. We will serve a child because we know without children everything within our society would fall.
Receive the people of this world as we would a child. Take the time to listen to their stories. Listen to their hopes and dreams. Meet with them and encourage them to pursue that life. And be there to comfort when they fall and skin their knees. Cook their favorite meal when they are discouraged and sick. Turn on the lights when they are afraid. Be willing to teach, encourage and challenge. Be willing to discipline and forgive.
We get trapped in the cycles and systems of men. We get caught up in thinking that the world as we know it is about to end if we do not pick the right leader to fight the battles for us. As much as God cares about the nations of this earth, he cares more about the people right around you. He wants you to receive them and encourage them. He wants each of us to show them the truth of the Gospel. It is not about power and influence. But love and service to your God and your neighbor.
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church March 15, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Ephesians 5:8–14 (ESV) 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church February 22, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Romans 5:12–19 (ESV) 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church February 15, 2026 Click Here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 2 Peter 1:16–21 (ESV) 16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,…
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By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
September 15, 2024
Click Here to Join our Meeting for Worship
Mark 8:27–38 (ESV)
27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” 30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him. 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. 32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” 34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
There are many moments within my life that a question is raised and it leaves me wondering for several minutes, or even several days after. This began in school when there was a question on one of my biology tests that asked, “in what ways would the human body change if we were able to obtain all of our nutrients in a capsule?”
It was a test so I quickly wrote down one answer and went on with my life. Except that question sat in my mind for the complete next day. I answered that the digestive enzymes would change where we would only be able to digest the capsule and would not be able to digest anything else. But there are so many more answers to that question. Just imagine what could happen. The answers are endless and could fill several science fiction novels.
Then there were other questions that have come up. Questions of various sorts from various places. Some of these questions I had my own quick answer for, but then I have sat and pondered them a while and decided that maybe I probably should have thought things through a bit more. I do this often when I approach the writings in scripture. I will find myself reading through the books of the law and I will suddenly find myself staring off into space thinking about why or what would make one thing unclean but not something else? When I couple the readings of scripture with other writings about ancient customs within the same general area, it raises even more questions and thoughts. For example, “why did God require certain portions of a sacrifice to be burned, or why was blood so important to God that this would be burned or buried and never to be eaten? When we look at the surrounding cultures we will see that many of the other religions would use certain parts of the sacrificial animal to gain insight into the future, yet those parts in scripture should be burned.
I think about these things, I wonder about them, I look for reasons. These questions come to me and I cannot just leave them be. I study and I pray. I try to consider things from multiple perspectives, I will even intentionally try to consider things from the opposite perspective than my own. I do this because I believe that what is written in scripture is important.
Now since I brought up the topic of what God wants to be place on the alter in reference to what other cultures at that same time used there is an interesting reason there. Many of the ancient cultures would use certain parts to seek answers or omens from their gods in reference to their future actions. If they wanted to go to battle against their enemies they would bring a sacrifice to the temple and have them read the future. Torah demanded that those parts should be immediately burned, which most people would say is in reference to not practicing magic, which is not wrong. But it goes deeper, it is saying that you trust God with your future, that you do not need to know what might happen because you are living in faith that God will provide all that is necessary.
This happens often in scripture. Most of the Old Testament has similarities with the practices of many of cultures surrounding Israel, but there are slight differences. The similarities are interesting, and often when pastors mention these similarities people get upset saying that we are saying that all religions are the same. But is the differences that point to the greater truth.
I have gone off on a rant here and you are probably wondering why I am saying all of this. The reason is because Jesus went with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Caesarea Philippi is in the far northern regions of Israel, the area now known as the Golan Heights. In many ancient religions the source of a river is often held as being a holy site, because without water life becomes extremely difficult. Caesarea Philippi is no different. The source of the Jordan River comes out of the mountains just north of this city, mainly from Mount Hermon. The cultures that lived in the Jordan Valley held this mountain as sacred because it was the source of this life giving and maintaining water. And religious shrines can be found along the slopes of that mountain.
Jesus went to these villages. He traveled north to the borderlands of Israel, to a city named after the Emperor of Rome and the son of the self named king of the Jews Herod the Great. He traveled to this multicultural religious shrine with his disciples, and he asked them a question. “Who do people say that I am?”
Mount Hermon has deep spiritual significance among the Hebrew people and the various cultures that lived in that region throughout the ages. There are networks of caves throughout that many regarded as the gateway to the underworld, and the house of Pan: the pagan god of the wild, shepherds, and folk music. The part that is the most important is the wild. Pan was a deity of chaos, from which the terms pandemonium and pandemic are derived. Here in the villages surrounding Caesarea Philippi, this city steeped in pagan religious ideologies, Jesus asks one of the deepest questions of his disciples. “Who am I?”
The answers they give are not really that surprising. “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others one of the prophets.” This is what the world says. This is not that much different from what people say today. Who is Jesus?
Gandhi, the great teacher that inspired the independence movement within India is credited with saying, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” This teacher of the Hindu religious likes your Christ. When I was attending school it was common to hear people on campus say things that were similar. They loved the teachings of Jesus but.
Who is he? Is he a teacher? Is he a prophet? John the Baptist was the man crying in the wilderness, he was a teacher that inspired many. He stood on the banks of the Jordan River crying out to all that came to listen to repent and be baptized. He would say your heritage is not enough to make you a child of Israel, that God could fashion children for Abraham out of the stones and that would not make them worthy of that great name. Elijah was the father of the prophets, he was the one that challenged the prophets of Baal on a Mt Carmel.
The teacher and the prophet. That is what the world thought of Jesus. He was a great teacher. He spoke words of truth.
Jesus then asks a second question, “Who do you say that I am?”
At this question, Peter quickly answers, “You are the Christ.”
This is a word that is loaded with meaning. Christ means anointed. It is used in the Greek language for many things, from smearing an ointment on the body for medicinal purpose, to applying oil to weapons, or in the case in reference to the Hebrew use of the word, to appoint and bless a king or prophet.
In the history of the Hebrew people there were several anointed people. The priest were all annointed, the kings including King David were each annointed. If you were to do a word study you would find that each of these could be called annointed, or christ. But there was a deeper teaching the annointed of the annointed. The king of kings and lord of Lords. The one that would set all things right and restore all that was lost. The Christ.
The teachings of the Hebrew people was that there were three major falls within humanity that sent the world into its tragic existence. The fall in the garden, the fall that brought about the flood, and the tower of Babel. These three stories are what set the stage for the calling of Abraham and brought about the nation of Israel. And within these stories was the hope that God would bring all of fallen humanity back to him.
The second fall is what is significant to today’s scripture. The traditions of the Hebrew people say that the corruption that brought about the flood, originated on Mt Hermon, at Caesarea Philippi.
The various falls of humanity revolved around a desire of humankind seeking something that was not intended for them. Our first parents, desired the knowledge of good and evil, that could be obtained by eating of the fruit of the tree. They were deceived into eating this fruit by the serpent, who created the desire within them that if they had that knowledge, they would become like God.
They wanted power. They wanted influence. They wanted to be like God. The reality is they were already bearers of God’s image. They already had the power and influence they wanted. They already had what they wanted, but they wanted it on their terms not God’s.
The second fall that lead to the flood spoke of a similar desire. We are told that there was great corruption and no one had faith in God. It speaks of the great men, men of renown. The teachings of the Hebrew people say that the sin here, the fall was that people continued to desire power and influence over others and over nature. They sought knowledge, and power from beings in a manner that denied God. Knowledge of war, of magic, of sensuality. They sought power and they sold their souls to obtain it. This started a war between heaven and earth. Instead of living in cooperation we wanted control.
The Christ that the Hebrew people looked forward to was going to reverse the curse that began on Mt Hermon. The Christ was going to take the weapons of war and beat them into plows. Instead of seeking power over others, the Christ was going to usher in a age of mutual profit, where humanity would once again live in communion with creation and their creator.
Who Am I? Jesus asks.
Peter says you are the one we have all been waiting for. You are the one that will restore and set creation to right.
Jesus then begins to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things. That he would be rejected, and killed and after three days would rise again. We are told that he said this plainly.
He did not teach this using a parable or a story to prompt a deeper spiritual conversation. He just told them what was going to be in clear terms that would not be left to interpretation. But Peter, the one that just moments ago claimed that Jesus was The Christ. The annointed one that would restore all things, listened to these words and he pulled Jesus aside and began to rebuke Jesus.
I feel as if we do not fully grasp the scene within scripture as we read these words. To rebuke is more than a mere disagreement, it is a condemnation. Peter take Jesus aside and tells him that he is speaking blasphemy. Peter is telling Jesus, the one whom he called the Christ, that he is speaking untruth.
Jesus, in turn, rebukes Peter saying, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
This is an arrow through the heart of Peter. Peter’s greatest desire was for God to be honored and praised. His greatest desire was that God would send the Christ into the world to restore what was once lost. His greatest desire was to honor and praise God. But Peter wanted to do this according to his own ways. He wanted God to do things the way Peter thought they should be done. He wanted. He desired.
Peter was no different than the people that once sought power and influence in the days of corruption. He wanted to manipulate the things of God for his own. He wanted to over throw Rome and establish the Kingdom of God on Earth. He wanted the annointed king to reign. He wanted. Ninety percent of what Peter wanted was righteous and holy. He was what we would call a good man. A man of faith. Yet in that moment even this righteous man was called Satan.
Peter was in league with the evil one not God. And this was evident because Peter was setting his mind on the things of man instead of God. He was focused on what he wanted instead of what God wanted to do for all people.
We can so easily fall into this trap. I know what is good. I am a righteous person. I read scriptures and I study them. I am a Christian, a pastor. We can make a list of all of our good traits, but how are we going about influencing the world? Are we making laws for others based on our beliefs? Are we fighting wars to force the people of some other nation or culture to start doing things our way instead of theirs? Are we using our power and influence to force, persuade or manipulate others to live in a manner they do not actually believe?
Jesus then called the crowd to him with his disciples and he began to show Peter and everyone that witnessed that interaction. He called them because they all, like Peter and like us, they believed that it was good to use the power we have to force others into a righteous lifestyle. Jesus called them to listen and he taught them the most profound lesson we could ever learn.
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
There are three commands here, three imperative verbs. Deny, Take, and Follow.
This word deny, is in many ways a negative thought. It is restrict or even to steal, it is to hinder access. This word is to use force against something. This is what Peter wanted to do, he wanted Jesus to deny, to force the world into their way of thinking. This is the language that many people understand use power on others, but Jesus turns it around. We are not to use our power on others, but ourselves. If you want to influence the world for God, we do not deny others, we do not force them to adhere to our thoughts and our desires. We use all that power and influence on the only person we actually have power over. We deny ourselves.
We cannot make someone act a certain way. We cannot force someone to stop thinking a particular thought. We only have true power over ourselves. Everything we want them to do, Jesus says, you need to turn that attention to yourself. He said this another way in scripture. “Before you attempt to removed the speck out of your brother’s eye take the plank out of your own.”
We need to deny ourselves, and then the second command it to take. This word means to lift, carry, to bear. This goes back to the ten commandments, the wisdom or teaching of God. “Do not take the name of the Lord in vain.” We often interpret that commandment to mean do not misuse the name of God in our manner of speech, but it means so much more than that. It is bearing the name of God, it is living into his image that we bear. If we bear or carry the image of God in us, we should not do so in vain because every action we participate in, every conversation or interaction we engage in, is representing God. We are reflecting who God is in that interaction. So do not take the name of God in vain.
This is similar in Jesus teaching here, we are to “Take up his cross” or our cross.
What is the cross? On this side of Easter, in the life after the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus we see the cross differently than the people prior to the crucifixion saw it. Today’s passage comes before not after. Before the cross was a symbol of justice or injustice. It was the sign of lorded power of the Emperor over the people. The cross was a symbol of exploitation and repression. Those that opposed the power of man suffered the cross.
Jesus is telling us that we need to deny ourselves, use our power first on ourselves. Then we need to take up the cross. This means we are to see the areas of injustice in our culture and stand against that injustice. But not just stand against it, take it up, bear it. We are to take ownership of that injustice and work to turn it around.
If we see that abortion is an injustice, we need to take up that cross. That does not mean we go out and protest, it means we become the other option, we become the ones willing to adopt. We become the ones that will take on the burden of maintaining life. If we are unwilling to become the solution we are the problem. If we feel that student loan forgiveness is an injustice, how are you going to step in and help? We cannot merely say word, we must take up the cross, we must bear the burden because if we are unwilling to live into that injustice, if we are unwilling to deny ourselves, we are just participants and collaborators in the injustice.
The last commandment is to follow. This means to go behind. The ideas here is to be a disciple. Someone that takes on the life and lifestyle of a teacher. When Jesus says, “follow me,” he is asking us to step away from the life we are living on our terms, and to take on his lifestyle. And what is that lifestyle? Jesus made it his custom to worship with the community. He withdrew often to the isolated places to pray, and he ministered to the needs of those around him in word and in action. This is the core of our mission and purpose here at Willow Creek. Our mission statement is, “Loving God, Embracing the Holy Spirit, and Living the Love of Christ with Others.” Worship, prayer, and service. Deny, take, and follow. All of these speak of the same things.
“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” In our era of social justice, woke-ness, and culture wars we often get caught in the same trap that Peter found himself. We do not like the way the world is doing things and we want things to change. But like Peter we often think that the way to make the changes we so desire to see within our world is to set our mind on the things of man. We want to use power, force, elections and the courts to bring about the change we want. We want to use the tools of men.
“Who is Jesus?” that is the question that so often rings in my ears as I walk through my life. I have answered that question in a variety of ways, but if I am honest my answers are not always good. So often I regard Jesus as the teacher in the wilderness that gives some good advice. I often think of him as the prophet that speaks words of truth with authority. So often I am the person that Gandhi speaks of, “He likes our Jesus but not our Christians.” If anyone would come after Jesus, we need to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow him.
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church February 8, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship 1 Corinthians 2 (ESV) 1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church February 01, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship 1 Corinthians 1:18–31 (ESV) 18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church January 18, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Corinthians 1:1–9 (ESV) 1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of…
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