He sat down, and called the twelve; and he said to them, “If any man wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all.”
Parallel Translations
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He sat down, and called the twelve; and he said to them, “If any man wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all.”
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And he sate doune and called the twelve vnto him and sayd to them: yf eny man desyre to be fyrst the same shalbe last of all and servaunt vnto all.
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And he sate downe, and called the twelue, and said to them, If any man desire to be first, the same shalbe last of all, and seruant vnto all.
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Mark 9:35 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Matthew 20:25-28 But Jesus summoned them, and said, “You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you, but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. Whoever desires to be first among you shall be your bondservant, even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
- Luke 22:26 But not so with you. But one who is the greater among you, let him become as the younger, and one who is governing, as one who serves.
- Mark 10:42-45 Jesus summoned them, and said to them, “You know that they who are recognized as rulers over the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you, but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant. Whoever of you wants to become first among you, shall be bondservant of all. For the Son of Man also came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
- Matthew 23:11 But he who is greatest among you will be your servant.
- Luke 14:10-11 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes, he may tell you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
- Luke 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
- James 4:6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Jeremiah 45:5 Do you seek great things for yourself? Don’t seek them; for, behold, I will bring evil on all flesh,’ says Yahweh; ‘but I will let you escape with your life wherever you go.’ ”
- Proverbs 13:10 Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is with people who take advice.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (8 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 35 And he sat down, and called the twelve,…
35 And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
Ver. 35. He sat down] Tanquam serii quicquam traditurus: the teacher sat, the learners lay at his feet. {See Trapp on "Mat 5:2"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Matthew’s recital of this passage expounds Mark; he saith…
Matthew’s recital of this passage expounds Mark; he saith Christ said, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of God. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. Luke also relates this passage something more shortly, but without any contradiction to what is said by the other evangelists. The sense is plain: our Saviour’s design was to check the ambition and ignorance of his disciples, never more unseasonably showed than now, when a suffering time was so hard at hand. He at first did it by word of mouth, telling them,
If any man desire to be first, he shall be last of all, the least valuable in the eyes of God, and he would have them value such a person least. Humility is that which most exalts a soul in the eyes of Christ, and setteth it highest in his esteem. But it is observable our Lord doth not say, he that is the first, but he who desireth to be first. God is a God of order, not of confusion; there can be no order without a first as well as a last. But Christians (ministers especially, for he is here speaking to the twelve) ought to be sought out for, not to seek places of preeminence and dignity: he that is first in seeking them, is usually last as to any true worth deserving them, and ought last to obtain them. Then he teacheth them humility by the type of a little child, which he setteth in the midst of them, telling them they must be like that little child, (saith Matthew,) not in all things, but in the want of ambition, in a carelessness as to the great things of this life. And whosoever entertained or showed kindness to such a one, Christ would take it as done to himself; and what kindness was showed him, reached not to him only, but to his Father who sent him. There are also other things in little children commended to us in holy writ, but this is manifestly what our Saviour here intends.
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See Poole on "Mat 18:1" and following verses to Mat 18:5.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And he sat down,.... As their master, as one…
And he sat down,.... As their master, as one having authority; and in order to examine into this matter, and pass judgment upon it:
and called the twelve; all the disciples, who though they might not be all engaged in this dispute, nor equally criminal, yet were all, possessed of the same notion; and therefore Christ calls them all unto him, what he had to say, being pertinent unto them all:
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and saith unto them, if any man desire to be first; to have the pre-eminence, and be in the chief place in the kingdom of the Messiah,
the same shall be last of all, and servant of all: his pride and vanity shall be checked; his ambitious views shall be frustrated; instead of being first, he shall be last; and instead of having superior reverence and respect, he shall be debased, and treated with neglect and contempt; and instead of being the master over others, shall be the servant of all. Some copies read, "let him be"; and so the Persic version, "let him be last, and minister to every one"; and the Ethiopic thus, "let him subject himself to all, and be servant to all"; for the only way to preferment in Christ's kingdom, or in the Gospel dispensation, is humility and meekness, and performing the lowest services to all, with diligence and cheerfulness.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Let him be the least of all - Let…
Let him be the least of all - Let him abase himself the most.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 35. And he sat down] Observe the many graphic…
35. And he sat down] Observe the many graphic and pathetic touches in this and the following verse. (1) He sits down; (2) He calls the Twelve to Him; (3) He takes a little child, and places it in the midst of them; (4) He takes it into His arms, and then He speaks to them.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And he sat down, and called the twelve. He…
And he sat down, and called the twelve. He sat down, with the authority of the great Teacher, to inculcate solemnly a fundamental principle of the Christian life. If any man would be first he shall be last of all, and minister of all. These words are capable of two interpretations. They might be regarded as analogous to our Lord"s words elsewhere, "He that exalteth himself shall be abased;" as though they indicated the penalty which attaches to unworthy ambition. But it is surely far more natural to regard them as pointing out the way to real greatness, namely, by humble service for Christ"s sake.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 35. Servant of all. The two conditions of true…
35. Servant of all. The two conditions of true greatness are humility and service; not to be the servant of friends, or kindred, or of a class, or even of church members, but of all, like Christ.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 9:35 Jesus sat down, assuming the role of a…
9:35 Jesus sat down, assuming the role of a teacher (see 4:1-2; 12:41; Matt 5:1; Luke 4:20; 5:3). True greatness in God’s Kingdom involves being the servant of everyone else, not the master, as Jesus would make clear by his own example in Mark 10:45.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.