Mark 9:35

Desire to be first. Here Jesus comes to the heart of the problem — each of the Twelve desired to be “first” in the kingdom they all soon expected the Lord to establish (see on Matt. 18:1). They forgot that true greatness involves the renunciation of greatness as an objective in life. The moment a man sets out to be great he gives evidence of littleness of soul. Compare Matt. 23:8-12; Mark 10:43, 44; Luke 22:24-26.

Servant. Gr. diakonos, from which comes the English word “deacon” (see Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:8, 12). A diakonos is one who ministers to the needs or wants of another and might be either a “slave” or a freeman, though the word implies service rendered voluntarily. Another Greek word commonly translated “servant,” doulos, means a “slave” in the usual sense of the word. In the NT diakonos is commonly used of a “minister” of the gospel (see 1 Cor. 3:5; Eph. 3:7; 1 Thess. 3:2). The kingdom of heaven is essentially a matter of rendering service to God and to one’s fellow men, not of receiving it from them. True love is essentially a matter of giving love rather than of demanding it (see on Matt. 5:43). He is greatest who loves God and his fellow men most and serves them best.