What Are You Arguing With Them About?
Written by Erin Richer
Jesus has just been transfigured before the disciples (Mark 9).
I learned from one of my Dive Study buddies that the word transfigured means He’s been transformed from the inside out; not just physically, but His entire being has changed and is displayed before Peter, James, and John in its fully glorified state. He’s conversing with Moses and Elijah. Do you wonder what they’re talking about?
I do.
I wonder if Jesus is enjoying a conversation with dudes who “get” him. How refreshing in the midst of walking among shallow men. There’s nothing more life-giving than conversation about the things of God, and these men truly understood. Peter interrupts with anxious talking, offering an idea to build shelters. He’s terrified and nervous talking. He clearly has no idea what they’re discussing. Suddenly a cloud envelops all of them and God affirms Jesus in their midst, “This is my beloved Son; listen to Him!”
What an incredible gift this must have been for Jesus, a reprieve of sorts. And how hard it must have been to be returned to His earthly form and descend that mountain, giving up His glory once again to continue on in ministry with His young, dim disciples.
Sure enough, He descends the mountain to find the nine disciples He had left behind, arguing with some scribes and teachers of the law. Quite the juxtaposition from the life-giving conversation that was just happening on the top of that mountain. They have caused a commotion and are attracting a crowd.
So far, everywhere we’ve seen crowds in Mark, they are gathered around Jesus as He teaches and heals. But this time is different. This time we see a crowd gathered from Jesus’ removed perspective. Jesus sees the crowd from a distance and what does He find there? The disciples He left while He was off being transfigured with Peter, James, and John, facing the scribes and teachers of the law, and surrounded by a crowd they are drawing. What are they doing that’s drawing a crowd? Arguing.
“What are you arguing with them about?” Jesus asks.
What were the scribes and the disciples arguing about? It turns out, a man needed his son freed from a demon. I wonder if maybe they were arguing about whether the disciples could do it. The disciples knew they could because they had already been casting out demons, but for some reason, this time it wasn’t working. The scribes didn’t think the disciples could (or maybe should), because in the past it was only religious leaders who knew how to cast out demons. Whatever the case, they found themselves in the midst of an argument.
Jesus asks the disciples, “What are you arguing with them about?” and the response actually comes from a guy in the crowd—not just any guy in the crowd, though—this man was in desperate need of a healing for his son. Jesus was indignant. Instead of the desperate man being the focus of love and service, he’s faded back into the crowd because…well…his problem was completely forgotten about while his disciples and the teachers of the law had points to prove.
This isn’t what Jesus modeled for the disciples; instead, the desperate one is always the focus—His eyes are fixed on them. So this is what He models again. He immediately, without delay, directs His and everyone else’s attention back where it belongs: the place where the glory of God meets desperate mankind. The man tells his story of his boy’s affliction and the demon is cast out.
Toward the end of the chapter, we hear Jesus ask the same exact question again. As they are traveling, Jesus tells them of His imminent betrayal and crucifixion. But something else had been gripping the disciples' attention along the way. So when they finally reach their destination, Jesus brings the twelve together and asks them again:
“What were you arguing about on the way?”
Silence.
They had been arguing about which one of them was the greatest, but no one was willing to say it. Jesus sits down, and from His never ending portion of patience, teaches them about what makes one the greatest in the Kingdom of God. To become the greatest, one must become the least. The very last line of this lesson—the very last line of chapter 9 is “…be at peace with one another.”
Every day, Christians unfriend Christians on social media; we argue over politics, mask wearing, Columbus Day, social and racial injustice and—at the heart of it all—who is the greatest. As the election draws near, we argue louder and our point proving gets longer. All the while the actual desperately broken, the ones who are often the catalyst for the arguments, fade into the background as part of the crowd watching us bicker.
We are a ragamuffin bunch getting it wrong at every turn. And yet Jesus still gathers us close to Him to ask the questions to which He already knows the answers. Questions that cut to the heart. Questions that convict, like: “What are you arguing about?” And His Spirit patiently teaches us and reminds us of these truths…
No matter the outcome of the election in November, God remains on His throne. (Or as my husband likes to say, “God still has His hat on.”) The crown never gets handed to humanity, His plan is still in full swing, and He is still returning to fully restore it all unto Himself. Personally, when I start to worry about what the future might hold for my nation, my family, and my community, I take courage from this truth: God uses adversity to strengthen His people; His church becomes even stronger and spreads faster under the weight of persecution.
But also, and perhaps the most important thing to learn from this passage…
There are still hungry and lonely and lost among us. While it’s easier to argue over how to best serve them, the call from Jesus is to go to them, immediately and without delay, with all our attention and love pointed directly at them—because that is where we will find Jesus.