Mark 9:34 (DRB)

Passage

And sitting down, he called the twelve and saith to them: If any man desire to be first, he shall be the last of all and be minister of all.

Nearby Context

Mark 9:32 And they came to Capharnaum. And when they were in the house, he asked them: What did you treat of in the way?

Mark 9:33 But they held their peace, for in the way they had disputed among themselves, which of them should be the greatest.

Mark 9:34 And sitting down, he called the twelve and saith to them: If any man desire to be first, he shall be the last of all and be minister of all.

Mark 9:35 And taking a child, he set him in the midst of them. Whom when he had embraced, he saith to them:

Mark 9:36 Whosoever shall receive one such child as this in my name receiveth me. And whosoever shall receive me receiveth not me but him that sent me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "called", "sitting", "down", "twelve", "saith", "desire", "first", and "shall". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "called" and "sitting", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 33's "But they held their peace for in..." into verse 35's "And taking a child he set him...", so "called" and "sitting" belong inside that flow. In Mark context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "called" and "sitting" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.