Jesus and the twelve were walking back to Capernaum. The place Jesus had moved after leaving Nazareth. The place at least a third of the twelve grew up.

After miracles and teaching and the mount of transfiguration, after a season of staying away from crowds, they were going back to the most familiar place some of them knew.

For Jesus and for the narrative Mark (and Jesus) are telling, this is the reset. From here, they will go to Jerusalem and to death. Jesus (and Mark) had started talking about this ending. It shows up three times in the last two pages.

But for the disciples, this is going back to family, back to the people who they had left to follow Jesus. And so, in their nervousness, they started talking about who was best.

We don’t know the actual comparisons. Peter, James, and John had gone up on the mountain and had seen Moses and Elijah, but they had been told not to talk about it. And Peter had been shut down at least once before by Jesus.

But we don’t need to know what they used as standards. We can fill in what we use. Because the people who follow Jesus now are still arguing about who is the greatest.

Who sells the most books. Who has the biggest crowds. Who has the most. Or the least.

But before we start measuring in millions, remember that this was a dozen guys, from late teens to maybe thirties. Greatest was pretty small. But most of us know personally the capacity of small groups of people to create hierarchy, to inflict shame, to be better at the expense of others.

Which is why, when they got inside the house, away from the crowds, face to face with Jesus, no one wanted to tell him what they’d been saying. Because they knew it was wrong.