In Mark 9:30–50, Jesus and his disciples are traveling through Galilee when he tells them for the second time that he will be killed and rise again — but rather than grappling with that, the disciples fall into an argument about which of them is the greatest. Jesus responds by sitting them down and flipping their expectations upside down: true greatness in God's kingdom means being the servant of all, not the boss of all. He illustrates this by placing a child in their midst, pointing out that welcoming the overlooked and powerless is the same as welcoming him. When John reports that the group tried to shut down an outsider casting out demons in Jesus' name, Jesus pushes back — his team is bigger than they think, and gatekeeping has no place in it. He then warns soberly against causing others to stumble in their faith, calls his followers to deal seriously with sin rather than let it fester, and closes with the image of salt: be the kind of person who adds flavor and preserves what's good, and above all, be at peace with one another.

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