They went on from there and passed through Galilee. But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him. But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. Jesus had a very good sense of the importance of props in public speaking.
Props are physical objects used to illustrate something.
Last week, I dragged in a whole pile of bricks to make the point that we build our faith like we build a wall, out of the strongest building blocks. I could just have said this, as I just did, but the use of actual bricks had a way of helping people absorb the message. Jesus often used props, He holds up a coin, or points to the birds in the air or the lilies of the field. This time Jesus holds up an actual child as his prop. Jesus has announced his passion, which is religious speak mean his death.