Jesus Came to Serve
Mark 10:35-45
SS Lesson for 02/20/11
Devotional Scripture: John 13:3-17
The outline of the lesson came from a previous lesson dated 01/30/2005. This week's lesson teaches us about greatest and how we should be more like Jesus who came to serve. The study's aim is to learn that it is better to serve others than to seek honor for ourselves. The study's application is to understand that we need to serve others as Jesus did.
God’s Mount Rushmore
Few sights around the world are more impressive than the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota. The famous images of American Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt comprise the world’s largest sculpture. The 60-foot tall figures were intended to represent the ideals of American democracy by honoring four of the country’s greatest leaders. By contrast, what would God sculpt to represent his ideals for his people? What is the impressive image that God would provide to remind us of what he wants us to be? Whose image would he carve into his iconic mountain? Today’s Scripture passage could be characterized as God’s Mount Rushmore. In it we learn the quality essential to greatness from God’s point of view. In it we learn who has supremely demonstrated that quality and why above all things we are to make that quality of his our own.
Lesson Background
Since the decisive day in Caesarea Philippi when Peter said to Jesus, “You are the Christ” (Mark 8:29; Lesson 10), Jesus spoke to his disciples openly and directly about his pending death (8:31; 9:31). Yet the disciples failed to understand him (9:32), and Peter even argued with him (8:32). Clearly it was not easy to understand how the Christ—the promised “anointed one” sent by God—could possibly suffer such a fate. The disciples, like us, were accustomed to the idea that great people are those who can exercise power over others, who can command others to do their bidding to benefit those who have the power and give the orders. For them, the hated Roman conquerors represented the greatness of power, and the disciples desired that their pagan overlords would be overthrown by an even mightier power. Like us, the disciples struggled to imagine any other way that a person can be great, whether that person is the Christ or anyone else. By contrast, Jesus challenged them to think very differently. Those who want to save their lives must lose them (Mark 8:35). Those who belong to God’s kingdom must become like little children (9:37; 10:15). It is impossible for those who rely on their own resources to enter God’s kingdom (10:24, 25). Being “first,” Jesus told his disciples, consisted of serving others—being “last” in ordinary terms (9:35). In today’s passage, Jesus brings these ideas together for his disciples. He will tell them again what it means to be great in God’s kingdom. More particularly, he will tell them why in God’s kingdom greatness is defined in a way that seems upside down. (Matthew 20:20–28 is parallel.)
To some degree, all human beings aspire to greatness. It is not that everyone would like to be president of a country, or even president of a club. As children, we may have simply wanted to occupy a certain position on the ball team or be included in a particular social circle. As we grew older, though, our desire for greatness may have been related to our family, occupation, or community standing. Of course, some people are content to be followers and have no desire for notoriety or prominence. Because of the competitive nature of our world, a desire for greatness may creep into the life of a church. Like the disciples, pastors, church musicians, and lay leaders may vie for prominent positions in the congregation and beyond. Sadly, such desires often result in jealousy, wrangling, and splits. Christians do not part company because they are trying to outserve one another! Since the Lord's church is not to operate by the principles of the world, it must have different goals. One of those goals is to serve one another, and we cannot be true servants if we are competing with each other for power and popularity. If we are honest with ourselves, most of us do seek and gravitate toward that which gives us honor. The disciples were no different. The flesh does not give up easily, and such desires for honor come naturally to the carnal man. Jesus, however, has an important lesson for His disciples. We will explore that lesson as we study our Scripture passage for this week. It is a lesson about service to others. Taking the lower place does not come easily for anyone, for we gravitate naturally toward the place of recognition and honor. But if we dare to look closely at some of the great leaders we admire, we see a few who are characterized by what is termed "servant-leadership." They lead by serving and setting the example for others. Some hesitate to serve because they imagine that service is incompatible with leadership. This was not the case, however, with our Lord Jesus.
(Scriptural Text from the New King James Version; cross-references from the NIV)
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."
36 And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"
37 They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."
38 But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"
39 They said to Him, "We are able." So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized;
40 but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."
Matthew 20:20 notes that the mother of James and John comes “to Jesus with her sons.” Obviously, all three are heavily involved in making this misguided request. If we combine Matthew 27:56 with Mark 15:40, we discover that the mother’s name is Salome. She is neither the first nor last mother to have ambitions for her children. See Genesis 27:5–10.
Eric Ritz tells of a certain executive who was traveling. While waiting at an airport, he learned his flight had been canceled. This forced him to go to another airline to rebook his journey. His patience was gone, so he shoved his way to the front of the ticket line and angrily demanded a first-class ticket on the next available flight. The agent explained that he’d be happy to help, but the man would just have to wait in line like everyone else. That was too much for the man’s ego. He leaned over the counter and said, “Young man, do you have any idea who I am?” Whereupon the ticket agent picked up the microphone and said, “Attention, please. There is a gentleman at the ticket counter who doesn’t know who he is. If anyone can identify him, please come to the counter.” That man was really “asking for it”! An inflated view of self indicates a shallow spirit. But when there is genuine communion with God, there is humility; there is the absence of seeing oneself as greater than others. See Romans 12:3.
4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have." 6 But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."
5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." 6 Solomon answered, "You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. 7 "Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?"
7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
9 The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10 But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower.
18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.
3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
2:1 My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.
42 But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
43 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.
44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. 19 He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
2 Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers-not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
6 Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.
1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."
7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men,
10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father-to him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.
Everything around us seems to encourage us to seek power and position. Whether we look at school, jobs, family, friends, or media, all seem to tell us that taking first place, having authority, wealth, and status should be our ambition. If we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that we are happy to listen to that message and follow it. Everything around us sends us toward power and position except one thing: the cross of Christ. The gospel turns worldly values upside down. We have been served by the greatest one. He served us even to the point of giving his life for us in death. That great truth compels us to reassess our lives and our ambitions. When we serve others as Jesus did, we will discover what life is to be about.
Mark 10:45 is a stinging rebuke to every follower of Christ who has ever sought to take advantage of a position of authority in any way, whether within the church or outside it, by allowing himself to become the object of service by those whose care has been entrusted to him. "Even the Son of man"—that is, even Jesus Christ Himself, who has been given, for all eternity, complete and absolute authority over everything in heaven and earth —did not come to be the object of subservience by others. Where does that leave any of us a leg to stand on when we try to rationalize even the smallest effort to obligate others to live for our pleasure? Can we, even for a moment, consider ourselves more worthy of such service than the beloved Son of the living God? The mere suggestion should send chills of guilt down the spine of any Christian soul. The rebuke springs yet another stinging barb into the already irritated flesh of our conscience: "[He gave] his life a ransom for many." Not only did Jesus, who more than any other is due all honor and service imaginable, come to be a servant to the lowest of sinners, but He also did it by giving His very life to save them. Imagine for a moment the face of that person whom you consider most loathsome and least deserving of your friendship or service. Then imagine singling out that person as the one for whose well-being you would give your very life. Perhaps that will give you a small taste of what our text is saying to us and of the magnitude of Christ's service to sinful humanity. The obvious message of our text is this: do not be motivated by ambition to seek high position or authority in life so that you can lord it over others. The small, hollow, and perverse satisfaction this brings comes to you at the cost of blaspheming the authority and Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who sought only to be the Servant of all. Another, more neglected, message is also before us in this text. If God has already given you position and authority over others in life, be extremely careful not to lord it over them. Think carefully about the motives of the Lord Jesus, whom you claim to serve in all your dealings with those entrusted to you. In the eyes of God you are not so much their master as their benefactor. Treat them as the valuable resource that they are in assisting you toward the accomplishment of God's assignment for you in life. God Himself has given them into your care as a gift and an invaluable help without which all your aims would be impossible. Human society operates on the basis of human traditions and policies to serve the purposes of those with earthly power. By contrast, God's Word penetrates all human convention, exposing the truth of every life situation and commanding that we live our lives with a spirit of sacrificial love for others.
1. Even those who walk closely with Jesus have to resist the temptation of self-promotion (Mark 10:35-37)
2. Be careful lest your requests to God betray your lack of understanding (vs. 38-39)
3. God's personal plan for each of us reaches even into eternity (Mark 10:40;cf. Matt. 25:34)
4. Displeasure with our brethren too often takes root among us (Mark 10:41; James 4:1-10)
5. God has called Christians to be servant-leaders (Mark 10:42-44; cf. Gal. 5:13)
6. Jesus is the ultimate example of a true servant-leader (Mark 10:45; cf. Phil. 5:6-8)
"A lady answered the knock on her door to find a man with a sad expression. 'I'm sorry to disturb you,' he said, 'but I'm collecting money for an unfortunate family in the neighborhood. The husband is out of work, the kids are hungry, the utilities will soon be cut off, and worse, they're going to be kicked out of their apartment if they don't pay the rent by this afternoon.' "'I'll be happy to help,' said the woman with great concern. 'But who are you?' 'I'm their landlord,' he replied" (www.sermonillustrations.com). This quirky illustration shows the difference between earthly self-interest and godly service. Jesus taught His disciples to minister to others, that is, to serve by giving of themselves completely to others with no expectation of personal benefit in return.
James and John asked Jesus to arrange things so that they would be awarded the highest places of honor in His kingdom. Jesus told them that they were totally unaware of the implications of their question. To drive home His point, He asked them whether they were presently capable of identifying with Him in His sufferings. They replied that they were. Jesus told James and John that they would indeed enter into His sufferings but that arranging things so that they would sit in special places on His right and left was not something He had the authority to do. When the other disciples overheard this conversation, they became incensed with James and John. The natural, sinful tendency of man is to look out for himself. The true depravity of the human heart is further demonstrated when people mask their self-serving nature with actions that seem to be for the benefit of others but are actually for themselves. That is of course what the landlord was quite transparently doing in our opening illustration. The core of all our sinful deeds is disobedient selfishness. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, initiated it, and mankind has been struggling with the devastating results ever since. The next time you are talking with someone about his sin, move the conversation to the issue of selfishness. By the Spirit's power you may begin to have a spiritual impact that will eventually lead to repentance.
Jesus took a potentially explosive state of affairs and turned it into an opportunity to teach His disciples a significant lesson. He carefully explained to His followers that they were to be different from the prevailing culture in their dealings with other human beings. Jesus told His disciples that their greatness would lie in their willingness to serve others. To help His disciples understand that He was serious about this teaching, Jesus pointed to His own life as an example. He wanted His followers to know that His mission on earth was to serve others, ultimately giving His life for those who were slaves to sin. The essence of being a servant is bound intimately to redemption. Jesus purchased us to be ready to do His will in every moment of our lives. The role of a servant is to do as he is told. Christian service, therefore, means living out a servant relationship with our Saviour as His purchased possessions.