Gutsy Move

July 8

Read: Mark 10:35-45

Gutsy Move

“But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” - Jesus

You have got to hand it to James and John… a pretty bold and gutsy move honestly. It is shocking really… Just think of their audacity and boldness. They walk up to Jesus and say, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” (v.35) Ha! Jesus… we want you to do whatever we tell you to. Don’t we all!?! Maybe that is the tension we feel in this passage because these guys are saying outlaid exactly what we feel deep inside. They want Jesus to do whatever they tell him to, and they want to be positioned in places of power and prominence.

They are not feeling anything new or unique to them- they are just bold enough to say it out loud. Don’t we all long for prestige and positions of recognition and power? Isn’t this what causes quarrels and fights among us? It did for the disciples “And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.” (v.41) Jesus tells them they don’t know what they are talking about. He asks them point blank if they are “able” to “drink his cup and take his baptism”. (v.38) They had no idea what it would look like to drink the cup of suffering and death that Jesus was about to… but one day they would. They had no reference point for the weight that comes with being baptized by the Holy Spirit and led in a life dependent upon the Heavenly Father… but they were learning. In short, Jesus was indeed going to bring them into “greatness”… he was indeed going to bind them to himself in a way… they would be right alongside him in that they too would experience rejection, suffering, and death as well as a baptism by the Holy Spirit and a life poured out for others. Jesus says as much! : And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” (v.39,40)

Jesus shows them the “path to greatness” in the Kingdom of God:

“You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (v.42-45)

Jesus knows our hearts. Don’t we long to “rule over” others rather than serve them? Jesus tells us that greatness comes for us through serving. We come - like Jesus - not to be served but to serve. Jesus tells us, “But it shall not be so among you.” We ought to be different. There is no room for arrogant entitlement. There is no permission to “lord over” others. There is simply the call “But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.” (v.43) This sounds like the complete OPPOSITE of greatness… being a slave to others, being last, and serving others. We would never pick this for ourselves, which is why we need Jesus to do this for us!

It is a gutsy move to approach Jesus and tell him he has to do whatever you tell him to… but the crazy thing is that he actually serves those around him in love. He might just do fro you what you ask him. If you ask him to lead you into “greatness” he might just do that as well… but remember that the path to greatness in the Kingdom is an emptying of yourself and a serving of others. We must not look like the world… like the “gentiles” that Jesus speaks of. The church needs to rid itself of these imposters who seek to Lord over others… who think that their greatest contribution is wielding power and authority over people. This is contrary to what Jesus came to do. Jesus came “not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (v.45) We need to rid ourselves of the same thing. The problem is not as much the hunger for “greatness” as it is the unwillingness to embrace the path to it Jesus does not eradicate the ideas of “first and last” or “least and greatest”… he simply holds out for us the TRUTH of how to get there! Love you guys! - JDP