Mark 10 - What Does It Mean To Be Great?
Verses for Today
42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must 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 as a ransom for many.”
Commentary
This is a critical point in the road of Jesus' journey to the cross with his disciples. While he is teaching publicly proclaiming the kingdom of God and doing signs and wonders, he is also teaching his disciples what it means to follow him.
The disciples, as James and John just said, thought that if they followed Jesus they would be the ones to sit at his right and left hand when he came to glory in His kingdom. But Jesus used this moment as an opportunity to teach what "true greatness" was all about. The disciples thought that when Jesus came into power, they would be seated at his right and left hand, which were the positions of power.
Apparently they had missed Jesus when he said for the third time that he would be handed over, condemned, and crucified. Rather than being empathetic about the suffering Jesus was about to undergo, James and John were more concerned about what Jesus could do for them.
Jesus gave them his calling card to be his followers. They would take the role of a servant. They would consider other's needs as greater than their own. This was the antithesis of what the disciples had conjured up in their minds. Jesus told them that rather than "lording it over" those they came in contact with, they should "be slaves of all".
The term for servants and slaves in the Greek are very similar. A slave in Jesus' day was someone who gave up their rights to serve someone else. Don't get this confused with our 20th century version of slavery, which was dehumanizing. Similarly Jesus said, "If you want to follow me you need to deny yourself. You need to lose your life for me but in doing so you will save it!"
Finding someone who is servant in the way Jesus describes it is often hard to find today. Being a servant is the essence of what it means to be a Christian. Why? Because even Jesus, the only Son of God, did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. Serving others instead of self is a great antidote to the "me centered society" we live in.
Becoming a servant is actually freeing. By focusing on others, you don't have to always focus on your self. Being a servant is a lot more rewarding than always looking to be the one who gets all the attention and praise.
Remember John F. Kennedy's famous speech when he said, "Don't ask what this country can do for you, but what you can do for your country!" Why was this line so iconic? Because it is taken from the truth that Jesus is lifting up with this disciples.
When we become part of a church, we should not only look to what we can get out of church, the pastors, the staff, but what we can do for them. A church is a place where we learn to serve each other in the body of Christ. Also go out into the world together to serve the least and the lost in Jesus' name. Most people, "Don't care how much you know until they know how much you care!"
We often sing the song, "They will not we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love."
Loving and serving are two sides of the same coin!
Application:
1. Who is God calling you to serve today?
2. Where God is teaching you that true greatness begins with a towel and basin of water?
3. How can being a servant kill any pride in your life?
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