To serve or to be served. How about taking orders or giving them? Most of us, if given the choice, would choose the latter. We would rather be in a position of authority. How does God view this? In our passage today from Mark’s Gospel we read of two of His disciples and their ambitious desires for power and authority, and what Jesus had to say to them.
Jesus had just finished speaking to the rich young man, telling him that he needed to give up his love of riches in order to follow Him and gain eternal life, and also teaching the need to be humble as a little child. Now as they were walking towards Jerusalem, two of the disciples, the brothers James and John, came to Jesus asking to be given the chief seats in His kingdom, the ones on His right side and His left side (vs 35-37). That is quite ambitious! That is basically saying, “We’re the greatest! We deserve those seats of prominence and authority.” In the days when kings sat on thrones ruling with great power, the seats to his right and left were given to the ones in greatest favor, and would be second and third in command.
The brothers, James and John, both believed that Jesus was the Messiah, and that He would rule. However, like most of the people at that time, they thought the Messiah would set up an earthly kingdom. James and John wanted positions of power in this kingdom. They wanted honored positions of importance. Jesus’s kingdom, as Scripture teaches, is not of this world (John 18:36). It is not centered in palaces and thrones. Instead it is centered in the hearts and lives of His followers.
Rather than coming down hard on James and John for their arrogance, Jesus asks them a question - are they able to drink from the cup of suffering that Jesus will be drinking from, and be baptized with the suffering He will? (vs 38-39). The two boasted that they could, indeed, drink the cup of suffering that Jesus would. Jesus assured them, that true to their words they both would. However the thrones that they wanted for themselves was not His to bestow on others (vs 40). Those thrones would be given by His Father to those for whom He prepared them.
James died a martyrs death not too many years after Jesus’s resurrection. King Herod had him put to death by a sword, the first of the twelve to die (Acts 12:1-2). John ended his life as an enslaved prisoner of the Emperor on the island of Patmos (Revelation 1:9). Many of us would brag the same way, that we would willingly suffer for the cause of Christ. Instead, though, we often whine and complain over the littlest thing asked of us.
The other disciples were indignant with the brother’s, but it was not a righteous indignation (vs 41). The wanted the same spots, and were angry that those two had beat them to asking Jesus for the spots. Jesus now has to set the whole group straight about seeking out positions of greatness and power. In God’s eyes true greatness comes in serving others. The desire to be the greatest hinders our spiritual growth rather than helping it. Instead of trying to get our needs met, Jesus wishes us to minister to the needs of others (vs 42-43). Most of us would rather have servants than be a servant. However what was Jesus’s own example to us? During the Last Supper, Jesus took the role of a servant and washed the feet of the disciples (John 13:3-5). That was the duty of a slave, yet Jesus performed that task willingly.
Jesus told us that He did not come to be served, but to serve, and give His life as a ransom for us (vs 45). A ransom is money paid to release a person from being held a prisoner by another. We were slaves to sin, and Jesus paid the ransom for us because we could not pay it. His death released us from slavery. The ransom was not paid to Satan. Satan is a foe to be defeated, not a ruler to be placated. The ransom was paid to God to satisfy His just and holy wrath against sin.
Our passage in the Gospel of Mark leaves us with the lesson to regard others as more important than ourselves. We need to try and support, encourage, and build up others. Have an attitude that gives rather than receives. Are we willing to give up personal freedom, wealth, or status to serve others in the Name of Jesus? Discard material security, and follow Jesus. When we sacrifice the treasures of this world we gain the treasures of heaven.
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