Jesus Defines True Greatness
Study Scripture: Mark 10:32-45
Background Scripture: Mark 10:13-45
Lesson 9

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Key Verse

…..but whoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be the servant of all.

Mark10:43-44.

INTRODUCTION 

Our lesson today deals with the preferred position of God, that requires downward mobility from his servants and those that would follow him. 

It is made clear to us how the world works, what unbelievers crave, how they judge success, and how it produces all kinds of rivalry, conniving, manipulation, politicking, and the undercutting of everyone else. 

Jesus makes it clear that, that kind of attitude and behavior is not to be part of the Kingdom of God.  There is to be absolutely no struggling and striving for position and power.  There is to be no competition. 

The Holy Spirit is the one who gives gifts, who opens ministry for each believer, who provides power and who is the only one that can guide, direct, maintain and determine the way in every single respect. 

It is amazing, that despite the consistent teaching of Scripture in both the Old and the New Testament, people who profess to be believers, constantly and routinely disregard the teachings of Jesus and the Scriptures. This is how the Church has become and how the world is.  Of course those in the Church make all kinds of excuses to justify their abandonment of Scripture. 

Our lesson today addresses the issues of both discipleship and leadership. 

Let us look at the typical model of an organization and its management. Organizations are usually formed and they arrange people in various ways, in order to accomplish their goals.  There is a specific leader called the President or some similar title and he is in a vertical relationship to others, having such people as vice presidents below him. They in turn have several levels of managers and supervisors below them and finally the workers at the bottom. 

The President/Leader/Manager is defined by the organization as the boss, and they qualify for that position, generally through competitions with others in and outside the organization. The organization standards determine who is picked for the several management positions. Generally this is based on some quantitative standard, as to what and how much the particular person can produce.  In the eyes of the people doing this selection, generally the superiors, a person is selected for various levels of leadership and management in the organization based on a written job description and then people are looked at to see how they fill that job description. 

Authority comes with the position and the organization establishes what they consider to be the appropriate authority for each managerial position. 

Christian organizations are practically the same, for they are the ones that give authority to the individual leaders and evaluate them on how much and what they can produce, requiring reports on production periodically. 

It should not surprise us then, that the disciples like people in the Church today, think along these very similar lines on the matter of leadership and authority. 

This kind of thinking was wrong then, and it is wrong now.  Of course, people who have been squeezed into the mold of the world find it practically impossible to see this. 

No wonder then that we need a transformed heart.  If there is no demonstration of the fruit, note the singular ‘fruit’ of the Spirit, and if there is a continued behavior and leading by the flesh, there will not be a genuine disciple of Jesus. 

Note carefully that the disciples knew that a Kingdom was coming, for Jesus had constantly taught them about this.  They recognized that they were in an organization and that Jesus was the boss. Since they were experts in worldly organizational theory, each reasoned logically that it was very good to change their relationship with the other disciples, given that they wanted a high position of responsibility and authority. They would have to get to the boss first to be given such positions.  

This was most important for them, since in verses 28- 30 in response to Peter's declaration that they had left all and followed him, Jesus had made some tremendous promises. Jesus had promised that all those who left worldly possessions and family behind to follow him, would receive abundant blessings in this present life and eternal life in the world to come. 

Now they were not quite sure how the Kingdom would be structured but they wanted to stake their claim to the highest positions with the boss first. 

We should make it clear that the disciples knew that all of them were on the same level or plane and they knew specifically that certain kinds of behavior were  definite ‘No- Nos’.   

Before uttering the most dreadful “Woes” on the scribes and Pharisees, Matthew tells us in chapter 23 of his book:

¹Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,

 ²Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:

 ³All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

   ¹¹But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

   ¹²And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

Note particularly Verse 8.

Note also the rather strict instructions about how not to achieve greatness. 

When a person is in the ‘flesh’, the instructions of Scripture do not really matter.  That person will always believe that they know better than God and can interpret Scripture to suit their own carnal desire for power, leadership and most importantly, authority; for that leads to money and status. 

We recognize of course that every professing believer want their life to count and not to be wasted and they want to invest their life’s work in things that are worthwhile in the sight of God. 

The crux of the matter is that God already has a program of what he calls “ good works”. These   he has created for of us from eternity past; that we should walk in them. 

We should let him tell us, his intended purpose for us.  We are to do things in his way. This will be possible because he has renewed our minds.  Logically, we should present our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice. This means that we should make ourselves always available to the Lord, no longer using our bodies for self-gratification, to secure our own goals and do our own bidding. Instead we should present our bodies to the Lord to use as his instruments, always doing the things that please the Father, submitting to his will and not letting the world dictate how we should use our time and our will. (Read Romans 12:1-8.) 

One writer reminds us:

“ God has the responsibility of ordering the world and his servants.  Therefore, he is going to put us where we can be most effective to him.  The Potter has the right over the clay.  She is deploying people to his advantage, not to our.  And he does not even ask our advice.

Not only is God Sovereign (and this, by the way, is substantiated all through the Scriptures), he is also just.  He does what is right.  We cannot accuse him of playing favorites.” 

God has promised spiritual greatness and strength and made it available to every believer.  In our lesson today, Jesus will show us the greatness of servant leadership and the greatness of godly influence in the lives of people. 

He begins to illustrate this by showing the disciples what he himself intended to do, but note how Jesus’ dramatic and powerful illustration went right over the heads of the disciples.  The molding influence of the world had caught them and had blinded their eyes.  Of course, we should not talk too much, for the same thing is happening around us today.

THE TEXT

Verse 32.  About a week before the crucifixion of Jesus, Jesus headed toward Jerusalem, the royal city, where the Messiah would have to go to claim David's throne. Jesus had in obedience to his Father, committed himself to go to the ‘cross’.

He was bold and unafraid and he went before them. The disciples were amazed when they noticed his single-mindedness and focus. They had a feeling of imminent danger and coming doom, for they remembered what he had told them about his future and how he had rebuked Peter when he attacked Jesus for even thinking of heading into suffering. 

The disciples clearly did not want to go to Jerusalem to face the hostile leadership there. They loved Jesus and were committed to following him, despite the sense of danger and fears for their own safety. 

Jesus did not make things easier for them, for he began to tell them about the things that would happen to him in Jerusalem; repeating it over and over again, to get them to stop thinking of the Messiah's mission as one of glory, power, and status. 

In the last weeks of Jesus' life, the issue of greatness kept popping up time and time again. The disciples struggled over the contradiction between the Old Testament promises that the Messiah would be victorious over all the enemies of his people, would reign and bring justice, peace and righteousness on the earth, and those Scriptures such as Isaiah 53, which stated that a Messiah would be humiliated, viciously abused, and killed.  

Refresh yourself as to how Jesus had to deal with his disciples in Mark 9:33-35 and Matthew 23:8.

Verse 33.  Jesus specifically dwelt on his intention to go to Jerusalem so that both the Jews and the Gentiles would combine together to humiliate, abuse, and kill him. He put himself as the predicted ‘Son of Man’, who through prophesied treachery would be delivered up to the priestly leaders. They, being religious leaders and knowledgeable about Scripture, should never want to be placed in this awful position of being accused of killing the nation's Messiah and savior. 

In league with them would be the scribes, the intellectuals, the experts in the law, who were supposed to interpret the rules about justice, fair play, and what God wanted. 

These two groups would lead Jesus into a mockery of a trial, pervert justice, find him guilty and worthy of death, remove the only one that could tell them the truth from God and correct their mistakes. 

They would create the falsehoods necessary, so that the Gentile military and political leaders could ignore justice and righteousness, sear their consciences and complete the job of infamy. 

The Gentiles have no right to accuse Jews of killing the Messiah, for they too were willing participants but of course they ignore this truth.

Verse 34. This is the third time that Jesus specially warned his disciples, this time in increasing detail of what he would face at the cross.  

There was no question that there was to be a “suffering” Messiah. Jesus outlined for them in detail the agonies he would face. He would be taunted and ridiculed, with awful and untrue things said to his face, his character and person maligned, and his claim to be from God sneered at.  

He would be beaten with leather straps imbedded with bits of bone, his skin torn to shreds, and his body left weakened and bleeding. They would spit on him, a sign of utmost contempt, as prophesied in Isaiah 50:6. 

After all of that derision and shame he would endure,, he would die, and three days later he would rise again; conquering death and all that Satan would throw at him.  

He knew what was ahead and he was resolute. He was the suffering Servant of Isaiah 50 and he was said to have set his face like flint, with no possibility of anyone dissuading him from the mission, to which his Father had sent him.  He would endure the cross, despising the shame, for he would rise again.

Verse 35.  While Jesus thought about the pain of the cross however, the disciples were looking at things differently, for though they were afraid, they were still looking forward to Jerusalem as the pathway to glory. 

Can one imagine the terrible expectation that Jesus faced.  He knew that one whom he loved would betray him. Then the leaders of his own people would lie about him, condemn him to death and then hand him over to the hated Gentile Romans, whom they also hated, to complete his humiliation, and then kill him. 

While he reflected on these things, the “ Sons of Thunder” who had just recently been with him on the Mount of Transfiguration and seen his glory, show us how love can be mixed with self- serving motives. 

They loved Jesus and were willing to face danger because they loved him but they were thinking of their rewards and the glory that would come from Jesus' mission, when God gave him the throne of David. They fully expected that as Jesus had promised in Matthew 19:28, they would be given the right to one of the twelve thrones but now they wanted some additional personal advantage. 

Note that this self-centered move was also based on a significant amount of faith.  Here was the flesh plus faith. 

James and John stepped out in front of everybody and came to him just like little children do when they want something. The way they phrased their question was kind of awkward and suggests that they were not quite certain about the propriety of what they asked. They wanted Jesus to commit himself to them first, before they stated what they really wanted.  Matthew suggests that it was their mother that pushed them forward and joined in the conversation, making the request.  Still, it is made clear that they really wanted the request looked on favorably and were full participants.

Verse 36.  Jesus did not even hint that he was going to condemn them and encouraged them to speak what was on their mind. He certainly knew what was in the mind of their mother and in their minds but he allowed them to cautiously put forward their ambitious request.  He did not silence them, reduce their fear and uncertainty but neither did he encourage their hopes.

Verse 37.  James and John ask for three things.  First, they wanted to sit with Jesus, meaning they wanted a throne, to be able to rule, and to sit in a chair of judgment.   

Second, everyone knows that in every organization, and especially in a Kingdom, there has to be true top lieutenants, closest to the leader, his confidants, the most trusted of the inner circle; a few people have to be intimate with the leader. They wanted to be the number one and two persons in the Cabinet, with one of them being vice president. 

Third, they wanted to be especially sharing in his “glory”, that is, his power, authority, and influence. 

One writer describes what they were really doing and what it meant:

“ Implicit in the request, however, is an attempt to ace out the other ten.  If James and John are number 1 and number 2, everybody else is numbers 3-12.  They want to get there with the most.

The sad thing is that competition has set into what has been a wonderful circle of unity for three years.  It is distorting the reality of what Jesus has taught, modeled, and tried so hard to help them understand through these years of traveling, living, and ministering together. 

But here are James and John trying to elevate themselves above the other ten….

And if we are honest with ourselves, we have to acknowledge we are really no different.

We all experience the same desire for position, attention, prestige, authority, and info and over other people….

“The church makes progress only as we all make progress together.”

Galatians 5-6 reminded us that we are to have no sense of superiority over people who struggle with sin in their lives.

And we embrace this beautiful, supernatural reality, but we know our own heart show jealous, competitive, and self- aggrandizing (even in subtle ways) we can be in our desire for somebody to pay attention to us and give us credit for what we do or how we live.” 

They wanted to be considered the most influential, possessing spiritual greatness, and having the greatness of leadership responsibility. 

Verse 38.  Jesus dealt with their request in an interesting way.  It was amazing how he was loving and patient.  He did not rebuke them and was quite gentle. 

Jesus questioned them about their qualifications for the job that they are requesting. This approach should give pause to people who want power and top jobs, for it is rarely the case that these ambitious people have the necessary qualifications.   

It is to be noted that with respect to the church, the Scriptures warn the church not to give top jobs to the young, inexperienced people, even while at the same time, it congratulates and encourages the young to use their irreplaceable and tremendous energies in the service of God. 

Often though, people are self-centered and throw caution to the winds, letting personal ambition rule, instead of the will of God, thus sadly for the church, making it easy for Satan to corrupt them. 

Jesus used two metaphors, two familiar Old Testament symbols of the Cup and that of
baptism.  This was used to explain to them what his coming experience would be like. 

Baptism means submerging into something, overwhelmed by water and here Jesus is saying he will be submerged into the death, agony, rejection, and the pain of the cross.  To baptize is to place into, to immerse, to surround by water.  Jesus would be so immersed and overwhelmed by his experience that it would affect everything in him.  Psalm 42:7 describes Jesus' experience

“ All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me”. 

He will have to drink the Cup, which would remind them of Jeremiah telling Israel that they would drink the Cup of the fury of the Lord. He would have no choice and he must drink. In Gethsemane Jesus spoke to this anguish; everything he suffered, everything connected with the cross as something that the Father had given to him to drink. 

So Jesus pointed out to James and John that this was the price of glory and ask them whether or not they were able to pay the price. 

We tend to forget this truth and many are snared by false ideas about the Kingdom of Christ.  Men compare the Kingdom of Christ to the kingdoms of the world and since they love and are dazzled by worldly honor and since they want preeminence, they go about fulfilling their ambitions in entirely the wrong way. 

The job offered by Christ involves suffering.  Some however will tell you that this is not true.  Many are thereby captured. 

Jesus did not explain everything to them but he told them what it involved, to obtain honor in his Kingdom.

Verse 39.  The disciples were very self-confident and they quickly responded that they could handle anything, for they had what it took. 

They were overly ambitious for leadership and therefore impetuous.  In the face of youthful zeal Jesus did not try to explain it much further, for he knew that after his death and resurrection they would begin to understand. 

We too often think we are ready for things, when in fact we are not ready for them.  We really should be willing to trust God to put us where he wants us to be and we should be willing to wait on him. 

Jesus does take them at their very glib word.  They said “no sweat”, and Jesus said “fine, you made your own bed”. 

Jesus knew that James would be the very first apostle to die, murdered, beheaded by Herod.  John would be the last to die and he would be exposed to an extended life of shame and punishment for the Lord's sake.  They got their request to prove they could faithfully suffer, to be baptized and drink the cup of suffering for him. Assuredly, this was not quite what they had in mind and not quite the way they thought it would be.

Verse 40.  Jesus then explained that he could not give them what they had asked for, for evidently the Father had chosen men for this honor, preparing them, shaping them and molding them. 

Apparently, the position of honor, is prepared for the person, not the other way around. One writer describes the work of the Father this way:

“ He prepares the man for that place by the circumstances, by the cups and baptisms, that he puts him through.  And then, he prepares the honor for the man. Did you notice that?  God always starts with people, not with events.  His goal is the shaping and molding of lives.  That is where he begins.  And he fits the events to that end.  So, two of them are going to sit at the right hand and left hand of Jesus.  But God is going to mold those two and prepare them for it, and then he will prepare that height of glory for them, as well.” 

Another writer explains the Father’s responsibility:

“ Jesus doesn't say that we can prepare ourselves for it, that we can get ourselves disciplined or trained.  God is the one who places us where he wants us.  Positions of leadership will be prepared for the individuals of God's choosing, not the other way around.  They are not available merely on request.”

Verse 41.  Instead of seeing the cross awaiting them, the other disciples only saw James and John and got very angry and upset at them. They were indignant and self-righteous that James and John had outsmarted them.  This was really only childish resentment spiced up by rivalry.

None of them really understood what greatness was.  So Jesus had to teach them again.

Verse 42-45.  He sat them down and pointed out how the unbelievers around them behaved. The people of the world measured their power by the amount of people that they had under them.  The system of the world, whether business, military, commercial or whatever organization,  functions under certain standards and judges success in a specific way.   

The more people that listen to you and that you control, the bigger the salary, and benefits; the bigger the title, the higher up in the organizational chart you are, is the more important the world considered you to be.   

So Jesus said that in the world it is viewed that leadership requires authority to be exercised over other people from the top down.  There must be a chain of command everywhere.  There must be power exercised, for that brings the toys that everyone wants.  In the world there is natural competition, conniving, maneuvering, politicking, rivalry, undercutting everyone else and constant scheming, for that is the way you achieve authority or power.  

Jesus says absolutely not.  That is not the way that things must operate in his kingdom.  The church is not to be set up with a hierarchy of power.  The principles to the Kingdom are very different and it functions totally different from the world system in which authority and responsibility is exercised over others. 

We can point to four things that Jesus insisted on. 

First, the system of the world will not work in the Kingdom and all attempts will corrupt the church.  It is amazing how many try to bring management theories from the world into the church.  All we have to do is to look around at the corruption of the gospel of Christ as a result. 

Second, Jesus tells us that greatness or leadership cannot come from appointment from the organization.

One has to serve.  Greatness comes from ‘servanthood’  When a person commits themselves to meeting the spiritual needs of the people, that establishes authority.  That simply means that people voluntarily give respect and love to those they respect and trust, because these people serve them.  Authority cannot come from a title or a place in some organization. 

Third, the job description for greatness means that the person who wants to be great must be a bond servant.

Fourth, those that would be great must be last instead of being first.

This simply means that it is not achievement that is the standard or criteria that is to be followed; getting there first with the most toys and achievements. The only standard to be used is serving and being willing to be last. 

Now we know that serving is not popular. Christ came as a servant, giving up all his rights and all his glory, even giving his life to serve others.  This is how all of us must function in the Kingdom of God. 

Note that Jesus did not eliminate trouble and death.  He went through it, so that he would point the way and bring us with him into a resurrection.  He is with us in our baptism and in our resurrection.

CONCLUSION

A true leader and a truly great person serves, just as Jesus served.  A true leader cannot live in luxury while the people live in suffering.  A great person is a servant and lives to serve others.  The behavior must be totally opposite to the dominion and abuse exercised in the world. 

A great difference must be seen between the church and the world.  

Jesus told the disciples that they were all on the same level, they were brothers. The leaders are not “over” someone, and certainly not lording it over someone because of their position of responsibility.  A leader serves. 

The church can identify its own leaders only on the basis of service.  This is illustrated in the selection of the deacons in the book of Acts.  The men selected were full of the Holy Spirit and were experienced in ministering and teaching the word of God. 

Note that the Apostles did not have to select them, for the church knew exactly who they were. 

Their qualification was their faith and the spiritual gifts.  They were evaluated not on any quantitative basis but on the qualitative basis of the fruit of the Spirit. 

There cannot therefore be simply a numbers game where people are assigned ministries and leadership on that basis.  God might give a ministry to someone and they work for twenty years and only have one convert to show for it. 

Let us understand that Jesus condemns self-promotion, manipulation, competitiveness, and considering any of the brethren as inferior to one’s self.  This is nothing but worldliness. 

The greatest are those that forget themselves and find others they can help.  They always give themselves away and bless others.  

To spot greatness just look for those that serve, those people that are available, that stick to the word of God with no deviation in any way.  The way to greatness is through the Cross, for that is where the selfish, ungodly and unholy things in man are crucified. 

Let us be encouraged to greatness, because God has called us to that end. He wants to make us ready for greatness and he has shown us what it takes.   

Do not be afraid, for he is right there beside us and provides all the help and guidance we need as we present our bodies as a living sacrifice.