True Greatness In God's Kingdom

Mark 10:32-45

Jesus a Third Time Predicts His Death and Resurrection
32 Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:
33 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles;
34 and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”

Greatness Is Serving
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.”
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.”

At this moment in time, Jesus and His disciples were on the road, going up to Jerusalem. Jesus was going before them and walking ahead of them. They were amazed, wondering as they journeyed to Jerusalem. Then Jesus told them again for the third time about His death and resurrection. But His disciples still didn't understand Him. They had other thoughts and ideas.

As James and John were inside Jesus’ inner circle, they thought that they would have special rights and privileges. They thought that upon arriving in Jerusalem, there would be a great political upheaval and reformation. As a result, Jesus would then take up the throne of David and rule over the nation of Israel as their Messiah and King.

Thus, with wishful desires and wild ambitions, they approached Jesus and asked for special positions and places of honor in the coming kingdom. They made this request to the Lord, "We want to sit on the thrones next to Yours in Your kingdom. One at Your right and the other at Your left!”

But Jesus answered, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of sorrow I must drink from? Or to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?”

“Oh, yes,” they said, “we are!”

And Jesus said, “You shall indeed drink from My cup and be baptized with My baptism, but I do not have the rights to place you on thrones next to Mine. Those positions are for those for whom they are prepared.”

Despite Jesus' multiple notifications and messages of His coming sufferings and death, James and John still couldn’t grasp the idea of a suffering and dying Messiah. Nobody wants a suffering Messiah. Nobody wants a dead Messiah. Everyone wants success. Nobody wants to be or follow a loser. A suffering and dead Messiah plainly means failure.

When Jesus asked them whether they were prepared to drink the cup and be baptized with the baptism that He was about to take, they answered affirmatively, not knowing what the cup and the baptism were all about.

When the other disciples discovered what James and John had asked, they were very indignant. Why were they upset? Probably they too had the same idea and secret ambition in their hearts. Probably they were angry because James and John had jumped the queue and asked first. They were angry because they were also seeking for greatness.

How do we measure greatness? Our world tends to define greatness in terms of possessions, power, privilege and prestige.

But Jesus used their struggles and strifes for power as an opportunity to teach His disciples what true greatness was in God's kingdom.

Jesus radically defined greatness that was completely opposite of worldly definitions and standards. He confronted the misconceptions of His disciples concerning greatness. His disciples had adopted worldly standards like the Gentiles who lorded and exercised power through their status and ranking. But this was not so in the kingdom of God.

In the kingdom of God, a higher and greater standard existed. It was not rooted in the exercise of authority or power but rather in serving others through servanthood.

Matthew 25:21
His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

Greatness is defined by servanthood and faithfulness rather than power and authority. Jesus, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, did not come to exercise power and reign as Gentile kings and leaders did. He did not come to be served but He came to serve and provide for the needs of others. He came to die as a ransom for many. In doing so, He became great!

Philippians 2:5-11
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

In the kingdom of God, greatness is not measured by money, popularity, fame, power or success. It is measured by our faithfulness to God, and our servanthood, self-sacrifice, self-denial and unconditional love and service to others. The one who would be first must become last, and the one who would be great must become the servant of all.

Mark 9:35
And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”

Kingdom power is not attained by invading and ruling over others but by serving others in humility and love. True leaders will serve the people and not lording over others to demand others to do what they command. True leaders will not crush others to get ahead and be the boss. True leaders will look into the matters and interests of others for the benefits of others and not self seeking for their own benefits and rewards. True leaders are willing to deny themselves so that others will get the rewards and benefits.

True greatness is measured in servanthood and service, living our lives for the sake of God and others. This godly definition of greatness and power will always be in direct conflict with worldly standards.

As the years go by, I am truly convinced that we, who are called Christians, find our validation not by invasion or priding ourselves in religious rituals or ceremonies, or prophetic prayers and apostolic declarations and decrees, or our fights and stands against social and moral issues, or our theological teachings and eschatological understandings. We establish our credibility in a world that has gone astray through our acts of love and mercy. Showing kindness to others, feeding the hungry, giving a cup of water to the thirsty, visiting those in prisons or hospitals, buying a bag of groceries for the poor or homeless, helping the helpless and lonely etc.

James 1:27
Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

The main problem with the Church today is that we speak but very few in the world are listening. Our actions speak loudly than our words. We have adopted worldly standards and lord over others in our quest for power and greatness. We do not have Christlikeness in our lives and doings. We have behaved like our pagan world, our governments and rulers in power. In seeking to gain greatness in our world, we lose our truthfulness, credibility, trustworthiness and integrity. In gaining the world, we lose our own souls.

Mark 8:36
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

Jesus said, “As you know, the kings and great men of the earth lord over their people; but among you it is different. Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant. And whoever wants to be greatest of all must be the servant of all. For even I, the Messiah, am not here to be served, but to serve others, and to give My life as a ransom for many.”

Thus, if we truly want to be great in the kingdom of God, we must learn how to be a servant of all. Serving God and others.

Do everything with goodwill and unconditional love without expecting anything in return. Doing it as unto the Lord!

In conclusion, I would like to share with you a song, we used to sing many years ago, entitled "Make Me Like You."

You can listen to the song @ Make Me Like You

Written on: 16 March 2018