Mark 10:35-45 October 18, 2015 GREATNESS THROUGH SERVICE Okay, people, listen up. I have some very important advice for you that I hope you ll take to heart. And it s this: If anyone, even someone you know well and love very much, ever comes up to you and says, I want you to do for me anything I ask, beware! It s a set-up. And you can pretty much bet your bottom dollar that whatever it is that person wants you to do will be something you normally wouldn t do for them in a million years. But you already knew that, right? I mean, it s pretty obvious that if someone asks you to commit to saying yes to something before you even know what it is you re saying yes to, it s going to be one whopper of a request. So, proceed with caution. And write this down so you won t forget. The rule is, never say yes to anything before you know what it is you re saying yes to. That s just plain, simple, common sense. And Jesus, as you know, had a lot of common sense. So when two of his disciples, the Zebedee brothers, James and John, came up to him one day and said, Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask, a red flag had to have popped up in Jesus mind. I can imagine our Lord thinking, Uh-oh, I wonder what J and J are up to this time. Very wisely, Jesus didn t agree to their terms. He refused to be blindsided. Jesus wanted to know what James and John s request was before he would say Yes to them. Or No, if necessary. And it s a good thing Jesus did that. It was wise of him to play it smart and demand a little more information before responding. What do you want me to do for you? he asked. Oh, not much, Lord. Just one itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny little thing. Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory. Notice, if you will, the words, in your glory. As if glory was what following Jesus and being a disciple of his was
all about. James and John wanted to rule beside Jesus. They wanted to wield power over others as princes when Christ ruled God s Kingdom on earth. They wanted the respect, the admiration, and the esteem that came with being high-ranking advisors in the cabinet of the Messiah. Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory. Boy, did they have it wrong. Completely. Absolutely. Foolishly. Naïvely. Wrong. James and John s misunderstanding must have caused Jesus to shake his head in exasperation. Three whole years they ve been with me, and that s what they ve gotten out of it? That s what they think my ministry is all about? Glory? Such ignorance. Or, as Jesus put it to them, You don t know what you are asking. Indeed they didn t. But it wasn t for lack of trying on Jesus part. Before James and John made their rather brazen, presumptuous request, on at least three occasions our Lord made it clear to his disciples including the Zebedee brothers that he was going to be betrayed, undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the religious elite. Then he would be killed. What part of betrayal, suffering, rejection and killing didn t James and John understand? How could they possibly mistake those terrible things for glory? Were they not listening to their Teacher? Was what Jesus saying to them simply not sinking in? Did they not trust or believe what Jesus was telling them? Or perhaps it was it a case of self-imposed, selective deafness. They just didn t want to hear about the suffering and pain in Jesus future. Instead, they wanted to hear all the fun stuff about what Jesus the Messiah would do. Things like putting the Romans in their place and driving them out of the Jewish homeland. And imposing God s justice on all the bad guys who were causing the world heartbreak and agony, and pronouncing judgment on them raining fire and brimstone down on their heads. And living in the lap of luxury, just like King Herod and the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, lived. How wrong James and John were. How totally and completely mistaken their ideas were about Jesus and his Messiahship. 2
So once again, and not for the last time, Jesus had to correct and explain to his disciples exactly where his ministry was leading and what his destiny was. A cross. What was going to happen to Jesus would be ugly. Horrific. Brutal. And completely unfitting for God s Messiah to endure. And it would be the exact opposite of glorious; nothing at all like the glory James and John were looking for. But first, before the lesson review began, Jesus asked the Sons of Thunder, as he sometimes called them, a question. And I think it may have been a trick question. Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with? We can, said James and John. Did you notice how Jesus turned the tables on James and John, and ended up doing to them the very thing they wanted to do to Jesus. They said yes before they actually understood what they were saying yes to. If James and John knew; if they realized that the cup Jesus would drink, and the baptism Jesus would ultimately be baptized with, was the cross, would they have said yes to it? I m guessing probably not. But they should have known it. Over and over, Jesus had talked to them and explained what was going to happen to him. But even so, my strong sense is that James and John didn t have a clue about what Jesus meant when he asked his question, and what they had just said yes to. Well, know it or not, and whether they realized it or not, they were in it up to their necks now. You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, said Jesus. Welcome to the club, boys, where the dues are nothing less than everything you have, including your very life. But as to the glory James and John were actually looking for? Well, they were in for a big disappointment.... to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared. What Jesus signaled by those words was that the Zebedee brothers probably wouldn t be the ones who would be sitting at Jesus right and left side; because at that moment they seemed woefully unprepared for such important positions. When the rest of the disciples heard about James and John s attempt to get themselves promoted, they were upset. They became indignant, is 3
how the NIV Bible put it. Some synonyms for the word indignant include: outraged, incensed, and irate. In other words, they were royally ticked off. And justifiably so. James and John had a lot of nerve, going behind the rest of the disciples backs and covertly applying for the powerful, illustrious positions they all coveted, even if none of them were actually qualified for it. All twelve disciples wanted to be co-rulers with Jesus when God s Kingdom was consummated and the glorified Christ came into full, unbridled power. But Jesus threw cold water on their hopes and dreams when he said that none of them really knew what it was to rule in God s realm. They had a whole lot to learn, because their concept of what a true ruler did was flawed, mistaken. In this world, said Jesus, a ruler ruled by telling others what they can do for him (or her). But in God s realm, a ruler ruled by asking others, What can I do for you? Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. In other words, Jesus was saying that one finds genuine greatness and glory through service to others. And if you want to be number one? That s easy. Just become a slave to all people. The secret to being first in God s realm was to always put others needs and desires ahead of your own. Jesus himself was an example of this kind of greatness and glory, coming into the world not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. This seems totally backwards to us, doesn t it? For us and for the world, service doesn t equal greatness; service is the opposite of greatness. No one in their right mind wants to be thought of as a servant. Servants get very little respect. Servants are the lowest of the low on the totem pole of life. And yet it s clear in the Gospel reading this morning that Jesus intended his followers not only to be in the servant mode, but to see servanthood as a privilege and a way to achieve greatness in God s Kingdom. George Bernard Shaw once wrote these words about what a meaningful life was: This is the true joy in life... being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one;... being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap;... being a force of nature [on behalf of others] instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and 4
grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. And Martin Luther King, Jr. once said in a sermon, Everybody can be great... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. My friends, Jesus ideas concerning greatness are so different than the world s. In fact, their polar opposites. For Jesus, it s not how much we have, but how much we give. It s not how many people we rule and have power over, but how many people s lives are made better by the life we live. It s not having servants to tend to our needs and desires, but placing our needs and desires aside and serving those around us. And Jesus tells us the simple reason why those who wish to follow him are to accept and live according to that understanding of greatness as service to others. Because Jesus himself did it first. Service is the way to greatness in the Kingdom of God because it s the way Jesus traveled. He serves, and we follow his lead. Christ lived the way of greatness through service, and we emulate it. And, God willing, when we walk the path Jesus walked and strive for the kind of greatness through service that Jesus taught and lived, we will ultimately find our life and discover the meaning and purpose for which we were created. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.... And we, Jesus followers, are called to do likewise. May God bless and guide our efforts to do great things in the world through humble service to others. Amen. 5