Kingdom Leaders (Mark 10:32–52)

CPT: Jesus predicts his imminent death and shows he came to die, to serve, and to heal. He calls his people to serve and live as he lived.

Purpose: To drive a momentum towards living greatly as a Christian servant in ministry.

CPS: To be great in God’s kingdom is to lead as a servant.

Kingdom leaders seek greatness through embracing God’s will for their life.

Kingdom leaders seek greatness through a servant heart.

Kingdom leaders seek God’s great healing for others.

Introduction

Attention

Do you want to be great? Many people are seeking greatness in their life.

The boxer Muhammad Ali talked many times about being the greatest. He said, “I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.” He also said, “It’s hard to be humble when you’re as great as I am.”

When I was younger, I used to watch boxing with my grandfather. We watched a young boxer named Mike Tyson. He called himself the best ever. He said, “I'm the best ever. I'm the most brutal and vicious, and most ruthless champion there's ever been. There's no one can stop me.” He was pretty brutal.

Growing up I played little league, and I would want to hit like my favorite baseball players. I was a New York Mets fan and would try to hit home runs like Darryl Strawberry. My Uncle was from San Diego, so I would pay attention to the Padres, and I would watch a player like Tony Gwynn, and would want to be a great hitter like that. But unfortunately, playing in the game was harder than it looked.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to be great. But from a biblical perspective, who are you trying to be great to? In who’s eyes are you seeking greatness? We are going to talk about greatness today, but greatness from a biblical perspective. Open your Bibles to Mark 10:32-52.

Scripture Reading

Mark 10:32–52 CSB

32 They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were astonished, but those who followed him were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them the things that would happen to him. 33 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death. Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 and they will mock him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him, and he will rise after three days.” 35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached him and said, “Teacher, we want you to do whatever we ask you.” 36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked them. 37 They answered him, “Allow us to sit at your right and at your left in your glory.” 38 Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup I drink or to be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” 39 “We are able,” they told him. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with. 40 But to sit at my right or left is not mine to give; instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 41 When the ten disciples heard this, they began to be indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them over and said to them, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. 43 But it is not so among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you will be a slave to 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.” 46 They came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (the son of Timaeus), a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many warned him to keep quiet, but he was crying out all the more, “Have mercy on me, Son of David!” 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up; he’s calling for you.” 50 He threw off his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus. 51 Then Jesus answered him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Rabboni,” the blind man said to him, “I want to see.” 52 Jesus said to him, “Go, your faith has saved you.” Immediately he could see and began to follow Jesus on the road.

Pray

This text tells us a lot about seeking greatness as a leader in the kingdom of God. If we want to lead as God would have us lead, it we want to be a kingdom leader, what does that look like?

First,

Kingdom leaders seek greatness through embracing God’s will for their life.

The Lord is heading to Jerusalem. Where are we in the context of Jesus’ ministry? We are almost to the end. We are almost at the point of the cross.

Jesus’ ministry on the earth was about three years. His ministry begins at his baptism, where he is baptized by John. After that, he preaches, teaches, does miracles, and cast out demons in Israel for three years. We are at the third year, and close to the cross. After this, he will enter into Jerusalem on a donkey, and finally end up at a passover with his disciples. Judas will betray him to the Jews at the garden, he will be seized, brought before the Jewish leaders, the Romans, crucified, and then he will resurrect from the dead three days later.

It says in Mark 10:32 “32 They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them.” Jesus is heading resolutely toward Jerusalem. He is pressing forward to his goal, knowing what is ahead of him. He is pressing into the Father’s will in his life, knowing that Father will be glorified by what is ahead of him. He is embracing the will of his Father in his life.

Jesus knows what is going to happen to him. This is the third time that Jesus has predicted his death (possibly fourth, if you include his words on the Mount of Transfiguration). He doesn’t want his disciples to think that the cross came as a surprise to him. He has been telling them over and over.

He gives very specific prophecies about what is ahead of him. He says in Mark 10:33-34:

Mark 10:33–34 CSB

33 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death. Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 and they will mock him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him, and he will rise after three days.”

Embracing the will of the Father is going to involve suffering.

I was reading an article this week from a pastor named John Piper. They asked him, “How can American pastors begin to prepare the churches for persecution?” A lot of people are looking at the state of things in America, the way things are headed, and say that it is going to get worse for the church.

Piper starts off by saying,

My answer would be, you should have started a long time ago… In preaching and pastoring, I want to prepare martyrs. I want my people to go to the hardest places in the world. So, my answer to how you preach, considering current persecution and pressure, is that you preach the sovereignty of God and that suffering is to be expected. This is the opposite of prosperity theology. The problem with prosperity theology is that it lacks a doctrine of suffering. Pastors, you want to build the capacity to suffer into your people. That suffering may be a child born without the ability to speak, or it may be persecution. No one knows in what ways Christians will suffer in their lifetimes.

Source: https://www.9marks.org/article/the-aim-of-preaching-in-an-increasingly-hostile-culture-to-christianity/

The Christian life is not a life without suffering. Christians are followers of Jesus Christ, and our Lord headed to the cross knowing that suffering was coming. But he is resolute, knowing that through the experience of suffering, the Father will get the glory. There will be redemption for sin. People will be saved.

The will of the Father is bigger than his suffering. Christians embrace the will of God in their life. But we don’t suffer like people without hope. Jesus says in John 16:33:

John 16:33 CSB

33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

Peter says in 1 Peter 3:17-18:

1 Peter 3:17–18 CSB

17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,

There may be points in our life where we will suffer. I think of brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world suffering persecution. Brothers in Christ are attempting to smuggle Bibles into North Korea, who are later caught, put into camps, and are never heard from again.

There are brothers and sisters spreading the good news in places like Iran and other places in the Middle East. They face the possibility of persecution and suffering for their faith daily.

But as Christians, we don’t suffer like people without hope. We have the hope of the gospel. We have a hope that says, no matter what we face in this lifetime, I want to live a life where God gets the glory, because I know my Lord is, and I know where he is taking me.

Kingdom leaders seek greatness by embracing God’s will for their life.

Second,

Kingdom leaders seek greatness through a servant heart.

We get into a conversation that James and John are having with the Lord. Who are James and John? We saw them earlier in Mark 9. They were two of three people who were part of this inner core of believers.

If you remember, Jesus had many followers. Then he had this group of twelve disciples that he spent time with. Within these twelve, there was a core group of three, Peter, James, and John. These are three that went up with Jesus on the Mt of Transfiguration in Mark 9.

Here in Mark 10, these are two of the three. This is James and John, minus Peter. James and John are brothers. James and John go up to Jesus and say in Mark 10:35 “Teacher, we want you to do whatever we ask you.” Bold, right? They are not holding back. And Jesus responds to them with a question. It’s interesting how Jesus draws things out of us. He asks a question that I want you to remember, because we will see it again. He says in Mark 10:36 “What do you want me to do for you?”

Mark 10:37 CSB

37 They answered him, “Allow us to sit at your right and at your left in your glory.”

The brothers tell Jesus in Mark 10:37 “Allow us to sit at your right and at your left in your glory.” Remember what is happening here. The disciples don’t quite understand all of these predictions about the cross. They are expecting the Messiah to bring a physical kingdom to Israel. They are expecting a physical kingdom with a king like David. They believe Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, will rule and reign over Israel as king.

Their question has a political goal. In Jewish kingdoms, the highest people in authority in Israel under the king would sit on the right and on the left of the king. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote about the history of king Saul as they understood it, where the second highest in command sat on his right, and the third highest in command sat on his left.

Source: https://ref.ly/logosres/josephus?ref=JosephusWhiston.Ant+VI%2c+xi+9

So this request from James and John is saying, “Jesus, when you get to Jerusalem and take over, and we don’t understand all of this being handed over and killed stuff, but when you take over as king, choose one of us to be your second and third in command.”

Jesus responds by saying in Mark 10:38:

Mark 10:38 CSB

38 Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup I drink or to be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

Jesus uses this picture of drinking from a cup. This picture is of drinking from a cup is used in the Old Testament. It’s used in a couple of places to speak about the joy of salvation, such as in Psalm 23, where it says that his cup runs over.

But most of the time, it is speaking about drinking the cup of the wrath of God. You see this in the prophets. In Isaiah 51:17, Isaiah speaks about the cup of the fury of the Lord. In Jeremiah 25:15, Jeremiah speaks of the cup of the wine of wrath. You see this also in other prophets like Habakkuk and Zechariah.

This other picture of baptism that Jesus uses, you can find parallels in Psalm 69:15, where there is picture of suffering under floodwaters.

The Lord will take on the wrath of God on the cross, drinking from the cup of God’s wrath, for you and for me. That’s what the cross is about.

James and John don’t understand. They say, “Yeah, we can do that. We are able.” They still don’t understand the cross. There’s a little boastfulness, a little pride. In their mind, they are probably thinking that there will be a battle for Israel. That’s what Peter thought. If you remember, Peter goes into the garden with a sword.

The Lord is always aware of God’s perspective. He says, “My right and my left, that is for whom God has prepared it.” The other disciples find out about the request from James and John, and they’re upset. They’re angry, because they have ambitions, too!

What we see next is this beautiful instruction on how to deal with divisiveness. If you want to learn how to deal with divisiveness, you can look at these words from the Lord. There is a divide happening in the disciples, with James and John on one side, and the other disciples on the other. There is friction.

Jesus says to them, gather around. Listen. In Mark 10:42-45:

Mark 10:42–45 CSB

42 Jesus called them over and said to them, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. 43 But it is not so among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you will be a slave to 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.”

He says, “You know how the Gentiles, the Romans, they oppress you. They lord their authority over you. If you’re my follower, it’s not going to look like that. For I didn’t come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for others.”

If you want to be great in the kingdom, that’s good, but understand what greatness looks like.

I was reading an article this week in the San Diego Union Tribune. They were writing about a new luxury building that is going up in downtown San Diego. The Radian on Ninth Ave. It’s a beautiful building. They are going all out with this building. There is a law in downtown where these towers have to have rent-controlled units, but this building owner paid the $3-million dollars in fees instead.

The views from the top of this building is beautiful. You can see right into Petco Park, look straight at the baseball diamond. There is a beautiful pool on the roof top. It has all kinds of amenities, with a gym, and even an area for your dog with a dog run.

It will have the highest rent of any building downtown. The average rent is $4,733 a month. If you want a 633 square foot one bedroom apartment, that will run you about $3,000 a month. Or you can get the two-bedroom, 1900 square foot penthouse for $12,000 a month.

It’s a beautiful place.

I was thinking of this as a picture of the kingdom. A lot of Christians enter the kingdom, and they want to go straight to the penthouse and sit down. They want to sit in the penthouse, be comfortable, and wait.

But what is the message from the Lord? Entering the kingdom is not to go sit in the penthouse and wait. People in the kingdom are more like the people in the lobby, waiting to serve people coming in. Maybe its the picture of the guy downstairs sweeping in the lobby.

Maybe its the guy who goes out to the people living in the tents on the sidewalk, who goes out to the people in the tents and say, “You see that luxury building, you see that kingdom right there? I have good news. The Master has paid your fee. He has paid your price. Come on in, the kingdom is free. He paid your price on the cross. The kingdom is free.”

Kingdom leaders seek greatness by embracing God’s will for their life.

Kingdom leaders seek greatness through a servant heart.

Third,

Kingdom leaders seek God’s great healing for others.

Jesus describes to his disciples what it means to serve, and then he is going to show what it means to serve. The Lord is heading resolutely to Jerusalem, and on his way he comes through Jericho.

In Mark 10:46, as he is leaving Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, these are probably pilgrims heading to Jerusalem for passover, and Jesus often had large crowds around him, along this road is blind beggar named Bartimaeus.

This man along the road hears that Jesus is coming. When he hears that Jesus is coming, he cries out in Mark 10:47, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” People try to tell him to keep quiet, but he cries out all the more in Mark 10:48 “Have mercy on me, Son of David!”

This man has been suffering with blindness for years. He is broken. He is hurting. He is in a position where he is seeking healing in his life.

Earlier this week, I was preaching at East County Transitional Living Center in El Cajon. I was sharing with them that sometimes, it’s those points in your life where you are broken, where you are hurting, where you have fallen flat on your face and you finally realize that you need God.

Don’t despise those times. So often, we need our pride broken, and we get to a point of desperation, and that point can be a good thing in our life, a point where we finally say, “God, have mercy on me. I need you!”

This blind man is at that point of desperation. He is crying out with a child-like faith, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! I need you.” It is a faith that just says, “Son of David, I trust you. I’m not here to get into theological debates or anything else. I need God in my life. I trust you. I need you.”

This story reminds me that sometimes, Christians, we get in the way. We say, “No, you can’t approach the Master that way. You don’t approach the Master saying those words. You can’t come to God looking like that, dressed like that.” You see the disciples, so often, getting in the way. They are blocking the parents from bringing children to Jesus. They don’t have the faith to cast the demon out of a man’s son. People are telling this blind man to quiet down.

But there is a persistence in this man, a desperation in his life that has created a persistence that says, “I need God.” I think this next verse is one of the greatest verses ever.

In Mark 10:49:

Mark 10:49 CSB

49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up; he’s calling for you.”

Jesus stops. Jesus, what was he doing? He is heading resolutely to Jerusalem, he is heading to the cross. He has been telling his disciples what is coming, he is about to go to the passover, he is heading to the cross, and he hears someone in need, and he stops.

But look at what he says. He says, “Call him.” Jesus could have said, “Bartimaeus, I hear you.” He could have gone over there himself. But instead, he tells his disciples, he tells those around him, “Call him.”

Maybe you have a brother, a sister, a family member, a co-worker, someone who is struggling, who is need of Jesus. Maybe the Lord is telling you, “Call him. Call her.”

They go over to the beggar on the street, and they tell him, “Have courage! Get up; he’s calling you.” If our people would do this! If we would go out to the people around us, to our neighbors, to our family and friends, to those hurting and say, “Have courage! Get up; he’s calling you!”

This man, he is ready. He is casting off his coat, he is jumping up, and coming to Jesus. There is a fire within him. Jesus asks these words again, we saw them earlier. Jesus asks again in Mark 10:51:

Mark 10:51 CSB

51 Then Jesus answered him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Rabboni,” the blind man said to him, “I want to see.”

“God, I’m so broken. I’ve been sitting here, going through this in my life, begging and no one listens. Rabbi, I need your mercy. I want to see.”

The response of Jesus to the blind man reminds me of another place in Scripture in Mark 2, where some friends of a man who was lame, couldn’t walk. They lower him through a hole in a roof and lay him before Jesus. Jesus looks at the man and says, your sins are forgiven.

Jesus does the same thing here. He says in Mark 10:52:

Mark 10:52 CSB

52 Jesus said to him, “Go, your faith has saved you.” Immediately he could see and began to follow Jesus on the road.

The physical reality of his healing was amazing, but it was nothing compared to the new birth of life within the man, where he received the ultimate healing in his soul. Inside this man, he was dead, and now he has new life. Immediately he can see and now he is following Jesus.

Like that man, so many of us can say, we were blind, now we see, and we are following the Lord. When we are wrapped up in the world system, we are wrapped up in a blind system. The Bible calls it darkness. It’s a system where you can’t see feet in front of you. Where you go around, and you keep bumping into walls. You think you’ve found some other way, and each time you try something, you just bump into something else.

But when you come to the Lord, the blind system is broken. All of a sudden, there is a light shining, and you see things in a brand new way. Isaiah said in Isaiah 9:2:

Isaiah 9:2 CSB

2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness.

A light shines in your life. You are born again. There is a passion, there is purpose, there is a hope.

I counseled men dealing with addiction for many years. They would be in a program for a year, and I would counsel them through the year. It was a Christian program, but we had men who never gave their life to Christ. I would watch them go through the program. They would get past their addiction, but their never seemed to be any real power in their life. They would get past the addiction, but now they were looking for work, and they would try to get themselves through it, and some would make it through the program, but there was never any real power, any purpose other than just not wanting to be addicted again, which is fine. But they were still missing something.

But there would be others, and I would see them give their life to Christ, and the change was incredible. I remember one man, who at the beginning of the program was desperate, suicidal. I would talk with him, helping him through it. One day, he came into my office, and he wanted to pray to follow Jesus. I prayed with him, got him a Bible.

Over a year, that man’s life changed, and it was powerful. There was a new purpose, a new hope, and new life in that man. He looked like a completely different person. The old was gone, and the new had come.

I’ve seen that over and over again. I could tell you other stories. I know the power of God to change a life is real. I never witnessed anything more powerful than the power of Jesus to change and transform a life. To give you new life, and make you brand new. To shine a light in the darkness, and make you able to see.

If you are someone blind, walking in darkness, have courage! Get up, the Master is calling you.

Conclusion

Kingdom leaders seek greatness by embracing God’s will for their life.

Kingdom leaders seek greatness through a servant heart.

Kingdom leaders seek God’s great healing for others.

Conclude

Prayer

Last Song

Doxology

Numbers 6:24–26 CSB

24 “May the Lord bless you and protect you; 25 may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.” ’

Jude 24–25 CSB

24 Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.

You are dismissed. Have a great week in the Lord!