Inperfect Followers, Perfect Master

Introduction

Last time that we were in Mark we looked at the topic of dependence and how it relates to our faith. We saw that as a child we were fully dependent on others to take care of us and how that is how we should be as we follow Jesus, fully dependent on him. We also saw how this can become tougher as we become more self sufficient and how wealth can make it even more difficult. As we transition into the passage for this week we need to remember the truths of having a childlike faith that is dependent on God for everything.

In tonight's passage we will look at the imperfect followers of Jesus and how we are much like them but in the end we serve a perfect master so we should always be striving after a life that is more honoring to him. Through this passage we will see what followers of Jesus should not do, what they should do, and why. The why portion of this is very important and the verse that reveals this to us is what I would say is the theme verse for the whole book of mark and that is verse 45. Lets begin tonight with reading the passage then we can dive right in.

Mark 10:35–45 ESV

And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

This passage begins with James and John going up to Jesus and asking to sit beside him in glory. This is a pretty bold ask but these guys are not as bold as they may seem because as we see in the book of Matthew they brought their mom with them to help them ask. Jesus responds with saying that they do not know what they are asking and he ask them if they are able to do what Jesus must do and they say that they can. Once again pretty bold. Jesus tells them that this is not for him to decide and they move on but the other disciples are not very happy with those two guys. Jesus then brings them together for a teaching moment and says to them that if they want to be great, if they want to be first, they must be a servant and slave to all. This once again shows that greatness is found in being selfless not selfish. The passage concludes with the verse that I would say is the theme verse for the book, Mark 10:45“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”” Jesus came to serve all and to give his life up for our sins, this is what Mark has been pointing towards throughout the whole book. This is why we should do the same, this is why we should be servants to all.

It is easy to focus on self and not worry about others, it is easy to ignore the least, it is easy to forget the why behind it all. Tonight I don’t want us to stray from these things but I want us to look at them straight on and to think deeply about them so that we can grow as followers of Christ. We and imperfect followers, but we serve a perfect master.

Lets look tonight at three main points; followers of Jesus don’t live to serve themselves, followers of Jesus do live to serve others, and finally followers of Jesus live this way because our master did. Let’s pray then we can begin to dive it.

pray

Followers of Jesus don’t Live to Serve Themselves

James and John in this story are seeking to further themselves. They want a place of prominence in the kingdom. They are thinking about trying to get ahead of the others to secure this. The thing about this is that we have already seen in the book of Mark that Jesus has taught them about this. He taught them how greatness is achieved, he taught them about the kingdom of God, he taught them about what must happen, yet still they are focused on themselves so much that they are not paying attention to what he is saying and are just trying to serve themselves.

Jesus once again points them away from this and we to are pointed away from this. Followers of Jesus do not live to serve themselves. This is something that is so easy to get wrapped up in if we are not careful because it is the way that our sinful selves just tend to go, this is something that we have to work to not do because if we do not work at it we will do it.

In my life I think marriage was something that showed me how self centered I was. I started to realize this and it is something that I still have to work at in all areas of life, it just took Courtney for me to see all of it. This is a tough ask from me but look at areas of your life and see where you are self centered and how you can go away from this. We all have areas of our lives that we will tend to be more self centered, look for those areas and seek to eliminate them. This is a shift that needs to happen in our culture and that starts with it happening in each and every one of our lives.

followers of Jesus do not live to serve themselves.

Followers of Jesus Live to Serve the Least

Mark 10:42–44 ESV

And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.

This is what it should look like. You should not hold anything over another person but should rather be a servant of all. This is a pattern that differs from what we typically see in the world. As we have talked about in the previous lessons we need to put others, even those viewed as the least, over ourselves.

This is not an easy thing to do by any means, I know in my own life I try to demonstrate this but I often fail. Last week on my trip a man asked me if I could spare anything so he could get some food, not thinking I gave him a couple dollars so he could get something. I had all of these snacks in my car and we were outside of a Braums, I was not a very good servant there to him. I could have easily handed him some of the food we had in the car or took him inside and bought him a meal. I know that this is not a position that you all are in very often but there are other ways that this looks in our lives. We need to decide what it looks like to serve all before we are put in the place that we are doing it.

we need to put others needs above our own

putting others needs above our own is part of serving the least. We tend to put our needs first. Have you ever put someone over yourself in this way? Serving others is an important mark of a true Christian and when we go through life as a Christian means that we reflect his character. Jesus put all of our needs above his own to the fullest extent.

we are not our own

We put others needs above our own because of this simple fact, we are not our own. If you have put your faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior then you are his. You are no longer someone that is supposed to focus on yourself but rather you are to die to self and live for him. When we are living for him we are not our own but his. The disciples did not yet get this and it shows through their lives that we see, we do see that they grow in their understanding of this and started to practice it more and more. In the same way we need to realize this truth more and more each day and put it into practice in our lives. To live for him and to put others above ourselves each and every day more and more.

Why is this though? Why do we live for him and serve others?

Followers of Jesus Live this way because Our Master Did

Mark 10:45 ESV

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

We are to live this way because our master did. Jesus came and served his whole time here on earth. He did not ask for anyone to serve him but gave everything, up to his life. He gave his life as a ransom for our sins and made a way for forgiveness. He is the suffering servant described in the Old Testament.

The whole book of Mark can be summarized in this one single verse. Jesus served in every area of life, he healed the sick, he removed the demons and evil spirits, we will see later that he would even lower himself and wash the feet of the disciples.

Jesus came to serve and to give his life as the payment for our sins.

Conclusion

As we come to the end here tonight we need to remember that even though we are far from perfect we serve a perfect master. Because of him and all that he has done for us we need to live for him, we are no longer our own but his. In this we need to put others over ourselves and and be servants of all. This is the life of a true follower of Jesus, we will struggle and often we will fail but we need to be ever growing in this and coming to a fuller understanding of it.

If you are not a follower of Jesus and have never put your faith in him don’t wait any longer. He gave his life as a ransom for you and for me. Come to him today. Let’s pray.