True Greatness
Notes
Transcript
Hallelujah. Thank you Falice and team for inviting me to share a message this afternoon.
The passage we’re looking at today comes from Mark 10:32-45. I’ll read through it once, and then we’ll look at it again verse by verse.
32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him,
33 saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles.
34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”
35 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.”
36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”
37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”
38 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?”
39 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,
40 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.”
41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.
42 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.
43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.
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.”
The title for this message is “True Greatness”.
32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him,
In this passage, Jesus and His disciples are walking the road to Jerusalem. By this time, it’s near the end of Jesus’ ministry. And it says that Jesus was walking ahead of them. And it says the onlookers are amazed.
*SHOW PICTURE OF GANGSTER MOVIE*
Jesus walked with such determination, like those gangster movies.
But unlike those movies, the ones following Jesus are afraid. They’re not so confident in their leader.
So how does Jesus comfort them?
33 saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles.
34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”
He says, “Don’t worry, I’m going to die.”
If I was a disciple, I’d say, “Is that supposed to comfort me?”
The disciples are afraid because they think Jesus won’t meet their needs. They think what they need is a physical victory over the ruling powers of Jerusalem. But Jesus knows what they need, and what we need, is a spiritual victory over the ruling powers of sin.
Jesus’ point is to demonstrate how far He is willing to go in order to meet our needs. He walks ahead of them in urgency because He knows that by His wounds, we are healed. By His death, we receive life.
But I’d like to bring your attention to this last part. It says “And after three days he will rise.” This word means to get up, to stand up. And the Bible makes clear that Jesus does not rise on His own. It is the Father who raises Him through the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:11; Gal. 1:1; Acts 2:24; 3:15). Jesus didn’t need to defend His life.
It is the Father who takes care of His needs, so He can take care of ours.
This is the essence of Christianity. That God is a God who takes care of our needs. That God is a God who serves.
After this, two of Jesus’ closest disciples come to Him with a special request.
35 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.” 36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”
37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”
This is perhaps the most selfish prayer in the history of the world. But it is also of the world. It is what we might call a worldly way of thinking.
The world says “The higher the position, the greater the person.”
How does Jesus respond?
38 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?”
39 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,
The cup here has two meanings. First, it means to share in a person’s fate or destiny. Second, it is an Old Testament symbol of the wrath of God. And in this case, both meanings overlap one hundred percent.
The baptism in this context is an image of being submerged in God’s judgement.
James and John say, “Yes, we can do it. If it’s for a better position, we will do anything necessary, whatever that’s needed.”
Can you see how they’re so focused on their own needs, they’re willing to do anything.
James and John have yet to believe that God will provide for them what’s best. So Jesus speaks about the plan of God.
40 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.”
God has already prepared those positions in advance. How far in advance? Yesterday? Last month? Last year? The Bible is clear on this. God prepares our positions from before the world began.
9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began
34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
So please believe that God has prepared our positions already. Not only in the heavenly kingdom, but also while we live on earth as well. We are not here by coincidence.
We have positions at work, at home, among our friends and family. Even our health and our finances. These are positions we have received. The question is, how will we use them?
Jesus, the Son of God, had the highest position and the highest power. But He used that power to be born as a human, take our sins on Himself, and suffer and die in our place. He took the lowest position.
Why? Because that was us spiritually.
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
We were dead in our sins. So what did Jesus do? Jesus died.
So true greatness is not about having a higher position than others. It’s about how we use our current position to serve others.
41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.
42 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.
Now Jesus gathers the twelve disciples and gives the main lesson.
He talks about two ways in which people exercise their authority. The first way is to be served by many people. They lord it over them. This is the way of the world.
What about the heavenly way?
43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 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.”
The heavenly way says the greater you are, the more people you serve.
Why? Because the Son of God came to serve you, and gave His life for you as a ransom. He takes care of your needs, so you can take care of the needs of others.
A ransom is an amount of money paid to free someone from slavery. So Jesus is saying that we were slaves. James and John were slaves to their selfish desires. And so were we. The Bible calls that slavery to sin. But Jesus paid the ransom that we would be slaves no longer.
Most religions say that you need to serve God. But Christianity says you need God to serve you. You need to receive God’s service. You need to receive Jesus as your servant, and the Son of God as your ransom.
And only then can you be freed from slavery to sin and selfishness.
So in conclusion, let us think about this.
What are your needs?
Do you need comfort? Do you need peace? Do you need wisdom, joy, happiness? Do you need forgiveness?
Let us receive these things from our heavenly Servant.
Sometimes, it’s harder to receive love than to give love. But true greatness is first about receiving God’s love, God’s service to us. And then, serving others in the same love.
Jesus is the God who wraps a towel around His waist, kneels down, and washes our feet. But we need to give our feet to Him. We need to give our dirtiness to Him, and ask Him to wash us clean. That’s where we find the strength to forgive others, and to focus on their needs.
Can we read this passage together?
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus
Let’s turn to each other and say, “God is my servant.”
Now turn to the other person and say, “I am your servant.”
I pray that Singapore Christian Home will be a place where the love of God is greatly received, and greatly shared. May it be a place where we think of each other’s needs and serve each other with a heart of love and spirit of giving. And may God look upon all the staff, caretakers, and residents as people of true greatness.
