Why We Serve

Reading from God’s Word

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.”

Introduction

Have you ever had a conversation you wish someone else didn’t find out about?

In our text, James and John had just approached Jesus asking:

Mark 10:37 CSB

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

This was part of the disciples’ ongoing argument about who was to be the greatest in the kingdom.

Who mattered most

Who deserved recognition

Who should have had the highest place

And what makes this even more striking, is that this discussion is going on even after Jesus has just plainly spoken about His coming suffering, rejection, and death.

Mark 10:32–34 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.”

Now, can you imagine this… while Jesus is moving toward the cross, the disciples are jockeying for position.

And Jesus doesn’t ignore it. In fact, He stops everything to address it head-on.

And, what the disciples struggled with then, is the same thing every generation of Christians must confront.

No, we may not be having discussions about thrones and titles, but the same questions do surface in much quieter ways.

Why should I be the one to step up?

Why does service always seem to fall on the same people?

What do I get out of this?

Isn’t there a point where I’ve done enough?

What Jesus teaches in Mark 10 does more than correct the disciples.

Here, He redefines greatness, reshapes leadership, and roots service in the very heart of the gospel.

Today is not so much a lesson about volunteering more hours as it is about what it truly means to follow Jesus.

Until we understand why we serve, we will never fully embrace the life Christ calls us to live.

During January we’re focused on Equipping for Service.

Our goal is simple but challenging.

We want all to see that Christian service is not optional, not secondary, and not reserved for a select group within the church.

It is the calling of every member of the local congregation.

Throughout January, we will explore:

Why We Serve.

Why We Must Listen to Jesus Before We Serve

How Discipleship sharpens and strengthens us

How trials prepare us for ministry.

Our goal is to become servants - men and women who understand that following Jesus means living for something bigger than ourselves.

And that brings us back to our text for today.

Before we talk about how we are equipped, we must first settle why we serve at all.

And for this, we’re going back to our text in Mark 10.

How the World Defines Greatness

Jesus Begins with What Everyone Already Knows

10:42:

Mark 10:42 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.

“You know….”

In other words … this is how the world works.

In the world:

Greatness is measured by position.

Importance is measured by authority.

Success is measured by how many people answer to you.

The higher you climb, the more you matter — so the world says.

Jesus points to Gentile rulers, the Roman system his disciples saw every day.

They didn’t lead by influence or sacrifice.

They led by force, pressure, and control.

Note again v. 42:

Mark 10:42 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.

“Lord it over them” means to dominate, to impose one’s will, to remind everyone who is in charge.

In the world system, power flows downward, not outward.

Worldly Leadership is Self-Focused

Jesus highlights:

Rulers assert authority.

Leaders exercise power

Status exists to benefit the one who holds it.

In other words, leadership in the world exists for the leader.

The unspoken assumption is:

I earned this position. I deserve this influence. Others exist to support my role.

This was the mindset in Rome. It was expected and it was admired.

And we need to know that this line of thinking does not automatically disappear when someone becomes religious.

How this Mindset Slips into the Church

Remember, Jesus is speaking to disciples — not pagans.

They believed in God.

They had not abandoned scripture.

They had not rejected Jesus.

They were simply thinking of greatness the same way the world does. We are capable of the same thing.

It shows up when:

We measure faithfulness by visibility.

We equate importance with titles.

We assume service is for “someone else.”

We feel inconvenienced when ministry costs us something.

Sometimes it sounds like:

“I’ve already done my part.”

“That’s not my role.”

“Why is this always expected of me?”

And none of that is hostile. But when we say these things, we have more subtle problems going on.

And that is, we may have a heart that has absorbed the worlds’ definition of greatness.

Jesus Exposes the Motive

Leadership is not wrong. Self-centered leadership is wrong.

The issue is not authority.

The issue is who authority exists to serve.

Worldly leadership asks, “How does this role benefit me?”

Kingdom leaders ask: “Who is helped by this?”

And so if we assume greatness is about:

recognition

control

convenience

then: service will always feel like a burden.

And so Jesus, in v. 42, is not tweaking the world’s values — He is completely replacing them.

A Line of Distinction Between the World and the Kingdom

10:43a:

Mark 10:43 CSB

43 But it is not so among you. …

These 7 words may be the most important sentence in the lesson.

It’s not a suggestion … it’s a separation.

Jesus does not say:

Try to be different.

Aim higher than the world.

Balance ambition with humility.

He says … that way of thinking has not part in discipleship.

He is drawing a very significant line of distinction.

It’s a confrontation. The kingdom of God does not run parallel to the world. It runs in the opposite direction.

This is personal.

Look again at 10:43a:

Mark 10:43 CSB

43 But it is not so among you. …

there are no generalities here.

“Among you.”

That’s us.

This is not about fixing society.

It’s about shaping the church.

It’s a message for insiders, not outsiders.

We Must Reject Worldly Thinking

Jesus knows how difficult it is to:

take on the world’s values.

add a little religious language.

call it Christian leadership.

But know this: With Jesus, there is no such thing as a Christianized version of domination, status, or control.

You cannot:

pursue recognition like the world.

measure success like the world.

seek comfort like the world…

and still say, “I’m doing it all for Jesus.”

Jesus has completely shut that door.

And so we must never operate under unspoken assumptions:

The important people are the visible ones.

Ministry belongs only to a few.

Service is optional or seasonal.

Longevity excuses disengagement.

And before long, a congregation can look busy — but not biblical.

And this is why Jesus makes this personal before He defines greatness.

He is clearing the ground before he builds.

You cannot import the worlds definition of greatness, and simply attach kingdom language to it.

And so, what he is going to say next is going to turn every assumption upside down.

The Kingdom Redefines Greatness

10:43b-44:

Mark 10:43–44 CSB

43 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.

Jesus Does Not Eliminate the Desire for Greatness — He Redirects It

Let’s focus on v. 43:

Mark 10:43 CSB

43 On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant,

Jesus does not say “stop wanting to be great.”

Instead he says, “if you want to be great, here is how greatness actually works.”

This matters.

I think it is inherent to the human condition to have a desire:

to matter

for significance

to make a difference

This is not sinful. But these desires can become misdirected apart from the kingdom.

Jesus wants to take our ambition and turn it outward.

Greatness is Measured by Service, not Status

Mark 10:43 ESV

43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,

I switched to the ESV to capture the imperative here. In fact, there are two statements Jesus is going to make - each one more intense than the last.

“must be your servant.”

“servant”: someone who meets needs without drawing attention to himself.

The kind of service that is ordinary, often unseen, and frequently unthanked.

In the world, this kind of work is ignored.

In the kingdom, however, it is honored.

Now, v. 44:

Mark 10:44 ESV

44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.

“Must be slave of all.”

This goes much further. A slave does not:

choose when to serve.

Select who to serve.

Serve for recognition.

A slave belongs to someone else.

In the kingdom, greatness is not about being over others — it is about being available to others.

This is Completely Upside Down

In the world:

you climb upward

You protect your time

You leverage your position

In the kingdom:

you move downward

You give yourself away

You leverage your life for others

It’s a completely different trajectory. The direction of the disciple’s life is no longer inward - it is outward.

Service costs:

time, comfort, control, and convenience.

And that’s why most of us prefer ideas about service - rather than lives shaped by it.

And the resistance does show up:

“I’m already stretched too thin.”

“Someone else can handle that.”

“I’ve earned the right to step back.”

But not that Jesus does not attach age, tenure, or convenience clauses here.

He says (Mark 10:43)

Mark 10:43 CSB

43 But it is not so among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant,

“whoever’ includes all of us.

Jesus Exposes Our Motives

This pushes us to ask:

Do I want to be useful or important?

In the kingdom, you cannot have both on your own terms.

The world rewards importance.

The kingdom honors usefulness.

Jesus is very clear on which perspective He demands.

And it is very important we get the point here.

If we don’t

service will feel like loss

ministry will feel unfair

sacrifice will feel unnecessary.

If we embrace it

service becomes joy

sacrifice becomes worship

humility becomes strength.

Greatness is something we no longer protect — it is something we give away.

Now, the most important point in today’s lesson.

Jesus doesn’t stop at v. 44 with just instruction.

He points to himself.

Jesus is the Reason We Serve

10:45

Mark 10:45 CSB

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.”

“for even”

If anyone ever had the right to be served - it was Jesus.

Note how he identifies himself as “the son of man.”

This is taken from Daniel’s vision of the glorious, reigning figure who receives eternal dominion.

Jesus is speaking from authority.

And yet:

Jesus Redefines Power Through Sacrifice

Mark 10:45 CSB

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.”

Jesus contrasts two ideas:

being served

serving others

Note how he extends this to its furthest possible expression:

“to give his life.”

Total self-giving.

Jesus did not die because he was overpowered.

He died because He gave himself.

“A Ransom for Many”

Let’s revisit 10:45

Mark 10:45 CSB

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.”

this is “why” He serves.

a ransom is the price paid to free someone who cannot free themselves.

Think about it.

We were trapped, helpless, and incapable of rescuing ourselves from sin.

Jesus stepped in on our behalf.

This fact is what keeps us from becoming self-righteous.

We do not serve because we are superior — we serve because we were rescued.

Every act of service flows from gratitude, not guilt!

Service is not an attempt to repay Jesus

We cannot repay the ransom.

We cannot ever balance the scales.

We cannot do enough to match the cross

Service is not payment.

Service is participation.

We serve because we now belong to the one who served us first.

The Cross Shapes the Way We Serve

Because Jesus’ service led him to the cross:

Our service will be sacrificial

Our service will sometimes go unnoticed

Our service will sometimes be costly.

But it will never be wasted.

God values faithfulness more than visibility.

Because Jesus came to serve — and to give his life — service becomes the shape of discipleship.

As We Close..

This is a vision for life.

Not a life where greatness is measured by how high you rise, but by how willingly you serve.

Not a life where we are catered to, but a life that is shaped into His likeness.

Have you allowed Jesus to redefine greatness in your life?

Following Jesus means walking down the same downward path He walked:

A path of humilty, service, and love.

And the good news is:

God never calls you to serve in your own strength.

The same jesus who gave His life as a ransom — now lives stregthen you.

So let us:

examine our hearts.

lay down the world’s definition of greatness

re-embrace the way of Christ.

Maybe you:

need to let go of pride or entitlement

release resentment about service

surrender control and comfort.

Or:

maybe you need to come to Jesus recognizing that He came to serve and rescue you.

Jesus gave his life as a ransom for many — and that invitation is still open.

Today is the day to come to Him!