Legacy: The Mini Series

Take the Towel: Legacy in Service

Text: Mark 10:35–45

Introduction

Good morning! Today we are finishing our two-part mini series on Legacy: The Mini Series. Last week, in Sent Home, we saw that Jesus has already placed us among people He wants to reach.

Today we are looking at:

Take the Towel: Legacy in Service.

Over the years, I have come to realize there are two kinds of leaders, and I have had the opportunity to serve under both. Without realizing it at the time, they shaped the way I understood leadership.

The first leader had a clear mindset: “I am the leader, so you serve me.”

You could see it in the small moments. At fellowships, he was always first through the line. If he needed something, someone else was expected to get it. His direction carried the expectation that everyone else existed to carry out what he wanted.

From the outside, the ministry looked like it was doing well. But if you looked closer, there was a trail behind it. People became discouraged and quietly walked away. Then, when they left, they were often talked about as though they had been the problem.

I did not just witness that culture. I absorbed it.

When I left that ministry, I carried the same mindset into the next place God gave me. I expected people to serve me because I was the leader, and I failed. I failed in relationships and in the way people connected with me. Something was wrong with the way I understood leadership, but I could not see it yet.

We will come back to that.

When we think about legacy, we often think about what we accomplish. We think about what we built or what position we held. But when it comes to service, the question is not simply, “What did you accomplish?”

The question is, “What kind of legacy did the way you treated people leave behind?”

This is where we are going today. We are going to compare the world’s idea of greatness with the kind of greatness Jesus describes. Then we are going to see what Jesus was willing to do for us and what that means for the way we serve others.

Turn with me to Mark 10.

Discovering God Through the Story

James and John came to Jesus with a request:

“Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, ‘Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.’ He said to them, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ They said to Him, ‘Grant us to sit, one at Your right hand and the other at Your left hand, in Your glory.’” — Mark 10:35–37

They were not asking how they could serve. They were asking where they would sit.

They wanted the places of honor. In their minds, greatness meant being close to the throne and having authority over everyone beneath them.

Jesus told them they did not understand what they were asking. When the other disciples heard about it, they became angry:

“When the ten heard it, they began to be very displeased with James and John.” — Mark 10:41

That does not necessarily mean the other disciples were more humble. More likely, they were upset because James and John had asked first.

They were all thinking about leadership the same way. Greatness meant position, and the closer you were to the top, the more important you were.

Jesus gathered them together because the problem was deeper than one selfish request. Their whole understanding of greatness was backward.

They thought greatness meant moving up. Jesus was about to show them something completely different.

1. The World’s View of Leadership Is Backward

Jesus said:

“You know that those who are appointed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.” — Mark 10:42

That was the kind of leadership the disciples understood. The higher your position, the more power you had over everyone beneath you.

We still see that kind of leadership today. The world often measures leadership by who is in charge and who gets to tell everyone else what to do.

But Jesus looked at His disciples and said:

“But it shall not be so among you.” — Mark 10:43

That is a line in the sand.

The church should not copy the world’s definition of leadership. A Christian home should not copy it either. Wherever God has given us influence, He calls us to use it differently.

This becomes especially clear at home. Scripture tells husbands:

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it.” — Ephesians 5:25

That is not control. That is sacrifice. Christlike leadership asks how you can give yourself for the good of the people God has entrusted to you.

Scripture also says:

“Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.” — Colossians 3:21

Most parents are not trying to discourage their children. But it can happen when we lead with pressure instead of patience.

I have felt that personally. A few months ago, I had a moment with one of my children when discipline was not working, and I lost control. I raised my voice to the point that the whole house felt it.

I walked outside and sat in the car. Renee came out and said, “What is wrong with you? The kids are afraid of you right now.”

God used that moment to show me something. Discipline was not the problem. My approach was.

You can hold the right position and still lead in the wrong spirit. You can demand obedience while failing to show the character of Christ.

Jesus says, “It shall not be so among you.”

Servant leadership listens instead of always lecturing. It considers what another person needs instead of demanding that everyone adjust to you.

The world says leadership gives you the right to be served.

Jesus gives us a different picture.

2. Jesus Redefined Greatness Through Service

Jesus continued:

“Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever among you would be greatest must be servant of all.” — Mark 10:43–44

The disciples wanted greatness, but Jesus changed the definition. In His kingdom, greatness is revealed by the willingness to serve.

Jesus did not merely teach this. He showed them what it looked like.

On the night before the cross, Jesus sat at the table with His disciples. During the meal, He stood up, laid aside His outer garments, wrapped a towel around Himself, and began washing their feet.

Foot washing was the work nobody wanted. The roads were dusty, people wore sandals, and their feet were dirty. It was usually left for the lowest servant in the room.

Apparently, none of the disciples had been willing to take that place, so Jesus did.

John tells us that Jesus knew He had come from God and was returning to God. He knew exactly who He was. Serving did not make Him less of a leader. It showed what godly leadership looks like.

After washing their feet, Jesus said:

“Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord. You speak accurately, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” — John 13:12–15

Most opportunities to serve will not look important. They may look like staying a little longer to help clean up or handling something that everyone else has walked past.

At home, it may mean helping when you are already tired. At church, it may mean doing something no one will ever notice. At work, it may mean supporting someone without worrying about who receives the credit.

That is where servant leadership is lived out. It is found when there is work to be done and no applause waiting at the end.

The disciples wanted the best seats.

Jesus took the towel.

3. Jesus Served Us Before He Called Us to Serve

Mark 10 does not end with Jesus simply telling His disciples to become servants. He points to what He came to do:

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” — Mark 10:45

Jesus did more than wash dirty feet. He gave His life to rescue sinners.

The word ransom speaks of a price paid to set someone free. We were enslaved to sin and stood guilty before God. We could not erase that guilt by becoming better people, doing good works, or serving in church.

Our sin deserved judgment, and we could not save ourselves.

Jesus came to do what we could never do. He lived without sin and willingly took our place on the cross. He bore the judgment our sin deserved and died as our substitute. On the third day, He rose from the grave, proving that sin and death had been defeated.

That is the gospel.

Forgiveness is not earned by serving Jesus. It is received by repenting of sin and trusting in what Jesus has already done. He gave His life as the ransom, and everyone who believes in Him is forgiven and made new.

We do not take the towel so that Jesus will save us.

We take the towel because He already has.

The service of Jesus did not stop at washing feet. The towel led to the cross. He served people who would deny Him, abandon Him, and betray Him. Yet He still gave Himself for them.

That is the Savior we follow.

When we understand how Christ has served us, pride begins to lose its grip. We no longer have to prove that we are important or wait for recognition before we act. We can serve because our identity is already secure in Him.

This is where service becomes action. When something needs to be done and no one steps forward, what will you do? When helping someone costs you time, will you still serve?

If service remains only an intention, it never becomes a legacy. At some point, we have to take the towel.

That does not mean we must do everything or never rest. Jesus Himself withdrew from crowds and made time to pray. But when God places a real need in front of us, pride should not be the reason we walk away.

There are people who want to do great things for God but overlook the work right in front of them. They want a platform but not a towel.

Jesus says greatness begins with becoming a servant.

Conclusion

At the beginning of this message, I told you about the kind of leadership I first learned—the kind that said, “I am the leader, so you serve me.” I carried that mindset with me, and it damaged the way I led and the way people related to me.

But that was not the only kind of leader God allowed me to serve under.

God, in His grace, eventually placed me under a completely different kind of leader. This man did not talk very much about serving. He lived it.

We were building a church at the time, and you did not have to look far to find him. He might be underneath the building running plumbing or in the attic pulling cables for the sound system. He was doing the kind of work no one was lining up to do.

At fellowships, he was not first in line. He was usually last. While other people were finishing their meals, he was picking up trash and making sure everyone else had what they needed. When the fellowship was over and people started heading home, he was still there helping clean.

Without realizing it at first, that changed me. People did not feel used by him. They knew they were valued, and they wanted to serve beside him because they had watched him serve them.

When God eventually brought me here, I made a decision. I did not want to become the kind of leader who expected to be served. I wanted to become the kind of leader who serves.

I have not always done that perfectly, but I have seen the difference it makes.

The first leader expected everyone else to carry the load because he held the position.

The second leader took the towel.

That is what I had missed, and it is what the disciples had missed.

The King of kings did not come demanding that everyone serve Him. He came not to be served, but to serve, and He carried that service all the way to the cross.

So let me make the invitation simple: Where has God already placed a towel in front of you?

Maybe it is at home, where someone needs your attention. Maybe it is at church, where there is work you have been waiting for someone else to do. Maybe pride has kept you from taking the first step in a relationship.

You do not need a title to serve. You only need to take the towel.

Perhaps you are here today and have never trusted Christ. Before you can follow His example, you need to receive His salvation.

You have sinned against God, and you cannot save yourself. Jesus died in your place and rose again. Today, He calls you to repent and believe the gospel. Stop trusting in your goodness, your religion, or your service, and place your faith in Jesus Christ alone.

He gave His life as the ransom for you.

For those who have trusted Him, the call is clear. We have been served by the King.

Now let us take the towel and serve like Him.