The Great Paradox

As we have been in the process of adjusting our leadership structure to what we believe is both biblical and helpful for our church, I believe this passage will be one that is very important.

This message will have it’s first application for those in or who will one day be in church leadership. We will then find that it has application to every believer as we live out the values of God’s Kingdom within the culture of our world today.

Introduction - How’s your humility?

Straw Poll

Raise your hand if you believe you do well at these Christian virtues:

Who is good at:

Kindness

Diligence

Charity

Self-Control

Patience

Humility - Why is this one the least?

Humility is the slipperiest of all virtues because the moment you announce you’ve attained it is likely the moment you’ve just lost it.

Context: Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem

Three times Jesus tells them he is on his way to die. After each of these times, the disciples don’t seem to get it and show self-centeredness.

Mark 8:31 ESV

31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Peter says no - we can’t let that happen

Mark 9:31 ESV

31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.”

Mark 9:33–34 ESV

33 And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.

Each time it stands in contrast to Jesus’ statement of self-sacrifice

Here we will have the third and most blatant example:

Mark 10:33–34 ESV

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.”

(very next verse)

Mark 10:35–45 “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.”

(head smack)

James and John - Sons of Zebedee - Sons of Thunder

In the first message of this series we learned how these men came to follow Jesus

Miraculous catch of fish

Matt hew tells us they came with their mother who worshipped

The request (while bold) is not shocking to many of this world

They were part of Jesus’ inner circle

“Mark’s source for this narrative is most probably Peter, who had reason to remember and relay this story. Peter, James, and John comprised Jesus’ earthly inner circle, and the request of the brothers to exclude him from the heavenly circle in glory cannot have been soon forgotten by the chief apostle.”

Edwards, James R. 2002. The Gospel according to Mark. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos.

ILLUST - Can you imagine one or two of your children walking up to you, “Dad, we want you to do whatever we ask of you.” 

How many of you would agree to a blank check like that?

Not me! If I say yes to that it will either 1. Cost me a lot of money, 2. Embarrass me, 3. Require a hospital stay. 

I’m with Jesus when he first asks- “What do you want me to do for you?”

I ask it to find out how much it will cost me

Jesus asks to expose their heart motive.

Jesus does this often

Luke 6:46 ESV

46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

Luke 18:19 ESV

19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.

Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him.

What did James and John answer? They revealed their motives - they wanted the top spots in Jesus’ kingdom.

“In Jewish custom the place of highest honor was at the center of the company, followed by the right and left hands, respectively. “Of three walking along, the teacher should walk in the middle, the greater of his disciples to his right, the smaller one at his left, and thus do we find that of the three angels who came to visit Abraham, Michael went in the middle, Gabriel at his right, Raphael at his left,” instructs the Talmud (b. Yoma 37a).”

Edwards, James R. 2002. The Gospel according to Mark. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos.

The brothers understood that Jesus would ultimately be glorified and would reign.

It doesn’t seem they understood all that it entailed, but they had some understanding enough to ask Jesus for a good seat.

They had a right understanding of who Jesus is, but a wrong understanding of why they were following him. 

“The brothers hope to honor Jesus while honoring themselves. How easily worship and discipleship are blended with self-interest; or worse, self interest is masked as worship and discipleship.”

Edwards, James R. 2002. The Gospel according to Mark. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos.

Right understanding - wrong expectations of what following him will do for you.

*What are you expecting from the Christian life?*

We need to have clear expectations about why we follow Jesus.

*Do you follow Jesus because of what he MIGHT do for you or because of what he HAS done for you?

MIGHT do - you’re a fair-weather follower

HAS done - anchors you no matter what is ahead.

*When you rightly understand and adjust your expectations based on what Jesus HAS done for you, then no amount of disappointments in this life will cause you to question if following Jesus is worth it.

Follow Jesus for Christ’s sake.

Do you honor Jesus to honor yourself?

Do you bow as long as you benefit?

Do you worship only when you’re well?

Do you follow Jesus for your sake or for Christ’s sake?

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.”

They likely understood Jesus to be asking if they would fight with him (drink the cup, baptized)

Jesus meant to drink the cup of a sacrificial death (Matt 26:39)

James would ultimately drink a similar cup of martyrdom (Acts 12:1-2)

John, too, would suffer for Jesus’ name

- “Not mine to grant” - Doesn’t mean Jesus has no authority.  Throughout Jesus’ time on earth, we see him submit to the Father’s will. 

Jesus never answered their prayer in the affirmative.

*Be thankful God does not grant your every request. Be thankful for his informed grace. 

The fact that Jesus did not answer the request the way the wanted him to IS AN ACT OF GRACE.

Did they think so? Probably not. But later they may have realized fully what Jesus meant by drink the cup and be baptized as he was, and they were likely grateful that Jesus did not answer their request they had originally hoped.

God does not grant our every request because he knows what is our very best.

Have you ever asked God for something and he answered with a NO, and later you find out what would have happened if God had answered your prayer the way and at the time you wanted?

Do you grant every request of your child? Of course not.

ILLUST - if your young child asked for matches, would you give the matches to them?

James 4:3 ESV

3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

How do you react when God is not answering your prayers the way or in the time you expect?

We usually don’t question God’s “God-ness.” Instead, we tend to question his goodness.

Let God be God. He’s good and good at it. 

41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.

The others were mad, ticked. 

Pride causes relational issues, doesn’t it?

Jesus senses the tension and calls a holy huddle

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.

“lord” = dominance

They were familiar with worldly rulers dominating them. Roman oppression was everywhere.

Herod the Great tried to have Jesus killed, but instead killed every boy two years and younger in Bethlehem.

His son, Herod Antipas, had John the Baptist beheaded.

43 But it shall not be so among you.

Because the world’s economy is based on self, the only time someone would serve is when they are forced to or paid to.

So the greatest in the world is the one who can force everyone else to serve them or has no need to be paid for service.

It’s different in God’s Kingdom economy. Instead of serving out of oppression or payment, the service is done out of love.

Because God’s Kingdom is based on love the greatest in the Kingdom is the one who loves the most.

1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Servanthood

D. L. Moody once said, “The measure of a man is not how many servants he has, but how many men he serves.”1217

The paradox of greatness and humility

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

1 Corinthians 4:6-7

James 4:13-17

Colossians 3:12-13

Philippians 2:3-8

**The Christian life begins and continues (flourishes) with humility.**

Humility is the mother, root, nurse, foundation, and center of all other virtues. —Chrysostom

John Chrysostom

Humility is not just an attitude we need to have to be saved; it is the attitude we have as we continue in our salvation.

Humility does not mean:

Self-hatred

Does not mean having a low view of yourself - thinking other have greater worth, talent, or ability. 

ILLUST - can you take a compliment? Don’t deny when others encourage you. Simply say thank you. 

being a doormat

Doing whatever someone says whenever they say to do it

Weakness

Simply being polite 

It is an ongoing action in relationship

Humility = confidently choosing to serve another.

for their good 

You can’t come to Jesus in your pride. You need to humble yourself and acknowledge you need a Savior in order to be saved.

ILLUST - boy who was drowning but didn’t want to be saved.

Humility is the first step and accompanies every step as we follow Jesus 

Humility is the shoes we wear as we follow Jesus

Some of you came to Jesus with humility but

Now you think you are a super Christian

You compare yourself to others who are new to the faith and “look down on them”

Don’t smoke, drink, or chew - don’t run with those who do. 

I grew up with many Christians like this. We tend to call it Legalistic Christianity.

Larry Osborne would call this becoming an accidental pharisee. In his book by that name, he talks about nine common spiritual traps of which the first is pride.

We follow Jesus at the pace of our humility. 

Because humility is not only how we start to follow Jesus but also how we continue to follow Jesus, then our willingness to continually humble ourselves determines how quickly we follow and become more like Jesus.

All other aspects of the Christian walk depend on our continued humility:

Sermons from John Piper (2000–2014) Greatness, Humility, Servanthood

Faith

Sermons from John Piper (2000–2014) Greatness, Humility, Servanthood

Every good thing in the Christian life grows in the soil of humility. Without humility, every virtue and every grace withers.

Mark 10:45 “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.””

At the end, Jesus gives the final reason, example, and ability to be humble.

Jesus gives us the final and fullest picture of humility.

Philippians 2:3–8 ESV

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, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Why do you follow Jesus? Is it for your sake of for HIS sake?

What are you expectations as you follow him?

Will you continue to follow him even if things get rough? Maybe things are rough right now and your are questioning if following him is worth it.

Are you letting Jesus lead? Are you letting him be God? Are you seeing him as good?

How’s your humility?

Are you just as humble (or more) now as when you first came to Jesus?

have you grown a bit ‘pharisaical?’

Is there someone you’ve been looking down on? Somehow you deserved God’s grace but they don’t?

Do you ever thank God that you are not like THEM?

Do you need to kneel in humility again?