Lessons on Greatness

In Chapter 19 we were introduced to a rich young ruler.

He thought he was a righteous person (19:20).

The disciples thought if he didn’t make it to heaven then no one could (19:25)

Jesus sent this man away unsaved and broken hearted.

Jesus then told the disciples the first would be last and the last would be first. He illustrated that truth with a parable. In the parable He taught that when it comes to the grace of God, God deals with people differently than the world thinks He should.

The world has one idea of greatness, God has another.

The world has one idea of who should be at the front leading, God has another.

Our text today continues the theme of greatness in the kingdom of God. Listen. This is important:

We seek what society rewards.

They did the same thing in Jesus’ day.

The man Jesus sent away was well received by his culture.

He was young.

He was powerful.

He was rich.

He was self-righteous.

That’s what the Jewish culture rewarded.

In our culture we seek what society rewards. If society says something is great, we seek it:

A great athlete

A great singer

A great entertainer

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Our culture determines what is great and we seek after that. The Bible tells us not to be conformed to this world. We should not let our culture define what is great. Jesus has already defined greatness for us. In these passages we’re going to discover some lessons on leadership from Jesus. We’re going to see what makes a person great in the eyes of the Lord. First let’s look at the account itself.

A selfish request (20-21)

This request comes from a godly family.

There is Zebedee. He is not present. But we know that he had a fishing business. He was probably a well-known guy because his kids are called “the sons of Zebedee” and his wife is called “the mother of Zebedee’s children.”

His sons were working with him when they were called to follow Jesus (4:21)

There is Salome. She is the mother of the boys. Her name is

mentioned in Mark 15:40.

Salome began following Jesus in Galilee. This probably means that she started following Jesus at the same time her sons were called at the Sea of Galilee.

Salome was a great woman of God. She followed Jesus for years. She was at the crucifixion of Jesus (Mark 15:40). She went to anoint the body of Jesus for burial after His death (Mark 16:1).

There was James and John. These young men were called by Jesus to follow Him. Jesus gave them the nickname “The Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17). This wasn’t a flattering nickname. It was given to them because they were a little bit of a loose cannon.

When a Samaritan city rejected Jesus they wanted to call down fire from heaven to burn the entire city up (Luke 9:51-56). There nickname sounds like they are a WWF Tag Team. They weren’t afraid of a fight.

James & John want to be great in the kingdom of God that Jesus has been preaching about. They are headed to Jerusalem. Jesus has already told them His time is short. They think Jesus is about to set up His kingdom in Jerusalem. They think this is the right time to make their move. They want to make sure they have a top spot in the kingdom of God.

Their plan involved their mother.

In John 18:15 we see the family had some connections in high places. John is able to get himself into the palace when Jesus is arrested because he is known by the High Priest. Most likely its because of his father being a successful businessman.

Here we see James and John attempting to use the influence of their mother to get what they want.

Salome asks Jesus for her children to sit at His right and left hand in the kingdom. She wants the Trinity to be Jesus, James and John. It’s a very selfish request but evidently Salome believed her children deserved this position.

An honest reply (22-23).

Jesus told them they didn’t even understand what they were asking. He asks them a question.

Are you able to drink the cup that I am going to drink or be baptized with the baptism I’m going to be baptized with?

The cup- He will fully consume the penalty of sin. Like drinking a cup down to the dregs. He will consume all of it (Matt. 26:39).

The baptism- He will be immersed in the wrath of God.

Look how they reply. They say “Yes!”

Then Jesus gets really honest with them. They will indeed suffer, not like He will, but they will suffer. Because of their relation to Him they will have a life of suffering.

James will have his head chopped off (Acts 12:2). John will be tortured and exiled to an island (Rev. 1:9).

But as far as them being elevated to the right and left hand of Jesus, that decision has been made in eternity past. In fact, no human will have that position. In heaven we worship father Son and Holy Spirit, not Jesus, James, and John.

An expected reaction (24-28).

The other disciples get mad. They get mad because they can’t believe James and John are using their mom to get a position they all wanted.

Jesus corrects their thinking. He tells them the kingdom of God is not like what they see in their culture. They shouldn’t be trying to lord over people. They shouldn’t be trying to wield their authority. Their concern should be serving people. They shouldn’t be trying to great. They should be trying to be servants. They should be modeling their lives after the life of Jesus. He didn’t come to be served. He came to serve.

Now let’s consider some lessons on greatness.

1. It is our responsibility to raise our children to be servants.

Mom loved the Lord, but she blew it here.

There’s nothing wrong with adoring your children. But you have to be willing to see their flaws. You have to be willing to tell them where they are wrong. She should have told her boys how foolish this request was and refused to help them.

Listen to me now: If you can’t get to where you want to be without your mother you don’t need to be where you want to be.

Parents, it’s our responsibility to raise our children to be servants in the kingdom of God. How do we teach them this?

By teaching them the Word of God.

By modeling a servant’s heart before them.

By requiring them to be servants at home.

At some point our children should be:

Cleaning their own room.

Doing their own chores.

Completing their own schoolwork.

And then they should be serving others in the home.

We have to be careful not be servants to our children to such a degree that they believe they should be served rather than serving themselves.

Parental love clouded Salome’s vision and it can cloud ours too. Are our children servants or are they the served?

Salome wanted people serving her children as they served Christ. She wanted people at their beck and call.

Salome didn’t understand what it meant to be great. But she would in the future. Fast forward to the cross. Salome was there. She looked up at Jesus on the cross. Who was on the right and left of Jesus?

Hanging on the right and left of Jesus were two thieves. They were suffering. They were dying. Is that what she wanted? Because there is none greater than the One in the middle.

On the cross Jesus gave her son a great reward. He gave him His own mother. He said to John of Mary “Behold your mother.” Joh would live longer than any other disciple. Jesus entrusted John with Mary. He was to be a servant to her until she died.

Joh was to become a caretaker! What an honor to be a caretaker! What an honor to help an aged saint or a handicapped child! This is greatness!

Are we preparing our children for a life of service or a life in which they are served? One is far greater than the other.

2. Christians should not seek greatness.

Jesus said John the Baptist was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Do you know what John the Baptist said? He said, “Jesus must increase I must decrease.”

John never sought greatness.

He dressed like a bum.

He ate like a wilderness survivor.

He lived in the desert.

He spent time in jail

He was killed in his early thirties.

Jesus said He was great.

His greatness can be attributed to his motto for life- He must increase I must decrease.

Greatness is achieved by those who want to be small, not big.

The great don’t ask to be great.

The great don’t seek to be great.

The great certainly don’t manipulate circumstances so they can become great.

There’s no greater cook than Clarice Roberts. She died many years ago. She was my granny.

She didn’t have a restaurant.

She cooked for just a few people. But she was the greatest!

You can have your fancy restaurants! Take me to granny’s kitchen again!

When God looks down from heaven and sees the greatest:

Preachers- they’re not in the mega churches.

Worshippers- they’re not on itunes.

Parents- they don’t have a book on the NY Times best seller list.

Listen, the greatest don’t even know they’re great. That’s because being great is the last thing on their mind. They just want to be faithful.

A desire for greatness is the result of pride. Pride never leads us to a good place.

If Jesus had put James and John on his right and left side, they still would not have been great. Greatness is about character not about position.

3. The church should promote servants to leadership positions.

Jesus uses two words to describe what greatness looks like in the kingdom.

1. Minister (26). This is the Greek word diakonos. It’s where we get our word “deacon” from. It was used to describe people who performed menial tasks such as serve people food. It didn’t require a person with any particular skill. It did require a level of humility.

2. Servant (27). The Greek word is doulos. This word was used to describe a slave. IA slave is a person whose will is swallowed up in the will of another. In this case, the believers will is swallowed up by the will of God. The will of God matters more than our own will. We voluntarily place ourselves in subjection to Christ.

These were not words anyone in the first century wanted to be describe with.

Jesus says the great people in the kingdom of God are the servants and the slaves. It’s the people who are willing to do the humble tasks and to put their own will aside for the will of God.

In our world the higher you are the more servants you have. In God’s kingdom the more you serve others the higher you are.

The Christian faith is not for status. It’s for service.

Some seek education so they can be called Doctor!

There are churches who will not even consider a pastor unless he has the title Doctor in his name. Some of those Doctors will get upset if you don’t call them Doctor.

Let us call one another on earth what we will call one another in heaven- brother & sister!

Some seek position so they can be called Deacon! They want a title that means table waiter, but you would seldom see them wipe a table!

Some seek the pastorate because they want to be called Pastor.

We seek titles. We do well to remember that titles come from man.

God has known Pharaohs and He wasn’t impressed.

God has known Kings and Queens and He wasn’t impressed.

We should elevate who God elevates.

You are not a leader unless you are a servant. It doesn’t matter what your title is. You are not a leader unless you are a servant.

Here’s some questions to help determine if we are a servant or not.

Do I regularly do things for others I am not required or asked to do?

Do I only do things that benefit me on this earth?

Do I only do what I am paid to do?

Do I appreciate the kind of service Jesus commends?

(In other words, do I think it’s important to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned…?)

Have you ever worked with someone who had to be told what to do? I have worked with people who had to be stood over or they wouldn’t do anything. None likes to work with that person.

They may say “I don’t know what to do!”

They should at least know if they are on the clock, they should be doing something. They’re not hired to stand around all day.

Friend listen, The Master has hired us to work in the vineyard. We are on the clock until Jesus returns. We may not know exactly what to do but we should at least know we’re not supposed to be doing something.

When we look for leaders, we should look for those who are already doing the work others would not do. Those are the people who should be leading us.

4. Those who think much of themselves know little of the cross.

Look at verse 28. That is the heart of all Jesus is saying in this section. Jesus came to give His life as a ransom for many.

There was a price to be paid for the sins of the world and Jesus paid it. For those who will turn from their sins and put their faith in Christ, Jesus has atoned for their sins.

What was the price?

The price was a perfect life.

The price was precious blood.

The price was the very Son of God.

What did Christ do on the cross?

He paid the price we owed for our sins. He absorbed the judgment of God for us.

The world’s way is “Let me sit on my throne and you come and serve me!” The way of the kingdom is “Let me get off my Throne and come and serve you!”

That’s what Jesus did. He got off His throne. He took upon Himself human flesh. He stood beneath the wrath of God as our substitute.

This was only necessary because of our personal sin.

Think of some elite person in this world. This person has succeeded greatly in the world. They are champions at what they do. But there is one problem. It’s discovered they have killed an innocent child. What do you think of that person now? Do you think they are still great? Do they deserve accolades and applause?

Friend if it’s your desire to be great in this world remember this- No matter what we accomplish in life we have killed Christ. Because of that we have no reason to boast. We will always have that mark against us. We will always be Christ killers. Christ died for me. That’s true. But this is also true- Christ died because of me.

When I was kid I was very skinny. Back then some of the old folks would call you wormy if you were skinny. They’d say “He looks wormy!”

I’ll tell you, we’re all wormy.

The hymn writer said:

Alas! and did my Savior bleed

And did my Sovereign die?

Would He devote that sacred head

For such a worm as I?

Am I great? Yes!

I’m a great sinner!

But I have a great Savior!

Because I am a great sinner there is no job too low for me!

Because I have a great Savior there is no task too great for me.

The sacrificial life and death of Jesus Christ should be reflected in His followers. We cannot atone for sin. But we can serve sinners. In serving sinners we are reflecting the greatness of our Savior.