Who Will Achieve Greatness?


Mark 10:35-45
35And 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.” 36And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38Jesus 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?” 39And 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, 40but 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.” 41And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42And 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. 43But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Now that we are deep into our Lenten study, meditation and repentance, we take some time to think about power as seen through the lens of the Jesus’ Cross. No matter who we are, we have power over someone or something, even if it’s only ourselves. I was recently with a child who was most unhappy about being asked to do some school work. He exercised his power over the situation by running outside, in the snow and bitterly cold weather without shoes, socks, coat, gloves, or hat. He was going to show me who was in charge of the situation. Since he’s an older child, there was little I could do to stop him. So, I watched out the window to see where he went. He sat down in the driveway and shouted out his frustration at not being the one in power. When he got cold enough, he came back inside, ready to work. Cold is powerful too!
Our ability to be selective listeners must have become a part of the human experience as soon as Adam and Eve fell into sin. Anyone who has raised children has firsthand experience in dealing with those who seem to hear only what they want to hear. It’s amazing that a child who has been told not to touch something immediately reaches for it. Jesus is now telling the disciples for the third time that He will have to suffer and die (this time in great detail) and yet they do not seem to hear what He is saying to them. They believed him to be the Messiah but had ears only for the glory connected with being the Messiah, not for the suffering. In their wildest imagination, they would not be able to visualize the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus. Their hearing has become selective.

We begin our look at the use of power with the Gospel readings for this coming Sunday. As Jesus approaches His suffering and death, James and John speak with Him about their brilliant new idea. It is remarkable that right after Jesus describes His upcoming death (and resurrection), James and John choose this moment to ask Him for positions of power “in glory”. They want to sit on His right and His left in the Kingdom – and I think that “kingdom” was an earthly one in their mind’s eye. So, Jesus patiently instructs them yet again as to the ways of God’s Kingdom. Lest we think the rest of the disciples are already clear about this topic, they express their deep distress about the fact that they didn’t think to ask Jesus first if they could be in those power positions.

In His response to this ridiculous request, Jesus takes the opportunity (yet again) to explain that greatness is found not in the wielding of great power over others, but instead in humility and service. Jesus will soon be arriving in Jerusalem for the last time, and His greatest service will be accomplished as He is handed over to the Roman authorities to be hanged on a cross for our sins. Before His death He lived to serve all those around Him. He gave of Himself because of His great compassion and even stoops to wash the feet of these same power-hungry disciples in the Upper Room.

Most of us struggle with true servanthood. It is characteristic that carries much influence in the Kingdom of God and yet one that is rarely embraced here on earth. Those who are true servants stand out in our minds as great people. Even in our sinful state we recognize what makes someone truly great. While Jesus exhibits great power over nature, sickness, the devil, and even death we find that His expression of compassions and forgiveness display power that is unique and truly the most impressive. As we think about the power struggles and situations in our own lives, we may find that we need re-evaluate how we weld power in our own lives.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv
Read more

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl
Read more