6 Reasons to Serve (Mark 10:35-45) | 7/7/19
Mark 10:35-45 7/7/19 | Will DuVal
I want to spend the REST of this morning on the WHY. “WHY” Serve Week? Why serve others at ALL? For the answer, we turn to Mark, ch.10, vv35-45. If you want to turn there with me in your Bibles now. Jesus is going to give us SIX reasons, actually, in this passage, for WHY we serve others. So would you stand with me as you’re able for the reading of God’s word...
MARK 10:35-45
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.” 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.” 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 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,[d] 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave[e] of all. 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.”
This is the word... Let’s pray...
Reason #1, that as BELIEVERS, as followers of Christ, we serve others: Because we are not GOD. We’re not God. In other words, we serve, because if we’ve truly surrendered our lives to Christ, we are no longer the Lords of our own lives; we have rightly recognized that JESUS is Lord, that He ALONE deserves to rule from the throne of my heart, and therefore we serve others for the very simple reason that HE is God, and He TELLS us to. Consider vv35-37 of this text:
v35: “James and John, came up to him and said, “Jesus, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”” Now, let’s pause right there. NOT off to a great start, if you’re James and John. I am NOT Jesus, God in the flesh, with ALL authority and power and dominion; But even within the LIMITED domain of authority that God has granted me, I’m just envisioning how I would react if my 3 year old daughter Ellery walked up to me and said, “Hey Daddy – I’m about to ask you for something, and before I even ASK, I want you to PROMISE that you’re gonna say YES no matter what, okay...?”
RIGHT off the bat here, James & John have already divulged that their hearts are in the wrong place. Jesus has already taught the disciples to pray: “Father: YOUR kingdom come, YOUR will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven”. But James and JOHN demand: OUR kingdom and will be done, in Heaven as it is on earth. Jesus has already taught them that “a disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant[f] above his master.” (Matt 10:24-25). But James and John want the master to conform HIS will to their OWN.
But let’s turn the mirror back around on OURSELVES now: “How often are WE guilty of the same?” Are MY prayers and petitions really more about asking that God’s will be done, or that He would realign His will with my own?
Nevertheless, Jesus sees a teachable moment on the horizon, so he welcomes their request in v36: “Go ahead; tell me what you want me to do for you?” And they say to him, v37: ““Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.””. Now, 2 things about this: #1 – Who are they ADVOCATING for here? Themselves. Pure and simple. They don’t have GOD in mind, the advancement of HIS kingdom, this isn’t about the chance to help OTHERS if they’re given positions of greater power; this is purely self-motivated. And #2: Who sits beside Jesus in glory? At whose right hand is Jesus going to sit for all eternity? GOD’S, right? Matt 22, Acts 2, Acts 7, Rom 8, Eph 1, Col 3, FOUR times in the Book of Hebrews, 1 Pet 3, Rev 3 – all OVER the NT, we hear that Jesus is now ascended to the right hand of God the Father. Which means essentially they’re asking Jesus if THEY can sit on GOD’S throne for themselves. They’re saying, “We want to be God”. This is Gen 3 all over again - Adam and Eve, deciding that they’ve had quite enough of God being God, and they’d like to try it on for themselves for a change. It’s Genesis 11 all over again, the Tower of Babel: Let’s build a tower all the way to Heaven so that WE can sit on God’s throne instead.
But once again, before we point fingers, we need to ask ourselves, “How content am I with God being on the throne of MY heart? How often do I buck and rebel against His authority over MY life?” Friends: be FREED this morning from the burden of trying to serve as your own God; hear Jesus’ reminder to you in Mark 10: God’s throne is FAR too big for you. “You do not know what you are asking.” It’s not good for you, to try and sit on God’s throne. You really aren’t qualified for the job. But thank GOD, that He is!
And for those of us who have REALIZED this, and surrendered our lives TO Him in faith, really all the reason we should need for why we serve others, is because God says so. He’s in charge. Not me. And he says “serve one another” over and over and over again in His word. I lost count; HUNDREDS, maybe THOUSANDS of times, in Scripture. God is obsessed with us helping each other. Why? Well...
Reason #2: Because serving unites us with Jesus. Consider Jesus’ response to James and John in v38: “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”” What’s Jesus referring to here?
To “drink the cup” was an OT idiom meaning to experience the full weight of something. You might remember Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matt 26:39). In THAT case, he referred to the cup of God’s righteous WRATH against sin, which Christ drank for our sake. But here in Mark 10, considering he tells them in v39, “You WILL drink this same cup, you WILL receive this same baptism”, Jesus is referring here to their future persecution and ultimate MARTYRDOM for the cause of Christ. We know from Acts 12:2 that James was actually the FIRST of the 12 disciples to be martyred, by the sword of Herod Agrippa in the year 44 A.D.; his brother John was the LAST of the 12 to die, over 50 years later. So Jesus is prophesying here that they will suffer and die for righteousness’ sake, just as Jesus himself would. Their suffering will UNITE them, with Jesus.
Romans 8:17 “[We are] heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”
We are BLESSED in our suffering, because suffering unites us with Christ, who endured the ULTIMATE suffering for our sake on the cross. Jesus’ suffering was his ultimate SERVICE to us. There is an inherent connection here between suffering and SERVANTHOOD. That’s why Isaiah refers to the Messiah as the “Suffering Servant”. It is inherent in the very way that Jesus himself defined love: John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that you lay down your life for a friend.” Serving others MEANS sacrifice. And sacrifice MEANS suffering. But here’s the beautiful thing: it is IN our service to others, that we get more of JESUS. There is something about SERVING OTHERS that Jesus says identifies us with Him in a unique way; just look at vv44-45: “Whoever would be first among you must be slave[e] of all. 45 Even AS the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.”” It makes us like Him. Friends: you want to be more like Jesus? Serve others. What defined Jesus’ life AND death and resurrection, more than service? He came, to SERVE. To give his LIFE, in service to us. And insofar as we pour out our lives for others, we identify with Christ, in his suffering, and in his selfless service.
Reason #3, to serve: Serving humbles us. vv39-40: how does Jesus reply to their absurd request? “Listen, You do not know what you are asking for here. In FACT, Jesus says, I don’t even have the authority to GRANT your request, even if I WANTED to. There are indeed assigned seats in glory, but the seating chart is mapped out by God the Father.” 2 things to note:
#1 - James and John clearly needed to be knocked down a few rungs; they needed to be put in their place, so Jesus does them a favor here and HUMBLES them: “You don’t know what you’re talking about”
But #2 - note how Jesus models true humility for them in his response: “It’s not mine to grant”. Jesus modeled humility and perfect submission to the Father’s authority at EVERY turn in his life; remember the REST of His prayer in the Garden: “Let this cup pass from me; BUT [what?] – not my will, but YOURS be done”. And FOLLOWING the Father’s will, Philippians 2:8 “he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death.” Obedient... to His Father, the first person of the Trinity. Christ’s perfect submission to God the Father as God the Son is on display here in Mark 10.
And what’s the takeaway for us? We are inherently self-centered people. We are born to look out for #1: US. That’s the very essence of SIN; when we talk about being saved from sin, we’re really talking about being saved from ourSELVES, our own self-serving natures. Putting someone else’s needs above our own goes against everything that is natural in us, in our flesh. So God repeats this command to serve others time and time again in Scripture because it is His best tool for JOLTING us out of our self-preoccupation. Serving others not only helps THEM, it helps ME; it helps put me in my place. My rightful place, as NOT at the center of the universe. In fact, serving puts me AT BEST in third place. When Jesus was asked, “What’s the greatest commandment?” he didn’t just give #1. What does he say? #1: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment.” He could have stopped there. Why’d he list #2 as well – “love your neighbor as yourself.” Because loving and serving and prioritizing others means that we’re at best #3, and that keeps some critical distance between us and first place; it’s a BUFFER that makes it harder for us to try and re-take God’s throne; the second commandment helps protect the first.
I thought I was pretty servant-hearted... until I got married. And discovered that sharing a life with another human in such close proximity will shine a BLINDING floodlight on your self-centeredness. So after a few years of marriage, I thought, “NOW I’m a pretty selfless,” and then we had a CHILD. And the whole playbook on humility got totally re-written! Sure – I served others... on my OWN terms. When it was convenient for ME. Why do you think God specifically designed newborns to sleep no more than 3 or 4 hours at a time? What an amazing INSTRUMENT of personal sanctification a newborn baby is! There is NOTHING about cleaning diarrhea off every wall of your nursery at 3 in the morning that is convenient for ME. That is NOT serving on my terms! I will never forget that. I’m looking around the room like, “God, your word promises that you will never give us more than we can handle...” I called Polly in; I’m like: “Babe, I think we just gotta MOVE.” Talk about being HUMBLED through serving... But that is good for us, friends. That’s REALLY good for us. Serving doesn’t just help them; it helps US, by reminding us that God is first, OTHERS are second; I am third. “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,[a] 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,[b] 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,” (Phil 2:5-7). Humility.
Reason #4, to serve: It unifies us with others. Read v41: why are the other 10 disciples “indignant” at James and John? You think it was righteous indignation at James and John’s ridiculous request? Or fear that THEY didn’t think to ask first! They’re just upset that James and John beat them to it?! The fact that Jesus felt the need to call ALL of them over and sit them down for a talk in vv42-45 is all the evidence you need; they’re ticked off because THEY wanted the best seats in heaven! They didn’t want to get stuck in the nosebleeds with James and John right down front! But SERVING levels the playing field.
Listen to how Jesus rebukes and corrects them: “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.” Worldly leadership 101: promotion = power over. That’s every business’s hierarchical flow chart: You answer to and work for YOUR boss, who works for HIS boss, who works for... etc. etc. all the way up to the CEO of the company who works for the Board at the top. Leadership is authority OVER. And don’t miss Jesus’ subtle jab there, “those who are CONSIDERED rulers”; Jesus won’t even acknowledge them as leaders; he says, “they’re considered rulers, by people who don’t know what REAL leadership is” And then he explains that Leadership in GOD’S kingdom is upside down. The first shall be last and the last first. He takes the world’s rat race to climb the corporate ladder and turns it on its head – it is a race to the BOTTOM. A competition for LAST PLACE. Servant of ALL. Spoiler Alert: Jesus wins the race. He gave his life as a ransom to cancel our eternal debt of sin. He is the biggest loser.
And the more we lose OUR lives for His sake, by giving our lives away in service to others, the more we find that unifies us with them in a way that nothing else can. Serving others not only identifies us with CHRIST, the greatest servant of ALL, it identifies us with those we SERVE as well. In my opening article in the church newsletter last week, I mentioned serving at Agua Viva children’s orphanage in Guatemala when I was in high school. There is something special and unexplainable and PROFOUND that happens when you live life WITH people for 2 or 3 weeks, taking the same cold showers they take, eating the same food at the same dinner table with them regardless of what it does to your gringo stomach, wiping with the same disintegrating toilet paper they use, working with the same dull machetes to clear brush for a new soccer field, singing the same hymns together in alternating verses of Spanish and English – that kind of experience BRINGS YOU TOGETHER with people as you serve alongside them in a way that nothing else can. You can’t learn that in a classroom. You don’t achieve that kind of solidarity from a topical Bible study, or a political rally, or an activists’ march, or a Facebook group; that kind of REAL care and concern for the plight of another human being ONLY comes from serving. From actually rolling up your sleeves, and walking a mile in their shoes. THAT’s why it’s important to go to Bridge of Hope, to go to Valley Park Foster Closet. Can’t we just write them a check? Isn’t that their greatest need, and our greatest potential for contribution, after all? The financial? Maybe. But that’s not OUR greatest need. OUR greatest need is for two hours, to go and experience life through someone else’s eyes. So that God can grow in us a greater sense of gratitude, of compassion, of Christ-like selflessness, of true Christian LOVE. 1 John 3:16-18 says “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for others. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” Serving opens our HEARTS to others. Because it opens our EYES to get a glimpse of the world as they experience it. It unifies us with them.
Reason #5, to serve (gotta go quick): Serving is our counter-cultural witness. Our counter-cultural witness; think with me again about the dichotomy Jesus draws here in vv42-44 between the WORLD’S idea of leadership and his. Show of hands: how many of y’all have people who report to you at work? Okay: you want to obey Jesus’ command to be a witness to them this week? Walk into the office tomorrow and ask them how you can better SERVE them as their boss. Parents – ask your kids on the ride home today how you can better SERVE them as a parent. Gotta be careful with that one – we’re back to Ellery asking me to say yes to unlimited ice cream... But seriously, THAT is a counter-cultural witness in our world. That is probably not a question many non-Christian bosses are asking their employees often: How can I, better serve YOU. There’s a reason that the VAST majority of the food pantries, and clothing banks, and homeless shelters, and formerly the hospitals and the schools, etc. were ALL Christian. Because the world doesn’t stand to GAIN anything from true selfless service of others; you only sacrifice for others in this world if you know there’s another world coming. Giving and serving in ways, and at times, and in places, and to people that don’t make sense from a worldly perspective puts unbelievers in the very uncomfortable but really important position of having to answer BOTH for their own self-centeredness, AND for the hope that is within us. Like, what is it, in her, that motivates her to serve others so selflessly?
Matthew 5:16 “let your light shine before others, so that[b]they may see your good works and [what?] give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Lastly, #6 – We serve others, because we have been so (incredibly, AMAZINGLY) served by Christ. (v45)
1 John 4:19 “We love [WHY?] because he first loved us.” But remember, love’s just another word for service. For sacrifice. Greater love has no one than this... So John could have just as easily written: “We SERVE because he first served us.” We lay down our lives for others, because He first did it for us.
And brothers and sisters, if our serving doesn’t come from hearts that have been radically transformed and MOVED by the power of the gospel and the love of Jesus, by his INITIATING and INSPIRING and life-CHANGING service to us in His finished work on the cross, then you can take ALL the other 5 reasons to serve and throw them out. If you serve God because He’s God and He says to, you’ll just be following orders. Your service will be merely obligatory. If you serve to be united with Jesus, but you MISS the WEIGHT of what He did for you first, then you’ll end up with a Messiah complex, trying to stand in Jesus’ place yourself. You can serve to grow in humility, to grow in solidarity, to grow in evangelism, but without the antecedent love and service of Jesus for YOU, then ALL the serving in the world will ultimately only lead you to another form of works’ based righteousness. You’ll inevitably end up trying to EARN your standing with God based on your exceptional humility, your compassionate solidarity, your faithful witness.
Friends, if you’ve heard NOTHING else this morning hear this: no amount of your working hard to please God by serving others, by being a good person, NONE of it will EVER be enough to EARN God’s favor. Hear the GOOD news this morning: He is a much better Father than that. He doesn’t say “You serve ME, and then we’ll talk about me serving you... letting you into Heaven...”; No – our God says, “BECAUSE you couldn’t serve me, I decided to serve YOU instead, by sending my only Son as payment for your sins to bring you back into relationship with me. And friends: the danger to you this morning is that if you have not FIRST been served in THAT all-important, ETERNAL way, by God’s Suffering Servant, Jesus, then you’re just gonna leave here today with 5 more reasons to try harder, to serve more, to please God better, to try and EARN your own salvation, and they’ll ultimately CRUSH you under their weight, because the fact is: you CANNOT serve Him perfectly. But thank God, Jesus did. FOR us.
Eph 2:1-10 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins... 4 But[c] God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us... made us alive together with Christ... For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” But then get this – read on. Here’s the ending: WHY does God save us? 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Christian: we have been SAVED... TO SERVE. God prepared the good works that you’re gonna do this week at Bridge of Hope, at Valley Park Closet – he prepared them for you before the beginning of time; I just printed off the spreadsheets. I didn’t organize SERVE Week – God did. He created us for good works, that we might make His glory known to the world, Matthew 5. So let’s go out and DO IT this week, Amen? Let’s pray...