THE SECRET TO GREATNESS
Mark 10.32-45
Lenten Message April 6, 2014 Chester’s FBC, Chester, IL
A We’ve been through the desert temptation, witnessed the calling of Matthew, the return of the Rabbi. . .
1 This message takes us to about 14 days from the crucifixion.
a He’s making His way to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, but more importantly to fulfill Passover.
b Mark 10:32-45 (NASB) 32 They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, 33 saying, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. 34 "They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again." 35 James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying, "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 They said to Him, "Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory." 38 But 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 They said to Him, "We are able." And Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. 40 "But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared." 41 Hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John. 42 Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. 43 "But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. 45 "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
2 ETS: Jesus, the greatest in the history of ever, showed His disciples how to advance in His Kingdom.
a ESS: True greatness follows believers who truly follow after Jesus.
b OBJ.: I hope you’ll dedicate yourself to serving Jesus by serving others in humility.
B Today we’ll look two ways we can serve Jesus by humbly following two pieces of direction.
1 Following Jesus into the Storm
2 Following Jesus’ model of servitude.
3 Pray.
I Follow Jesus into the storm (vv. 32-35, 39)
Mark 10:32-35; 39 (NASB) 32 They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, 33 saying, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. 34 "They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again." 35 James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You."39 They said to Him, "We are able." And Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.
A Jesus had told His disciples what the storm forecast was for Him on previous occasions.
Mark 8:21 (NASB) 21 And He was saying to them, "Do you not yet understand?"
Mark 9:9 (NASB) 9 As they were coming down from the mountain, He gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man rose from the dead.
Mark 9:31 (NASB) 31 For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, "The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later."
1 Jesus predicted 6 things surrounding His passion . . . (v.33)
Mark 10:33 (NASB) 33 saying, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles.
a Betrayed, sentenced to death, handed over to the Gentiles (Romans/Pilate), mocked, spit upon & beaten, executed, resurrected.
b In the past He had told them what would happen during the storm, in v.33 He told them where the eye of the storm would be, Jerusalem.
aa They were going into the eye of the storm . . . not running from it.
bb The Scripture tells us that the disciples (2nd chair people) were in a constant state of being “amazed and fearful” (v.32).
Mark 10:32 (NASB) 32 They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him,
cc Amazed: Astonished; Fearful: Ready to run for their lives (What a description for the Christian life!!!)
2 He tells them that coming storm was going to be devastating.
Mark 10:39 (NASB) 39 They said to Him, "We are able." And Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.
a Cup & baptism
aa The cup was filled with trouble & suffering
Psalm 75:8 (NASB) 8 For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, and the wine foams; It is well mixed, and He pours out of this; Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs.
Isaiah 51:17 (NASB) 17 Rouse yourself! Rouse yourself! Arise, O Jerusalem, You who have drunk from the LORD'S hand the cup of His anger; The chalice of reeling you have drained to the dregs.
Jeremiah 49:12 (NASB) 12 For thus says the LORD, "Behold, those who were not sentenced to drink the cup will certainly drink it, and are you the one who will be completely acquitted? You will not be acquitted, but you will certainly drink it.
Ezekiel 23:31-34 (NASB) 31 ~'You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will give her cup into your hand.' 32 "Thus says the Lord GOD, 'You will drink your sister's cup, Which is deep and wide. You will be laughed at and held in derision; It contains much. 33 'You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, The cup of horror and desolation, The cup of your sister Samaria. 34 'You will drink it and drain it. Then you will gnaw its fragments And tear your breasts; for I have spoken,' declares the Lord GOD.
bb Baptism is a symbol of deluge of trouble.
Psalm 18:16 (NASB) 16 He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.
Psalm 69:1-2 (NASB) 1 Save me, O God, For the waters have threatened my life. 2 I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me.
b The disciples were scared to death about waited for them and their Master in Jerusalem but the thing that amazed them was that Jesus “was walking ahead of them”, leading them into the storm.
B When we enter into sufferings, it is reassuring to see our Master is going before us into the eye of the storm.
1 There is nothing you and Jesus can’t handle together.
a No storm too big, valley too deep, problem too difficult, fear too crippling, that King Jesus can’t walk us through!!
b We may be scared, feel like running for our lives, full of trepidation but as long as Jesus is in the lead . . .whom shall we fear that is bigger, greater, higher than our God. (Even if I die, I won’t have to cross Jordan alone!!!)
2 It’s natural for us to have fear, apprehension, dread when we know a storm is coming.
a As believers, we can’t allow these things from following Jesus.
b On the slope of Longs Peak in Colorado lie the ruins of a huge tree.
aa Naturalists say that it stood for over 400 years. It had weathered thousands of storms and had been hit with lighting 14 times.
bb At the end, an army of beetles attacked the tree and leveled it to the ground. This tremendous giant, that age had not withered, that lightning had not blasted, that storms had not subdued.
cc What fell the tree at last was an army of beetles so small that a man could crush them between his fingers.
c Many people survive rare storms and lightning blasts somehow but allow the beetles of worry, fear, stress, and tension to destroy their happiness and effectiveness. It’s interesting to note that out of 773,692 words in the KJV Bible, the word worry is not found. Worry is not in God’s vocabulary.
II Follow Jesus’ Model of Servitude. (vv. 35-45)
A In light of Jesus’ announcement, it’s easy for us to embarrassed & ashamed to read of James & John asking for thrones.
1 How could they be so callous & selfish?
a However, James & John are showing that they truly believed in the promises of Messiah (Matt. 19.28).
Matthew 19:28 (NASB) 28 And Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
aa It took a great deal of faith on their part to claim the promise, especially since Jesus just reminded them about His coming death.
bb They are asking Jesus for seats close to Him.
b After all, Jesus had said, “Ask and it shall be given to you.”
aa What they didn’t realize was that it costs something to get answers to prayer.
bb If Jesus would have answered their prayer (gave them what they were asking for) He would have had to done something that He did not have the authority to do.
cc Jesus refused to defy the authority of His Father; The Son only served the Will of the Father.
2 James & John had great ambition (nothing wrong with wanting to reach great heights), but instead of modeling themselves after Jesus, they were admiring the glory and authority of the Roman (Gentile) rulers, men who loved position and authority (v.42).
Mark 10:42 (NASB) 42 Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them.
a Their desire wasn’t necessarily to be close to Jesus, put to be in a position of honor & authority.
b In God’s Kingdom, the greatest isn’t the biggest, best, & smartest.
aa “Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all (v.43-44.)
Mark 10:43-44 (NASB) 43 "But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.
bb God’s pattern in Scripture is that person must first be a servant before God promotes him or her to be a ruler.
cc It’s true of Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Timothy and even our Lord Himself.
c Before a person exercises authority, he/she must know what it means to be under authority.
aa If Jesus followed this pattern in accomplishing the great work of redemption, then surely there is no other pattern for us to follow.
bb Matthew 20:28 (NASB) 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
B If we want to be great in His Kingdom, we must know our place in it; servants who live to give glory to our King.
1 James & John asked Jesus for something (like we all do) but their motive was selfish.
a We must make sure that when we pray it comes from the lips of a servants heart.
aa If the request is wrong, God says, "No."
bb If the timing is wrong, God says, "Slow."
cc If you are wrong, God says, "Grow."
dd But if the request is right, the timing is right and you are right, God says, "Go!"
b Even in the storm, we must be servants to the Savior.
2 The secret to being great in the Kingdom is to be a servant.
a A servant’s job is to do all he can to make life better for others - to free them to be everything they can be. A servant’s first interest is not in himself but others … Servanthood is a loving choice we make to minister to others." -Gayle D. Erwin.
b It’s not about us (our rights, our opinions, our preferences, or getting our way.)
aa Romans 6:6 (NASB) 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
Galatians 2:20 (NASB) 20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
bb Dead people don’t have rights!!!
c In South America, the llama is a cultural metaphor for arrogance. aa To keep a herd of llamas corralled, you don’t even need a
fence. All you need is one rope circling around the herd to keep them enclosed.
bb Just by placing it at a height beneath the head and base of the neck, the llamas are secured in this makeshift pen. Rather than stooping beneath the rope, the proud llamas stand tall, but remain captive.(taken from E.R. McManus’ Uprising, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003, p.61)
cc Until we release our selfishness, arrogance, pride . . . it won’t take much to keep us captive.
Conclusion:
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