[0:00] So I heard this story a few months ago, and I've been saving it for this text. It's not a true story, but it illustrates something.
[0:17] So at the gate of heaven, there were two dogs and a cat. Diane knows this story. And the Lord said to the dogs, he looks at the dog on the right, the golden retriever, and he says, why should I let you in?
[0:37] And the golden says, well, I've been faithful. No, I'm sorry. I've been faithful and have served my master well. The Lord says, then sit, come, sit at my right hand.
[0:49] And the Lord turns to the German shepherd and says, what have you done that I should let you into my heaven? And the shepherd said, well, I've been a good guard dog, and I've protected my masters and served them faithfully.
[1:05] And the Lord says, well, come, sit on my left. He looks at the cat, and the cat says, excuse me, but you're in my seat. So even if you're a cat lover, you understand what they're saying here.
[1:21] There's differences between dogs and cats. And as I said, this isn't a true story. It's just a silly story. But it illustrates James and John, who, like a cat, like cats, these cats, think they deserve to sit in the seat of honor.
[1:46] Oh, they love Jesus, and they want to be with him, but they also think they deserve to be on his right and his left and are blatant about their self-serving ambition.
[2:00] The shocking thing about this request by the Sons of Thunder, you wonder how they got their name? They're fairly bold. The shocking thing is they asked this right after Jesus has spoken of his own humiliation and death.
[2:17] And these? These are the first Christians. These are the men Jesus is leaving his mission to in just a few weeks from the time this happened.
[2:38] Because as you look at the end of chapter 10 and go to chapter 11, we will be at the final week of Jesus' life. This is happening right before the triumphal entry.
[2:50] And by the way, the argument about who's the greatest, they've already had that at chapter 9. They'll have it again at the Last Supper. These are guys that don't get it.
[3:04] In fact, they're a bit self-focused, insensitive. So in Mark chapter 10, 32 to 45, we see Jesus teaching once again these self-focused, self-interest, self-promoting, selfish disciples who love Jesus.
[3:33] Don't get me wrong. They love Jesus. And they recognize he's the Messiah and he will be in glory. They just want... They want the positions on the right and the left.
[3:49] So. So here we go again. Now I want you to notice in verse 32 there is a context in which this is happening. We see in the first line, verse 32, it says they were on the road.
[4:01] They're on the road. This is Jesus' road to the cross. He's on a journey. He's on a way of the cross.
[4:14] This began, as I said, back in chapter 8, the end of chapter 8, verse 27. Remember, they were going away from the crowds. They were going as far north as they could to get away from crowds.
[4:25] They went up to Caesarea Philippi. Later they would ascend up onto Mount Hermon where the transfiguration would happen. But on the way up that way, Jesus asked them, who do people say that I am?
[4:39] And they said, oh, well, some people think you're Elijah. Some people think you're John the Baptist raised from the dead. Some people think you're one of the prophets. And then Jesus said, well, who do you say that I am?
[4:50] What do you think? And Peter, bold moment. Oh, well, you're the Christ. You are the Messiah. You're the Son of God. And from that moment in chapter 8, verse 31, Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again.
[5:14] So he gives his first revelation in chapter 8 of his purpose. I'm going to die. And I will rise again. I will be rejected. I will suffer many things.
[5:26] I will be killed and then rise on the third day. Remember that Peter right away begins to try to stop that. Lord, let it not be. So Peter goes from the right answer, the right answer, to the wrong answer, the wrong answer, as Jesus calls him Satan.
[5:47] Get behind me. Your thoughts are not on the things of God but on the things of man. And then Jesus begins to teach about the implications of his own death. As the Son of Man goes to die, so do you.
[6:00] Anyone who follows Jesus, if you desire to follow me, then what? Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.
[6:12] And from that point, this has been the turning point in the Gospel of Mark. Now it's focused on, he's reached the mountain height, he has been revealed as the Messiah, now he is on his way to the cross.
[6:26] And so we see him on the way. We see it again, a second time revealed in chapter 9, verse 31. He was teaching his disciples, saying to them, the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.
[6:40] They will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise. And then Mark tells us, but they did not understand the saying and were afraid to ask him.
[6:51] And then they get into an argument on the way about who's the greatest. So once again, each time Jesus reveals who he is, the disciples reveal who they are.
[7:05] He's descending to humility. They're wanting ascension into glory. And greatness. And status.
[7:15] And power. And fame. And whatever it is that they want. But it's so blatant here as Mark describes it. Each time he reveals his humiliation, it's as if they're going the opposite way.
[7:30] And we think, as I said at the beginning, these are the first Christians? These are the apostles?
[7:43] This is in the inner circle now, James and John. Right? Remember the inner circle? We've got James and John and Peter. Now it's in the inner circle.
[7:55] Not that it wasn't before, but there it is. The closest ones to Jesus don't get it. As we read this drama of Mark, we think, how's this going to work?
[8:12] These people are... they don't seem like they have the right qualifications. They don't seem to be up to snuff. So each time, not only does Jesus reveal his way to the cross, he reveals the implications for all who are followers.
[8:33] And we have seen from the end of chapter 8 all the way through to where we are now, in Mark chapter 10, that Jesus is calling his followers to live a life that is counter-cultural.
[8:45] that is so peculiar that is not following natural desires and impulses and biases, but rather it's upside down, reverse of what society naturally seeks.
[9:02] To deny yourself. If you want to be first, be last. And we're going to get the same teaching once again here as James and John raise this issue of greatness.
[9:17] So once again, Jesus is teaching his failing disciples and reminds them the reason for self-denial. So how does Jesus respond to these self-promoting disciples?
[9:33] He gives them two reminders. So in verse 30, from 32, no, 32 to 34 is Jesus' again, third prediction. We're going to wait until next week to look a little more closely at that.
[9:47] And at the end of chapter, at the end of verse 45, we're going to look at that next week. That's why this week's called part one. First, we're looking at the inner story. The inner story of the disciples and their misunderstanding and what Jesus teaches them.
[10:02] Next week, we will look at the beginning and the end of the story, the outer story of Jesus' way and why. For the first time, he reveals the meaning of his death.
[10:14] He has told us he's going to die, he's going to die, he's going to die. And this is the first revelation we see in verse 45. of the purpose of his death.
[10:25] To ransom. To give his life as a ransom. So now we're beginning to peel back a little bit more of why he's going to die.
[10:38] But we're going to look at the inside story this time. And so Jesus talks about, first of all, in response to the request of James and John, about suffering. He reminds them about suffering.
[10:48] It's nothing that he hasn't said before. And then at the end, in verses 42 to 45, he's going to talk about serving. As he talks about a broader application of this in terms of leadership.
[11:04] So two reminders. So first reminder, as James and John bring the question and Jesus answers their question, we see this reminder.
[11:15] Humility comes before honor. Suffering comes before glory. This is what he's going to emphasize in his answer to their request to sit on his right and his left.
[11:29] So let's observe this section from verse 35 to 41 in three things. First we see the self-promoting question in verses 35 to 37.
[11:40] Then we see Jesus answer them in terms of suffering is required. First, verse 38, 39, and 40.
[11:51] And then we'll kind of pull it together and see what's the significance of this. So let's look at the question that they pose to him in verse 35. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, the ones that Jesus renamed the sons of thunder, came up to him, said to him, Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.
[12:20] Now that's a good way to ask, to start a question, isn't it? We just want you, we want the guarantee of the answer before we ask the question. We want you to give us whatever we want.
[12:33] Yeah. And so Jesus doesn't fall for that. He just kind of says, what's your question? Get to it, boys. No guarantee before I hear the question.
[12:46] So then they say, we want this. Verse 37, grant for us to sit one on your right hand and one on your left hand in your glory. So here's the two.
[12:58] Jockeying for position. Seeking to outmaneuver the other ten disciples for advantage. By the way, you notice in verse 41 how the other ten felt about this question?
[13:13] They were indignant. Why? Because they didn't think of asking first. These guys have jockeyed for position. They've outmaneuvered them and revealed a blatant self-serving mentality in contrast, in blatant contrast with the humility of Jesus.
[13:37] And we think, right after they've heard what Jesus said, and this, in verse 34, 32 to 34, this third revelation of Jesus is the most detailed. It's the most explicit.
[13:50] It's the most accurate. It not only reveals that Jesus will suffer, but the stages it goes through. It'll be the Jews and then it'll be the Gentiles and then it'll be His death and all the humiliation that goes with that.
[14:07] And in the context of that, to raise this question just seems so inappropriate. It's probably a kind word for it.
[14:20] Insensitive. Certainly an accurate term. They still don't hear the words of Jesus. How can they not hear the words? The words are clear.
[14:31] They're unambiguous. How do they not hear it? They're still deaf. They're still deaf. We saw their response to the second revelation in chapter 9 that Mark tells us they still didn't understand.
[14:49] And some were afraid. So there's a fear that's related to something that he said. I don't get it. Is this another one of those parables he's not explaining?
[15:00] That's what I think. They think it must be a parable. Not literal. So, but they're afraid to ask? Because if that's literal, we don't want to know that.
[15:14] And so there he goes telling that parable thing again. Let's just ask James and John. Let's ask people what we want to. Let's go to it. Let's change the subject. What's their motive?
[15:29] To sit on his right and his left in glory? Well, those are the positions of honor. Those are the positions of power. Those are the positions of power. They very much want to be served.
[15:49] To be honored. They do believe that he's the Messiah. They know something's coming soon. They really don't understand how it's working out. But they know and they are hoping that he is going to take a throne and give them seats of honor.
[16:06] Now, in one of the other Gospels, I believe it's Matthew, it's the mother. The Jewish mother who brings, right? I want you to do this for my sons.
[16:20] You know, Jesus had a mother too that pushed things along sometimes. It's natural. But here they are. They're asking for this. That's their motive.
[16:30] So what's Jesus' answer? Verse 38. His answer is that suffering was required. He says to them, you do not know what you're asking for one.
[16:45] You really don't understand what you're asking. And then he brings in a question to them. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?
[16:58] Are you able to be baptized with the baptism with which I'm baptized? And they answer, oh yeah. Yeah, we got that. No problem.
[17:09] Lay it out, Jesus. We'll do it. Do they understand what the cup is yet? See, he brings up two images, a cup and a baptism. Now, this is a different use of baptism than we've seen before.
[17:23] Baptism is about cleansing, right? It's about identity with Christ. We've had the baptism of John and then Jesus talks about his baptism, which will be a baptism of the Spirit, which are good things.
[17:36] But here, the implication of the cup, are you willing to drink the cup that I'm drinking and be baptized with the baptism that I'm going to be baptized with, has some kind of bad connotations.
[17:51] Well, the cup is easier to figure out. Now, fast forward to the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus prayed. What does he pray? Let this cup pass.
[18:04] Let this cup. What cup? Well, the cup that's standing right in front of him, the one that takes him to the cross. And I don't think Jesus is worried about the physical suffering that he will endure on the cross.
[18:14] I think he's concerned with drops of blood, kind of concerned about what it means to bear the sin of the world. What it means to be, for the first time ever, to be separated from his Father, which leads him to cry on the cross, why have you forsaken me?
[18:37] To endure the wrath of God, that cup. And so in Scripture, we see a cup talking about either an outpouring of God's wrath or a judgment. You see it in the book of Revelation, the cup, that is holding the blood of the saints, those kind of things.
[18:55] So it implies suffering. And apparently baptism can have that kind of meaning too. Overwhelmed, immersed in suffering and hardship.
[19:08] Are you able? Oh yeah, we can do that. So what is he teaching by bringing up this question? And he tells them, right, verse 39, you will.
[19:20] They say, we are able, and Jesus said to them, the end of verse 39, the cup that I drink, you will drink. The baptism with which I'm baptized, you will be baptized. Yeah, you are going there.
[19:31] You will suffer. But the point is, it's suffering before glory. We want the glory. We want to be seated on your right and left.
[19:43] Okay? Are you able to drink the cup? Because the cup comes before the seat. The baptism comes before the honor.
[19:58] So, humility comes before honor. But the request, verse 40, here's his answer to that, but to sit at my right hand and my left, it's not mine to give.
[20:11] Well, I thought all the authority was Jesus's. Yeah, it is. But the honor of sitting on my right and my left, that's not for me to give.
[20:24] Matthew says, Jesus reveals that it's the Father who will give that. And it's for those for whom it has been prepared. It's for those for whom it has been prepared. So, what's the point and the significance of this whole thing?
[20:41] What is Jesus getting at in this reminder that humility comes before honor? Well, remember, they're following Jesus on the way. The disciples are thinking this and Jesus is thinking this.
[20:54] Jesus is reminding them that following Him is not about gratifying yourself. It's not about your self-image, about your self-promotion.
[21:04] It's not about your status. It's not about you feeling even significant. to follow Christ is the opposite of all those things.
[21:18] It's to deny self, not promote self. It's to suffer the cross, not to seek the success of the world.
[21:29] It's to suffer the cross, not to seek the success of the world. So, where are you in that?
[21:43] Do you grasp the significance of what Jesus is calling His followers to do and to be? Do you grasp the significance of what it means to deny yourself and take up your cross and follow?
[22:04] That it's self-denial, not self-promotion. That when we come, and we, this is one of the reasons we say this reminder at the beginning of every service, right?
[22:18] We're reminding ourselves why we're here. Right? It's not about us. It's about Him. It's His day. It's His house.
[22:29] It's His people. It's all about Him. And we can say that every week and get kind of used to that without thinking and I hope we don't. So, thanks, Don, for pointing that out again today, but it's, that's, we need that reminder because we so easily flow into what's natural to us.
[22:48] Well, it's about me because, you know, I didn't want that needed sleep and food and rest and all those kind of things all week. So, so, when I come on Sunday, in other words, anytime I gather with other believers, do I come to get or do I come to give?
[23:10] and if I'm not thinking before I come and if I'm not thinking Christianly when I'm with my brothers and sisters, you know what I will do?
[23:24] I'll be there to get because that comes natural. So, what's my desire?
[23:36] Where am I? Do I understand that? Am I working on that? Even as I serve, I come to serve Christ. Well, even in my serving, why am I serving?
[23:52] Why am I serving the Lord? Why am I helping with the worship team? Why am I helping with the offering? Why am I serving in the nursery?
[24:03] Whatever it is. Why do I do it? Do I do it for me? Or do I do it for others?
[24:18] Okay. That's what he's asking. And, like those two disciples, you know, we can criticize them up one side, down the other, and say, oh man, how could they be like that?
[24:33] How can they be so insensitive? How can they be so selfish? And yet, if we're real honest, that's me. I can be like that too.
[24:44] I can be totally insensitive. Here we are on a day where we're going to celebrate his death, and I could be thinking the whole service about me, about my agenda, about my priorities, about what I want, my preferences.
[24:57] I could be thinking, oh, we sang that song. I wish we didn't sing that song. I wish we sang this song. That's who we are.
[25:13] Boy, let's not get into that, please. Too many churches have fallen apart because of simple, petty little things like that. I mean, who cares?
[25:29] We're honoring Jesus. That's what matters. And we try to select songs that everybody likes every once in a while, but we're not going to get, you're not going to get all your favorite songs every week.
[25:40] I don't. I'm just being, given an illustration here of how we can do that. Let me talk to you as brothers and sisters.
[26:03] James and John wanted to be honored, okay, that they're misplaced in that. But there are true desires to want to be lifted up by the Lord.
[26:15] Do you want the Lord to lift you up? Do you want Him to affirm you when you've been suffering? There's nothing wrong with wanting that.
[26:28] Do you want Him to reward you when you've been enduring, paying the price? There's nothing wrong with that. Those are true motivations and good motivations I don't want reward because of me.
[26:46] I want reward because, okay Lord, it's like the disciples are saying, hey, we left everything. What's there for us? Do you want Him to make you strong? In 1 Peter 5, Peter has learned this lesson about humility comes before honor.
[27:05] And in 1 Peter 5, this is a passage that for me seven years ago became a life passage for me because I was dealing with depression. Those of you here that were here seven years ago, they remember.
[27:21] And I even preached on this passage right before my sabbatical because I wanted to recover from depression. And I latched onto these words in 1 Peter 5 which talk about and He will lift you up.
[27:37] I wanted that. I wanted to be lifted up. I wanted to be healed. I wanted to recover. I wanted to get out of the mud. I wanted to be able to breathe again, to feel some joy again.
[27:50] And so I latched onto these words. But listen to these words as I read them because there's something in them that I needed to hear. I needed to learn before I could be lifted up.
[28:05] Okay, listen to how Peter says it. 1 Peter 5, he says, clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another. Why? For God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
[28:17] Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you. Casting all our anxieties on Him because He cares for you.
[28:34] Be sober-minded, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Resist him firm in your faith knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
[28:52] Here comes a promise. And after, after you've suffered a little while, how long is a little while? After you've suffered a little while, after you've suffered a little while, whatever He determines is the little while, the God of all grace who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ will Himself, He will personally restore you and confirm you and strengthen you and establish you.
[29:22] That's the promise. He Himself will restore you, heal you, lift you up. He will confirm you. He will give you affirmation in your suffering.
[29:37] He will strengthen you, make you stronger. He will establish you, give you a rock to stand on. To Him be the dominion and glory forever and ever.
[29:49] Amen. Here again we see in Peter's words this principle. Humility comes before honor. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility. Humble yourself where?
[30:02] Humble yourself under the what? Mighty hand of God. Oh, okay, that puts it right into under His hand.
[30:19] It's about Him. See, this hit me right between the eyes in my depression. It's like I, it's like He opened my ears to hear it.
[30:31] Under His mighty hand so that He may exalt you. Right? Look at the text. So that He may exalt you.
[30:44] Right? Am I missing anything? At the proper time. Oh, there's the, there's the rub. It's kind of like after a little, after you suffer a little while, He will lift you up at the proper time.
[31:04] When's that? I don't know what the proper time is, but He does. See, doing this to humble ourselves, this is faith.
[31:17] faith. We're humbling ourselves under His mighty hand, trusting that He will lift us up when it's the right time. When it's the right time.
[31:32] In the meantime, what are we doing? We're casting all our anxieties on Him because He Himself cares for you. So, even while we're waiting for Him to lift us up, we're just, this was what helped, it's like, okay, okay, I'm casting.
[31:49] I'm giving you this relationship, I'm giving you this feeling, I'm giving you this situation, I'm giving you this depression, not that it, you know, actually went away by doing that, but I'm giving it to you to deal with it because I don't know how to deal with it.
[32:07] I'm casting it. That's faith. And I trust that He'll show me what to do once He wants to show me what to do. And I will tell you, I've shared this before, when I was finally able to really do that, I wasn't able to do that right away.
[32:28] When I was really able to humble myself and trust and accept that He'll lift me up whenever He decides to lift me up, maybe that won't be until the end of my life. Maybe that'll be another 12 years as it had already been 12 years.
[32:44] when I was able to finally accept whatever the proper time was, that's when I felt the burden lift.
[32:58] That's just my story. Burdens come back now and then. But now I know what to do. At least so I can be content in the process of the trial.
[33:17] But it wasn't until I could really, genuinely, truly say, I'm okay with it. I accept this depression as from you and you'll lift it off whenever you desire to.
[33:30] When I was able to do that, that's what it lifted. I'm not saying that's... Because I was okay with the depression by then.
[33:43] That's why it did. I wasn't fighting it anymore. It's like, okay, I'm okay. Jesus went through harder stuff than this. For goodness sakes. Stop what?
[33:55] Whatever. I did a little preaching to myself, a little come to Jesus meeting. So, do you trust Him like this? Do you trust Him to say, I'm going to humble myself under His mighty hand and leave it with Him and I'm going to keep casting all the stuff at Him, but I'm going to trust Him.
[34:15] I'm going to deliberately put off my own preferences, my own self-promotion, my own agenda, and give it to Him. Give it to Him. I'm going to seek by His grace and by His...
[34:30] by the power of His Spirit to be a giver and not a getter. So, do you trust Him like that? Do you push for your way and grumble when you don't get it?
[34:46] No, no, you don't do that. That's just me. So, it leads us to a second teaching moment as Jesus answers James and John and we find out that the other ten are indignant.
[35:02] At that moment in verse 41 as Mark reveals to us that when the ten heard it, they became indignant at James and John. it is at that moment that Jesus calls them to Himself and has another lesson.
[35:19] It brings up another reminder that He's going to give them where He turns the subject. It's still the same subject. It's not about suffering now. Now it's about serving.
[35:33] But He reminds them. Something they've heard before. Jesus called them to Him and said to them, you know that those who are considered the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over.
[35:45] That's their management style. That's their leadership style. They are the great ones who exercise authority over. They domineer. Verse 43, but it shall not be so among you.
[36:00] Not with you. That's the world's way. It's not your way. It's not our way. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant.
[36:14] So here's the reminder. Serving others, not being served, is the true Christian ambition. Because He's still talking about ambition.
[36:25] If you want to be great, be the servant of all. If you want to be first, be the slave of all. There's your ambition. Be the greatest slave.
[36:38] Be the greatest servant. That's true Christian ambition. So He teaches three things here. We see a principle, then we see the posture, and then we see the pattern of Christ.
[36:50] Verse 42, He gives the principle. Jesus rejects the world's model of leadership. Why? Because it's power-based. It's domineering. They lord it over. It's top-down.
[37:02] It's about control, and about exploitation, and manipulation, and getting their way, getting you to do what they want you to do. Subtle versions of that is, what's that book that was famous a long time ago?
[37:17] How to Win Friends and Manipulate People? I mean, Influence People? Same thing. Just Christianized. Still about getting people to do what you want them to do.
[37:28] Not that everything the guy says, who is his, I forget his name. Peel. Vincent Peel. Yeah, Schuller's guy.
[37:41] Yeah. Not that everything he said was not true, but it's, you weed through it, and you go, it's not quite how Jesus said it. It's not about exploiting.
[37:54] It's not about controlling. He turns this whole leadership principle of upside, turns it all upside down, turns it on its head. Not you.
[38:05] You don't do that. We don't do that. Christian doesn't do that. It's not about self-gain, not about self-interest, or self-image, or yield, or results, or status.
[38:21] It's about serving, truly serving. And then he gives two pictures that show a posture of the true Christian. If you want to be great, be a servant. Take the posture of a servant.
[38:34] What's a servant? What's the word? Diakonos later became the word where we talk about deacons and deaconesses. Diakonos, a servant, a minister.
[38:45] Literally the word meant a waiter. Well, we know waiters, right? You go to a restaurant, you have somebody who waits on you.
[38:56] So what do they do? What's their posture? They're serving. You give them an order, they carry it out. Right?
[39:09] Yeah, they're getting paid for it. That's their job. But that's the picture. The posture is, if they've been trained well, right? The kind of waiters and waitresses we like.
[39:20] They really focus on you. They check out, how you doing? You need anything? Because it's about you. That's the picture, though.
[39:34] To serve. Their focus is on others. They're thinking of the interests of others. Jesus gave a picture of that in the upper room in John 13 when He took a towel and took some water and began to wash the disciples' feet.
[39:49] And He said, here's the posture of loving one another. It's washing the feet. And if I've, your master washed your feet, it might be a good idea if you guys washed your own feet of each other.
[40:07] And then He gives a second picture in verse 44, if you desire to be first, be a slave. Now He's gone down from servant, now He's gone down to the lowest rung in society, the slave.
[40:19] Because the slave had no rights. Slave doesn't get paid. Slave is the least of all. He's inferior to all.
[40:30] A slave never serves themselves. There's an illustration, I think it's in Luke 17, about the slave who serves all day out in the field and then he comes home and he doesn't first feed himself before he does anything.
[40:45] He gets back and then he feeds his master. And until his master's been completely served, then maybe he can give some attention to himself. And He does that because that's who He is.
[41:02] And that's our model. In Philippians chapter 2 where it talks about how Jesus is the example of serving, it uses this term slave that He, although He existed in the very form, the Greek word there means to be the exact nature of what it's representing, although He existed in the exact nature, form of God, He emptied Himself, humbled Himself, taking the form, same word again, the form, the exact nature of a slave.
[41:41] That's the very posture that Jesus took to be a slave. Which is what He says then in verse 45. I came not to be served but to serve. And come for me.
[41:53] I came for you. So we see the pattern in verse 45. The reason. Why? Why would we, whoever wants to be first, be the slave of all?
[42:06] Why? Verse 45, For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve. Not to be served. And the thing is is that Jesus is the one that deserved the serving the most.
[42:23] He came. He should be served. He's worthy of it. He deserves it. And yet He puts that aside. In His very choice to take on flesh, He puts that aside.
[42:35] He emptied Himself. He veils His godliness, right? How does, how does that Christmas carol go?
[42:46] Oh, veiled in flesh the Godhead see. Veiled in flesh. He puts on the nature, the posture of a slave, bonds.
[42:59] He did not come to get, He came to give. And His whole life, as we think about it, His whole life was about giving, wasn't it?
[43:14] I mean, He gave to people and as people asked Him, He responded. He gave them time. He gave them healing. He gave them attention. He gave them compassion. He just kept giving. Even when they were just takers.
[43:25] You know, He heals the ten lepers and only one comes back to say thank you. I'm sure He knew that, that was going to happen. He just gave it to them anyway.
[43:37] He was a giver. He was being taken advantage of all the time. To give His whole life willingly, freely.
[43:50] And then He says what we'll look at next week. He came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life what? As a ransom for me. Not just give, but to give totally.
[44:02] To give my life in the place of the many. As a payment in the place of others. To redeem and save them. That's why I die is to pay the price.
[44:15] A ransom. An exchange. So, why would, so, why would a Christian do this?
[44:27] Well, I'd be a servant and be a slave. Why would a Christian do that? What motivates us to do that? How do I get myself to be the, I know that's what Jesus wants of me.
[44:39] And that's what Jesus was. And I want to follow Jesus. But what really motivates me to go there? To really be a servant?
[44:52] Why would I do that? Well, what was Jesus' motivation? Why did He go to give? To save people. To win people, right?
[45:04] That's ultimately what He did. He wanted to save people. He wanted to save people for Himself. Paul speaks of the same thing in 1 Corinthians 9. He talks about serving in the same way.
[45:16] Listen to how He talks. 1 Corinthians 9. 18. Paul says, What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.
[45:30] For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all. There it is. A servant to all. Same phrase.
[45:42] What's Paul talking about? What's his right? I preach without charge, he says. Yeah. Well, remember, Jesus said the preacher deserves his wages.
[45:58] This isn't a salary thing. This is fine, fine, fine. But Jesus said remember, Jesus said, you go.
[46:08] The laborer is worthy of his wages. Let them support you in other words. As you go preaching, let them house you, let them take care of you. Don't take anything with you. Matter of faith.
[46:21] Paul forsook that. He did his tent making. So he worked extra hours so that nobody had to pay for him.
[46:33] He just wanted to do that. He said, that's my reward. That's satisfying to me that I can give it away free and not be a burden to anybody. Okay?
[46:43] So that's what he's, so he's given up his right that he may, and though I'm free from all, I have made myself a servant to all. Watch how he does this. I made myself a servant to all.
[46:54] Why? That I might win more of them. See, that's what his goal is. To win them. To the Jews, I became as a Jew in order to win Jews.
[47:04] To those under the law, I became as one under the law. Though, not myself being under the law, I just became that in their presence.
[47:15] Why? That I might win those under the law. To those outside the law. You know, outlaws. I became as one outside the law.
[47:26] Though, didn't participate in sin, he's saying. Though, not being outside the law of God, but under the law of Christ. I'm not doing anything inappropriate.
[47:38] Why do I do that? That I might win them. To the weak, I became weak. That I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people that by all means, I might save some.
[47:50] That's his motivation. I do it all for the sake of the gospel. That I may share with them in its blessings. So to be a servant of all, that meant Paul sacrificed something.
[48:07] He sacrificed his freedom. He sacrificed his free choices. He sacrificed being paid.
[48:17] But his motive was clear, to win. To win the lost. To win those that he's serving. To save them from sin.
[48:29] To save them to Christ through the gospel. Okay, final questions. And, I hope the Holy Spirit applies this to your hearts.
[48:41] Because only he could do that. I'm just asking the questions. What are your ambitions? Consider that. What are your ambitions?
[48:53] What drives you? What are you determined for? Are you driven by status? By security? You know, maybe it's not things you want, but you do want security.
[49:08] Are you driven by pleasures? By success? What drives you? What moves you? What motivates you? What are your ambitions?
[49:18] What do you want? I mean, really ask yourself that before Christ. What do you want? What is your posture with others?
[49:31] You come together with others to be served or to serve. What are your values? Are they the values of the world or are they the values of Christ?
[49:44] And of course, you know, our honest answers are going to be, well, it's mixed. But I want the Lord to keep changing that. I want the Lord to keep purifying that.
[49:54] I want the Lord to keep purging that. To catch me more often when I'm responding out of my natural and not out of my faith. What Christ calls us to is unnatural.
[50:08] It's against our nature. It's against our own self-interest. It's against everything that we are. And you cannot do this by making a choice.
[50:25] You cannot do this by just determining I'm going to be more serving. I mean, you could do that for a while, but it's not real.
[50:38] You cannot do this. Only those who know Jesus Christ personally, only those who spend time with Jesus Christ, only those who talk to Him and walk with Him and lean on Him and look to Him and rely on His strength, only those who are followers of Jesus gain the ability through His Spirit to do that.
[51:01] I hope that's you. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for Your Word as always. This is one of those texts that isn't about feel good.
[51:16] It's not about patting me on the back. It's one of those texts that confront us in our root, in our heart, in our intentions, in our ambitions.
[51:29] So, Father, we pray that You take this Word and You work it into our heart, into our soul, into our thoughts.
[51:40] Bring us, draw us closer to You through this. We pray in Christ's name. Amen. goodNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNING