Saturday
Saturday
Greatness in the Kingdom of God
Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.
Mark 10:43–44
When James and John, the sons of Zebedee, stood before Jesus, the antithesis between them was almost total. He had come to give and to serve; they wanted to get and to rule. The same choice faces us today.
Firstly, there is the choice between self-seeking and self-sacrifice. James and John said to Jesus, “We want you to do for us whatever we ask” (v. 35). Their request surely qualifies for inclusion in the Guinness Book of Records as the worst prayer ever prayed. For blatant self-centeredness it would be hard to beat. They anticipated that there would be an unholy scramble for the best seats in the kingdom, so they judged it prudent to make an advance reservation. Their prayer was an attempt to bend God’s will to theirs, whereas true prayer involves the surrender of our will to God’s.
Secondly, there is the choice between power and service. They asked Jesus if they might sit on each side of him in the kingdom. What were they expecting to sit on? The floor? Cushions or stools? No, surely, on thrones. They came from a middle-class family, with servants to do their bidding. Perhaps they missed them and wanted to regain power to rule. In the world, Jesus commented, “their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you” (v. 42–43 NASB). The new community of Jesus is organized on a different principle—service, not power, humility, not authority.
Thirdly, there is the choice between suffering and security. In leaving home and following Jesus, James and John had become vagrants. Did they regret leaving their comfortable home? In reply to Jesus’s question, they claimed they could share his cup and his baptism, for they thought he was referring to the luxuries of the messianic banquet, whereas he was alluding to suffering and the way of the cross. Thus James and John coveted honor, power, and safety, while Jesus offered sacrifice, service, and suffering. With his dramatic words “not this way among you” Jesus indicated that there are two distinct communities in the world, with two distinct value systems. The symbol of one is the throne, but of the other the cross.
For further reading: Mark 10:35–45