Set Free to Serve

Mark 10:32-45

I struggle to serve. I struggle to be a servant. Why would I want to be subject to anybody? Being a servant just doesn’t sound appealing to me. But you know what does sound appealing to me? It’s if other people serve me. I’d be okay with that. But serving others? Ah, not so much. And so when I encounter these words of Jesus recorded in Mark chapter 10, I’m a little bit conflicted, to say the least. Because he says, “Whoever wants to be great must be a servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all.” Really? Is this what really defines greatness? We don’t normally hold servants in high esteem. When we’re kids, we don’t dream of growing up so that we can be servants. No one voluntarily becomes a servant. People are servants not because they want to be, but because they need to be. And so I struggle with these words of Jesus. I struggle to understand them. Do you know who else struggled to understand Jesus? It was his own disciples. And it wasn’t the first time, nor would it be the last time that they struggled. To understand Jesus. Jesus says to them, “Look, very soon I will be arrested, and I will be flogged, and I will be killed. But then three days later, I will rise.” The disciples did not really grasp the magnitude of what Jesus was saying. They were making their way up to Jerusalem so that all these things could happen. But instead of thinking about those things, it seems that some of them had selfish thoughts. They were thinking about how they could benefit by being closely associated to Jesus. Now, to be fair, Jesus had previously told them that they would all sit on thrones and judge the 12 tribes of Israel at the renewal of all things when Jesus enters his glory. And so they had misconceptions about it. In particular, we know that James and John were probably thinking, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could sit next to Jesus when that all happens?” If we were to get seats number one and two right next to Jesus, then wouldn’t that mean that we would have more glory and honor, and authority than everybody else? The thoughts of the disciples were selfish. They were lacking humility. But we should not be too surprised by this. We see in other parts of the Gospels that the disciples displayed similar types of behavior. They had a bad habit of arguing amongst themselves as to who the greatest was. And I think we can relate to this on some level. At our jobs, we often compare ourselves to our co-workers. I’m more deserving than fill-in-the-blank. I’m a harder worker than fill-in-the-blank. I’m smarter. I’m more efficient. I’m just all around better. And so shouldn’t I have authority over them? For those of us in school, we often compare ourselves to our classmates. Comparing ourselves to others is the normal way of doing things. It’s the way of the world. The way that we recognize honor and glory is by comparing our achievements and accolades in relation to others. And if we manage to achieve a high position in life, if we manage to prove ourselves, then how do we conduct ourselves? Do we act as humble servants? People who enter political office, they take an oath to be public servants of the people. But does that really happen? Or is it more often that politicians will be self-seeking and power-hungry? For Jesus says to his disciples, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them, not so with you.” Jesus is saying, “Yes, I know that this is the normal way of doing things, but it will not be this way with you. Instead, if you want to be great, then you must be a servant. And if you want to be first, then you must be the slave of all.” Brothers and sisters, Jesus is talking to us. So, how have we done? How have we stacked up? Do we put the needs of others before ourselves? Are we humble? Or do we seek to abuse our position to get our way? The fact of the matter is, brothers and sisters, if we follow Christ, we are signing up for a life of service. And not just service, but suffering. Jesus says, “You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with. The cup that Jesus is talking about is the cup of suffering, and all his followers will drink from that same cup.” What Jesus said came true. James and John did indeed drink from that cup. Just 11 years later, after Jesus had spoken these words, James was put to death by King Agrippa for preaching Christ crucified. His brother, John, though traditionally not considered to be a martyr, he was heavily persecuted throughout his life, and he was sent into exile on the island of Patmos. Brothers and sisters, we will suffer. We might suffer in different ways, and we might not always understand or know how good can come from it. But there is one thing that we do know, and that is how much God loves us. For Jesus says, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” God, the ruler of everything, humbled himself to come and serve his own creatures. God, the Son, took on human flesh so that he could live, serve, and die. He served us by doing all of the things that we could not do. He came and lived in perfect service to God’s law. He fulfilled God’s law with perfect obedience, winning salvation for everyone, by never being selfish, by always putting the needs of others before himself, by never acting in a condescending manner toward his neighbor, but always looking to help, always looking to serve, never being arrogant, but always being humble. Jesus, the Almighty God, not only served his neighbor perfectly and God the Father perfectly but he was also served the death that you and I deserve. You see, Jesus not only drank the cup of suffering, but he also drank the cup of God’s wrath at the cross. At the cross, Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath over selfishness, the selfishness of all people of all time. And Jesus took the guilt of that selfishness upon himself at the cross and paid the punishment for all of it. Jesus, the Almighty God, did not have to do any of these things because he is truly free. There is no one above him. There is nothing above him. He’s the master of the universe. But yet, he willingly gave up his freedom, he willingly gave up a portion of his freedom for a time so that he could come and serve his very own subjects. Brothers and sisters, this evidence of God’s love is what motivates, it’s what empowers us to humbly serve one another. Our service to God, it’s not what merits our salvation, it’s not what earns God’s favor because Jesus already did that. Rather, our service is our thanks to God in view of his mercy. And our service serves to bring other people to Jesus so that they may know about his salvation and be set truly free. It is a great honor that God gives to us to serve our neighbor, to mimic our Savior. And so, we give up time, money, talent, resources. When given the opportunity, we help out. We volunteer, we pray, and we encourage. And we do all these things out of thanks to God for first serving us. Jesus, the triumphant ruler, the victorious master, he willingly became the suffering servant for you and me. The greatest of all willingly became the lowliest so that you and I could be great. Amen.