In Mark chapter 10, James and John approached Jesus, asking for the honor of sitting at His right hand and left hand in His kingdom. Like most people, they wanted to be close to the center of power, expecting that Jesus, the Messiah, would soon establish His kingdom on earth and rule the whole world. The other ten disciples got upset, probably because they hadn’t thought to ask first.
Jesus responded with these words:
“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.’” Mark 10:42-45
This is a well-known passage for most Christians. Jesus describes leadership by comparing the world’s style of leadership to His own. However, the ideas Jesus teaches about leadership, headship, and serving as leaders are often misunderstood, misused, or just given mere lip service. I believe one reason for this is that most of us Christians don’t see ourselves as controlling or authoritarian like the “Gentiles,” but we still don’t truly reflect on whether we are serving as Jesus did.
According to Jesus, leaders who don’t follow His ways and are considered great by the world’s standards take pride in making sure everyone knows they are in charge. They use their title, position, and authority to command others to do exactly what they want them to do.
This kind of leadership shows they don’t understand Jesus’ ways.
For many years, I heard the main principle of Christian headship summarized by statements like, “The buck stops with me,” and “I have the responsibility to make the final decisions.” While it is true that any great leader in the kingdom of God will need to make decisions for others, that is not the essence of Godly leadership.
What does Jesus mean when He says that the leader in the kingdom of God becomes “great” by serving and is “first” by being the slave of all? Jesus’ life makes it clear that this doesn’t mean we serve by doing whatever anyone asks us to do. Jesus served us to the point of dying for us, but He only did what the Father was doing and said what the Father was saying, and He never did anything anyone wanted Him to do outside of what the Father wanted.
We become great in God’s kingdom by serving people in the way He wants, not based on anyone’s wishes or our own, unless those wishes align with God’s will. We are great, just like Jesus was, when God works His will through us, until we fade away and His will becomes everything to us.
Even as I write, I realize how easy it is to communicate Jesus’ idea of serving without honestly assessing how much I fall short of serving as He did.
This raises questions about what genuine Godly love looks like when serving others. For example, how should I respond if I believe that what my child, spouse, or friend requests is not good for them? That is, if what they want is not what God intends for them.
When facing conflict, do I submit to others’ wishes out of fear? Do I choose to give in to avoid conflict, or do I serve by kindly and lovingly doing what God wants for me in that situation, regardless of the consequences?
Do I always choose to affirm and empathize with people to avoid hurting their feelings? If I respond that way, I will inevitably prioritize their feelings and wishes over what God desires.
Do I act coldly and arrogantly by doing what is right, regardless of how it affects others, or do I show care and love while staying true to what is right?
Jesus served us to the point of giving His life for us; however, there is no example in the Gospels of Jesus giving someone something they wanted, apart from what the Father wanted.
In Mark 10:42-45 referenced above, Jesus clearly teaches us what greatness looks like in God’s eyes, not in people’s eyes. It can be tempting to serve others by giving them what they want, especially those we love most.
I have prayed that the Lord would make me great. My heart’s prayer was for Him to prepare me to serve Him in all I do so that I can have a meaningful impact for the Kingdom of God on earth. Despite my sincere desire and efforts, it is undoubtedly the most impossible challenge of my life to become invisible enough to serve others in a way that only the love and truth of Jesus are seen and expressed through my life. Only by remaining in Jesus will I, or anyone, be enabled by Him to move more and more in that direction. John 15:9-11
Would you be willing to pray this prayer with me?
Lord, I don’t just want to be saved and make it to heaven; I want to be great for God’s kingdom while I am still alive. Please give me the grace to fade away from my “self,” as Jesus did, so that the Spirit of God can fully possess me. John 17:21-23