Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, October 1, 2023

Greatness is in Service

Today, Pastor Michael is talking about service.  Greatness is not in being served; it’s in serving.  During this time, Jesus’ expression has changed and is totally transfixed.  He tells his disciples that The Romans will kill him and that on the third day, He will rise.  Jesus prophesied both His death and resurrection.  James and John go to Jesus and ask Him to let them sit at His place of honor when he comes into His kingdom.  Jesus responds to them with grace.  Essentially, they didn’t know the depth of what they were asking.  He asks them if they can drink from the cup he drinks from and be baptized with which He is baptized.  Here, the cup is a metaphor for suffering, and baptism is a metaphor for being plunged into calamity. 

He asks them if they are willing to share His fate, and they indicate they are.  But here, the disciples fail to understand the further teaching by Jesus.  True greatness lies not in having a position over the authority of others but in being a slave to all.  The Son of Man himself came not to be served but to serve, and by implication, any follower of the Son of Man can do no less.

(CSB Study Bible Notes) 10:35-36 This is the only time in Mark that James and John acted on their own apart from the other disciples, and they did so selfishly. Most likely, they asked Jesus to grant their request even before they spelled it out because they knew they were being selfish.

Verses can be found in Mark 10: 32-45.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.