Episode 1482: Not to be Served

[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: Thanks for joining me on episode 1482 of the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

[00:00:06] Daniel Sih: I'm Daniel Sea, and I'm passionate about helping busy people make space in the whirlwind of life by shifting the way they live and work. And in a post COVID world, that involves rethinking and redesigning our digital habits. I challenge you to invest in yourself and in others and in our world by using your time, your talents, and your treasure to live out your calling.

[00:00:32] Having the ability to use technology well, without letting it take over your life, is so important and one way to be inspired to do this is is to listen to the Inspired Stewardship Podcast with my friend, Scott Maderer.

[00:00:53] Scott Maderer: Or maybe they weren't serving with that in mind, and that's what Jesus recognizes and sees in them, because Jesus can see what's in their [00:01:00] heart. And I, I like to interpret this as they actually were serving selflessly, not selfishly. But who knows? The passage is definitely not clear. But regardless, Jesus made it clear.

[00:01:17] Welcome and thank you for joining us on the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, Your talent and your treasures for your true calling. In the Inspired Stewardship Podcast, you will learn to invest in yourself, invest in others, and develop your influence so that you can impact the world.

[00:01:49] In today's spiritual foundation episode, I talk about Mark chapter 10, verses 35 through 45. I share how we often clamor for a place above our station, [00:02:00] and I also talk about how service is about service, not gain. Mark, chapter 10, verses 35 through 45 says, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.

[00:02:19] He said to them, What is it you want me to do for you? And they said to him, Appoint us a set, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory. But Jesus said to them, You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

[00:02:37] And they replied, We are able. Then Jesus said to them, The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized. But to set at my right hand or my left is not mine to be appointed, but it is for those to, for whom it has been prepared. When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John.

[00:02:59] So Jesus [00:03:00] called them and said to them, You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their ruler lords it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you. Instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be the slave of all.

[00:03:19] For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. This is one of those passages that when you hear it, you go, please tell me it didn't happen like this. Surely this is some sort of compression or retelling that leaves some things out or maybe slips in some information or trying to make a larger point.

[00:03:42] The story is bad enough, but Mark actually puts it in the narrative where James and John Kind of come off as really rude, crass, indifferent, not understanding. See, there's a few voices that we [00:04:00] skipped between the last lectionary part of the 10th chapter of Mark's Gospel in last week, where it talks about the dangers of riches and the dangers of money, and it ends with the first shall be last and the last shall be first.

[00:04:14] Mark. chapter 10, verse 31. And here we start this passage with James and John walking up to Jesus and making a painfully selfish request. But in between, Mark chapter 10, verses 32 through 34, is a passage that says, They were on their way up to Jerusalem. Jesus was leading the way. The disciples were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.

[00:04:40] And again, Jesus took the twelve disciples to one side. He told them what was going to happen to Him. We are going up to Jerusalem, He said. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and they will sentence Him to death. Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles.

[00:04:57] They will make fun of him and spit on him. [00:05:00] They will whip him and kill him. Three days later, he will rise from the dead. And then the very next passage is this one that we just read about James and John coming up to him and asking for this. Think about that. Here's Jesus bearing his soul, letting them know what's going to happen for to him and for them.

[00:05:23] And reading it, reading that passage changes the tone of this passage. There's a lot going on in between. Why were they amazed? Why were they afraid? Who was amazed? Who was afraid? What exactly was happening? And why did Jesus think telling them about his upcoming death was going to help them with that fear or that amazement, was going to quell it?

[00:05:48] There's a lot to unpack there. But that, after that we have James and John. In a way it feels icky that Jesus just talks about being mocked and spit upon and flogged and killed and James and [00:06:00] John say, Give us the best seats in the house. They did it on the sly too, because later it says when the ten heard this, they get angry.

[00:06:09] So James and John are sneaking around the back and asking Jesus this when the others weren't listening or weren't present. That, that seems to be the implication here. And they start with, we may, we want you to do whatever we ask. Doesn't necessarily read better in Greek or Aramaic. This is a demand.

[00:06:31] But Jesus doesn't take it that way. With rather infinite patience, he explains to them what's involved. Do you know what you're asking? Weren't you listening to what I just said? I'm going to die. And they say, yes, we were listening and we can do it. Are you able? Yes, we are able. It seems to be actually put in that context that they're saying, we can die with you.

[00:06:55] We can die beside you. We can give up our life for [00:07:00] you. Here's the amazing bit. Jesus actually agrees with them. And in verse 39, after this, Jesus says, yeah, you will. Whether he's saying that they're going to be persecuted as well, or whether he sees something significant and what the two of them are going to do to spread this movement and this message and keep it going, Jesus treats them with kindness, even in this kind of selfish moment.

[00:07:26] That's part of the good news. Because after all, we all do this from time to time, right? We hold ourselves up as a little higher than we should. We look at ourselves because we're surrounded by messages telling us dream big, reach big, do all of that, you're special. And we are. But at the same time, we sometimes take that to heart and put ourselves above others instead.

[00:07:52] It's not bad to realize that you're special and you're loved and you're cared for, but sometimes it leads us to finding shortcuts that do damage to [00:08:00] ourselves and to others. That's why Paul is so big on humility. Humility, I love the definition that says humility is not thinking less of yourself, but humility is thinking of yourself less.

[00:08:14] So maybe Jesus being patient with these two means we have a chance. for humility as well. When the incident blows up and the rest of the group finds out what it happens, Jesus calms the water and says, wait a minute. This is what it means to lead. You can look around the world, you see all sorts of authority, all these different ways of wielding power, but that's not what I mean by leading.

[00:08:40] That's not the model that you follow if you follow me. Instead, what it means to wield ultimate power is set yourself aside. Power comes from serving, and serving for the right reason, not serving because you gain power, not serving because it allows [00:09:00] you to climb a ladder, not serving because you want something in return, not transactional, but serving just to serve, even to the point of giving up your life.

[00:09:12] That's what Jesus was trying to get them to understand. Service isn't a strategy. It's not a means of getting to the top of achieving your goals. Instead, it's simply a way of being. Service is a way of living. And maybe James and John actually helped them make that point. These are examples of somebody maybe who was serving out of selfishness.

[00:09:39] And in which case we learn from the bad example, or maybe they weren't serving with that in mind. And that's what Jesus recognizes and sees in them, because Jesus can see what's in their heart. And I like to interpret this as they actually were serving selflessly, not selfishly, but who knows? [00:10:00] The passage is definitely not clear, but regardless, Jesus made it clear.

[00:10:07] Thanks for listening.

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