Rev. David Holwick J
First Baptist Church PERSONALITIES OF THE PASSION
Ledgewood, New Jersey James and John
March 19, 2000
Mark 10:35-45
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I. How great are you?
A. Discussions on greatness around junior high lunch table.
1) Humorous, but had an edge to it.
2) Everyone wants position and praise.
B. James and John were typical.
1) They came alone with their question.
a) In Matthew, their mom actually instigates it. Mt 20:20
1> Or they instigated their mother.
2) They wanted his "yes" before they got precise.
a) VERY junior high!
3) "Let us sit at your right and left."
a) They wanted the best seats in "heaven."
b) Question shows they assumed Jesus was Messiah, and
his kingdom would arrive when he got to Jerusalem.
C. Must have depressed Jesus.
1) Last week of his life and this is what they are up to.
a) If he was like us, he would have a sinking feeling.
2) Second discussion in a short time - Mark 9:33 is similar.
a) They had discussed on the road who was greater.
b) They were ashamed (silent) when Jesus questioned them.
c) Yet some of them are still thinking it.
II. Reflecting the culture.
A. Question of greatness was common among Jews in that day.
1) The disciples had merely absorbed the culture around them.
2) They were plugging the teaching of Jesus into it, and
didn't realize the contradictions.
B. Our culture is worse.
1) Macho corporate culture.
Eli Black was a brilliant businessman best known for
two events in his life.
The first event was his masterminding of the multimillion
dollar takeover of the United Fruit conglomerate.
It was brilliant. It was cunning. It was brutal.
In the book "An American Company," an executive described
a business lunch he had with Eli Black.
When the waitress brought a plate of cheese and crackers
as an appetizer, Black reached out and took them.
He placed them on the table, blocked them with his arms,
and continued talking.
The executive hadn't eaten for hours and hinted that he
would like a cracker.
But Black acted as though he hadn't heard him and went on
with the business meeting.
After a while, Black placed a cracker and cheese on the
tips of his fingers and continued to talk.
Several moments later, Black placed the cracker on the
executive's plate and then blocked the rest as before.
It was clear that Black was in charge, manipulating others
as he pleased.
As I said, Eli Black was known for two events.
The second event was the way his life ended.
He jumped to his death from the 42nd floor of the Pan Am
building in New York City.
When you play "follow the leader," check to see who is at
the head of the line.
Eli Black, for all his power, ended up in suicide.
Jesus Christ, in all His humility, ended up the Savior
of the world.
#5141
2) Greatness is defined by acquisition, intimidation.
a) Visiting NY Stock Exchange this week...
b) All that matters is the bottom line.
C. Jesus is very different.
1) He turned the world's values upside-down.
a) Nowhere more evident than in teaching on greatness.
2) His teaching is admired, but pretty much ignored.
a) What would happen if we followed it?
III. Greatness costs.
A. Jesus does not rebuke their ambition.
1) There is such a thing as a left and right seat.
2) Seeking greatness is good, but it has to be done God's way.
B. Christian greatness bears a high cost.
1) Jesus wants them to know what it entails.
2) They will have to drink his cup and share in his baptism.
a) "Cup" is figurative for suffering in Old Testament.
b) Baptism is also used figuratively. Total immersion.
3) They accept it (by their way of thinking.)
a) They will experience it, by Jesus' definition.
b) James was executed, John died in exile.
IV. Two approaches to greatness.
A. The Gentile way.
1) Pecking order of chain of command.
a) Leaders lord it over citizens.
b) Higher-ups lord it over leaders.
2) Power flows from the top down.
B. Jesus' way.
1) To become great, be a servant.
a) Reversal: real power flows from the bottom up.
2) Serving, or being a servant? [1]
a) Choosing to serve.
1> I stay comfortably in charge.
2> I decide when, where, and whom I will serve.
3> Can easily produce pride. Focus is on what's
good for me.
b) Choosing to be a servant.
1> I place myself "on call" to the needs of others.
2> Jesus to blind Bartimaeus: "What do you want me
to do for you?"
A> We usually presume to know what they need.
V. How do you stack up as a servant?
A. Are you a servant of all, or some?
1) It is easy to serve some people: family, friends.
2) Harder to serve those who don't "deserve" it.
B. Do you keep a low profile, or expect praise?
1) If we serve for praise, that's all the reward we get.
2) The quieter you serve, the more genuine it is.
C. Do you serve with a sense of joy, or obligation?
1) A sense of duty can push us a long way.
a) It can also produce a grim, hard servant.
2) We are not really serving till we do so out of love.
a) Loving service always produces joy.
D. Do serve out of love for the Master?
1) Paul said in 2 Cor 5:14, "the love of Christ compels me."
2) Serve for God's sake, and credit, praise and results
won't matter.
VI. Jesus' example.
A. He is not exempt from the principle he taught.
1) As Son of man he came to serve.
2) Most kings demand honor and privilege. Not Jesus.
B. He came to give his life as a ransom.
1) He gave it - the cross was not forced on him, but he
submitted voluntarily.
2) Ransom - he paid what we owed (and could not pay).
a) There is a clear idea of substitution here.
b) Jesus is consciously comparing himself to a sacrifice.
3) "For many" is a Hebrew expression.
a) It doesn't mean "for a lot of people," but "for the
whole group."
C. Do you serve this Servant?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
[1] "Haughty or Humble?" by Howard Baker, Discipleship Journal #105,
May/June 1998, page 56; much of the material is derived from
Richard Foster's "Celebration of Discipline."
#5141 "Power Or Humility?" Rev. Brett Blair's Illustrations By Email,
http://www.sermonillustrations.com, January 10, 2000; quoting
from "Our Daily Bread."
These and 5,500 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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