True Greatness (The 2026 Serve Sunday Message)

Well, go ahead and turn in your Bibles.

We will not be in Genesis. We will be in Mark chapter 10.

Mark 10 · chapter mention

And what we're going to do, if you did not get a bulletin, but

you would like one, would you please raise your hand if you

would like the bulletin and the sermon note sheet.

Mr. Zinke is handing those out. So yeah, we'll be in Mark

Mark 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10 next week. We will be back in Genesis,

Genesis for two more weeks. Then we'll take a break from

Genesis for the summer. Now ours is a proud and

egotistical culture, people pushing and promoting themselves

in ways that would have been completely unacceptable 20 years

ago. A new species of humanity has

emerged in the influencer promotion of self, self esteem,

self fulfillment, self glory. It has all become a major

industry self. This person does everything they

can to market themselves, to gain notoriety, likes and

clicks. And also they can be famous and

make a lot of money. Usually they don't make a lot of

money, most don't, but some do, some do.

Now seldom will you find an influencer who uses their

position and status for the purposes and good of others.

Most often pride and entitlement are on full display with the

influencer. As we approach our text this

morning, let me set the scene for us.

This is the lead up to Palm Sunday in Jesus triumphal entry

into Jerusalem. Jesus and a whole crowd of

people are literally walking up to Jerusalem preparing for the

triumphal entry. Jesus and is talking with with

his disciples and he knew what lay ahead of them.

And he said the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief

priests and the scribes and they will condemn him to death and

deliver him over to the Gentiles.

They will mock him and spit on him and flog him and kill him.

And after three days he will rise.

So this was now the the third time Jesus had told his

followers what was going to happen.

And even still, they I don't think they got it.

Their expectation was that Jesus was about to publicly set up the

messianic Kingdom. Now, honestly, I think the

response of these two, James and John and their mother, as we

learn in Matthew's accounts, was pretty rude.

They forgot to read the room. Jesus had just said what was

going to happen, that he was going to be crucified, that he

was going to die. And there's like, oh, wait, you

just said you were going to die. That's not what we were

planning. Does does that really have to

happen right now? We have so much going well for

us right now. We have this momentum.

Maybe we can just take over Jerusalem and and sit next to

you on your throne. So that's what's immediately

preceding this morning's text. If you're able, would you stand

as we read from Mark 10, verses 35 through 45?

Mark 10:35–45

And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said

to him, Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of

you. And he said to them, What do you

want me to do for you? When they said to him, Grant us

to sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your

glory. Jesus said to them, you do not

know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup

that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am

baptized? And they said to him, We are

able. And 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 sit at my right hand or

at my left hand. Hand is not mine to grant, but

As for those for whom it has been prepared.

And when the 10 heard it, they began to be indignant at James

and John. And Jesus called them to him and

said to them, You not, you know that those who are considered

rulers of the Gentiles Lord over them, and they're great ones,

Exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among

you. But whoever would be great among

you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you

must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not

to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for

many. You may be seated here.

Jesus turned this absurd question into a teaching moment.

Now this reminds me that discipleship isn't always a

formal process. We meet from this time to this

time, and we talk about this topic in the Bible.

Sure, that can be part of discipleship, but often

discipleship occurs in the everyday moments.

When we were raising our kids, we were always looking for

opportunities to speak into their lives and provide wisdom

for situations or simply ask questions.

Discipleship happened on the drive to school or dance or

football or CrossFit. It it happened spontaneously and

in the spur of the moment and and constantly happened around

the dinner table. We're always being attentive to

the teaching opportunities that life presented to us.

Jesus could have just said he didn't have the purview to judge

who sits on his right hand or his left.

Instead, he chose to teach the disciples a lesson here.

First let's look at the disciples character.

I think it's safe to say these men were a bit big for their

britches, as they say. Jesus told them you don't really

know what you're asking. And the response was, yeah,

yeah, we can drink the cup that that you're about to drink.

We can handle everything that comes our way.

And in a sense, Jesus affirmed them.

Well, you'll experience unnatural deaths, but I don't

determine who sits at my right hand and left hand.

James was the first apostle to be martyred and and John would

spend many years exiled on the island of Patmos.

So both of them experienced persecution.

But the disciples pride was on full display here.

Their request was full of pride. Their request was full of pride.

They didn't have the right view of themselves and and thought

more highly of their own character and value than was

realistic. And they should have thought

with eyes set on themselves and their own goals, they they asked

for positions of power and authority.

All the others got angry at James and John for this.

Was it because they thought it was rude?

No, actually it was because their hearts were filled with

the same selfish ambition and they were angry because they had

the same thoughts and feelings and they wanted those positions

of authority for themselves. Then in verse 42, Jesus teaches

the disciples about worldly greatness.

Jesus called them to him and said to them, You know that

those who are considered rulers as the Gentiles Lord it over

them and their great ones exercise authority over them.

Jesus pointed out that that the Gentiles, that is, those who

aren't God's people, don't act in a godly manner.

Their rulers act in a domineering and oppressive way,

lording their position and status over those who are under

them in an exploitative manner. This is how the world works.

But those who belong to God and follow Jesus are to act in a

different manner. In Ephesians 6, Paul tells

masters to treat their bond servants well and to not

threaten them. Now.

Jesus was constantly subverting the world's standards, flipping

expectations. If the world said right, he said

left. If they said up, then he said

down. Kingdom living is a

countercultural movement in Acts in response to situations in a

manner that is drastically different than worldly

expectations. Now let's look at what it means

to live out those countercultural values and real

Kingdom greatness. Verse 3.

But it shall not be so among you.

But whoever would be great among you must be your servants, and

whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.

So don't act the same way the gentiles in the world act.

That's not to be the way of Christ's followers.

Greatness isn't found in power and authority.

Greatness isn't found in power and authority.

Jesus turned the world's greatness upside down.

The self glorifying, self-serving, self promoting

ways of the world are the antithesis of spiritual

greatness. These ways aren't fit for Christ

followers. The world seeks after power and

authority because they don't know any better.

But that's not what Jesus taught James and John here.

Now, positions of authority aren't intrinsically bad.

Someone has to be at the top in a position of authority.

But it's the how and why that matter.

How did you get to the position? Was it honestly and through hard

work and humility, or was it through deceit and manipulation,

tearing everyone down on your way to the top?

Why did you aspire to the position?

Did you aspire to the position for selfish motives and status?

Did you see it as a way to, or did you see it as a way to serve

others and be helpful? Wrong motives, bad motives say a

lot about a person's character. In First Timothy 3, Paul tells

us if anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a

noble task. That means it's good to be the

pastor of a church, to be in a position of authority.

And Peter gives us some clarity on this topic in First Peter 5

when he addresses the pastor's motives.

Shepherding a church isn't to be done for shameful, selfish gain

or a desire to control and domineer others.

Jesus taught them that greatness isn't found in power and

authority. It's OK to be in a position of

authority. But He didn't just leave it at

that. He instructed them on how to be

great. It's important to say that this

greatness isn't according to the world standards.

This is Kingdom greatness. If we come to the conversation

with the world's definition of greatness, then we'll completely

miss the point here. Now, according to God's

standards, greatness is found in serving.

Greatness is found in serving. But whoever would be great among

you must be your servants, and whoever would be first among you

must be slave of all. Here Jesus redefined greatness.

This is greatness according to God's standard.

In order to be great in God's upside down Kingdom, you need to

be a servant. James and John wanted positions

of preeminence and power in God's Kingdom, the same type we

read about in verse 44. Whoever would be first among

you, that was James and John. Now here Jesus was promoting

something of a much different flavor and and quality.

Greatness that's pleasing to God and which is characterized by

humility and self sacrifice rather than pride and

self-serving. The world seeks greatness by

pleasing others and having them serve you in and do your

bidding. They do whatever you want.

That's the world's greatness. However, greatness that's

pleasing to God is found in doing His will and serving

others in His name. The one who's truly great in

God's eyes is the one who is the willing servant.

You might ask, but isn't it wrong for someone to say I want

to serve so I can be the greatest in the Kingdom?

Well, if your motive is actually simply to be better than

everyone else and get ahead of them, then you've kind of missed

the point here. One could devolve into a martyr

complex if you're serving out of the wrong motive.

Look at what I did here. Look at how busy I am for God.

Look at all the ways I serve him.

Serving is important, but when you lose track of God, then

you're simply doing stuff and not actually worshipping God in

your serving. Now in this verse, the word

servant is differentiated from the word slave.

The word servant is actually the word diaconos, from which we get

our word Deacon. Originally this word didn't have

a patently religious or spiritual connotation to it is

simply referred to someone who did menial labor like house

cleaning or serving tables. It wasn't a term of dishonor,

but it was used to describe the lowest level of hired help.

It didn't take much to be a diaconos.

You needed no special training or or skill for the position.

You could be hired and generally could learn what you needed to

learn on the job. That was the diaconos.

The position of the slave which Jesus had called these men to

was even lower than the diaconos.

The servant, you see, was his own person.

He he didn't own much he but he was free to work where he

wanted. This was the position that many

people occupied when they needed to pay off the debts.

They could be employed as a servant and work off the debt

they'd accumulated. The slave, however, is

different. The slave doesn't have the same

freedom. The slave actually belonged to

the master and can only go where where the master wanted him to

go, and could only do what the master wanted him to do.

The slave was the personal property of someone else.

The master, now slave is Paul's common description of himself.

He frequently calls himself a slave of Christ.

He leads with this point even before identifying himself as an

apostle. He calls himself a slave of

Christ. He acknowledged that his body

and life weren't his own. They belong to the one who

bought them. Jesus bought Paul with his

blood. So greatness isn't found in

power and authority. Greatness is found in serving.

And greatness comes from humility.

Greatness comes from humility. Paul lived this out, and he was

dedicated to godly greatness. He didn't want the accolades for

himself, but rather for Christ, the one who knows our motives.

In First Corinthians 4-5, Paul says, Therefore do not pronounce

judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring

to light the things now hidden in darkness, and who will

disclose the purposes of the heart.

Then each one will receive his commendation, Not condemnation

commendation. That's a good thing from God on

the day of judgment. For those who followed after

God, our accolades and glory will come from Him.

The good things we've done that we didn't advertise to others,

the selfless serving, the purity of our motives will all be

demonstrated on that day. When that happens we'll receive

hopefully commendation for being faithful and following Jesus

example. Only God knows the motives and

true intentions of our hearts. Now.

Humility in serving is is going to the hard, difficult, lonely

places no one wants to go, doing the things that no one wants to

do, making ourselves uncomfortable, perhaps risking

persecution and and being ostracized, all for the sake of

God's glory and greatness. Paul knew life was short and the

eternity was long, so he was willing to spend and be spent

for God's glory. He was willing to risk it all

and did so without succumbing to self pity or a what was me type

of attitude. His humility allowed him to

endure persecution and trial after trial after trial without

succumbing to a desire for fairness or entitlements.

I've experienced all this. Surely I'm owed something else.

His perspective instead was though his outer self, that is,

his body, was wasting away. There are trials and struggles

in life that take a toll on someone.

He was being renewed each day and the struggles were just

light, momentary afflictions when compared to the joy of an

eternity in glory. Now, it's important for us to

acknowledge a key point here. Jesus didn't call these men to

something that He wasn't willing to do Himself.

No, He called them to follow his own example of greatness.

Now granted we can't literally do all the things that Jesus

did, but he called them to follow his example.

Verse 45 says even the Son of man came not to be served but to

served. The phrase son of man is used 82

times in the New Testament and is Jesus favor and most used

title to refer to himself. When he used it Jesus was

appealing to his humanity. The phrase son of denotes a

certain quality, sameness to that thing which it is named

after. That means when he used the

phrase son of man he was calling himself human.

In spite of being the son of God, Jesus clothed himself in

humanity and became the son of man.

That means Jesus purpose was serving.

His purpose was serving. The whole point of him coming

into the world was to serve. Philippians 2 tells us Jesus,

who was in the very nature God, God himself, didn't hold to his

rights as God, as the Lord of all, the Creator of everything.

He had the right to be served by others and to hold on to his

rights. He had that right.

Instead, Jesus chose to humble himself and take the form of a

slave. So He is the supreme example of

humility and servanthood as He came into this world to serve by

clothing himself with humanity. He went to the cross, and He

bore our sin on Himself. He chose to give up His life

because He thought higher of you and I than He did His own

rights. Verse 45 continues.

Even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to

give His life as a ransom for many.

So what is a ransom? This ransom?

Here Jesus paid the price the Father's justice required.

Simply put, Jesus paid the price that the Father's justice

required. This verse is the first explicit

New Testament teaching about the Messiah's work of redemption.

A ransom is a payment to affect the release of slaves or

captives from bondage. Now scholars have vigorously

debated what this ransom is and and who it was paid to.

Was the ransom paid to Satan or was the ransom paid to God the

Father? Well, Jesus didn't owe Satan

anything. He didn't pay a ransom to Satan.

The ransom was paid to God the Father.

Because of His justice, God is just.

God's justice means that our sin has to be punished.

We stand condemned under the law of sin and death.

Jesus was the only one who qualified to pay the price for

our sin. He was human, but as God, he

could not and did not sin, and that qualified him to pay the

ransom. The ransom price that we sinners

are incapable of pain. Paul tells us those who are in

Christ Jesus are no longer condemned.

We've been set free from the law of sin and death.

Jesus purchased our freedom from sin by coming in the likeness of

sinful flesh and being condemned for us.

This fulfilled God's righteous requirement and it brought us

back from our enslavement to sin as the ransom payment.

Jesus vicariously suffered for the sins of humanity.

He literally gave His life as payment for ours.

Also, we could be free. This new freedom we have in

Christ means we can follow His example.

We can be servants through the Holy Spirit's empowering.

We can think more highly of others than we do ourselves.

We can voluntarily serve their interests and not our own

selfish desires. We can embrace true greatness by

serving rather than the world's form of false greatness.

William Barclay had this to say when comparing the world's gauge

versus God's standard for greatness.

The world may assess a man's greatness by the number of

people whom he controls and who are at his beckon call, or by

his intellectual standing in his academic eminence, or the number

of committees of which he is a member, or by the size of his

bank balance and the material possessions which he has

amassed. But in the assessment of Jesus

Christ these things are irrelevance.

Only that which is spent on God, following him and serving Him,

is of any value. By living the upside down

Kingdom, we aim to someday hear the words well done, good and

faithful servants. You've been faithful over a

little. I will set you over much.

Enter into the joy of your master.

Let's bow our heads and close our eyes.

Father God, we thank you for this opportunity this morning to

look into your word that that teaches us how to live here on

this Serve Sunday as we prepare to go out.

We could easily just go out into the community and, and do these

acts of service and not think anything else of it.

But the reason we do it, the reason we go out in the

community and serve is because we are following your example

because you called us to serve. You came into this world to

serve. You had the right to be served.

But that's not what you claimed. So we follow your example,

Jesus, and we serve you. We serve you here in the church.

We serve you out wherever we go. And it's our joy to do so out of

grateful hearts for what you have done in our lives.

It's in Jesus name we pray, Amen.