Mark Ch10v35-45 - Jesus: The Suffering Servant

Blessing and joy to have you with us here this morning. Steve ministers and serves in Passage West Baptist Church, so our sister church there. So Steve, thank you and you're very welcome. You and your family with us here this morning.

So thank you, Steve. Good morning, everyone. It's a joy to be with you. You can turn in your Bibles to Mark chapter 10. That's Mark chapter 10. As Ralph said, I am not from Passage West. I am from Florida, but we live in Passage West. We've been in Ireland for about 12 years. I'm one of the elders at Passage Baptist along with Shane and Brendan and John Daunt.

Mark 10 · chapter mention Mark 10 · chapter mention

So we greet you. The church greets you. We see you, as Ralph said, as a sister church. It is a joy to be able to see what God is doing in all of Cork and to be a part of it, isn't it? It's a joy to be able to see that we can work together for the sake of the gospel.

And so my wife Valerie is here. We have four children. We have two here with us today. I've got two that are in Florida right now. One lives there.

And then our oldest daughter, Aisley, is flying back on Saturday. She spent the summer there. So it is, like I said, a joy to be with you.

So I'm going to read from Mark chapter 10, starting at verse 35. Mark 10, 35. I'm reading from the CSB.

Mark 10 · chapter mention

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached him and said, Teacher, we want you to do whatever we ask you.

What do you want me to do for you? He asked them. They answered him, Allow us to sit at your right and at your left in your glory.

Jesus said to them, You do not know what you're asking. Are you able to drink the cup I drink or to be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?

We are able, they told him. Jesus said to them, You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with.

But to sit at my right or left is not mine to give. Instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared.

When the ten disciples heard this, they began to be indignant with James and John.

Jesus called them over and said to them, You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,

and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. But it is not so among you.

On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant,

and whoever wants to be first among you will be slave to all.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Let me pray one more time for us.

Father, we come before you now trusting that you will speak to us through your word,

which you have done from the beginning of time.

And so we ask God that we would hear from you,

that you would use your word by your spirit to transform us,

and that we would see Christ a little more clearly today.

Help us now, we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

So when I was about 20 years old, I was at a camp in central Florida,

the very camp my two oldest children are at right now.

And I was serving there during the summer,

and it was raining as it does in Florida in the afternoons,

a deluge really coming down.

We have this open-air gymnasium,

and basically the whole camp was in there.

And I was standing on the porch of that gymnasium,

and I happened to be standing in a puddle,

and I happened to have my hand resting against this metal downspout that was there,

when lightning struck a post about 20 meters away from me.

Now, however that electricity flowed,

part of the flow of least resistance was through my arm.

And so I was thrown back from that lightning strike,

and thankfully I was okay.

I probably should have gone to the hospital.

I didn't go to the hospital.

But my arm ached all day,

and maybe, maybe, just maybe,

that's the day I started losing my hair.

I'm not sure.

It's the idea of the path of least resistance

in that story that reminds me of this passage.

So the disciples here of Jesus

have been traveling with the Lord for a few years,

but they're still unclear.

They're still unclear on his purpose and his mission.

But we see it even in verse 32,

if you go up from the passage I just read,

verse 32,

they were on their way to Jerusalem.

Jesus was walking ahead of them,

and he tells them plainly in verse 34

that they're going to kill him.

So he is being clear.

The disciples are just not quite getting it.

James and John here in this passage,

our passage,

they wanted the path of least resistance.

They wanted glory as fast

and as painlessly as possible.

They wanted to be served without serving.

They wanted to sit next to King Jesus

when he conquered the Romans,

but they didn't really want the mess

that came of that along the way.

They wanted a conquering king.

They didn't want a dying servant.

And just like these disciples

needed a wake-up call

to the sobering and glorious reality

of who Jesus is

and what he came to do,

we need that too.

We need to be sobered by the humble Christ

that the Lord Jesus

came to die

and to serve humanity.

And that is why we should worship him.

I want you to see and respond in worship

to the beauty of Christ,

the perfect servant.

Why is Christ's servanthood

worthy of our worship?

I want to show you two reasons

from the text

to worship Jesus this morning.

There's many reasons.

I just want to show you two

from this text

why we should worship Jesus.

Firstly, worship Jesus.

He's the suffering servant.

Look back at verse 35.

James and John,

the sons of Zebedee,

approached him and said,

Teacher,

we want you to do

whatever we ask.

What do you want me to do for you?

He asked them.

They answered him,

Allow us to sit on your right

hand, your right and your left

in your glory.

Jesus said to them,

You don't know what you're asking.

Are you able to drink the cup I drink

or to be baptized

with the baptism I am baptized with?

We are able, they told him.

Jesus said to them,

You will drink the cup and I drink

and you will be baptized

with the baptism I am baptized with.

But to sit at my right or left

is not mine to give.

Instead, it is for those

for whom it has been prepared.

James and John,

you either love them

or you just get really annoyed by them.

I mean,

who do these hotshots

think they are?

Apparently,

they think much of themselves.

The sons of thunder

were bold

and seemingly a bit brash

at times.

And here,

man,

they just go for it.

They just go for it.

They believe

that Jesus is the Messiah,

but they don't yet understand

what kind of Messiah

they're following.

They fully expect

that Jesus will conquer the Romans

and deliver his people

from worldly oppression.

That's what they expect.

But Jesus had been really clear.

Like I said,

he was going to come and die.

Yet,

James and John here

are really happy

to ask a favor

of the Lord.

They wanted power

and privilege

just like the Romans had.

That's what they wanted.

They were actually

going to bring

exactly what they wanted

to end.

It's going to reveal

a little bit

in that question

of can we sit here.

The radical way

of the cross

seemed to be

the furthest

from their minds.

But Jesus

graciously tells them

that they don't

know what

they're asking.

Verse 38.

They don't know

what they're asking.

He then

flips it,

as Jesus tends to do,

and asks them

a question.

Look at the question

in verse 38.

Are you able

to drink the cup

I drink

or to be baptized

with the baptism

I am baptized with?

So,

the Lord Jesus Christ

holds a unique place

when it comes to suffering.

His cup of suffering,

that's the cup

that Jesus is talking about,

this cup of suffering,

his cup is bearing

the wrath

of God's judgment

for sinners.

No one else

could ever

or will ever

do that.

He's unique

in that way.

The idea of baptism

here pictures

the complete

suffering,

the overwhelmingness

in his suffering,

the immersion

in suffering,

the drowning

in suffering.

That's the unique

place of Jesus.

Excuse me.

James and John,

though,

still don't get it

because they answer

his question.

Sure,

we're able.

Yeah,

Lord,

we can take it.

We can drink the cup.

Could someone maybe

get me a cup of water?

That would be great.

Thanks, Sam.

They're like,

yeah,

that's their proud response.

We can do it.

We can do it.

It's an easy response

to a really sobering question.

Jesus tells them,

verse 39,

oh,

yes,

you will

drink a cup

of suffering.

The Apostle Paul

later

writes to the Romans

that Christians

are children of God.

And he says this,

you don't have to turn there,

but he says this

in chapter 8,

verse 17.

He says,

and if children,

you are heirs,

heirs of God

and co-heirs

with Christ.

Thanks, brother.

If,

indeed,

we suffer with him

so that we may

also be glorified

with him.

the way

of kingdom leadership

and discipleship

is the way

of suffering.

Now,

Jesus alone

will suffer

for the sins

of humanity,

but what Jesus

is telling James

and John

is they will suffer.

That cup of suffering

is also going

to be theirs.

And we know,

because we can look back,

James was murdered

with the sword.

John was exiled

to a lonely island.

Are you able

to drink the cup

I drink?

This is what Jesus asked.

Think about that question.

Are you able

to drink the cup

that I drink?

Jesus Christ,

the Lord of all things,

the maker of heaven

and earth,

the timeless,

eternal Son of God,

the second person

of the Trinity,

he chooses

a cup of suffering,

a baptism,

an immersion

of suffering.

He does this

to serve humanity.

He does not take

the path

of least resistance.

He takes the path

of most resistance.

The last verse

in our passage,

therefore,

even the Son of Man

did not come

to be served,

but to serve

and to give his life

as a ransom

for many.

brethren and sisters,

he is the king

that leads you

into battle.

He is the commander

who is first

on the battlefield

and he is the last

to leave.

He is the rescuer

who saves you

from the fire

while getting

burned himself.

He is the shield

that takes

all the blows

that you deserve.

He is the high tower

that is bombarded

to protect you.

He is the Passover

lamb slain

on your behalf.

Jesus Christ

is worthy

of your worship

this morning

because he is

the suffering

servant.

Are you too proud

this morning

to be served

by Christ?

Christ?

Are you too proud

to be served

by Christ?

This often is a

stumbling block

for people coming

to faith,

isn't it?

They are often

too proud

to admit

that their sin,

their lives,

their mess,

their heart

are all too much

for them

to deal with.

Is that you

this morning?

Are you too proud

to need a savior?

Are you too proud

to be served

by someone?

Or maybe you

are a Christian

this morning.

In humility,

you have trusted

Christ.

But brother

and sister,

have you forgotten

the tenderness

of Jesus?

Have you forgotten

the tenderness

of Jesus?

Jesus left

the glories

of heaven

to serve

you.

And sometimes

we think of that

and we think

it's just like

some idea

of you

or we think

he came to

serve you,

ye,

humanity,

but he came

to serve you

by name.

He came to

serve you

by name.

He came to

serve Sam

and Noah

and Cherry

and Becca

and Ben

and Alex

and Asia

and Ralph.

He came

to serve

you.

You!

Christ came.

He is the

servant of servants.

Brethren and sister,

when you are

at your lowest,

Christ is there

to gently

lift

your head,

to hold

your hand.

When your

depression

feels

inescapable,

Christ is

there to

serve you.

When your

anxiety

is off

the charts

and you

feel completely

out of

control,

Christ

delights

to serve

you.

Parents,

when you

feel completely

incapable

of the task

set before

you,

which is like

all the time,

Christ's

strength

is there

in your

weakness.

His heart

for you

is never

fickle.

His heart

for you

is never

fickle.

He does

not waver

in his

affections

for you.

He does

not get

annoyed

with your

struggles

or your

sinful

tendencies.

As one

author

put it,

serving

sinners

is what

gets

the Lord

Jesus

Christ

up in

the

morning.

He

delights

to serve

you.

The

enemy,

Satan,

wants you

to forget

this.

He wants

you to

stumble

and feel

like there

is no

help.

He wants

you to

sin

and feel

like you

can't be

forgiven.

He wants

you to

feel

independent

like you

can take

care of

yourself.

But

brother and

sister,

you cannot

take care

of

yourself.

You need

a Savior

to serve

you.

You need

Jesus just

as much

today as

the very

first day

that you

cried out

for his

mercy to

save you

from your

sin.

And so,

I call

you and

myself to

believe that

the Son of

God who

created all

things is

1000%

for you.

He is

never

against you.

He is

willing to

grow.

If He's

willing to

go to

the cross

to bear

your sin

and shame,

He is

willing to

walk with

you through

the darkness.

He is

willing to

sit with

you patiently

in your

doubts

and your

fears.

The Lord

Jesus Christ,

the second

person of

the Trinity,

will serve

you.

He will

serve you

comfort.

He will

serve you

joy.

He will

serve you

peace.

He will

serve you

grace that

transforms you

into His

very likeness.

And it

is that

transforming

grace that

empowers you

to do

exactly what

Asia talked

about these

believers in

Mongolia,

empowers you

to serve

others.

To serve

others.

To bear

each other's

burdens.

To weep

with those

who weep.

Husbands,

it frees

you to

love your

wives as

Christ loves

the church.

It allows

you to

give

sacrificially

to the

kingdom.

It allows

you to

think of

others'

needs

before

yourself.

It allows

you to

take

insult

and derision

because you

are proclaiming

Christ

and loving

the people

around you.

His

service

enables

you

to

suffer

for

others.

His

service

for you

allows you

to drink

a cup

of

suffering.

And when

you think

you deserve

something,

like James

and John,

when you

think you

are entitled

to something,

remember,

you are

entitled to

nothing but

death and

judgment.

the wages

of sin

is death.

You've

earned it.

You

earned it.

But when

you were

desperately

broken in

your sin

and owed

a debt

that could

only be

paid in

hell for

eternity,

Christ

suffered

for you.

Worship

Jesus

because he

is the

suffering

servant.

Secondly,

worship

Jesus.

He's

the

truly

great

one.

Look at

verse 41.

When the

ten

disciples

heard this,

they began

to be

indignant

with

James

and

John.

Jesus

calling

them

over

and

said

to

them,

you

know

that

those

who

are

regarded

as

rulers

of

the

Gentiles

lorded

over

them,

and

those

in

high

positions

act

as

tyrants

over

them.

But

it

is

not

so

among

you.

On

the

contrary,

whoever

wants

to

become

great

and

whoever

wants

to

be

first

among

you

will

be

slave

to

all.

For

even

the

Son

of

Man

did

not

come

to

be

served,

but

to

serve

and

to

give

his

life

as

a

ransom

for

many.

Here

we

see

the

other

disciples'

response

to

James

and

John's

request.

They're

a bit

upset.

Shocking.

They're

upset.

They're

indignant.

They're

angry.

They're

annoyed.

They're

resentful.

Who

are

these

guys

to

think

that

they

can

sit

on

the

right

and

left

of

Jesus?

More

than

likely,

they're

a little

bit

miffed

that

they

didn't

ask

the

question

first.

Like

always,

Jesus

turns

their

petty

conflict

into

this

amazing

teachable

moment.

And

this

wasn't

the

disciples'

first

time

entering

into

this

kind

of

discussion.

Just

the chapter

before

in Mark

9,

we read

that the

disciples

are

arguing

among

themselves

who's

the

greatest.

Can

you

imagine?

Can

you

imagine

discussing

who is

the

greatest

while in

the

presence

of

Jesus?

Seems

shocking,

right?

Like we

would never

do

something

like

that.

I

think

we

probably

do

that

more

often

than

we

think

we

do.

These

disciples

were

literally

walking

in the

footsteps

of

greatness.

They

have

seen

the

Lord

Jesus

heal

disease.

They

seen

him

give

sight

to

the

blind,

cast

out

demons,

raise

the

dead.

Peter,

James,

and

John

saw

him

transfigured

into

glory.

They're

arguing

who's

the

greatest

among

them.

It's

a little

glimpse

at the

human

heart,

isn't

it?

And

here

again

in

chapter

10,

the

disciples

are

arguing

and

competing

for

position.

So

he

gathers

them

in,

kind

of

like

a

team

huddle,

and

he

starts

laying

out

the

reality

of

discipleship

and the

kingdom

of

God,

what the

reality of

greatness

really is.

Verse 42,

he reminds

them of

the pagan

leaders

around them,

how they

see them,

that those

rulers

lord their

power over

them,

that they're

tyrants,

that they're

dictators.

And then in

verse 43,

Jesus says

his kingdom

should have

none of that.

that should

not be

among you.

Do you

want to be

great?

Be great

servants.

Do you

want

status?

Put

yourself

at the

bottom.

This

is the

upside

down,

inside

out

kingdom

of

God.

The

way up

in

God's

kingdom

is

down.

This

pushes

against

everything

the world

tells you,

doesn't

it?

Look at

verse 45

again.

It's the

crux of

the

passage,

the crux

of the

whole

gospel

of Mark.

Jesus

did not

come to

be served,

but to

serve and

give his

life as

a ransom

for many.

That's

astounding.

It's just

astounding.

A ransom

is a

costly

payment to

set a

captive

free.

That's

what a

ransom

is.

We

sang

about

it.

If

you

have

trusted

Christ

for your

salvation,

brother and

sister,

your

ransom

is

paid

in

full.

You

are

free.

Free

from the

condemnation

of sin.

Free

from an

eternity

of death

and judgment.

Free

to love

God

and love

others.

The

person

and the

work

of

Jesus

redefines

greatness.

He

redefines

greatness.

Greatness

is

suffering

for

and

serving

others.

But

you know

what the

world

considers

great

though.

More.

Greatness

is having

more

in the

world.

More

money,

you should

have the

biggest

home

possible.

You

should

go

wherever

the money

takes

you.

Your

salary

indicates

your

value.

More

influence.

That's

what the

world

says

is

great.

The

influence

that

you

have,

you

should

compromise

for

position

and

power

at

work.

That's

what

you

should

do

to

be

great.

You

should

never

take

a

role

that

you

feel

is

beneath

you.

You

must

make

sure

any

contribution

that

you

make

is

noticed.

That's

what's

great

to the

world.

More

money,

more

influence,

more

status.

Your

children

should

be in

the

best

schools.

You

should

have

the

best

car.

You

should

have

the

nicest

things.

Even

countries

think this

way,

don't

they?

Nations

think

this

way.

Greatness

is

measured

by the

strength

of the

economy,

the

power

of the

military,

or if

they

have

a

seat

at

the

table

of

influence.

That's

what

makes

you

great.

So

when

Jesus

reveals

this

truth

in

43

and

44,

on the

contrary,

whoever

wants to

become

great

among you

will be

your

servant.

When

he reveals

that,

we have

to recognize

it is

socially

unacceptable.

You

can

imagine

one of

his

disciples

saying

in

this

moment,

no,

Jesus,

that is

not how

the

world

works.

But

we

must

equally

imagine

Jesus

smiling

and

saying,

you're

right,

but I

have

overcome

the

world.

The

Savior

of the

world

does

not

claim

his

victory

by slaying

his

enemies

in

battle.

He

does

not

plunder

his

enemies.

He

does

not

lord

his

status

over

his

enemies.

Remember,

you

were

his

enemies.

He

claimed

victory

by

dying

for

his

enemies.

Dying

for you

and

for me.

This

is

greatness.

To

be

great,

he

became

the

servant

of

all.

Jesus

Christ

is

redefining

greatness.

Actually,

he's

probably

just

showing

us

what

uncorrupted

greatness

really

is.

And

this

is

not

what

the

world

wants.

The

world

perceives

this

as

weakness,

but

it

is

glory.

Paul

tells

us

in

Philippians

2

that

Jesus

emptied

himself

by

assuming

the

form

of

a

servant,

taking

on

the

likeness

of

humanity.

And

when

he

had

become

a

man,

he

humbled

himself

and

became

obedient

to the

point

of

death,

even

death

on

a

cross.

So,

Jesus

was

obedient,

a

suffering,

submissive

servant,

to the

point of

death

on a

cross.

Paul

continues

in that

passage

in

Philippians

2,

for

this

reason,

as a

result

of

Jesus

humbling

himself

and

dying

on a

cross

for

the

sin

of

humanity,

for

this

reason,

God

has

highly

exalted

him.

He

has

given

him

a

name

that

is

above

every

name.

At

the

name

of

Jesus,

every

knee

will

bow

and

every

tongue

will

confess

that

Jesus

Christ

is

Lord

to

the

glory

of

God

the

Father.

The

servanthood

of

Jesus

leads

to

glory.

The

servanthood

of

Jesus

leads

to

glory.

Every

single

knee

from

Adam

and

Eve

to

you

and

me

will

bow

in

humility

and

submission

to

King

Jesus.

Every

tongue

willingly

or

unwillingly

will

confess

that

he

is

Lord.

The

human

heart

resists

this.

It

is

socially

unacceptable

that

your

sin

requires

payment.

It

is

backward

thinking

and

weak

that

you

need

someone

to

rescue

you

because

you

can't

rescue

yourself.

It

is

foolishness

for

Jesus

to

give

his

life

as

a

ransom

for

many.

The

human

heart

doesn't

want

a

savior.

And

that's

often

again

the

objection.

And

that's

often

what

makes

it

so

difficult

to

accept.

You

do

not

want

to

embrace

someone

dying

in

your

place

on

a

cross.

You

hate

the

idea

of

a

substitute

because

it

shows

you

can't

do

it.

You

would

never

ever

want

your

king

to

die

on

a

cross.

You

know

why?

Because

in

this

world

everyone

thinks

that

they're

king.

This

is

what

James

and

John

didn't

realize

they

were

asking.

They

wanted

their

own

kingdom.

If

you

are

here

today

and

you

are

building

your

own

kingdom

I

have

news

for

you.

Your

kingdom

will

end.

It

will

end.

Every

knee

will

bow

to

Jesus.

No

one

is

bowing

to

you.

This

world

gives

you

a

corrupt

view

of

leadership

and

discipleship.

Jesus

says

in

42

it's

a

pagan

view.

The

Gentiles

are

lording

it

over

them.

Climbing

the

ladder

of

success

or

the

ladder

of

status

in

the

church

is

not

the

way

of

Christ.

can I

just

tell

you

that

you

are

not

competing

with

one

another.

You

are

not

competing

with

one

another.

If

you

are

clamoring

for

recognition

repent.

If

you

want

greater

status

in

the

church

or

at

work

or

with

your

friends

repent.

If

you

are