Lead By Serving

“For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”  Mark 10:45

James and John, two of Jesus’ disciples, were brothers.  One day they got this idea that they were qualified to sit beside Jesus in His coming kingdom, so they asked Him if He would do something for them that they desired.  He asked them what they wanted.  They answered, “Grant unto us that we may sit, one on Your right hand, and the other on Your left hand, in Your glory.”  I am not certain as to the time frame about which they were thinking, but I do know that the disciples, along with many who were following Jesus, were of the belief that He was going to conquer the Romans and set up His kingdom in Jerusalem in the near future.  Thus, they were likely asking for those seats in His administration.  The disciples weren’t that heavenly minded before Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.  It was more about the here and now for them and not about Jesus’ future kingdom in heaven.  God had not revealed His entire plan to them as of yet because they were not ready to receive it.

Jesus then asked them if they could drink of the cup that He would drink from and be baptized with the same baptism that He would soon experience, and they answered in the affirmative.  He told them that they would indeed drink of the cup and be baptized, but He was speaking of the persecution that would follow them after He was gone back to heaven.  Those details had not yet been revealed to them either, at least not in a way that they understood.  Jesus then said that the positions at His right and left hands were not His to assign, but they would be given to those for whom those positions were prepared.

When the other ten disciples heard that James and John were asking for special privileges, they became angry.  I would have to think that they all, except maybe for Judas, would have desired to sit on Jesus’ right and left hand, and they didn’t appreciate James’ and John’s attempt to get ahead of them, go to the head of the line, so to speak.  Jealousy can rear its ugly head, even among followers of Christ.  To quell their argument, Jesus reminded them that the Gentiles, most of whom were not yet followers of Christ, were all about power and had built up a chain of command, likely referring to the Romans.  In effect, the disciples were acting like the very ones whom they disliked.

However, Jesus also reminded them that this is not the way that it is to be with His followers.  He told them that “whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.” (Mark 10:43-44)  He then pointed out that His goal was not to be served, but to serve and give His life a ransom for many.  Thus He set the example for us all:  if we wish to be in a place of leadership, we must be willing to serve.  Skills for leadership are developed through serving.  The disciples didn’t quite understand His reasoning then, but in time they came to be some of the greatest servant/leaders of ancient times.  Thus if we desire to lead, we must first be willing to follow.