Being Great Before The Lord | Mark 10:35-45 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Series)

Don't you love singing about the blood? It reaches to the highest mountains, and it flows to the lowest valleys. Well, before I ask you to turn me to Mark chapter 10 where we're going to resume where we last left off, I'm gonna ask you to turn to Luke chapter one beginning in verse 15, and really just verse 15 is what I want to bring to our attention here. This is spoken of not the Christ, but the forerunner of Christ, John the Baptist, and there is a statement made here about his destiny, about his calling, about who he is that I think is convicting and encouraging at the same time. In Luke one fifteen, we read, for he will be great before the Lord, and he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb.

It's that first part of verse 15 that I wanna highlight. For he will be great before men, before the world, before Herod, before the synagogues, in the temple. No. He will be great before the Lord. Other translations would say, he will be great in the sight of the Lord.

You know, there are many people who are ambitious in life, many people who are even ambitious within ambitious within Christendom, and they wanna be great. They wanna do great things. They wanna make great impact. But for what purpose? And what measure are you using in terms of the evaluation of the greatness that you're seeking after?

If we're not careful, we can be people who seek after greatness before everyone except for the Lord, but that was not true of this man of God. He would be great, and though he was acknowledged and though he was respected in many ways by others, his preoccupation and God's longing was that he would be great before the Lord. And the reason why I bring this to us is because as we come to our main text in Mark chapter 10, we're going to see these disciples of Jesus who also wanted to pursue greatness. Greatness in Christ's kingdom, but for all the wrong reasons. And their understanding of greatness was so warped, so skewed.

And here Christ, the great teacher, is going to teach them yet again of what true greatness looks like, how the Lord esteems greatness. But before we even get to that reminder in this text, there's so many other things that we have to explore. So turn with me to Mark chapter 10 beginning in verse 35. What has been allotted to us this afternoon are 10 verses, and the spiritual banquet that has been prepared for us by the Holy Spirit has been provided in the format of a dialogue between the Lord Jesus and a family. And as you can imagine, in preparing a text where the text is primarily a conversation between two or more parties, guidance that I wanna present to you that will hopefully help gather our gleanings from these verses and to categorize them so that they can be memorable for us.

So let's read not all these 10 verses, but the first few, and then I wanna tell you what we are going to be exploring under these headings, and then we'll ask for the Holy Spirit's help. In verse 35 of Mark chapter 10, we read, 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? And 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 my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.

Lord, we ask for the spirit of wisdom and revelation. May these truths by the power of your Holy Spirit fortify us in our faith, in our consecration to you. And even in this text, may you peel away any hindrance, any veil that blinds us or blurs the vision of the absolute beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ. Help us see the Christ. Help us see the son of God.

Help us see the personal savior even in these verses we pray. In Jesus' name, amen. I wanna speak to you in this text about four things. The first thing is the request. The second thing is the rebuke.

The third thing is the ruling. And the last thing is the reminder. The request, the rebuke, the ruling, the reminder. In the first two verses, we have the request of two disciples. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, they came up to the Lord and they asked him.

They asked him for a guarantee. They asked him for an approval for a particular request that they did not make known just yet. And if we're not careful, we can pluck this verse or these two verses out of its context and use it as a proof text to encourage believers to be bold in approaching Christ in prayer. And there are many places in the Bible where you and I are encouraged to have confidence before the throne of grace, but this is not an appropriate example for that. This is actually a bad example of what prayer is about.

Again, you have these two disciples who come to Christ and they ask the Lord for a guarantee, for an approval even before making their request known. Did you catch that? Lord, would you just say yes to what we're about to ask you? And there is no specific desire being made known here, and it's an attempted pursuit to have Christ agree and to consent regardless of the nature of the request. And so instead of this being an example of what prayer should look like, this is what we see.

This This is an illustration of what many people mistakenly believe prayer is about. That if I just come to Jesus and package my wishes in faith filled prayer, he's gonna give me whatever I ask. No. That's not how prayer works. Doesn't matter if you tag that request with in Jesus name.

It doesn't matter if you pray in the King James. It doesn't matter how long you pray. The confidence in our prayer is not that Jesus is our genie. The confidence in our prayer is what first John five verse 14 says, where the apostle of love spells out the confidence and the contingency of our confidence in the place of prayer. He writes in first John five fourteen, and this is the confidence that we have toward him.

That if we ask according anything according to his will, he hears us. Ask. Ask anything. Ask freely. Ask with holy courage.

Ask. And this is something that we should be confident about. We can approach this mighty God. We can come with heavy hearts. We can come with exciting ideas.

We can come before him and ask anything upon this contingency if it's in accordance to his will. And so do you wanna know how you can grow in confidence in prayer? It's very simple. Grow in your knowledge of the will of God. Be familiar with what he desires.

Be acquainted with what his promises are. Know down deep inside what it is that he is willing to grant. I would even say, look at the past records of what the Lord was willing to back up with his power and his provision. If you want to grow in confidence in the place of prayer, you must also feed into your understanding of the will of God, the mind of God. You know, knowing the bible feeds many things and perhaps you did not know this, but it also feeds the courage and the precision of your intercession, of your supplication, of you coming before him and believing that he will hear you.

And this is where James and John went wrong. They wanted the stamp of approval before they even gave and understood if their request was in alignment with his will. And the Lord's Lord's response to the request confirms this. Right? Look here in the the same verse we read where they ask in the next verse 36, he said to them, what do you want me to do for you?

He didn't say, yeah, you got it. He didn't say, I'll do as you say. No. No. No.

No. He's taking this opportunity to train his disciples to be specific with their prayers. Yes. But also to compare their desires and to line it up with the mind of God. So let's talk about what you want.

What do you want me to do for you? Say it. The Lord knew. The Lord knew what they wanted. He's all knowing.

But it's for them to confess. It's for them to blurt it out. It's for them to bring it to the light, and to bring it before the presence of Christ to see if it actually holds weight, if it's legitimate, if it's appropriate. You see the Lord in his wisdom and love must if he loves you and if he is all wise, then he must consider your motivations and mine, your goals and mine. He has to.

He has to screen them. No good parent would give their child anything that they ask, And it would be good for us for time to time to step back and take the principle of Jesus's question here and apply it to ourselves. What is it that you truly desire of the Lord? What do your prayers look like? What do they sound like?

What's the theme of your request? And then take it further and ask why you're asking those things. Again, the Lord knew what they wanted, but he wanted them to investigate further. He wanted them to seek it and understand it in a deeper way because what you pray about reveals a lot about you. I don't know if you know that, but what you pray about reveals much about you.

And he wants them to look at what they're asking for and to from there ask, why am I asking for this? Why am I seeking the Lord for this? And again, prayer will reveal what you believe about God. Some people don't pray. You know what that reveals?

They don't believe God. They don't want intimacy with God. They don't actually trust that he can make a way. And some people do pray, but again, what they are presenting before the Lord says what they believe about God and even more what they believe about themselves. And the disciples are not hesitant to make the request plainly known.

Look at verse 37 again. And they said to him, grant us to sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your glory. This seems like a a random invocation. Right? Seems like it's coming out of nowhere, but it's not random and especially when you compare it to the parallel account found in Matthew chapter 20.

In Matthew 20, you have the same scene spelled out but with different details. But before we even visit Matthew chapter 20, you have to remember what happened in Matthew 19. Jesus promised the disciples that this this group of 12 something before we come to this moment. And we touched on this a few weeks ago, but let's let's visit it again for the sake of remembrance. Matthew 19 verse 28.

Turn your bibles there and look at this glorious assurance that Christ gives to these apostles in training. What awaits them in the millennial glory? What is to come for their service, the reward that is prepared. In Matthew nineteen twenty eight, Jesus said to them, truly I say to you, in the new world when the son of man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. Again, you gotta fit that somewhere in your theology.

Is there gonna be judgment? Is there gonna be such administration in the eternal realm? No. It doesn't make sense. And we know that in this lifetime, in in this world, in this age, the disciples are not sitting on 12 thrones in Israel.

They will one day when Christ comes back and sets up his throne in Jerusalem. And so the disciples hear this, they go, no way. We got a throne with our name on it. Each of us are gonna get a throne? And you would think that would suffice as such an exaltation to be granted to these unworthy fishermen and tax collectors and other blue collar folk.

But James and John, in hearing about the nature of the reward, look at each other. I think we're better than these other guys. What do you think, John? I I like the way you're thinking, James. I think we are better.

And so here they are taking in the the promise of Christ and they're mixing it with the lust for esteem and fame and authority, and that's that's a bad recipe. And what's now cooking in their hearts is this audacity to approach Christ and to ask him for the highest seats, to be the closest to him, To be even ruling not just above these tribes, but above the other apostles. We wanna sit at your right and at your left. And here's what's so complicated about this request, because in a positive way, it reveals their faith. Is it not?

They believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. The nature of this request shows that they actually trust that he will rule and reign, that he is the one that they have been waiting for. But at the same time with this declaration of faith, you have their hearts that are polluted and muddied by selfish ambition and wanting to take advantage of already the fact that they are close to Christ, part of that inner circle with Peter. Right? They're taking advantage of that and they want greater leadership.

They wanna be served. They want shinier crown, so to speak. They want more, and for all the wrong reasons. And here's the lesson that we can take from this request, this mingling of faith and flesh. You can have faith and still act in the flesh.

You can't have sincere faith and live unrepentantly in the flesh, but let me, my brother and my sister give you a friendly reminder of what the disciples of Jesus Christ. I'm not talking about the 12, I'm talking about the disciples of Christ today are capable of. You can have good solid doctrine. You can believe the right things and still say, do and think contrary to your convictions. We believe Christ is going to rule and reign, but we're puff with pride.

Is that possible? Absolutely. So don't get surprised when disciples of Jesus disappoint. The original guys are disappointing us. And and you want to throw in the towel because you're disappointed by some people in the church?

Some people who bear the name of Christ? I learned here that you can you can have faith and still be fleshly to an extent. And we look at this and we're ready to look at others and be like, okay, that makes sense of why so and so acts that way. No. I look at this and I say, Lord Jesus, cleanse me.

Cleanse my heart from self interest as I pursue spiritual things. Cleanse my heart from selfish ambition and pride as I seek to serve you and your people. I don't wanna just be pure of my doctrine. I wanna be pure of my life. These guys got it all twisted.

And if you think it's bad now, it only gets worse when you consider the wider context. James and John are not the only ones in on this ploy. I told you where the parallel account was. Right? Matthew chapter 20.

Turn there and look at another character in this story. Matthew 20 and look at verse 20. This is the mirroring account in Matthew 20 verse 20. And here's what we read, then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons and kneeling before him, she asked him for something. So just isn't James and John here, we got mom on the scene.

How did this happen? According to Matthew, there is another person to consider. And obviously, she agreed to this and she believed that her sons were justified in asking for this right. And at first, it doesn't seem clear where this idea originated. Did it come from the boys or did it come from mom?

I'm under the persuasion that when you consider the weight of evidence that it started with James and John, you see this cycling of who wants to be the greatest in many of their conversations throughout the gospels. And if that is the case, then this reveals a couple of things. The first thing that it reveals is that one of the ugly manifestations of pride is that it finds no problem taking advantage of others. Pride takes prisoners. And how sad it is that these young men felt it appropriate to recruit their mother on the scheme.

And to tell their mother, mom, we need you to do something for us. You're an elder woman. You're obviously respected by virtue of age. And so, would you go to Jesus? And would you ask him if we can sit on the right and left of his throne?

And here's this poor mother who now comes before the Lord and she kneels before him, we read. She even she even uses the mask of worship and reverence and adoration, which is a picture of how we can use worship and think that we can manipulate the will of God. You can't manipulate God. And so here's this mother now kneeling before him and asking him for the same thing that we've just read here in Mark chapter 10. Self promotion hurts other people.

Did you hear me? Self promotion will always hurt relationships. Not just the mother. Look at this low that they brought her to, but what would this do for the other 10 apostles? We read later on that they were indignant in verse 41 for the wrong reasons, but this had the potential to sever relationships.

And so we see here that there is pride and pride takes prisoners and it wounds and it bruises relationships. It has no problem stepping over others, using others, bulldozing over others so that you can satisfy that lust. But there's a second thing to learn here with the presence of this mother. She's a disappointing example of a parent. Isn't she?

How did you even agree to this? You're the mother, a Middle Eastern mother. How did you agree to this? How did you succumb to this scheme? How did you give in?

And remember, this mother is not just a random person. She herself is a follower of Jesus Christ. I encourage you to go to the last portions of the book of Matthew in your own time and read of the woman who are there standing at a distance from the cross, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee was present. She followed Christ. She loved the Lord.

She believed the Lord. So she had an understanding of the will of God, of the character of of God in the person of Jesus Christ. She wasn't held hostage. She agreed obviously when she should have redirected, and she should have corrected, and she should have trained her boys not to think like this. And when I meditate on this, I thought to myself there are cases when the fleshliness of some is the result of the failure of parents who did not lovingly and wisely redirect the murky mindsets of those who have been entrusted to them.

To disciple your kids. And when you see the way they're thinking about God and the way they're thinking about life, it's your duty to lovingly, wisely, carefully yes to step in and say, son, daughter, you're not thinking right here. You can't force your kids to do anything. You can't be legalistic with your kid. You're gonna you're gonna turn them off in another way.

But there is a healthy responsibility and approach that must be made to say, you're not thinking right here and it's my duty given by God to speak into your life. As long as you live here, I have to say, this is not right. This is not right. And if they're old enough, you step away and let them make their own choice. But you do what you need to do to speak truth to them.

It's not the youth pastor's job to raise your children. Parents, if you expect your children to get truth one hour or two out of a week, it's not gonna cut it with the avalanche of filth that they are fighting off every single day. And so we see these two come up to their mother and somehow she gives in. And it reminds me of David. We've been studying about David's life and now we're in Solomon's life.

And this verse always rings in the back of my mind whenever I consider biblical parenthood. In first Kings chapter one verse six, when we speak about Adonijah, who tried to just do what James and John are doing in his own world, trying to seize the throne from Solomon, thinking that he deserves it even this is crazy. He even knew that it was the Lord's will for Solomon to be the king, and he still wanted it. And then the Holy Spirit writes this down in the beginning of this book to instruct us one of the failures that led to this man to believe this about himself. First Kings one six.

His father had never at any time displeased him by asking, why have you done thus and so? David was a great king. He was a bad dad. David was a worship leader, but he couldn't lead most of his children to worship the true God. He never displeased them.

He he never wanted to step on their toes. He never wanted to ruin their plans. Whatever was in David's mind, the Holy Spirit tells us that there was a contribution of his negligence that led to the monster that Adonijah was. I know what some of you might be thinking. Where are your kids for you to be preaching to us, preacher?

I understand. But I don't preach from experience. I preach from the Bible. And if you think this is all disappointing, it actually gets worse. I'm sorry.

This actually gets worse. And when you consider the wider context, again, you can disconnect 35 to 37 from Mark chapter 10, and you can still make a case for the shortcoming of these disciples, but consider where it has been placed. And when you consider where it has been placed, then you will understand the insensitivity and the impudence, the lack of respect of these two. Did we forget what happened right before James and John approached Christ to ask for this? Let me remind you Mark chapter 10 again in verse 34.

Jesus telling them what's about to happen in a few days in Jerusalem. He says, and they will mock him and spit on him and flog him and kill him, and after three days he will rise. He told them of his death, his suffering, his resurrection, and this is the response of James and John. Instead of being moved by the humility of Jesus Christ, instead of being humbled by how their mindset and their belief system about the Messiah was not complete and to ask further questions about what this means. They're so preoccupied with themselves.

They're so caught up about how they can secure their own future, and how they can be promoted using the name of Jesus. This is so heartbreaking. And again, I don't bring this to our attention so that we can find more reasons to belittle the disciples. I bring this to our attention so that with this mounting, devastating, heartbreaking attitude of these men, you see this ray of light of the absolute patience of the Lord Jesus Christ. How long suffering he is to deal with these kind of disciples.

Again, you read it you read this verse, what do you want me to do for you? You can see that as the Lord trying to have them cough up what they're saying. We can also see this the Lord willing to engage in conversation as a teaching tool. Willing to still manage the immaturity of these 12. Willing to still patiently work with them.

Willing to still walk with them, and love them, and train them, and rewire them. Willing. And if you're hearing this message today, no matter where you're at in life and you are discouraged because you are a person who knows what is true, like these disciples did, but still find yourself in some areas struggling in the flesh, do not let your discouragement cause you to be distant from the refiner. Don't let your flesh and the struggle against the flesh pull you away from the master. I see a patient Christ here.

I see a Christ here who reminds me of the word of the Lord in Malachi chapter three verse three, where we're told in there very specifically that the Lord who is ready to purify a remnant among Israel says there that he will sit to refine them. Doesn't it say that? He will sit. Notice, it doesn't say he will stand. He will sit implying what?

Patience. A willingness to remain and stay there. In what process? In the process of purifying you and me. He is much more patient than you can imagine.

I find with genuine wholehearted believers that they are less patient than Christ is with their growth and their sanctification. But here's the Lord. Here here's what we hear. He will sit and he will refine. He's slow to get up.

He's slow to give up. And this is the Lord for the rest of this chapter who's willing to engage with these stubborn, slow to believe, slow to get it. Again and again, what I found in my study of the gospels is a shepherd who loves his sheep. All these sheep that wander away, the sheep that takes so much time and attention from someone, that's Christ. No wonder he uses that language.

So this is all under the request, but now we come to the rebuke. A loving leader will rebuke, a loving shepherd will at times wound his sheep so that they can learn. And Jesus said to them in verse 38, you don't know what you're asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? I love the first part of verse 38.

You do not know what you are asking. It was true of the disciples and it's true for many disciples today. You don't really know the extent of your request, do you, James and John? They didn't. And I would say that some of our supplications that we make suffer from severe ignorance.

Ignorance of the wider implications of being granted such a thing. Ignorance of how what we think to be a positive provision, whatever kind of provision may be can actually bring more harm and hindrance than help and happiness. And you and I should rejoice. I wanna tell you that you and I should rejoice in many things and here's another category where you can praise God when he says no. And when he what you feel like is him ignoring your request, this is him actually not supplying your request, you can rejoice.

I know it doesn't feel good in the moment, but you you, I'm sure, can look back in your life and think to yourself, if you think carefully, I'm glad God didn't answer that prayer. I didn't know what I was asking for. And earlier, you heard how you and I must pray according to the will of God if we're to have confidence before him, but there's another layer to the will of God, not just the revealed will in the word, but his personalized will for your life. That also should be taken into consideration when we understand how prayer works. God has his objective will, his clear will for all believers, and he has a tailor made will for you.

And that's what we're often concerned by. Lord, what do you want me to where do you want me to go? Who do you want me to be? All these different things. And consider this, that you and I, as we ask, sometimes don't know what we're asking for And what you think will glorify God in this season is actually not going to glorify God at that time.

It will maybe at another time. Or what you think will bless you because you see it blessing somebody else. Oh, surely then it will bring the same kind of joy in my life, not necessarily so. The confidence that you and I have in praying according to the will of God is that you're praying to a God who knows what he has for you. And if it fits that, he will grant it and he will honor your faith.

And if it does it, then trust that he has your best in mind, best for his glory, best for your good. Ask. Again, ask freely, ask confidently. Don't be limited. Don't be shy.

But be at rest to know that even sometimes your emotions, your flesh can create a fog to your faith. And when you're asking, you think that this is the best option when in fact God knows it's not. You do not know what you're asking. And in the case of the ignorance of the disciples, he explains their ignorance. He says, are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am to be baptized?

This seems cryptic. This seems ambiguous. It's not. Because the symbol of a cup is familiar in the Hebrew scriptures. And in many places when a cup is defined, especially in relation to God and man, it speaks of God appointing something to someone.

And the substance of that cup can be joy, and it can be provision, and it can be prosperity. Right? So we think of that famous Psalm in Psalm 23 verse five, my cup overflows. But in most cases, the symbol and the idiom of a cup is actually a reference to the judgment of God and the wrath of God. You see that in Isaiah 51 verse 17, the cup of his wrath.

You read even in the Psalms of the wicked drinking from the cup of his anger or his judgment. We remember the words of the Lord Jesus who in that garden interceding and praying, asking the father if it was possible for this cup to be passed from him. Not my will, but your will be done. So this symbol of a cup, when Jesus says here, you don't know what you're asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?

This is a cup of suffering. This is a cup that is poured out by God's righteous indignation in the case of Christ, but the theme is suffering. And that's only double down here and it's solidified by this next metaphor or this picture, or be baptized with a baptism with which I am baptized. Again, we have this Christian narrow application of the word baptism, but in the original, it's a very simple term. It's a broad term.

It simply means immersion. And some believe that even the word baptism, as a translation does a disservice to how we view baptism. It speaks of being submerged in something. That clarifies a lot, doesn't it? I know that sounds controversial.

Submerged. Submerged. And even in the Hebrew scriptures, you see this picture in the theme of suffering of being overcome or submerged in waters. Eliphaz tells his friend Job, in Job twenty two eleven, that the flood of waters are over you in describing his plight. So what's Jesus collectively saying here?

He's saying, are you willing to suffer? You want exaltation and in the economy of God, the pathway to exaltation is suffering. You wanna be promoted in the next life and in great part, the degree of your exaltation is determined by what you're willing to endure here on earth. And Jesus looks at these men and he says, I'm about to drink and be immersed in suffering. Internal.

Internal suffering. External suffering before I know my exaltation. Are you willing to take the similar path to your promotion that you so badly want? Look what they said in verse 39. We are able.

Do you really know what you're asking for, you disciples? We are able and Jesus took him at their word. We are able. You're gonna drink and you will be baptized with this baptism. The first martyr who was an apostle was James, Acts chapter 12 verse two.

Who's the last martyr among the apostles? His brother John, who suffered lifelong persecution and was eventually abandoned on the island called Patmos according to Revelation chapter one verse nine. The first martyr among the apostles was James. The last one was John. He took them at their word.

You wanna drink it? Drink. You wanna be baptized? Here's your baptism. Now we come to the ruling.

We looked at the request. We looked at the rebuke. And in verse thirty nine and forty, we look at the ruling. And they said to them, we are able. And Jesus said to them, the cup that I drink, you will drink.

And in verse 40, he says, but to sit on my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. So Jesus prophesied their destinies on earth, and then he explains that the exact, at the same time, outcome of the reward is not readily available and knowable. Yes. You will suffer, but to give you what you're asking is not for me to grant. It's been prepared by the father according to Matthew.

It's already been determined by his foreknowledge. And so in my role here within the Godhead, that's not my responsibility. That doesn't make him any less God. And I believe even in this where we see Jesus clearly define their destiny on earth and it reminds them and explains them that what's to come is not to be known at this point, you see a valuable lesson. Right?

You're still gonna suffer even though you don't know the reward that's gonna be provided for your suffering. And that tells me something about what Christ expects of us and what Christ is worthy of. Christ is worthy of your sacrifice. And even if that sacrifice demands suffering, he's worthy of it whether you know the reward for it or not. Because he's the reward.

He's the goal. Not positions and not authority and not jewels and not treasures. Again, we read about these crowns. There are five different crowns that are mentioned in the New Testament. And I only see one purpose for crowns in the New Testament.

It's found in Revelation where those crowns were cast at the feet of the lamb. So if I'm gonna work for a crown, it's so that I can bring something of worth to the feet of Christ. As one preacher said, I don't wanna bring Jesus a paper mache crown. But who's the reward here? I can't determine whether or not you're gonna be able to sit in those two seats, but you're gonna suffer.

And James and John should have smiled anyway because Christ is the object of our goal. I will suffer. Come what may, because I'm doing it for him. I'm doing it for the smile of my master. So the ruling has been set, but now we come to the reminder.

And the reason why I named that heading the reminders because we've seen these truths before. Look at verse 41, and when the 10 heard it they began to be indignant at James and John. They weren't offended because of their sinfulness. They were offended because they got a head start. James and John asked Jesus for those privileged places, and here are the 10 who hear about it and they go, they beat us to it.

This isn't a righteous indignation. This is this is just as carnal as the two other ones. Pride does not bring unity, it it always brings a vision. And all you need is one person puffed up with unrepentant, unrestrained self promotion and it can bring ruin even to apostles. And when the 10 heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.

Now look at this, verse 42. And Jesus called them to him. Oh, isn't that a beautiful picture? I can't even read past that. Jesus so here's here's this teacher, wise, all knowing, pure in love, perfect in power, and he's seeing James and John here, and they're doing their thing.

And then he looks over to the 10, and they hear about it, and now he can sense something is brewing. And Jesus says, okay. Time out. Whistle. Come come.

Let me reel you in here. You know what I see from that? Jesus is the peacemaker. Only Jesus can heal pride. Only Jesus can take what is prone to division and mend it together and keep it.

He is the bond of love that unites our hearts. So if you want peace in your church, if you want peace in your marriage, if you want peace in your friendships, let Christ rule in that place. Let Christ reign in that place. You know, and our desire to see more members here at NBC and we're so blessed by all the members and the future members we praise God for, but we'll make the membership here a joyful experience as every person has Christ ruling on the throne of their hearts. That's how we will avoid potential disaster in our midst.

That's true for your spouse. That's true for your future spouse. Here is Christ who is able to bring in these men who are at odds with one another. And he says, you know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them and their great ones exercise authority over them. Pause.

You know. He's reminding them. You know what it's like to be ruled over others. I mean, they were under Roman oppression. You know.

And then he distinguishes this kind of understanding of greatness and leadership, and he says, this is of the world. The way you're thinking is worldly. You know that. Rulers of Gentiles, they lord over them. They they proclaim their greatness by how many people serve them and are under him.

And here's what we take from this. Even people who follow Christ, if you're not careful, pay attention to this. If you're not young people, hey, hey, check this out. You can be taking your cues from the world. You can be developing an understanding of what success, and identity, and purpose looks like from the unbelieving.

That's what these disciples are doing. They have translated what success looks like among the Gentiles and they have brought it into success in the kingdom of God. And Jesus, that's not of my kingdom. Notice what he says in verse 43, but it shall not be so among you. You're different.

My kingdom operates differently. This attitude and this under this not of my kingdom. And so you and I have to be on guard. As one preacher said it this way, you and I do not naturally drift into holiness. Leave yourself be and don't exercise these principles and these spiritual disciplines.

You're not going to naturally drift into godliness. You drift the opposite direction. And Christ comes with his word, his piercing word, and he says, that's not of you. That's not what it should be like for you. And he says in the next part, but whoever would be great among you must be your servant.

And whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. Have we not seen this before? We have seen this before. Mark nine. We read this in the previous chapter.

We studied about greatness in the kingdom of God and here we are again. The Holy Spirit found it necessary to record this conversation and place it in the very next chapter after we had a whole Sunday dedicated to it. Why? Because we forget. That's why.

A lot of us suffer from spiritual amnesia. We forget. We need to be reminded. It needs to be compacted again over and over be before it begins to materialize in real life. And Jesus had no problem teaching the same thing again.

He says, if you wanna be great, you have to be a servant. If you wanna be greatest, be a slave. A servant is one thing. To be a slave means that you're owned. You're owned by somebody else.

You wanna be the greatest? Consider everybody more significant than yourself. Consider everybody as those who are over you. Oh, this is real. Is it not?

Must be slave of all, and he doesn't just teach it now. He shows by way of example four verse 45. For even the son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. I'm not just telling you to do this, I'm showing you how to do it. That's a true teacher.

Side note, excellent verse to use against the enemies of the gospel who try to claim that Jesus never taught that his mission on earth was to die for the sins of man. There's some people out there who say that this is Paul's idea and our Christian theology comes from the apostle Paul and not from Christ. Well, here's one verse among many that shows that Jesus did believe that when he came on the earth is that he would come as a substitute for the sins of man. But that's not the primary purpose for his statement here. I show you.

I've exemplified. I'm ready to show the greatest act of servanthood as I'm ready to die and serve, yes, my father, but even the world through my blood being shed. Can I say something? You and I are closer to being like Jesus when we serve. When we serve.

I hope that's the cry of your heart. Lord, I wanna be like you in this world. That's a wonderful cry. That's a Holy Spirit cry. But you know how it's realized?

You know how you inch yourself closer to that? It's not by holding a microphone and preaching. It's not by having a grand ministry where people are listening and hearing and contributing. Jesus Jesus qualifies it. Serve others.

Put their needs above yours. And not just when the opportunity arise, intentionally serve others. Not when your course or for for force. No. Be eager to serve others.

That's where greatness is known, my kingdom. And we run-in the opposite direction of the way of the king and the law of his kingdom when we are captivated and we justify self promotion and self exaltation. That's not Christ. And so the request is clear. It was off.

And that's why it deserved loving rebuke. Jesus gave a ruling, a ruling for them, but a principle in that ruling for us. He is worthy to be served regardless of the reward being known or not. And the reminder, a reminder for these 12 and a reminder for you and I, that if we wanna be closest to Jesus and being like Jesus, we will follow in the steps of servanthood, looking at others and saying constantly, how can I serve them? How can I serve them?

What a way to end this time before we break bread. Verse 45, for even the son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. I wanna read to you Psalm 49 verse seven as we close. The psalmist says in Psalm 49 verse seven, truly no man can ransom another or give to God the price of his life, For the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice that he should live on forever and never see the pit. Here is the psalmist describing the weakness of wealth.

As much as it can get you in this life, it can never, no matter how great the price is, no matter the mountains of gold that you possess, it can never purchase everlasting life. And this language of ransom is so clear, Jesus utilizes it concerning himself and he says, I've come that I might be a ransom for many. Well, hold on. We learn here that no man can ransom another. Yes.

But we're talking about the God man. And he's not coming with silver or gold as Peter says, but with the preciousness of his own blood. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can ransom the soul of another. And you and I today are about to be reminded that we have been ransomed by the blood of Jesus Christ. That was the sole thing that would satisfy the justice and the demand of God, and the price has been paid.

But my question to you today is, has it been applied to your account? Are you still in debt? The only way that your debt of sin can be taken care of, the only transaction that is possible and satisfactory is if it has been signed with the blood of the lamb of God. And if you've accepted it freely to say there is no other payment I can make, there is no other payment somebody else can make for me, the only way I have a guarantee into the presence of God is through his son, the lord Jesus Christ. So if you've not made that decision to make Jesus Christ as Lord, you know you're a sinner.

The world knows that we have a sin problem where they're all confused and bumping heads as how do we solve it. And here's how we solve it. The savior, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, has declared that in his name and no other name under having given among men by which we must be saved. Are you saved? I'm a good boy.

Good boy ain't gonna cut it. I pay my taxes. Wonderful. I didn't commit murder. Have you hated your brother in your heart?

According to this kingdom, that's murder. Well, I've been faithful to my wife. Have you ever even thought for a moment of another woman who's not your wife? You're an adulteress. You're an adulterer.

There is no way to escape concerning the standard of holiness. Every single one of us have fallen short of the glory of God. Think with me now of a chasm. Here's this chasm. Here's you and I with the rest of the world, and here's God's holiness and his presence, and here's this big gap in between, and here's how we justify our holiness.

Here's one person who runs and he makes a leap and he comes very close to the edge of God's presence. And then you have others here who fall in the midway point or fall right away. No matter where you are in the spectrum of your morality, the Bible declares we have all fallen short of the glory of God. So don't compare yourself to the next person. Because as close as you think you are to your neighbor, in comparison to your neighbor, or to your wife, or to your children, or to your boss, we all fall.

And Christ comes and he builds a bridge through the cross, where if you realize that you with your silly little moral legs can't plunge yourself further enough to reach him and to simply take the path that he's called you to take in Christ, that's how you're saved. That's how you know forgiveness of sin. And so if you're not a believer in this place, I encourage you from the bottom of my heart, this is not reserved for you. This is reserved for those who have walked on that path and have crossed the way of justification by faith. And so we ask that you just observe, you're free to remain.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but this is something that Christ instituted for his church, those who have been purchased by his blood. Believer in this place, rejoice in knowing that your performance is not what gets you God's favor. It's what the son of God has done. And as we come here, we remember his body and his blood. He is the ransom.

You are forgiven forever. You know, recently, can I just be transparent? I don't know if this will encourage you encourages me. More and more, I get excited about the Lord's table. I I found myself excited about the first Sunday of this month because I just want to come and rehearse his forgiveness again.

I need it. You need it. I'm forgiven. I'm forgiven. I'm saved.

I'm redeemed. It's done. I've been perfected for all time though I am still being sanctified. Hebrews ten fourteen. And so we're gonna sing a song in a moment if the praise team can come at this time.

We're gonna sing a song as they did, sing a hymn at the last supper before the betrayal of the son of God, and then we will partake after pastor Ben has shared a few words. Well, as they let me pray and then you guys can come. Lord, we do thank you for this word. A reminder, yes, but a reminder that we always need. You are the perfect servant, and you've reminded us again what greatness looks like in your eyes.

We wanna be great before the Lord. Lord, forgive us of our ambition and our motives was was to be great before our elders, to be great before Christians, to be great on the charts for Christian radio, whatever it may be, Lord. We ask that you would cleanse us from all false ambition and bring us to the simplicity of our devotion to you, to be great before Christ. And now, lord, we put that aside and we remember that we've been saved by your blood. As we sing these truths, may we remember in a holy way of who we were and how you've redeemed us, who we could have been if you didn't redeem us so that we can offer you the proper due for your great sacrifice.

In Jesus' name, amen. Praise the name, please. You can stand with us, please, as we worship the Lord. Just meditate on his love. Meditate on his sacrifice, and we will eat together soon.