THINK TOGETHER.
Do you know anyone that is great? What makes them great?
READ TOGETHER.
Mark 10:35-38. 35And 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.” 36And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking.”
When Jesus and the disciples lived, one of the most important things you could be was great and powerful. Power was the thing everyone valued and wanted. It’s what James and John wanted in today’s scripture. What did they ask Jesus for? Yes. They asked to sit next to Jesus in Heaven and help him rule. Put us in charge of the universe! You can imagine what the other disciples must have thought about that.
What was Jesus’ response? You do not know what you are asking.
Jesus knows that the reason he will be put in charge of the whole universe is because he will die on the cross for us. He will go to Jerusalem and give up his life to those in power. Jesus will actually give up all of his power and be nailed to the cross so that we can be forgiven. Are James and John ready to die? No. Are they ready to give up their power? No.
Then Jesus will teach us this very important lesson:
Mark 10: 43-45. 43...whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Here’s the lesson: If you want to be first, be last. If you want to rule, be a servant. If you want to be great, be the least. This is exactly what Jesus himself did. He did not come to Earth to be served, like a king. He came to Earth to serve, like a slave. Jesus set aside his power, glory, and majesty in Heaven and he took his place on Earth as a lowly servant who always loved and did everything for others first, before himself. He did this even to the point of dying on the cross for all of us.
And that is why God the Father exalted Jesus to the highest place – the throne of Heaven. Jesus is great in Heaven BECAUSE he chose to not be great on Earth. He never wanted his own way. He was never selfish or greedy. Everything he did was for the good of others.
Can we be great like Jesus? Well, like James and John, we are likely to get greatness wrong way more than we get it right. We are likely to try to be great by being rude, or by being better than others and seeking our own way. Thankfully, Jesus died for this sin – the sin of always having to be the greatest. And when we trust in Jesus to be our servant, the one who gives his life to us, THEN, by trusting him we can learn to be great the way he is great – by being a servant like him.
Because of Jesus we are saved from having to be the greatest and most powerful.
With Jesus we can live our lives as servants like he did.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Do you have a chore chart in your house? Use chores as a way to practice the greatness of Jesus –serving.
PRAY TOGETHER
Father, you are great, not me. Make me great the way Jesus is, by being a servant to all. Amen.
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