Day 296/365- Mark 10:45

"Serve Like Jesus"
 

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.

In Mark’s gospel, Jesus is always going to Jerusalem.  He has an appointment there set before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).  Verse 32 displays this.  As they are going to Jerusalem Jesus tells his disciples, the Son of Man must be delivered over to the religious leaders and they will condemn him to death and kill him.  How do the disciples respond to this?  James and John ask if they can sit at the right & left hand of Jesus in his kingdom.  Talk about bad timing.  That’s an understatement.  What they are asking here, especially after what Jesus has just told them must be crushing to him.  If they had been our disciples surely we would have rebuked them & said, “How can you ask that in the first place, much less right after I just told you I’m going to die!!?”  Jesus gently rebukes them by saying, “Can you really suffer like I’m going to suffer?”  They say they can.  They have no idea.

How many times do we have our eyes focused on what we get out of following Jesus instead of what his purpose & kingdom mission is?  Jesus is headed toward Jerusalem to die and all the disciples can think about is what’s in it for them.  Jesus is focused on giving his life for others & they are thinking about what’s in it for them.  Are we following Jesus primarily because of what we receive from him or are we focused on his purposes, kingdom, & mindset?

Jesus further drives this home with his following statements.  He says that their attitude is like that of unbelieving Gentiles.  “You are acting like people that don’t follow me.”  Wow.  What a blow to the gut.  One that they needed.  Jesus says that his followers are characterized by serving others not by serving themselves.  They will not be about their status & their glory or others serving them, but they must become the least in this world to be great in the next.  Jesus is turning natural understanding & culture on its head.  Following Jesus is about serving others.

And notice his example for this.  “For EVEN the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Jesus is the example.  He is the one we are emulating.  He is the one we are striving to imitate.  He does not exalt himself.  He humbles himself and looks to the Father for any exaltation that he wants to give.  Jesus is focused on serving & giving.  He is focused on others & being outward.  Where is our focus?  On us or on others?  Jesus never asks us to do anything that he himself has not already done.  What a savior!

Our motivation for anything as believers is always Jesus & the gospel.  We don’t do things to get better, we do them because we are new in Jesus.  We serve because he served.  We give because he gave.  We focus on others because he focused on others.  Jesus & the gospel is the basis for our entire lives.