Mark 10:35-45

Good evening. We'll be in the New Testament this evening. The Gospel of Mark chapter 10.

! The Gospel of Mark chapter 10.

So, very short Gospel. Mark was a young man. He was the youngest Gospel writer. Yet, he recorded an account of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the first nine chapters of Mark, we see much about Jesus. Mark, having that young spunk, if you'd like to call it that, about Him, begins with the ministry of Jesus Christ.

We don't have the Christmas account. We don't have the birth of Jesus Christ. None of the things that we see in Matthew or Luke. We don't have the genealogies that we find in Matthew or Luke.

He begins in chapter 1 with the ministry of Christ. And that, of course, being Christ coming out of the wilderness and saying, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Or the kingdom of God is at hand. And all throughout the first nine chapters, we see healing of Jesus. We see miracles of Jesus. We see Him healing lepers.

We see Him feeding thousands of people. We see Him raising the dead to life. We see all kinds of miracles of Jesus Christ. And we get over to Mark chapter 8, chapter 9.

We start to see a little bit of a shift in the scriptural account. And that's because Christ is coming up upon what is commonly referred to as the Passion Week.

He is headed towards Jerusalem. And He knows why He is headed towards Jerusalem. And He's been telling the disciples why He is going toward Jerusalem. Mark chapter 8, we find Him saying that He's going to be crucified.

And, of course, Peter rebukes Christ in Mark's account there in chapter 8. But Christ, in turn, puts Peter in His place there.

Then we get to Mark chapter 9. And you see the disciples actually disputing who will be the greatest in the kingdom of God.

And so, although they've seen all these things, and although they have seen Christ serving in humility, they're still concerned with such things as that.

And their mind is still set on the world as their problem. I'm not saying that they weren't following Christ. I'm not saying that they weren't paying attention to Christ.

But I will say that their mind was still fixed on the world. And quite frankly, that should give you and I some encouragement. Because Christ does not abandon them in all that.

So that should encourage us. When our mind, and it does, each one of us, as born-again Christians, each one of us, sometime or another, sometimes multiple times during the week, we get our mind set on the things of the world.

I'm not saying on sin. And I'm not saying on wickedness or evil. But we get so caught up in what is going on in the world and with the world that we forget all about God.

And we forget all about Christ. And we forget about His sovereignty. We forget about His rule. We forget about His power. And we forget that we can go to Him in prayer with all of our supplications and all of our petitions and make them known to Him.

And we forget about that. But Christ doesn't abandon us just because we do. And I thank God for that. He brings us right back around to Him. Mark 10, we find one of the accounts that I preached about not too awful long ago about the rich young ruler.

And right before that, we find Christ calling children unto Himself, saying that if any is going to come to Him, if any is going to enter into the kingdom, they're going to come as a child.

And we find that. And then Christ gives another short narrative of how He's going to Jerusalem. And He is going to be handed over in the hands of the Gentiles.

And He's going to be mocked. And He's going to be scourged. And He's going to be spit upon. And He's going to be crucified. And He says, but I will rise again the third day.

Praise God. Christ tells His disciples this. And this isn't the first time in Scripture that He tells them that. But He tells them that very thing.

And that is the backdrop of the account that we're going to read this evening. Remember, Christ just told His disciples. In fact, for context, let's just read it.

It's just three verses. In Mark 10, starting at verse 32, it says, And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem. And Jesus went before them, and they were amazed.

And as they followed, they were afraid. And He took again the twelve and began to tell them what things should happen to them, saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and unto the scribes.

And they shall condemn Him to death and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles. And they shall mock Him and shall scourge Him and shall spit upon Him and shall kill Him. And the third day, He shall rise again.

And that is the backdrop that we need to keep in mind as we read this account beginning in verse 35 tonight. So all that being said, Mark 10, beginning at verse 35, says, And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came unto Him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.

And He said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? And they said unto Him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.

And Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask. Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto Him, We can.

And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of and with the baptism that I am baptized. Withal shall ye be baptized. But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.

And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. But Jesus called them to Him and saith unto them, Ye know that they, which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles, exercise lordship over them, and their great ones exercise authority upon them.

But so shall it not be among you. But whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister, and whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall be servant of all.

For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many. Back to verse 35. It says, And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came unto Him, saying, Master, we would that Thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.

And this is quite an amazing statement that James and John have made here. Earlier in the Gospel of Mark, in fact you read about it, I believe it's in the third chapter of Mark, Christ gives them the nicknames of the sons of thunder.

He gives this nickname to James and John. This is the same two here. But they come to Jesus after Jesus has just told them. We read it in three verses preceding this.

Jesus Christ has just told them, we go up to Jerusalem. We're all going together. And once we get there, I'm going to be handed over to the chief priests. They're going to try me.

And Christ will go through an illegal trial, by the way. But He will go through an illegal trial. They would condemn Him to death. He'd be handed over to the Gentiles.

He'd be mocked. He'd be scourged. He'd be humiliated. And ultimately, He would be crucified. But He would be raised again the third day. And here is James and John coming to Jesus Christ saying, we want you to grant us.

We want you to allow us to have whatsoever it is that we desire. After a statement, the statement that Jesus Christ just made, how He was going to be crucified, and He would rise again the third day, what's on James and John's mind?

The thing that's on their mind is their own ambition. And we read that just a couple of verses after that when they come to Jesus Christ and they say, we want one of us to sit on your right hand and the other one to sit on your left hand.

But folks, if we are not careful, we will get in the same position and we will have the same ambition that James and John have here. There's nothing wrong with them seeking the Lord for something.

There's nothing wrong with them wanting to do something. They can be commended on going to God and going to Jesus Christ Himself and asking something of Him.

But folks, what they were asking was for their own benefit. What they were asking was for, again, their own ambition. It was for their own clout amongst the others. They came to Jesus Christ and they said, we would like for you to grant us, we would like for you to give unto us whatsoever it is that we desire.

And folks, we need to be careful though. We need to be cautious when Jesus Christ says in the Gospel accounts, ask and ye shall have, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.

That doesn't mean that you go to Christ with all of your worldly wants, with all of your worldly desires. You don't go to Jesus Christ asking Him to make your bank account fat. You don't go to Jesus Christ asking Him for fancy cars or fancy houses or an island out in the middle of the ocean somewhere or a hundred thousand acres where no one else can bother you.

No, you go to Jesus Christ with what God Himself has placed in your heart. It is amazing to me in the Scriptures that God places the prayers that He wants aimed toward Him, that He wants asked of Him.

He places those prayers in the hearts of His people. When David wanted to build a house for Almighty God, David felt terrible because God dwelt in a tent.

He went from tent to tent as the Israelites were going through the wilderness and had never had His own house. And he wanted to build a house for God. And when God gave him the answer to his prayer, David acknowledged that God had placed that prayer in his heart.

When we pray to God, the prayer that He has placed in our heart, I can promise you it will be answered. It will be answered in the way that God has foreordained that it will be answered.

God knows what we stand in need of. God knows what we need in our lives. He knows what we need to sustain us. And God places the prayers that He wants to hear in the hearts of His people.

And when we pray those prayers, according to the Scriptures, God will grant us our requests. But, when we go to God with earthly things, when we go to God with worldly things, don't be surprised if it's not answered the way that you want it.

Don't be surprised. I've often heard and I've often told other people, be careful what you ask God for because you might just get it. You might just get it. I know some people that have begged for healing from certain diseases, begged for healing from certain illnesses, certain injuries, and so on.

They say, Lord, whatever it is, whatever it has to take, whatever you have to do, take this away from me. And sometimes, God takes that away, but they end up with something else.

They end up with another affliction. That's not God being mean. That's not God being cruel. But I think that's God showing us to be careful of what we ask for.

Here's James and John saying, we want you to grant unto us whatever it is that we desire. Verse 30, and He said unto them, what would ye that I should do for you?

Now, was there any need, honestly, for Jesus Christ to ask this question? Do you believe that Jesus Christ was and is omniscient? Do you believe that He is all-knowing and was all-knowing here?

I do. Why? Because Jesus Christ was God in the flesh here. Jesus Christ is still God. We have God the Father. We have God the Son. We have God the Holy Ghost. and they have always been omniscient.

They have always been all-knowing. And Christ here asks the question. He says, what is it that you would have me to do? What is it you would have me to grant to you, folks? It is not that Jesus Christ didn't know.

He already knew. But this is an incredible show of mercy and an incredible show of patience on the side of Jesus Christ here. It is an incredible show of patience because He already knew what they desired.

He already knew what they were going to ask Him. And if that had been you or that had been I that someone come to us wanting a position of prominence of some kind.

If you and I were in a position such as Jesus Christ was, I'm not saying that's to be God or whatever, but if we had some kind of authority and someone come to us wanting a position next to us on our right hand or on our left, what would we think of that person?

How would we react to that person? We would react in anger. We would scoff at them. We would do all kinds of things in their direction. Why?

Because they were just wanting a position of prominence to up their status. They were just wanting a position of prominence to up their clout amongst their peers. But Jesus Christ, He does not do that.

He just asks the question, what is it that you'd have me to do? Folks, Jesus does this so many times in the Scripture. So many times, in fact, if you read on through to the end of this chapter, you read another account about a man named Bartimaeus.

The man was blind. His blindness was very obvious. Everybody around him knew that he was blind. But when Christ comes through, when Christ is coming out of Jericho, and Bartimaeus is there by the wayside, and everybody's telling Bartimaeus to shut his mouth because Bartimaeus screamed out to Jesus, Jesus, the Son of David, have mercy on me.

And they brought Bartimaeus there because Jesus called for him. Jesus had him confess what his want was. Although Jesus already knew. Everybody around there knew Bartimaeus was blind.

But he had Bartimaeus confess his desire. And God will do the same thing with you, and God will do the same thing with me. Many times over, he does the same thing with the disciples here.

What is it that you want? What is it that you want me to grant to you? What is it you want me to give unto you? What position is it that you are desiring? Why would he do this?

Folks, it's hard to repent of pride if we don't know that we're being prideful. And Christ here is going to show James and John the pridefulness that we're talking about.

Verse 37, they said unto him, grant unto us that we may sit one on thy right hand and the other on thy left hand in thy glory. Again, it is commendable. It really is.

It is commendable what James and John say here. But, the motive behind it is what makes it condemnable instead of commendable. They acknowledge here that Jesus Christ is going to sit in glory.

That's the very last line of that verse. We want one of us to sit on your right hand and the other to sit on your left hand in your glory. So they acknowledge that the coming King has come.

He is indeed here on earth. They acknowledge that what Jesus Christ mentioned in those three verses before verse 35 here, that all that is going to come to pass and that Jesus Christ is indeed going to rise from the dead.

They acknowledge all that. They see that as truth and they recognize that here in their statement. But their motive, their motive is wrong. What's our motive for what we ask God for?

What is our motive? Is it to glorify God? Or is it to up our own status? Is it to glorify God or is it to help our own selves? Is it to help others, folks?

That's what this whole passage is about. This whole passage is about servitude. It is about servitude. It is about serving others with humility. And this is our motive behind what we ask God for.

Is it to help ourselves or to serve ourselves? Or is it to serve others? This was nothing more than status that James and John were wanting. The sons of thunder as Christ nicknamed them were wanting a place, one on the right and one on the left of Jesus Christ.

And they wanted it for no other reason than status. You will never convince me otherwise. Verse 38 says, But Jesus said unto them, You know not what ye ask.

Can you drink of the cup that I drink of and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? Jesus straightens them out right off the bat. He says, You know not what ye ask.

He says, But Jesus said unto them, You know not what ye ask. You don't know what you're talking about. You don't know what you are asking for. And the problem with James and John here is the problem with so many people within the church nowadays.

They want the blessings of the kingdom of God. They want the blessings that come directly from the throne. They want the blessings that flow forth from Jesus Christ. But they have no grasp.

They have no concept. And they have no comprehension of what true discipleship really is. To truly follow Jesus means that you will deny yourself.

You will take up your cross daily and you will follow Him. To deny yourself is to leave your worldly wants, your worldly desires, and your worldly pleasures behind and to seek the things of God, seek the things of heaven, and seek to please Jesus Christ and He alone.

James and John didn't understand that. And it's obvious. It's obvious that they did not understand what true discipleship was. A disciple is simply one who follows another.

In this case, it was James and John following Jesus Christ. But they did not get the concept, truly get the concept of following Christ. Although they have been following Him for over three years at this point in the Scriptures.

This ain't long before the Passion Week of Jesus Christ. This isn't long before the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. They have been following Him for over three years as I said in tonight's introduction.

They had witnessed everything Christ had done. They had heard the sermons He had preached. They had seen the miracles. They had seen the healing. They had seen all these things. And folks, they still did not grasp what it truly was to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

And I'm afraid there are many in the church nowadays that are in the same boat. I'm not saying that they're not saved. I'm not saying that people aren't saved. I'm saying that they don't grasp what true discipleship is.

They take one line of Scripture. They take one line. They'll say, Jesus said whatsoever you ask in my name, you'll have it. So, I'm going to ask for a yacht. I'm going to ask for a limo and a chauffeur.

I'm going to ask for a million dollars. I'm going to ask for this and I'm going to ask for that. I'm going to ask for a job that pays me $500,000 a year. And Christ will grant it to me. And unfortunately, there's a lot of prosperity preachers out there right now that preach that very thing.

Come to Christ to have an easy life. Come to Christ to get rich. Come to Christ to have a lax lifestyle. Come to Christ for this and come to Christ for that when what they truly need to be preaching is come to God because you're a filthy sinner.

You need to repent and you need to come to Him because He is your only hope for salvation. That's what needs to be preached. That's the truth of the Scripture. Nowhere in the Scripture does God promise us an easy ride.

Nowhere in the Scripture does God promise us it's going to be a cakewalk. But what God does promise His people what He promises His disciples is that He will be with us always even to the end of the world.

He will go with us. He will lead us. He will guide us. He will protect us. He will sustain us. He'll provide for us. These are the things that are found in the Scripture. Not that we will all have an easy life.

And I thank God for that. Quite frankly, I thank God for that. Because, I mean, folks, if it was easy all the time, what need of God would we feel like we have?

What need of Him would we feel like we have? When we hit those rough patches, though, we can go to God. When we see illness come in our family or come upon ourselves, we can go to God.

But folks, that's not the only times we need to go to God. We need to come to Him in the good times, too. We need to praise God that we've got food in the cupboard. We need to praise God that we've got food in the fridge. We need to praise God that we've got the things that are needed to sustain us that we can continue serving God and serving our neighbor and loving God and loving our neighbor.

Jesus said unto them, ye know not what ye ask. Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? What cup is He talking about here?

Folks, this cup isn't just the cross. It isn't just the cross. This cup began in Gethsemane. This cup He talks about in Gethsemane.

He asked God Himself, He says, Lord, if there is any other way, let this cup pass from Me. And He is asking these disciples, can you drink of that same cup?

Can you drink of that cup? And in the very next verse, they say, we can. We can. And Christ confirms to them, He says, you'll indeed drink of it.

Now, they won't drink of such a cup as far as redemption for the entire world goes. They won't drink of the cup that they can be crucified, which makes a way for man to be redeemed and reconciled unto Almighty God.

That is not the cup that they will drink, but it is a cup of suffering, folks. It is a cup of suffering that they will partake in. And folks, again, we are not promised a cakewalk in this Christian rod that we are in, but we will have suffering in this life.

We will need to be, we will need to have some humility in this life. These are the things that go along with being a Christian. Don't believe me? You look at the life of Brother Paul in the New Testament.

Paul, he suffered shipwreck. He suffered abandonment. He suffered beatings. He went to prison. But why did he do all these things? It was because of and for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And Paul never once in the scriptures, not one time will you read where Paul complained that he was in prison. Never one time will you complain will you see where he complained that he was beat.

Why? Because Paul had such a love for God and such a love for serving God and a love for the gospel of Jesus Christ that whatever it took, literally, whatever it took, the gospel would push forward.

If that meant imprisonment, so be it. If that meant beatings, so be it. If that meant being left out for dead, so be it. And we need to have that same attitude.

We need to have that same attitude. If it's for the cause of the gospel and it is for the glory of Almighty God, so be it. Whatever it might be, so be it.

They said unto Him, we can. And Jesus said unto them, ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized.

He says, yes, you're going to drink of that cup. James here wound up being the first one martyred of the twelve apostles. You read about that in the book of Acts.

I believe it's Acts chapter 12. But he wound up being the first of the original apostles to be martyred. He was killed with the sword by Herod. So he definitely drank of such a cup.

Again, not for the redemption of mankind. Not for the cleansing of sin. But he drank of the cup that Christ is telling about here. John suffered exile.

John suffered persecution. John was not martyred. There was an attempt made to martyr him according to church history. It's not found in the Bible. John was dipped in boiling oil.

And that didn't kill him. And that scared the ruler of the day so bad that he had him exiled. He said, we'll just ship him off. I'm not going to have any more dealings like that.

So they indeed suffered persecution. They indeed suffered a cup. A cup of suffering. And folks, sometimes the very ministry that someone is called to is a ministry of suffering.

It is a ministry of suffering. And sometimes that's all it is. But folks, I can tell you as a former pastor of a church, I'm sure Brother Mike could tell you that there's much suffering that goes into that.

And it's much mental anguish that goes into that particular job. Because you worry about your parishioners. You worry about the congregants. You're concerned about their lives.

You're concerned about their souls. You're concerned about their well-being. You're concerned about every aspect of their life. And much of that suffering and much of that concern and much of that anguish is never known by the rest of the congregation.

But it's truly a ministry of suffering. They said unto Him we can, and Jesus saith unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of and with the baptism I am baptized.

With all shall ye be baptized. So Christ confirms that they will indeed have some suffering. Verse 40, But to sit on My right hand and on My left hand is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.

Christ here says this isn't My spot to give. Why wasn't His spot to give? Christ at the end of the Gospel of Matthew, now granted this is after the crucifixion and the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ.

Christ at the end of the Gospel of Matthew says all power is given unto Me in Heaven and in Earth. But here Christ says it is not mine to give. Why wasn't His to give? Most people would say well because it was the Father's spot to give.

And I'm sure there's a lot of truth in that. Folks, everything, everything is foreknown by God. God knows what is going to happen tomorrow.

He knows what's going to happen next week. He knows what's going to happen next year. And He knows what's going to be happening a million years from now. God knows it all. And it is already known who's going to sit at those places.

It's already known who's going to be at those spots. And there's no way to change that. But here Christ says, but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is what?

It is prepared. Folks, that brings me great comfort to know that wherever I'm at in glory, wherever I'm at in Heaven, sharing in God's glory with the rest of the saints of God, I'm going to be exactly where I'm supposed to be.

And I'm going to be exactly in the place that God has already got prepared for me. I've already said it here and I've said it several other places. One of the most amazing things about all the Scripture is in the book of Revelation where John is writing about the 10,000 times 10,000, the thousands of thousands, pretty much an innumerable number of people that he sees.

One of the most amazing thoughts that I've ever had about that Scripture is that John has already seen me there. John has already seen me in Heaven in whatever vision that God was allowing him to have.

Whatever it was that he saw, I was in that number somewhere. And I say, praise be unto God for that. Glory be to the Lamb for that. Blessed be the blood of the Lamb for that.

Because it's not for the blood of the Lamb, John would never have seen me there. He would have never seen you there. I don't know where I was in that number. I don't know if I was in the front, in the middle, in the back, on the sides, in the balcony.

I have no idea. But I know that I was there. Hallelujah. And John saw it. John saw me there. And I praise God for that.

And it's prepared for me. Jesus says in John 14, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

He's going to prepare a place. And that place is prepared for me and you if you're born again. It's prepared for all who have repented of their ways and believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

They have believed the word of God. They have believed in the Son of God. They have believed in the way of God. They have believed these things. And there is something prepared for us when we're on the other side.

And wherever I'm at in that city, I'll be content with. I'll be content with because I'm going to be with my Savior. I'll be with the one who suffered, bled, and died for me.

And we need to be content with that. We don't need to be seeking position. We don't need to be seeking clout amongst our peers. We need to be content with wherever God has put us in this life and whatever He's prepared for us on the other side.

We need to be content with that. Folks, He has prepared these things according to His sovereign wisdom. What better mind to prepare a place and to prepare a place just for me, a spot just for me, than He who knows everything.

Grasp that. Grasp that. Be content with what you have here. Be content with where you are here. I'm not saying get complacent in your walk with Christ. But don't seek to be above another Christian.

Don't seek to be above another preacher or another teacher or another singer or another piano player or whatever the case is. Don't seek to be better than them.

If God has given them a gift and God has allowed them to exercise that gift for His glory, you rejoice with those people. And you don't compete with them.

You don't compete. Verse 41. And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. Let's go on to verse 42.

But Jesus called them to Him and said unto them, You know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and their great ones exercise authority upon them.

But so shall it not be among you, but whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister. This begins with Christ called them unto Him.

Well, there in verse 43, but in 42 it says, But Jesus called them to Him when the ten were angry.

It says that they were displeased in verse 41. Again, this shows the patience of Christ. Because again, just a few verses before this, leading into this account, Christ had told them, I'm going to be killed.

And what are they worried about? Themselves. They're worried about themselves. They're not concerned with the crucifixion. They're worried about where they're going to be.

What's going to happen to them? And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. Why were they displeased? Why were they angry?

I'll tell you why I think it is. And I think Jesus' answer to them is exactly why I think it is what it is. Scripture doesn't explicitly tell us, but I'll tell you what I think it is. I think it's because James and John got to Jesus asking them for those two positions before the other ten got a chance to get to them and asking them for them.

They're saying, you're going after something that I want. And I'll tell you why I think that. It's because of Christ's answer. But Jesus called them to him and saith unto them, ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them and their great ones exercise authority upon them.

But so shall it not be among you. But whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister. Who did he call to him? He called all twelve of them to him. It wasn't just James and John.

He called every one of them to him. But why would he have done that had they not all had the same thought pattern? Had they not all been thinking about the same thing? How great can I be in the kingdom?

How great can I be for Jesus Christ? How great can I be to share in his glory? How great can I be? I think that's why Jesus answered the way they did because he's addressing every one of them.

Again, he says, but Jesus called them unto him and saith unto them, ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them and their great ones exercise authority upon them.

He is talking about how the world operates. He's talking about how the world perceives greatness. How does the world perceive greatness? I'll tell you how.

Because the more authority someone has, the greater they seem. The greater they are. The greater power that they must have. And the more people that someone has underneath them to serve them, the greater power they must have.

And the greater reputation that they must have. Jesus is explaining to them how the world operates. But I love verse 43. But so shall it not be among you.

Why? Because you are my disciples. Every one of you are my disciples. Now we know what happened to Judas Iscariot, but that's beside the point.

The twelve were present. He says, so shall it not be among you. And folks, that goes just as much for you and I 2,000 years later as it did here when Christ was speaking to the original twelve apostles.

He is telling them do not imitate the world. Do not do what the world does. Do not think like the world thinks. He just explained to them in verse 42 how the world operated and he says here you shall not.

It is a direct commandment from Jesus Christ. It shall not be this way with you. We're not to imitate the world. We're not to go by the world standards.

And especially when it comes to how great we are. Because greatness costs something in the world. Greatness costs something to Christians when they seek after it.

Greatness costs something to those that have truly been washed in the blood of Christ when they start seeking greatness. What does it cost them? It costs them their testimony. Why?

Because they'll do anything to get just another rung up the ladder just like the world will. They'll do anything. I've seen it happen within church walls.

I've seen it happen in conferences. I've seen it happen in associations where one preacher will step on another preacher's head and bury his face in the mud to get one more rung up the ladder.

I've seen it happen and it's disgusting when that happens amongst God's people. It is disgusting when that happens. But folks, that's how the world operates.

And Christ here gives commandment. He gives commandment, but so shall it not be among you. He's not saying you really shouldn't make this a practice. He's not giving them an option, but so shall it not be among you.

Amongst the people of God, we do not seek greatness over another person of God. Over a brother or sister in Christ. Again, we rejoice in whatever talents, whatever gifts, whatever it is that God has given them, we rejoice with them.

If they win a hundred souls in a meeting, rejoice that a hundred people ain't on their way to hell anymore. Don't get jealous because you wasn't the one that preached the message.

Don't get jealous because you're not the one that presented the gospel. Don't get jealous because you're not the one that led them to Christ. You rejoice. You rejoice that God used His Word and sent His Spirit to do the very thing that this Bible tells us that the Word and the Spirit will do.

The Word reveals God. It reveals Christ. It reveals our need for God and Christ. It reveals that we need reconciliation with God and it reveals that the Spirit testifies of Jesus Christ.

And when people get saved, it's just God's Word being confined. Rejoice in that. So shall it not be among you, but whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister or shall be your servant as it's phrased and actually meant to be.

Shall be your minister. They'll be servants. And whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall be servant of all. Whoever among you is going to be the greatest.

Now again, this isn't the only time this has come up because the disciples just a chapter before this were disputing over who would be the greatest.

The apostles, all of them, were disputing over who would be the greatest and here is Christ. One chapter later, telling them whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall be servant of all.

Folks, the question for us Christians is not how great can I be? It is not how great can I be for God? It is not how many pats on the back can I get from God?

The question is, how can I serve others? That's the question and that's what Christ is trying to get across to His disciples here, to the twelve apostles.

It doesn't matter how great that they may seem. Now, on the flip side of that coin, it doesn't matter how insignificant your calling might seem to you. Folks, if it is a calling from Almighty God, exercise it and glorify God in it.

But, here, Christ says, the one that will be chiefest, will be servant of all, will be minister of all. You keep that in mind.

Keep that in mind that it is not a question of how great can you be. I'm going to die one of these days. I'm going to go in the ground. And a hundred years from the day that I die, nobody on planet Earth is going to know my name.

Nobody will know who I was. I'm nothing great. I'm nothing significant. And that's a humbling thought. And chances are, the day that you die, a hundred years from that day, no one will remember you.

No one will remember your name. No one will remember anything that you did. And you might say, well, we've got accounts, we've got historical accounts, everybody knows who George Washington was.

He lived two, three hundred years ago, whatever it was. Everybody knows who Thomas Jefferson was. Are you those people? Have you done anything that significant? Have you done anything that's going to be written down in the history books?

Chances are you haven't. I know I haven't. But my name is in a book. It's in a book that's going to be remembered.

It's in a book that has been written there and there is no demon that can erase it. There is no nymph that knows that hell is home, can do anything about it.

Satan himself cannot take my name out of that book. And God knows my name. And I know His. And I don't care if I die without a single person knowing who I am.

Jesus Christ knows me. And I know Him. And that's what counts. And that's what should count in your eyes and your mind and your heart as well. Not how many people know your name here on planet earth.

Not how many people know whatever deed you may have done for the community or for the church or for your neighbors or for anything else. But that your name is written in the Lamb's book of life.

And that Jesus Christ is well familiar with that name. That's what matters. That's what matters. Whosoever of you will be chiefest shall be servant of all.

For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. that's the key verse of this entire gospel of Mark.

The entire gospel of Mark. Mark 10 verse 45. Many times I've heard it called the gospel of servitude. I've heard it called the gospel of servitude and the gospel of miracles.

But this verse is the reason it's referred to as the gospel of servitude. For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto but to minister. Folks, this is amazing.

It is amazing that the King of the universe, the Creator God, humbled Himself and came here to dwell in a world that had rejected Him.

To dwell in a world that would rather continue on their own way. To dwell in a world and dwell amongst men. But not only just dwell amongst them but to serve them.

He came. to do that. He came not to be ministered unto. And He had every right to do so. He did not come here demanding that sinners serve Him.

He came here to serve sinners and He did so on the cross. He did so on behalf of all sinners. He did so on behalf of all who would repent and all who would believe.

He died for the sins of the entire world. He had the weight of the world's sins upon His shoulders. He had the weight of the world's sins upon Him while He was on the cross.

And He had the wrath of Almighty God. The unfiltered, undiluted wrath of God thrown on Him at Calvary. And that's why He came.

It was to minister to others and on behalf of others. He came to accomplish what we couldn't. He came to die the death that we deserved. He came and He lived the life that we were incapable of living.

He done all of these things ministering to us. And it wasn't just at the cross. So His ministry, it followed up to the cross.

But the ultimate display of it was at the cross. I mean, my goodness, when He was teaching the people, when He was healing the people, He was ministering to them then. But the ultimate display of it was at Calvary's cross.

Again, for even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. He just got through telling the disciples in the previous two verses. If you want to be the chiefest, if you want to be the most recognized, if you want to be the greatest, you'll be servant of all.

You will have a heart and an attitude of servitude. And then, in verse 45, He gives Himself as the ultimate example of what that is. folks, one of the most amazing things about this is He gives Himself as an example here, and it's not far from here, it's not very long from here at all, that we read about the last Passover.

You read about that just a couple of chapters more over in the Gospel of Mark. Now, Mark, Matthew, nor Luke have the account of Christ washing the disciples' feet.

You only find that in John's Gospel, in the 13th chapter of John's Gospel. Again, the Creator of everything, the Creator that could have called legions of angels, the Creator that could have come here and had the entire population of sinful, rebellious planet Earth serve Him before He destroyed them.

What did He do? He gird Himself. and He got a wash pot and He set it in the floor and He washed the feet of people who would abandon Him the very next day.

He washed the feet of one, Peter, who would deny Him that very night. He washed the feet of one who would betray Him, Judas Iscariot.

Folks, is that not servitude? And that's the example that we have. Can you follow it? Can I follow that example? The servitude is not just for brothers and sisters in Christ.

They shall be servant of all. That applies to school, that applies to work, that applies to family, that applies to neighbors, it applies to everyone.

Just as the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, because He died for the sins of the world. Scripture plainly states that. It was for everyone.

And servitude that He is calling us to, that He called the apostles here to, and that He calls us to, is for everyone. I just don't know if I can serve this one.

I don't know if I can serve that one. Christ died for that one that you're talking about. God. And that one that you're saying, you don't know if you can be salt and light to that person or not.

He died for them just like He died for you. I thank God. I thank God for people that didn't give up on me. I thank God for people that didn't quit praying for me.

me. I thank God that He didn't give up on me. I thank God for people that continued in servitude. Regardless of my actions.

Regardless of what I was. Regardless of what filth came out of my mouth. Regardless of any of that. Their servitude continued. And many times I wasn't even aware of it.

Until after the fact. Many people prayed for me that I had no idea they were praying for me. I thank God for that. Can we be the servants that Christ has called us to be?

Can you be the servant? Can I be the servant that Christ has called us to be? Can we be a servant like Christ was a servant? I'm not asking, can you be Christ?

No one can do that. But I am asking, can you be a servant such as Christ was a servant? God bless you all. That's this evening's message.

I appreciate your attention.