Faith Education and RE News

Whoever aspires to greatness must serve the rest.

Mark 10:35-45

James and John are effectively calling ‘shotgun’ on the best seats at the table! When they ask to sit at the left and right hand of Jesus, they are asking Jesus to name them as his deputies. They’re looking to secure for themselves positions of power and authority. The only problem is that they have a completely messed up idea of what it means for Jesus to enter into his glory. For several weeks now, we have been exploring a theme from the Gospel of Mark that follows a physical journey towards Jerusalem as well as a symbolic and theological journey towards what is going to occur in Jerusalem – Jesus’ arrest, crucifixion and resurrection.

Throughout this journey, Jesus has been trying to prepare the disciples for what is to come and educate them about what it really means to be a disciple of his. Three times Jesus tells the disciples explicitly what lies ahead. Each time the disciples fail to grasp what Jesus tells them. Despite occasional glimpses of insight, the disciples still believe that Jesus is going to rise up as a political or military figure. In a complete dismissal of this sort of thinking, Jesus declares quite forcefully that leadership of this sort is not what he intends for himself, nor for those who follow him.

Leadership in the Jesus model is about being of service to others; it is not about prestige and acclamation. Many of the best leaders are those who do not have any title of leadership or authority. Their leadership and authority come from what they do and how they do it. They inspire others to follow their example. They don’t demand it; they don’t bully; they don’t play power games. People simply want to follow their example.

By Greg Sunter