On the Road to Greatness
Mark 10: 32-45
by Jim Westmoreland
If history did not tell the story, who would believe that, nearly 2,000 years
after an obscure Galilean peasant gained some local notoriety as a wandering
preacher and healer, and was executed by the Romans, there would not be a
single nation in the world where this obscure peasant was not worshiped and
acclaimed as a king, a king whose kingdom shall never end, and who by his
power holds the universe together? Fantastic, isn't it! Where in this world can
one go and not discover somewhere a group of people who confess Jesus as
Lord and King? In countries rich and poor, large and small, with repressive
or democratic governments, the church which Christ has gathered into one
body, and of which he is the head, is present and growing.
In the highlands of the interior of the East Malaysian state of Sarawak on the
heavily-forested island of Borneo, there is a small village called Barrio. It is
only accessible by small planes capable of landing on the tiny
mountain-ringed runway, or by a long journey by canoes up jungle rivers
and trekking on foot. And yet, every person in that village confesses the
Lordship of Jesus Christ.
In southern Zaire (officially Democratic Republic of the Congo), where
political turmoil and corrupt government has many people on the brink of
starvation, there are small groups of Christians who gather in rural
mud-brick churches, sometimes without even a roof, and there each Sunday,
they sing the praises of a king whose name is Jesus. Through the long years of
repression in the Soviet Union and its satellites, and in China where for so
many years public worship was forbidden, we now discover in this era when
the walls of repression are falling that the church was not only alive but
growing, and is now stronger than it ever was in those lands. Many people in
those lands refused to confess Mao Tse-Tung or Stalin or Brezhnev as king,
preferring to confess Jesus as king instead, sometimes at great personal cost.
Somehow, that historical development -- the universal reign of One who died
as a subversive criminal at the town dump of Jerusalem nearly 2,000 years
ago -- must be explained. -- Larry R. Kalajainen, Extraordinary Faith For
Ordinary Time, CSS Publishing Company.
Jesus understood greatness differently from everyone else. He did not come
seeking to be great, but he did come to be a servant. Frequently, the disciples
wanted to be on the road to greatness with Jesus. Perhaps, they saw
themselves as the first sign-ons with the new Messiah. They were His inner
group, even though great numbers assembled to hear Him and see Him
whenever He came near. But surely, the recognition and rewards would go to
the disciples.
The Gospel of Mark records Jesus telling the disciples on three different
occasions about His coming suffering and death. The first is in chapter 8.
Peter takes Jesus aside and rebukes Him. Jesus responds by saying, "Get
behind Me, Satan; got you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but
man's." In chapter 9 Jesus again tells the disciples about His death and
resurrection. While they are traveling to Capernaum, the disciples are
arguing among themselves over which of them was the greatest. In our text
today in chapter 10 Jesus has told the disciples for the third time that He
would be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, condemned to death, killed
and would be raised on the third day.
Surely, the disciples would get it now. Surely, they would have some
compassion or sensitivity to the pain and uneasiness that Jesus was feeling as
He was preparing for His death. Surely, they would have wanted to cherish
the remaining moments by drawing near to Jesus to comfort Him and to
intently listen to what would be His last words to them. Surely, Surely,
Surely. But, three times He told them, and three times they apparently were
not listening.
I received an email about a Satellite Seminar I could subscribe to see. It is
called, "The Power of Executing Greatness," and it is an unparalleled
opportunity for me to hear from not just one, but several revolutionary
leaders whose collective message will compel me to be more informed, more
productive, and more competitive to operate at the peak of my performance.
I'm sure I could benefit by it, but I wonder, What is it about the drive to
succeed, to achieve, to be something that can deafen our ears and dull our
sensitivity even to the people we love?
I believe the disciples did love Jesus. Peter, James and John were his inner
circle that he would talk with and pray with. He took them with Him to the
mount where He was Transfigured. He poured His life into them. But, they
weren't listening. They were still caught up in vying for power, position and
authority. The hour was getting late in Jesus life. Jesus showed us He was on
the Road to Greatness, and the disciples thought they were, but they were
clearly on different roads. James and John ask Jesus to sit at His right and
left hand. When the other disciples heard about it, they were all mad at
them.
Sometimes, it is easier to be unhappy and jealous that it is
to be happy with our service. Whenever I'm disappointed with my spot in life, I
stop and think about little Jamie Scott. Jamie was trying out for a part in a
school play. His mother said that he'd set his heart on being in it, though she
feared he would not be chosen. On the day the parts were awarded, she went to
get him after school. Jamie rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and
excitement. "Guess what Mom," he shouted, "I've been chosen to clap and cheer."
--Unknown
We all need to enthusiastically clap and cheer others as part of our service to
Christ.
There is a pattern here. Jesus tells of his suffering and death. He tells them
the cost of being a servant. They respond with their own agenda, which is
totally different that what Jesus is talking about. Then, Jesus responds to
them by saying, "Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your
servant: and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For
even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His
life a ransom for many."
These words grate against all of our instincts and deeply ingrained cultural
values. Everything we have learned about being successful, being the best in
your field, beating the competition, achieving goals and winning the prize
sounds very different to what Jesus kept repeating to His disciples.
Henri Nouwen, an influential Catholic priest and writer, asks, "What makes
the temptation of power so seemingly irresistible? Maybe it is that power
offers an easy substitute for the hard task of love. It seems easier to be God
than to love God, easier to control people than to love people, easier to own
life than to love life. Jesus asks, Do you love me? We ask, Can we sit at your
right hand and your left hand in your Kingdom? . . . We have been tempted
to replace love with power." --Henri Nouwen in Mornings with Henri J.M.
Nouwen, quoted in Christianity Today, February 8, 1999, 72.
Nouwen offers us some insights into how our desire for power, as well as
position, respect and status, can interfere with our call to love others as a
servant.
How do we explain the power and greatness of Jesus? The scripture tells us
that, though He was the Son of God, He humbled Himself and became flesh
and dwelt among us, and He gave Himself to us as a Servant, even unto death
on the Cross for our sins.
And, what happened to the disciples that did not listen every time Jesus tried
to teach them and tell them about His coming death and resurrection? How
do we explain their power and greatness for Christ that we see evidenced in
the book of Acts? I believe it is because Jesus didn't give up on them, and,
after Pentecost, they finally came to understand that the Road to Greatness
was through service and giving themselves to others for the cause of Christ.
Donald Deffner tells about a well-dressed European woman who was on
safari in Africa. The group stopped briefly at a hospital for lepers. The heat
was intense, the flies buzzing. She noticed a nurse bending down in the dirt,
tending to the pus- filled sores of a leper. With disdain the woman remarked,
"Why I wouldn't do that for all the money in the world!"
The nurse quietly replied, "Neither would I."
--Donald L. Deffner,
"Seasonal Illustrations" p. 130.
It is so easy for us to be caught up in our cultural values, even a kind of
cultural Christianity that asks for no sacrifice and no commitment. Jesus
didn't give up on the disciples, and He called the disciples to sacrifice and to
greatness through servanthood. Jesus has not given up on us either, and He
asks us today, "Where are we on the Road to Greatness?"
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