By most measures in society, brothers James and John were nobodies. They were ordinary men in every way. They lived far below poverty levelby today's standards. They were uneducated and not particularly religious. The truth is that they were commercial fishermen who worked in obscurity day after day, tossing nets, dragging them into their boats, cleaning them, and repeating the process. They were men who had been locked in social roles determined for them since birth. They were on the fast track to nowhere.
But then James and John met Jesus. By virtue of their relationship with Jesus, they became extraordinary. They found themselves blessed, educated, spiritually alive, standing before crowds, being noticed by all stratas of society, and even being served by loyal followers of Christ and Christ himself. For the first time ever, they had a sense of deep purpose in their lives. They were part of Jesus' inner circle. They had seen Christ's transfiguration on the mountain from the appearance of a man into the likeness of God. They had heard the Father's testimony about Jesus. Jesus was literally their ticket to paradise!
And then it happened.
A sibling rivalrybroke out between James and John, and Jesus' other disciples. Actually, it was an argument. In Mark 9:33-34 (NIV) we read, "They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he (Jesus) asked them, 'What were you arguing about on the road?' But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest."
Who is the greatest?
The disciples were arguing about who was the greatest among them. For them, the kingdom of God was about self-advancement, gaining power, amassing wealth, becoming prestigious, and climbing the ladder to success.
I can relate to these brothers, James and John. They sound an awful lot like my brother Mike and I. As we grew up, wehad a sibling rivalry not unlike that of James and John. Our sibling rivalry was over who was the strongest, the most intelligent, the best looking, and the best dressed. Our rivary was over who could have the quickest wit, the most friends, get called for a particular construction job, get use of the family van, or get noticed by some girl at church camp. In many ways the world wasn’t big enough for the two of us. We were always trying leap-frog our way ahead of one another. Our goal was to get a competitive edge over the other and become the greatest.
In James 4:1-3 (NIV) we read, "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."
In Mark 10:35-37 (NIV), the disciples take their dispute over greatness directly to Jesus. Can you imagine?"Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. 'Teacher,' they said, 'we want you to do for us whatever we ask.''What do you want me to do for you?' he asked.They replied, 'Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.' "
In Mark 10:41 (NIV) we read, "When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John." Understandably, the other disciples were outraged by the request of James and John. But not for the reasons we might assume. The other disciples were only upset because James and John had beat them to the punch!
Of course, Jesus discerns the true intent of James and John's hearts. They were seeking position and power for personal gain in order to fullfill their own desires and seek pleasure. They were not seeking postion and power in order to serve others.
In Mark 9:35-37 (NIV) Jesus says, "Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, 'If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.' He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 'Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.' "
In Mark 10:38-45 (NIV) Jesus is even more exacting, " 'You don't know what you are asking,' Jesus said. 'Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?''We can,' they answered. Jesus said to them, 'You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.' "
"When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, 'You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.' "
In other words, if you want to aspire to true greatness, put serving others before serving yourselves! Stop pursuing power, position, wealth, and prestige in order to gain the competitive advantage over others. Become the servant, the slave, who fully exists for the advancement of another person.
If you are following along in your Bibles, you will notice that there is a lot that happens between the disciples' initial argument about who was the greatest and then James and John's request to sit at the right and left hand of Jesus. In your outline you will find five accounts that illustrate what it means to truly put others before self, instead of using them asstepping stones to advance in life. Let's briefly highlight these accounts and allow the tests to ask us some important questions.
Can you rejoice in others' successes?
Our tendency is to feel threatened when people around us surpass us in some way. When you feel threatened by the success of others, it is a good indicator that you're more interested in serving self than in serving the other.
In Mark 9:38-41 (NIV) the disciples come to Jesus. They are really on a roll here with dumb questions." 'Teacher,' said John, 'we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.''Do not stop him,' Jesus said. 'No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.' "
When is the last time you felt threatened by the success of another person? When have you criticized another person unfairly?
Can you refuse sinful shortcuts?
When it comes to greatness, the temptations to take shortcuts abound. Sometimes we fall into the trap of believing that the means justifies the end. But this is not the case.
In Mark 9:42-50 (NIV) we read, "And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,where'their worm does not die,and the fire is not quenched.' Everyone will be salted with fire.Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other."
Are you taking advantage of others or cheating others in order to get ahead? Are you dishonoring Christ by making compromises? Are you stealing with your hands, going where you shouldn't with your feet, coveting the accomplishments of others with your eyes, or losing your spiritual edge and saltiness in order to gain success in the eyes of men?
Can you embrace those closest to you?
When it comes to greatness, we sometimes see those closest to us, our spouses, our children, or our parents, as obstacles. In Mark 10:1-9 (NIV) Jesus talks about a practice in the first century whereby a husband could write his wife a certificate of divorce to free himself of any obligation to her. Jesus clarifies the true nature of God's design in marriage."Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them.Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, 'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?''What did Moses command you?' he replied.They said, 'Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.''It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,' Jesus replied. 'But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.' 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.' "
Husbands, commitment to your wife, and wives, commitment to your husbands, isn't an obstacle to greatness. Commitment to your spouse is the essence of greatness because true greatness is putting others first before yourself. What a mess we have these days, because to fulfill our personal desires we see those closest to us as obstacles. I'm married. I have kids. I have to take care of my aging parents. I have this obligation. I have that obligation. Greatness is serving loved ones before anything else.
Can you share your treasure?
Money is the currency of success. If you have great wealth, if you have accummulated great possessions, you are considered successful. In Mark 10:17-28 we find the familiar story of the rich young ruler who felt confident in his own goodness and in his own greatness. Jesus challenges him to become truly great in the eyes of God. Could he sell everything he owned and leverage his great wealth to truly serve others, the poor? Sadly, the rich young ruler could not.
Can you keep the things of this life in perspective?
This last question is kind of a summary of everything we have talked about this morning. True greatness in the eyes of God demands tremendous sacrifice of our whole life. In Mark 10:29-31 (NIV) Jesus says, " 'I tell you the truth,' Jesus replied, 'no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.' "
The Jesus way of greatness is in this passage.Mark 10:32-34 (NIV) says,"They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 'We are going up to Jerusalem,' he said, 'and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.' "
Jesus' pathway to greatness means laying down his very life for the success of others. For Jesus, greatness wasn’t about using power, wealth, prestige, and people as stepping stones on some reckless path to glory. For Jesus, greatness was about service. The Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.