Servanthood And Palm Sunday

Greatness. Who comes to mind when you hear this word? To some, this word brings thoughts of a great athlete. To others, it brings to mind a great military commander or world leader of the past. To others, it brings to mind an artist or a musician. But who is truly great, what does greatness mean and how can one become great?

We see Jesus’ disciples wrestling with these same questions. In Mark 10:35-45 we find this story. James and John, two of Jesus’ closest followers came to Jesus with a special request.

“Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And Jesus said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”

What are they saying here? We want to be great. We want the place of honor and glory. We want to be associated with you in such a way that we are recognized and applauded. Just a few verses before Jesus had foretold his death for the third time and still, his disciples were pursuing their own agenda and prestige.

In response to this question we are told that the other ten disciples were indignant, but don’t think that the other ten were innocent. One chapter earlier Jesus had confronted all of them for arguing about who was the greatest. They all were in need of Jesus’ correction.

Taking this as a teachable moment Jesus called them all together and said this,

“You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

They all knew that the rulers of the world used power and dominance to get what they wanted. Rulers used others to reach their selfish goals of “greatness.” Jesus makes it clear to his followers that the kingdom of God works differently. Whoever would be great, whoever would live a life of significance, must not use others but serve them instead.

There were six words in the New Testament that could be translated servant. The one that Jesus used here means a simple waiter. One who humbles himself and takes care of others by meeting even the simplest of their needs. Jesus then added the word slave to his description of greatness. What a contradiction of terms. To be a servant was humbling enough but at least you still were your own person. To be a slave meant you had lost every right. You were someone else’s property. They had even the power of life and death over you.

There is an interesting fact from the first-century culture that helps us better understand this use of the word slavery. There was a term known as a “love slave.” It was a slave who had been granted his freedom but because of love had chosen to continue as a slave of his master and his master’s family. This type of servanthood or slavery falls more in line with Jesus’ teaching. God-honoring service cannot be forced on someone. True servanthood is a way of being and living that we willingly submit to and Christ works in our hearts.

Jesus then finished his teaching by saying anyone who would be great must be a servant and slave of “all.” We are not to just serve those who can somehow benefit us in return. We are not just to serve those who are loving towards us. We are not just to serve those who are of higher status or position than we are. We are to be servants of all. This is what it means to be great in the kingdom of God. Our willingness to serve them should not be based on who they are or what they need. It is to be based on the fact that our needs have been fully met in Christ so we are now free to meet the needs of others as the Holy Spirit leads.

This was Jesus’ way of life. He “did not come to be served but to serve.” In the same way that a ransom could be paid to free a slave, so Jesus served us by paying our ransom at the cross and buying our freedom from the slavery of sin and death.

Jesus’ idea of servanthood was made even more evident in the story that is found in the verses that followed.