Food
for Thought:
Jesus, the Servant King
A Summer
Sermon Series: The Jesus I Want to Know
July 1 , 2007
Dr. Mark Ruppert
Mark 10:42-45
How many of you remember the name Merv Griffin? Well, for you
younger people he had a talk show that was the forerunner to Oprah,
Montel and Ellen. I remember hurrying home from school as a kid to
watch “the Merv Griffin Show.” Well, many years ago, when Merv was
in his prime, he had one particular guest on his show that was quiet
the specimen. He was a terrific body builder. During the
interview, Merv asked, “Why do you develop those particular
muscles?” The body builder simply stepped forward and flexed a
series of muscles from his chest to his calf. The audience
applauded. “What do you use all those muscles for?” Merv asked.
Again, the muscle-bound specimen flexed, and his biceps and triceps
expanded to unbelievable proportions. “But what do you use those
muscles for?” Merv persistently asked. The body builder stood
there for a moment confused, embarrassed and then sat down in
bewilderment.
He didn’t have an answer to Merv’s question that attempted to
answer what those muscles were for other than for him to display and
for people to admire his physical specimen.
So the question that could be asked of us is, “what are you here
for?” What is our purpose in life? Maybe we are still asking these
kinds of questions and Jesus has an answer.
Let me put today’s passage in its context. Jesus is on His way
from Galilee to Jerusalem. The cross is drawing closer and closer
and there is jockeying for position on the part of James and John as
one wants to sit on Jesus right hand and the other on His left hand
when He comes into His glory. And the other disciples here this and
they become angry with James and John. And so in the midst of this
final journey to Jerusalem Jesus tells His disciples about serving
and servanthood.
The disciples have been with Jesus for 3 years- they have heard
His words but it is as if they have the music all wrong. They are
still dancing to the tunes of this world. This journey of Jesus and
His disciples up to Jerusalem has been likened to an untried team
trotting onto the field behind their coach. Their uniforms are
splendid, but the rules by which they are ready to play belong to a
different game.
What leads up to Jesus saying what He does in our passage is this
incident with James and John wanting, when Jesus sets up His
kingdom, to be the top two dogs- one to sit at Jesus’ right hand and
the other at His left. If you go back and read the entire story and
observe the behavior of James and John you see that they were
wanting Jesus to bring about a serious Jewish revolution.
What James and John wanted was a Messiah who would bring about
the defeat of the Romans, rid the land of the pagans and put Israel
right up there as the #1 nation in the world.
The Jews of Jesus’ time dreamed of such an uprising but there was
a slight problem. This would have gone against the purpose that God
first called Israel, and that purpose was to be the light of the
world. James and John were focused on extending the darkness, using
an evil and violent revolution to defeat the evil Roman Empire.
Given the conversation that Jesus had with James and John, two of
His closest disciples, what options did Jesus have? Let’s talk
about 3. First, Jesus could have led a revolt. He
could have rallied His followers, He could have stirred up the
masses and attempted to rid the country of the Roman enemy through a
bloody uprising. But He was also the Prince of Peace and so that
wasn’t really an option.
Second, Jesus could have cut and run. Jesus could
have retreated to the desert with His disciples and lived out His
days in prayer and fasting and prayer and fasting, and did I say
prayer and fasting?
Then there was the third option that He chose- Jesus stayed in
the Garden of Gethsemane and waited for Judas. And
Gethsemane lead to a mock trial, and a mock trial lead to the crowd
choosing between the criminal Barabbas and Jesus and they chose
Barabbas, and Barabbas being set free sent Jesus to a cross at
Calvary where He was crucified. And, as we know, a crucified
Messiah is by the world’s standards a failed Messiah because
everyone knew that the Messiah should be the triumphant warrior
king.
Everyone knew this, except Jesus. Jesus knew a secret that the
rest of the world didn’t understand, or comprehend. Jesus knew of a
different kind of power, a different kind of Messiah, a different
kind of King. Remember, it was Jesus who said in Mark 10:45, “For
the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his
life as a ransom for many. And as Isaiah 53 tells us about the
Servant of the Lord, he was a lamb to the slaughter, he was wounded
for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. And so when
we read chapter 10 of Mark’s gospel we see Mark’s vision of this one
called Jesus who is the Servant King who calls His people to follow
Him.
Jesus was not the revolutionary leader the way the people hoped
for and He did not flee to the desert, so if the writer of the
Gospel of Mark were standing here with us today what would he tell
us to do as we seek to follow Jesus? You see Jesus is in the
business of upsetting what could be considered the acceptable
standards of the world. Instead of following the world’s standards
of power and class and rank and money, Jesus put servanthood as His
standard of greatness. “By rank, a servant is last of all. In
power, a servant has none.”
Mark would tell us that Jesus, just plain and simply, wants us
to be like Him. The operative word, Mark would say, is
servanthood.
What this passage challenges is apathy and complacency. It has
been said by Dr. Lamar Williamson, professor emeritus of biblical
studies at Union-Presbyterian School of Christian Education in
Richmond, Virginia, “today the gospel is often presented as a
no-risk offer, and persons sometimes follow Jesus in order to stay
out of trouble…. The [passage] offers a jolting challenge to any
simplistic, self-centered understanding of discipleship. Getting
right with God by coming to Jesus is not simply a basic factor in an
orderly life. Discipleship will mean more trouble, not less.
Though it may be [less painful] in some respects, following Jesus is
likely to be disruptive in others. True discipleship is
characterized by a costly pouring out of one’s life for another,
whether it be an aging parent, a difficult spouse, a special child,
another member of the Christian fellowship who has unusual needs, or
any person whose situation elicits neighborly service at a personal
cost. Jesus came to serve and to give his life.
Anyone who contemplates following Jesus without fear and
trembling has not understood true discipleship, according to Mark.”
And so Mark’s words of the message of the Servant King, it what
we have to grapple with and grasp today. Each of us is called to be
a follower of Jesus, a disciple to this Servant King. It is up to
us to tell the world that the victory has been won and we do not
need to live in fear but in hope. “’Disciples’ means not just
head-learners, not just heart-learners, but life-learners. We have
to discover, through prayer, study of Scriptures, and above all
devotion to Jesus himself such as we express when we come to his
table, how we in our generation can implement the decisive victory,
which he won…. Taking up the cross is not a merely passive
operation. It comes about as the Church attempts, in the power of
the Spirit, to be for the world what Jesus was for the world-
announcing the kingdom, healing the wounds of the world, challenging
the power structures that keep anger and pain in circulation. We
need to pray that we will have the courage, as a Church and as
[Christians], to follow the Servant King wherever he leads. That…
is why we come to his table…. ” (Following Jesus, N. T.
Wright, p. 48,51)
As we come to Christ’s table let us truly take up our cross and
follow Him. That is what the Servant King calls us to do. Amen.
Key Points
Introduction:
“The Merv Griffin Show” and the body builder
Question:
“What are you here for? What is our purpose in life?”
Leading up to
today’s passage is the incident with James and John
Three
options Jesus had
First,
Jesus could have led a _________
Second,
Jesus could have cut and ______
Third,
the option He chose-Jesus stayed in the Garden
of Gathsemane and waited for
_______
If the writer
of the Gospel of Mark were standing here with us today what would he
tell us to do as we seek to follow Jesus?
Mark
would tell us that Jesus, just plain and simply, wants
us to be like Him
Conclusion:
As we come to Christ’s table let us truly take up our cross and
follow Him. That is what the Servant King calls us to do.
Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.)
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