How to be Great
And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “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.”
Let me be honest. I want to be great. In this, I know I’m not alone. The Bible is clear. Just like me, Jesus’ disciples wanted to be great. And, to their credit, they knew Jesus could make them great! Jesus never rebuked his disciples because they hungered for greatness. On the contrary, Jesus taught them that greatness was within their grasp! It’s the same for you and me. Greatness is within our grasp too.
So what about it? Are you a great man? A great woman? If not, why not? Mark 10:42-45 helps answer that question. In these verses, Jesus reveals the primary obstacle that blocks our path to greatness—our understanding of what genuine greatness is and how it is achieved. Mark 10:35-41 reveals the disciples’ own misunderstanding about what true greatness is. The greatness they envisioned was greatness as defined by the world. In this world, greatness is about enjoying privilege and fame, calling the shots, being treated with deference, and being served by your underlings. This is the “greatness” James and John had in mind when they sent their mommy to ask Jesus for positions of highest honor in His coming kingdom (35-37). Likewise—this is the greatness the other disciples had in mind when they “became indignant” because they didn’t think of asking Jesus first (41)!
In Mark 10:42-45, Jesus corrects his disciples’ misunderstanding (and ours) by defining what “kingdom greatness” means. “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.”
In short, becoming great in God’s kingdom means learning to serve others in the same way Jesus first served (and still serves) us. In God’s eyes, the great man or woman is the one who recognizes the needs of others and happily acts to meet those needs. The great person is the person who cares more about God’s opinion than man’s. He is not motivated by a need for recognition. This means the greatest believers in God’s kingdom are not necessarily authors or preachers who enjoy celebrity. They are not necessarily those who lead or stand up front on Sundays. The greatest husbands are not necessarily those who bring home the most money or maintain family order by means of domineering leadership. No, the greatest husband is the one who loves and serves his wife like Christ loves and serves his Church.
Which raises the question—what about your rights? What about mine? The answer is simple. If, like Jesus says, being great means becoming a slave, we have no rights. Recognizing this is essential to our walk with God and each other. In light of Jesus’ words, perhaps there are too many believers demanding their “rights” in Christ’s church. Perhaps there are too many believers demanding their “rights” in their marriage. Perhaps there are too many believers demanding their “rights” at home, at work, and in their neighborhoods. How can we be servants? How can we be slaves? How can we be great in God’s kingdom if we’re always demanding our so-called “rights”? Answer? We can’t!
If we want to be great in God’s eyes, we must follow the example of our Savior who “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Aren’t you glad Jesus didn’t demand his rights on the day he went to the cross? Aren’t you glad he put your needs above his own? Aren’t you glad he laid down his life for you and me? Jesus is our example. Jesus is our strength. In Jesus, we learn to lay down our lives for others like he laid down his life for us. In Jesus, we really can become great in God’s kingdom.