The Son Of Man Did Not Come To Be Served, But To Serve (Mark 10:32-45)

 

The Son Of Man Did Not Come To Be Served, But To Serve (Mark 10:32-45)

Who is wise and great? The standards of this world and the kingdom of heaven are not the same. In the kingdom of heaven, he who humbles himself and serves as servant is the great one and the first. Jesus took on the sins of this world and endured shame, sorrow, pain, and contempt. However, the wisdom of this world does not understand the cross of Jesus and deems it foolish.

In Mark 10:32-45, Jesus taught for the third time about His suffering and resurrection. James and John, the brothers, asked to obtain a seat in the Lord's kingdom. They did not know what they were asking. God had already known and prepared before the creation of the world who would sit in the glory, honor, and majesty of His kingdom. To accomplish this, Jesus came as a servant to serve sinners and received the punishment of death. Through His blood, everyone who believes receives forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

Jesus Predicts His Death And Resurrection (Mark 10:32-34) (Mt 20:17-19; Lk 18:31-34)

32 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. 33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” (Mark 10:32-34)

Jesus was now on the way to Jerusalem to bear the cross. The disciples intuitively sensed the danger lying before Jesus. The Jews were already plotting to kill Jesus and looking for an opportunity to arrest Him. The disciples had witnessed several times that the Jews did not hide their hostile feelings toward Jesus and opposed Him openly.

Jesus, too, could not have been unaware of this fact. Jesus publicly rebuked the hypocrisy, ignorance, and corruption of the Jews (Mt 23:13-36; Lk 11:37-54). They tested Jesus, seeking to capture and kill Him, and they watched and threatened Him regarding His healing on the Sabbath (Mk 10:2-12; Mt 12:2). They demanded that Jesus show them a sign from heaven (Mt 16:1-4).

However, Jesus continued to shine the light of truth and spoke with the love, joy, and peace of God. He answered their obvious testing questions with truth and knocked on their hardened hearts (Mk 2:27, 7:6, 10:5). He urged them to respond to the light of God the Father's truth, open their hearts, and accept God's love.

The disciples were afraid. It seemed as though a physical conflict with the Jews could break out at any moment. However, Jesus instead spoke of how He would suffer at the hands of the Jews, be handed over to the Gentiles to receive the punishment of the cross, and rise again after three days. Jesus taught very specifically about the suffering He would receive.

Although at that time the disciples were afraid even to ask and did not understand, after Jesus suffered and was resurrected, they realized the truth and accepted the suffering Christ. That is why Jesus continued to teach the disciples the truth. Above all, He taught them repeatedly about the suffering of the cross, even though the disciples were afraid and uncomfortable even hearing about it.

Jesus came to this earth for this very purpose. This was the will of God the Father to save this world (Isa 53:10). This work is to save people who have fallen under sin by being sacrificed on the cross as the Lamb of God. Because there is no work more important than this, Jesus did not spare His own life and willingly gave it up (Ro 5:8).

The Request of James and John (Mark 10:35-45)

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” 36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. 37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” 38 “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?” 39 “We can,” they answered. (Mark 10:35-39a)

The disciples wanted to occupy a great position in the Lord's kingdom, at any cost of sacrifice. Having sensed that the Lord's kingdom was imminent, the disciples openly revealed the wishes they had been harboring deep in their hearts until now. However, when James and John made the first move, the other disciples were indignant that they had missed the opportunity (Mk 10:41).

What the disciples wanted was to sit in the seat of His glory once Jesus' kingdom was established after driving out Rome. As Jesus pointed out, they did not know what it meant that they were asking for. In their ignorance, they were confident that they could drink the cup Jesus drank and be baptized with the baptism He was baptized with.

Although the disciples were powerless, without financial means, and unknown at the time, they expected that if they occupied a position in Jesus' kingdom someday, they would gain power, wealth, and fame. Their wishes were far from the purpose for which Jesus came to this earth. They were shortsighted and worldly. Even though their bodies were with Jesus, their thoughts and expectations were in an entirely different place.

James and John had been with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration not long ago when He was transformed into the image of the glory of God (Mark 9:2-3). The glory they wanted was one that Jesus would achieve on this earth by His power, without going through the death of the cross. To obtain this, they thought a conflict was inevitable, whether with Jewish leaders or with Rome. They mistakenly understood the cup and baptism Jesus spoke of as meaning that, and said they could do it.

You Will Drink The Cup I Drink

Jesus said, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 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.” 41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. (Mark 10:39b-41)

Jesus knew that the disciples did not know what they were saying. However, He told them in advance that they would in the future drink the cup of the cross and receive the baptism of death of Jesus Christ. In fact, James was the first among the disciples to be martyred, and according to tradition, John was thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil and was exiled to the island of Patmos (Ac 12:2; Rev 1:9). The disciples, including the two brothers, suffered much for the sake of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

However, heavenly rewards will be given according to God's sovereignty, as prepared (Jn 14:2-3). It is not something obtained by asking Jesus. God had already prepared the heavenly rewards even before they asked (Eph 1:3-5). Anyone who follows the Lord's path of the cross and obeys receives the crown of life.

Of course, salvation is not reached by works. It is reached only by faith. According to the gift of faith that God has sent down from heaven, one responds to the words of the Lord's commandments and obeys. Abraham received God's promise, responded, left his native land and his father's house, and lived in the strange land of Canaan (Ge 12:1-2). He was declared righteous by faith in God's promise (Ge 15:1-6). He became the father of faith, reaching salvation through faith.

God Who Foreknew And Chose Before The Creation Of The World

God foreknew those whom He chose before the creation of the world (Rom 8:29; Eph 1:4). Paul said that He set him apart from his mother’s womb and called him by His grace (Gal 1:15). Jeremiah testified that before He formed him in the womb He knew him, before he was born He set him apart, and He appointed him as a prophet to the nations (Jer 1:5).

How can we know God’s foreknowledge and choosing? It is by having faith, being thankful for the forgiving love of the cross of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and responding in obedience. It is loving your brother as yourself, just as Jesus’ new commandment says. It is continually loving God’s word and enjoying His grace. It is not placing hope in earthly things, but holding onto the hope of the kingdom of heaven.

This is because, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Father has redeemed all the sins of those He foreknew, justified them, and also glorified them with Christ (Rom 8:30). The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is the power that atones for all the sins of those who come with faith (1 Cor 1:18).

29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified (Rom 8:29-30).

How is this possible? Here, being chosen, called, justified, and glorified are all used in the past tense. This is because the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, suffered before the creation of the world. Because salvation is obtained only by the grace of Christ’s precious blood, God was pleased to sacrifice His Son (Isa 53:10).

Saving through the blood of Jesus Christ is God’s wisdom. Worldly wisdom hates the cross of Christ and considers it foolish (1 Cor 1:23). This worldly wisdom cannot know or understand this mystery. Therefore, they crucified Jesus (1 Cor 2:8). For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Cor 1:18).

Whoever Wants To Become Great Must Be A Servant

42 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. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 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” (Mark 10:42-45).

The disciples were not yet in a position of glory, but they dreamed of the day when they would sit in that position and rule and govern people. However, Jesus said that this is what Gentile rulers do—using the authority and power God gave them not for justice and righteousness, but for their own benefit, ruling over people at their own will (John 19:11). Human history clearly shows this fact.

This breeds conflict, fighting, and slaughter. People constantly argue and fight over who gets to take more. The kingdom of heaven is not like that. Instead, whoever wants to become great must be a servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. The standards of this world and the standards of the kingdom of heaven are completely different.

Jesus is that example. He laid aside His heavenly glory, honor, majesty, and power, took the form of a servant, became incarnate, and humbled Himself and became obedient to God the Father—even to death (Phil 2:6-8). Although Jesus is the Son of God, He did not come to receive glory and service. Rather, He served everyone, and by sacrificing His own life, He became the channel of salvation.

Then, God raised the Son, who was buried in the tomb, from the dead on the third day, seated Him at the highest throne in heaven, and made Him King of kings and Lord of lords (Phil 2:9-11). Jesus had no reason to receive death, but to save us from sin and the power of death and to enable us to obtain eternal life, He gave His own life as a ransom sacrifice for many.

Therefore, we follow the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, loving, forgiving, reconciling, and accepting one another, and instead humbling ourselves to become servants in the attitude of a slave. This means dying on the cross with Christ. It is bearing pain, suffering, shame, and insult. If we do this, God will raise us up again with Christ, seat us with the Lord at the highest throne in heaven, and bless us to rule over all things.

Amen!

June 28, 2026

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Scripture quotes are from the NIV.