Stand Up
By J.B. Hixson, Ph.D.
01/18/2021
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.” And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Can you drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” (Mark 10:35-38)
Deep inside all of us is the desire to be great. We naturally want to be honored or receive glory for some achievement. We strive for popularity and fame. At the very least, we want to be accepted by our peers and even admired by them. This has been true since the fall of man. Indeed, the root of all sin is pride. Adam and Eve, in their sin, were attempting to achieve greatness. Their pride led them to try to be like God. The result was catastrophic.
Even believers are not immune to the temptation of pride. In fact, two of Jesus’ closest disciples once asked Jesus a question which betrayed their inner desire to be great. Rather than willingly and humbly serving Christ, James and John wanted to know if they could share Christ’s glory by sitting on either side of Him in His future earthly Kingdom. What James and John failed to realize is that true greatness is found in serving. Greatness is not a position; it’s a posture.
Truly great servants do not sit; they stand. Greatness is not about receiving; it is about giving. Jesus replied to their request with the famous words: “Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:43-45)
Jesus Christ is the supreme example of servanthood. Before James and John could share the honor and glory, they must be willing to accept the trouble and dishonor. Paraphrasing Jesus’ response, He said, “Okay. Let Me get this straight. You want the honor. That’s fine. But are you willing to walk down the same road that I am about to walk down? Are you willing to serve Me to the fullest, even if it means paying the ultimate sacrifice of death?” Jesus always had a way of putting things in perspective. More often than not He turned the thinking of His hearers upside down by pointing out that real truth is found by taking the world’s philosophy and completely reversing it.
For example, the world says that those who would be great among us must scratch, and claw, and fight their way to the top, not worrying about those they step on along the way. Yet, the truth is if you want to be great, simply take your place at the back of the line and serve Christ faithfully. The world says if you want to be great you must toot your own horn. Yet, the truth is when you toot your own horn you are not being great, you are just being loud; and the only thing worse than a prideful person is a loud prideful person. The world says that those who would be great among us are those who have money, and fame, and power. The truth is some of the greatest people who ever walked the face of the earth were penniless, meek, and unknown.
Our world does not need more throne-seekers. There are plenty of those everywhere we turn. What the world needs is more people willing to stand and serve. Remember, true servants do not sit, they stand. It is time for Christians to stand up….and serve.
01/18/2021
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.” And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Can you drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” (Mark 10:35-38)
Deep inside all of us is the desire to be great. We naturally want to be honored or receive glory for some achievement. We strive for popularity and fame. At the very least, we want to be accepted by our peers and even admired by them. This has been true since the fall of man. Indeed, the root of all sin is pride. Adam and Eve, in their sin, were attempting to achieve greatness. Their pride led them to try to be like God. The result was catastrophic.
Even believers are not immune to the temptation of pride. In fact, two of Jesus’ closest disciples once asked Jesus a question which betrayed their inner desire to be great. Rather than willingly and humbly serving Christ, James and John wanted to know if they could share Christ’s glory by sitting on either side of Him in His future earthly Kingdom. What James and John failed to realize is that true greatness is found in serving. Greatness is not a position; it’s a posture.
Truly great servants do not sit; they stand. Greatness is not about receiving; it is about giving. Jesus replied to their request with the famous words: “Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:43-45)
Jesus Christ is the supreme example of servanthood. Before James and John could share the honor and glory, they must be willing to accept the trouble and dishonor. Paraphrasing Jesus’ response, He said, “Okay. Let Me get this straight. You want the honor. That’s fine. But are you willing to walk down the same road that I am about to walk down? Are you willing to serve Me to the fullest, even if it means paying the ultimate sacrifice of death?” Jesus always had a way of putting things in perspective. More often than not He turned the thinking of His hearers upside down by pointing out that real truth is found by taking the world’s philosophy and completely reversing it.
For example, the world says that those who would be great among us must scratch, and claw, and fight their way to the top, not worrying about those they step on along the way. Yet, the truth is if you want to be great, simply take your place at the back of the line and serve Christ faithfully. The world says if you want to be great you must toot your own horn. Yet, the truth is when you toot your own horn you are not being great, you are just being loud; and the only thing worse than a prideful person is a loud prideful person. The world says that those who would be great among us are those who have money, and fame, and power. The truth is some of the greatest people who ever walked the face of the earth were penniless, meek, and unknown.
Our world does not need more throne-seekers. There are plenty of those everywhere we turn. What the world needs is more people willing to stand and serve. Remember, true servants do not sit, they stand. It is time for Christians to stand up….and serve.
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