October 18, 2018
“Who has the authority?” (Mark 10:35-45)
The disciples didn’t understand Jesus’ crazy teaching about authority. They were stuck in the world’s view of authority. So James and John asked Jesus if they could be in positions of power when Jesus ascends to glory. Jesus’ response…”You don’t know what you are asking.”
The disciples were confused on several levels:
First…they thought that Jesus was going to ascend to power as the promised Messiah. A common view of Messiah, in that day, was that he was sent to rid the land of Gentile domination.
Second…they assumed that Jesus’ royal court would look like the kingdoms of the world.
Thirdly… they had no idea what “the cup” or ‘the baptism” would fully entail.
Fourthly… their idea of having authority over others was based upon holding power over them and not serving under them.
I think we can glean several teachings from this lesson, but I want to focus upon one: authority is a reality.
Too often we want to just level the playing field and live in a totally egalitarian state/church. The reality is that someone needs to be in charge. Jesus teaches us how to choose that person: the one who serves. He said “…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” To be a servant of all (in my understanding) means that the best leaders are doing what is best for the entire organization. Many authors refer to this as ‘serving the common good.’
So who has the real authority in the eyes of our Lord and Savior…the one who leads by serving the common good. And he is correct…that is a difficult cup to bear.
God’s richest blessings,
Pastor Mike
“Who has the authority?” (Mark 10:35-45)
The disciples didn’t understand Jesus’ crazy teaching about authority. They were stuck in the world’s view of authority. So James and John asked Jesus if they could be in positions of power when Jesus ascends to glory. Jesus’ response…”You don’t know what you are asking.”
The disciples were confused on several levels:
First…they thought that Jesus was going to ascend to power as the promised Messiah. A common view of Messiah, in that day, was that he was sent to rid the land of Gentile domination.
Second…they assumed that Jesus’ royal court would look like the kingdoms of the world.
Thirdly… they had no idea what “the cup” or ‘the baptism” would fully entail.
Fourthly… their idea of having authority over others was based upon holding power over them and not serving under them.
I think we can glean several teachings from this lesson, but I want to focus upon one: authority is a reality.
Too often we want to just level the playing field and live in a totally egalitarian state/church. The reality is that someone needs to be in charge. Jesus teaches us how to choose that person: the one who serves. He said “…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” To be a servant of all (in my understanding) means that the best leaders are doing what is best for the entire organization. Many authors refer to this as ‘serving the common good.’
So who has the real authority in the eyes of our Lord and Savior…the one who leads by serving the common good. And he is correct…that is a difficult cup to bear.
God’s richest blessings,
Pastor Mike