October 22, 2006

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What Is It You Want?

Mark 10:35-45

            The Scripture reading today contains a very interesting story.  What is even more interesting is that just before this story, we read that Jesus was saying to the disciples, “We are going up to Jerusalem , and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law.  They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him.  Three days later he will rise” (Mark 10:33-34).  Jesus had just shared with them the truth that was weighing on his heart.  Something terrible, something shocking was about to happen.  It would profoundly change their world.  It should have horrified them and saddened them.  But apparently it went right over their heads, and as if they did not even hear what he was saying, two of them approach him with a request.  It is not a request to keep them strong in the hour of trouble which he has just described.  It is not a request for him to help them know what to do when these things happen.  It is not a request to let them know what they can do to help him in the ordeal he is about to face.  No, it is not about Jesus at all.  It is a request for themselves.  They want to be promoted. 

            Before they tell him what they want, they say, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”  Jesus shows no sign of being irritated with them for being so slow-witted and unfeeling.  He simply says, “What do you want me to do for you?”  There can be no more important question than this from Jesus.  The weight of their whole character depends on how they respond to this question.  And what do they ask?  Their request is: “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”  They are looking for a place of honor.  Talk about an ability to miss the point! 

            Almost the same story is in the previous chapter.  Here too, he had tried to tell them about his coming suffering and death.  But it says, “When he was in the house, he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’  But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest” (Mark 9:33-34).  Even at the Last Supper this was utmost on their minds.  The Bible says, “In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.  But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table.  The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him.’  They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.  Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest” (Luke 22:20-24).  To the very end, the disciples were not concerned about the salvation of the world, or the need of the people in the world.  Primary in their thoughts, from beginning to end, was about who was greatest.  Is it possible to be any more self-focused than they were?  This is one of those classic adventures in missing the point.  

            It is interesting how the disciples’ time with Jesus somehow became all about them, even though they believed in him and followed him.  As I have mentioned before, the disciples were better at keeping people away from Jesus than they were at bringing them to him.  We never see them trying to help each other, and we never see them bringing other people to Jesus — either for healing or forgiveness.  Remember the time that the disciples tried to keep parents from bringing their children to Jesus for a blessing?  The Bible says, “Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them.  But the disciples rebuked those who brought them” (Matthew 19:13).

            Then there was the time that a woman anointed Jesus with perfume as an act of worship and gratefulness for what he had done for her.  But the Bible says, “When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. ‘Why this waste?’ they asked. ‘This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor’” (Matthew 26:8-9).  They would have stopped her if they could have.  There were others they tried to stop as well.  They once came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us” (Mark 9:38).  “He wasn’t one of us,” they said, “He didn’t belong to our church.  He was of another race and another country.”  And when one of the Samaritan villages did not welcome Jesus, the Bible says, “When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, ‘Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?’” (Luke 9:54).  They weren’t concerned about their salvation, they wanted their destruction.  They were insulted and wanted to take vengeance. 

            How do we escape this attitude that God is just for us?  How do we begin to understand that it is not all about us?  How do we start to see God as more than just the great magician in the sky who is supposed to work miracles on our behalf and make our lives easy and good?  More importantly, what would be our response to Jesus Christ if he were to stand before us today and ask, “What is it you want?  What do you want me to do for you?”  Think about what you would say for a moment.  The weight of who you are rests on how you answer Jesus’ question. 

            Jesus 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.  Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  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).  If anyone had the right to be served, it was Jesus.  The Creator of the world, the sovereign Lord of the Universe, came to earth, and he came to serve.  Imagine it!  He could have demanded that the world fall at his feet, but he fell at the feet of the world to wash the feet of the world and serve us.  He gave us the model for selfless living and service.  We are amazed at the Scripture that says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). 

            Selfless service.  This is to be the mark of the Christian life.  After humbling himself, serving the disciples and washing their feet, Jesus said, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.  I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.  I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.  Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” (John 13:14-17). 

            So what does a believer’s life look like when they go beyond believing and actually begin to listen to Jesus and do what he says?  It begins when we begin to care about the needs of others.  Before Pentecost, the disciples, even though they believed in Jesus thoroughly, appeared to be totally self-absorbed, and because of this, they missed much of what he had to say.  After Pentecost the disciples finally began to “get it.”  They started to crawl out of their self-centered little shells and see people with new eyes.  They saw their mission and purpose with new vision.  Before, it was all about their position and pride.  It was about having a place of privilege in the Kingdom.  Now they saw that being a follower of Jesus meant being a servant.  It was no less than Jesus had been saying all along.  He said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all” (Mark 9:35).  Jesus gave them a new principle of leadership: He who serves, leads.  They thought leadership was a privileged, appointed position, and Jesus told them it was an earned position — earned through humble serving.  At Pentecost, the disciples began preaching, and not just to their own people, but to people of other nations.  They saw them with new eyes.  Peter proclaimed: “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21).  He said, “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:39). 

            But it not only changed the way they thought, it changed they way they lived with each other.  We read in the book of Acts: “All the believers were together and had everything in common.  Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.  They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.  And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:44-47). 

            It is amazing how this move away from self-focus began to affect their lives.  No longer is there a contest about who is the greatest.  We never read about this again after the resurrection of the Lord.  When they stopped living only for themselves and thinking about their own needs, they became new people.  Their fellowship became sweet.  The Holy Spirit filled them.  They had a new power.  They loved to pray together.  They were excited about worshiping together.  In fact, they didn’t just meet once a week to worship, it says they met every day in the temple.  But that wasn’t even the end of it.  They could not get enough of each other.  When they left the temple they went to each other’s homes.  They shared what they had and ate together every day.  Other people began to notice, and they enjoyed the favor of all the people around them.  It was a powerful witness and others were drawn to the faith because of them.  And then, the biggest change was that they began selling their possessions so they could share with others who were in need.  And what was the result?  It says that “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” 

            Why don’t we see more of a move of God today?  Because, even in our affluence in the American church, we think mainly of our own needs.  We find it difficult coming to church on a regular basis, even when it is only once a week.  We fail to meet with other believers in prayer and fellowship and study of the Word.  Our prayer life is weak.  We have lost our enthusiasm in our walk with Christ, because we are absorbed in other things.  We are still seeking to get ahead and have lost the desire to follow Jesus in serving others — wanting to be served instead.  We are timid about sharing the faith.  By and large, many American Christians are no longer Pentecostal Christians who are filled with the fire of the Spirit. 

            We do see some of this fervor in our church, and for that I am grateful.  Last year, we had people sell their possessions in order to go to Honduras and serve the impoverished people there.  Other members shared their money in order to help the team members go.  People on the team shared their witness and forgot about their needs in order to meet the needs of others.  Every week in our church, people are gathering in home groups for Bible study and prayer.  Many are serving as teachers, helpers and other ways in our visitation ministry, Sunday School, Kid’s Club, PB&J club, apartment ministries, OASIS, ESL classes, Wagon ministry, and many other ministries.  We are meeting together and sharing meals in each other’s homes.  Some are doing a lot.  It would be great if every Christian was involved in a Pentecostal lifestyle.  This is our goal, and the more people become less interested in their own affairs and give themselves to serving others, the more the fire will fall here and the Holy Spirit will fill this place. 

            The needs are great.  People without Christ need to hear the Gospel and feel the love of God through the lives of believers.  People within the church need to be discipled and taught the Word of God.  Children need to see that people care about them and are willing to invest their time and energy teaching and training them.  There is much to be done if the Kingdom is going to come and God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 

            This morning we are asking you to make a commitment.  We are asking you to give so that the ministry of Christ can continue here.  We are asking that you make a commitment to be a part of the ministry of this church so that we can serve people and see them come to Christ and grow in him.  Every person here is important, and every person can do something.  We cannot leave this to the faithful few, every person needs to be a part.  You can have a ministry here. 

            We want you to think about the question that Jesus is asking all of us today: “What is it you want?”  Do you want God to use your life?  Do you want to make a difference in this world?  Here is a golden opportunity.  The Old Testament talks about the tithe — giving ten percent of what you have to God.  The New Testament does not talk about a tithe, and the reason is that we are not limited to giving ten percent, we give whatever it takes to meet the need.  Jesus often challenged people to give everything, not just a percentage of what they had.  There is a need to see everything we have as a gift from God.  As Christians we understand that everything we have belongs to God.  He owns it all. 

What is it you want — to serve or be served? 

Rodney J. Buchanan

October 22, 2006

Mulberry St. UMC
Mount Vernon , OH
www.MulberryUMC.org
Rod.Buchanan@MulberryUMC.org