This is a devotional with my thoughts added to verses from the Bible. I highly encourage you to dig into the word with your own thoughts. The Daily Devotion series is one way to do this. However, I know that sometimes we want to read other people’s ideas about Bible passages, so I am starting the Everyday series. I hope and pray that these posts will draw you nearer to Jesus.
DAY 4–Remember to pray before you begin.
Mark 10:28-31 God’s Payback
Peter began to tell him, “Behold, we have left all, and have followed you.” Jesus said, “Most certainly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or land, for my sake, and for the sake of the Good News, but he will receive one hundred times more now in this time, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land, with persecutions; and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last; and the last first.”
Jesus had just told the rich young man to sell everything, give it to the poor, and follow Jesus. Then Jesus had further shocked His disciples by stating how difficult it was for wealthy individuals to enter heaven. This statement had disturbed all their cultural ideas regarding what it meant to be wealthy. Because of this, Peter may have been seeking reassurance when he brought up the disciples’ full commitment to their Rabbi. Peter might have been wondering if Jesus was saying that there was a possibility that the disciples could fail to enter the kingdom of heaven since other seemingly more worthy individuals had fallen short of that goal, so Peter pointed out that the disciples had already done what Jesus had asked of the rich young man.
Jesus’ response was a reassurance and a promise, but it was also a warning not to think that God should be grateful that we are sacrificing for Him. It was a warning not to feel sorry for ourselves for what we have given up. It was an admonishment to look for the blessings that God has given us even though we have left behind valuable possessions and people in order to serve God. However, it was also a reassurance and a promise that God wants to bless us and delights in giving us gifts. God may have to call us out of the world for our own good. He may even take us away from family in order to bless others who are in need, but He promises that He will not leave us in want. We will be housed and gain loved ones through our ministry. On the other hand, He stated that life would not be continual blessings since His followers would also suffer persecution for working for Him. God delights in blessing us and will give us many tokens of His love as we serve Him, but He also knows that we are His soldiers in a war and that Satan will attack us if we are serving God.
Jesus promised eternal life in the age to come, but He also promised a fulfilling life here and now for those who choose to serve Him and follow Him wherever He leads. After promising this blessed life, Jesus returned to the original consideration of being rich and having a lot of worldly advantages. He informed the disciples that many who were first—in power, in wealth, in prestige—in this present life will be last in the age to come. He said that many people who are viewed as having little worth here in this life will be highly respected in our eternal existence because of their service here in this world. Always remember that Jesus sees your service to Him and values it. Others may never notice, but Jesus sees and remembers and treasures your commitment to Him.
DAY 5–Remember to pray before you begin.
Mark 10:32-34 A Warning of Things to Come
They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus was going in front of them, and they were amazed; and those who followed were afraid. He again took the twelve, and began to tell them the things that were going to happen to him. “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death, and will deliver him to the Gentiles. They will mock him, spit on him, scourge him, and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”
Jesus and His followers had been walking steadily south from their location in Judea south of the Sea of Galilee. Up to this point, the disciples may not have realized that Jesus was actually heading to Jerusalem. They might have just thought He was wandering around as usual. However, on this particular day, the disciples must have finally realized that Jesus had turned onto the road that led up to Jerusalem and started worrying. They knew that the religious leaders were determined to kill Jesus. They knew what had happened to past Messiah wannabes. They could not believe that Jesus was choosing to confront this danger which He had avoided before.
When Jesus saw that everyone had realized the implications of what He was doing, He called the twelve over to Him to tell them the bad news that their worst fears were not low enough. He informed them of exactly what would happen. First, He would be taken before the priests and scribes and condemned to death. Then, He would be given to the Romans who would torment Him with mockery, spit on Him, whip Him, and ultimately kill Him. Then, He concluded with the fact that He would come back to life after three days.
Why were the disciples so shocked later when these events transpired? Jesus had already given them the gory details. It may have been that Jesus’ followers were in such shock when Jesus told them this bad news that the final rising from the grave part just sounded like nonsense words to them. Then, after they arrived in Jerusalem, they were on a roller coaster ride of ups and downs so that Jesus’ predictions on the road became lost in the many other events taking place from the triumphal entrance to the temple cleansing where Jesus seemed to be in control of the priests. It must have been this blur of activities that made them ignore the words that Jesus had spoken. Then when Jesus died, they were probably in such pain, shock, and fear that they were not thinking clearly.
Satan tries this same tactic with believers all the time. If he can distract us from what God has clearly told us to something else, he can gain the power to cloud our minds and keep us from acting in faith. We study our Bibles and learn a lesson, but too often we do not depend on what we have learned when everything is going wrong (or right as the case may be). Jesus tried to prepare His disciples, but they let themselves be distracted by other events and ambitions and fears. In the same way, He attempts to prepare us, but we become overwhelmed by life and forget His lessons. This is the reason that we must relearn the same lessons over and over again. How wonderful that God never loses patience with us. As long as we are willing to keep following Him, He is happy to lead us over the same path step by step until we finally learn to trust Him and listen to His guidance.
DAY 6–Remember to pray before you begin.
Mark 10:35-40 Let Us Sit in Your Glory
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came near to him, saying, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we will ask.” He said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Grant to us that we may sit, one at your right hand, and one at your left hand, in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to him, “We are able.” Jesus said to them, “You shall indeed drink the cup that I drink, and you shall be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit at my right hand and at my left hand is not mine to give, but for whom it has been prepared.”
The sons of Zebedee saw that they were headed for Jerusalem, and even though Jesus had warned everyone what was going to happen to Him there, they had not taken it to heart. They either figured that those events were far in the future or that Jesus was exaggerating and there were only going to be a few inconveniences on the bumpy road to the earthly kingdom of the Messiah. They had noticed that there was a change in Jesus. There was purposefulness in His walk. There was an urgency and seriousness that they had not seen in Him before. Previously, He had been more relaxed as they wandered around Galilee, Samaria, and Judea. Now, they felt that Jesus was heading towards a goal. The only goal that they could think of was the establishment of His kingdom. Thus, they felt the time had come to ask for a promise of a high rank in Jesus’ government before the kingdom was established, and someone else took those positions.
The two brothers knew that they were being presumptuous in their request since they started out the conversation by asking Jesus for a favor. We frequently speak like this when we know that what we are asking for is too big or inappropriate. Jesus did not respond with a promise but instead asked them what they wanted. They answered with a request to be the second and third in command after Jesus. Their words demonstrated that they still had no idea what was about to happen. They said that they wanted to be with Jesus in His glory. They were still picturing an earthly kingdom on steroids. For them glory, just meant an empire like the Romans had built only with the dirt cleaned off and everything made shiny. James and John did not have the slightest conception of what the heavenly kingdom is or of what serving God in a responsible position means.
We need to form our concepts of leadership based on God’s example rather than the world’s definition. God is both Master and Servant. The higher up in the chain of command one goes in the kingdom of heaven, the greater the requirement to serve others. To ask to be high in the kingdom is to ask to suffer and serve. God has suffered continuously since Satan rejected Him. He loves Lucifer as He loves everyone, but He knows that Satan cannot be saved. However, humans can, so He focuses His efforts on rescuing us. He restrains His glory from destroying all sinners. He controls His repugnance for sin and selfishness so that we are not destroyed as He attempts to lead us back to a loving relationship with Him. He maintains our lives even as we reject His connection to us. He loves us even when we spit in His face. All of this hurts Him. However, this is simply who God is; someone who loves regardless of the pain, and that is the kind of self-sacrificing love that He expects of us. All the citizens of His kingdom will choose to follow His unselfish nature.
James and John were still operating on the selfish principles of earth while asking to lead out in the unselfish servant positions of heaven. They did not even know enough to realize that their very request demonstrated how unsuitable they were for the jobs that they were attempting to gain. Just as James and John had no clue about what they were truly asking for, we also know very little about the heavenly kingdom. Every other place in the universe operates under the principles of God’s character. It is only here on earth that the principle of selfishness holds power. Thus, in order to understand God’s ways, we must look outside of our own selfishness and warped world to another manner of operating. Too often, we expect God to act like a worldly ruler and are shocked when He does not fit our expectations. Even when God informs us directly and clearly about what will happen, we often cannot comprehend what He is telling us. Our selfish worldly blinders and our lack of any point of reference outside of this sinful world make us misunderstand and misinterpret what we read and hear. This is the reason that it is essential to study the character of God–because the only way we can begin to understand what God is telling us is to understand the One who is creating the plans.
DAY 7–Remember to pray before you begin.
Mark 10:41-45 Serving
When the ten heard it, they began to be indignant towards James and John. Jesus summoned them, and said to them, “You know that they who are recognized as rulers over the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you, but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant. Whoever of you wants to become first among you, shall be bondservant of all. For the Son of Man also came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Of course, the other disciples were outraged when they heard James and John’s request to sit on Jesus’ right and left hands. They may have felt betrayed by the two men trying to “cheat” by attempting to obtain a promise ahead of the competition. The other disciples may also have been chagrined that they had not thought of doing the same thing. They may have felt nervous energy upon realizing that the two seats were open but that they had almost lost out on those positions. Peter probably felt the most betrayed as he was the surest of his position as Jesus’ right hand man and had received indications that he would be the leader of the disciples. He most likely felt that James and John had tried to do an end run around him and was angry that they were attempting to trick their way into taking his leadership role after being his fishing partners for years before they even knew Jesus.
Jesus told them to all gather around and listen to what He had to say. Then He informed them that their ideas about His kingdom and who had a place of authority were completely wrong. In the world, people in authority could throw their weight around, have the best homes, and show off. However, in the kingdom of heaven those who have authority are the servants of others. Their job is to meet others’ needs rather than using their power to command obedience from their followers. Jesus informed the twelve men that among His disciples, and by extension among Christians, and by further extension in heaven, leaders serve each other. The greatest Christian is the Christian who serves and the more a person serves, the greater he/she becomes. This is character building, but it is also simply the way heaven is.
Jesus is the perfect example of a Servant Leader. He had confidence in Himself. He knew who He was—He was God. He was the Son of the Father. He had power that the disciples could not begin to imagine, but He also knew His own character and destiny. Jesus knew that He had been in heaven but had consented to become human in order to serve humans. He knew that He was on the road to Jerusalem where He would die so that humans could live. Jesus knew the ways of heaven on an instinctual level. Although He was the Creator of the world, He had chosen to serve His creation in their time of need rather than expecting to be served by mankind. Jesus informed the men that if they were His disciples, they had to follow His leading. His path was into service, so was theirs, and so is ours.
We do not become great because of worldly ambitions and climbing the ladder of power. Our claim to greatness comes from our position as servants of God who let His love shine through us to others. We are to lead by serving others and putting their needs ahead of our own convenience. Like Jesus, we can have confidence in our position with God while ignoring the world’s ideas about who we are. We can speak with the total authority that comes from God while performing the humblest of activities because we are not just serving others who do not deserve help; we are acting as servants of the King of the universe.
Just a thought: If the Father is the highest in heaven, He must be the greatest servant of all.