Sermon: Servant Leadership
Text: Mark 10:35-45

Introduction

Mark 10:43 was read at our wedding. “Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant.” The pastor noticed how Kate and I figured things out as a team and highlighted this verse. It has served us well in our marriage.

Yet this verse is extremely counter cultural. Today, we’ll talk about servant leadership. We’ll talk about what it is, why it’s so hard for us to follow, and how it just might save our world.

The Request: Mark 10:35-37
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.”

Here go James and John again. They completely misunderstand Jesus. In Chapter 9, they argued about who was the greatest.[1] Then Jesus puts them and every future Christian in their place. Christians are last. We are at our best when we’re serving others. Now they want seats of privilege when Jesus takes charge. They’re still thinking of Jesus as a worldly king who will have a throne, and advisors, and various nobles and sycophants.

They’re acting like Jesus will be the new high priest, Herod, or Cesar. Yet we remember how Jesus was tempted in the desert with those very things at the beginning of his ministry and he rejected all of them.[2] Jesus says in John 18:36 that his kingdom is not of this world. He’s operating by an entirely different set of rules.

Illustration: James and John are grasping for power. Jesus is giving it away. Following Jesus often looks a lot like feet-washing, cross-carrying, stranger-befriending, peacemaking, outcast-welcoming, table-extending, meal sharing, disciple-making love. Love never insists on its own way.

As we learned last Sunday from Job, God’s love is by nature not controlling. Jobs complaint is bitter. Then chapter 38, God shows up and doesn’t answer any of Jobs questions but responds with more questions for two whole chapters. Job then withdraws his argument in Chapter 40. The author Christian Brady writes about the end of Job this way, “God has responded to Job and in light of God’s self-revelation and awareness of Job’s own limitations, Job recants his position. He does not admit any guilt that might justify the treatment of himself or his family, and God does not indict him of any such sins, but Job acknowledges that God has spoken… now that Job has experienced God, and that has changed everything.”[3]

Here is God’s self-revelation walking right beside James and John and they’re so busy looking out for number one that they completely miss The One.

Many of us like Jesus but we don’t want to become like him. This ethic of self-denying service will quickly show how much we demand honor from others. It exposes our ingrained ideas of honor and dishonor, power and weakness.

Jesus exposes James and John’s naivety in the very next set of verses.

The Cup of Suffering: Mark 10:38-40
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.

Jesus said to them, “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.”

All through the Gospel of Mark, the disciples just don’t get it. James and John are asked if they can accept the same kind of suffering Jesus now faces. The disciples all have been described by Mark as a fearful band following Jesus to Jerusalem, and their assertion here should strike us all as naïve.

They will indeed flee. Who is as Jesus’ right and left at the end are two thieves who are also on crosses. Jesus seems to know this, but continues to lovingly invite the fearful dunce disciples along the way. And they eventually get the lesson, but it’s only after Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Illustration: In his seminal work, Servant Leadership, Robert Greenleaf states that “Acceptance of the person requires a tolerance of imperfection.”[4] Anyone could lead perfect people, but there aren’t any.

Thank God Jesus accepts us all as we are. Our gifts and our foibles. The servant always accepts and empathizes, never rejects. The servant leader always empathizes, always accepts the person but sometimes refuses to accept some of the person’s effort or performance as good enough.

Jesus doesn’t come right out and address the disciples naivety. Instead, as a good teacher, he leaves room for growth. “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized as I am…” but he sets no timeline for their understanding. Jesus offers the same for us. Constantly teaching us, inviting us to this counter-intuitive way of leading.

I once saw a picture of the difference between a boss and a leader. A boss demands, a leader invites. A boss controls and dictates, while a leader collaborates and inspires. A boss feels that the are above everyone. A leader is alongside. Everything is in service to the mission and for Christ the mission is that God’s kingdom is near! For those who think differently and see it. God is not some demanding sin-miser. God is love. A perfect love that cases out fear.

When I was an associate pastor, I often thought how things would be different if I were the senior pastor. Now as a senior pastor, I realize how different things are. If you want to be humbled, take a leadership position. It will show you how much power you actually have. Not much. It will teach you your greatest impact is when you think you’ve made no impact at all.

Let’s Get Indignant!: Mark 10:41-45

⁴¹ When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 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.”

I love this part. The rest of the disciples get indignant with James and John. Fantastic response! They were trying to power grab and secure a spot of privilege. Jesus rejects this and comes back with “whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant.” Great leaders point to the common good. They instill a sense of identity and purpose in a group. They don’t insist on their own way nor do they divide a group.

Illustration: I recently read how easy it is to divide a community. Since it’s spooky season, I thought it appropriate to share this illustration: A class was learning  about the Salem Witch Trials, and their teacher told them they were going to play a game.

“I’m going to come around and whisper to each of you whether you’re a witch or a regular person. Your goal is to build the largest group possible that does NOT have a witch in it. At the end, any group found to include a witch gets a failing grade.”

The teens dove into grilling each other. One large group formed, but most of the students broke into small, exclusive groups, turning away anyone they thought gave off even a hint of guilt.

“Okay,” the teacher said. “You’ve got your groups. Time to find out which ones fail. All witches, please raise your hands.”

No one raised a hand.

The kids were confused and told the teacher he’d messed up the game. “Did I? Was anyone in Salem an actual witch? Or did everyone just believe what they’d been told?”

And that is how you teach kids how easy it is to divide a community. Shunning, scapegoating and dividing destroys far more than they protect. So does power grabs and demanding honor and special treatment. There’s plenty of it going around.

Conclusion

The path of servant leadership calls us to something radically different from the power-grabs and divisions that so often shape our world. Jesus’ message to James, John, and the rest of the disciples is clear: greatness is not found in elevating ourselves but in humbling ourselves to serve others. It is found in laying aside our desires for status or recognition and instead embracing the messy, self-giving love that washes feet, carries crosses, and welcomes the outcast. Jesus shows us that true power lies in self-emptying love—the kind of love that seeks not to control but to heal, to unite, and to liberate.

As we walk away from this text, we must ask ourselves: where are we seeking to be first? Where are we grasping for control or honor? Jesus invites us to a better way—a way that turns the world’s definitions of success on its head. He calls us to lead by serving, to seek greatness by giving of ourselves. When we embrace this way of life, not only do we reflect Christ, but we also become agents of transformation in a world so desperate for love, for justice, and for peace. May we have the courage to lead like Jesus—to serve, to love, and to give ourselves for the sake of the world. Amen.

Works Cited

[1] The third sermon in this series focused on this verse: https://www.uccmedina.org/sermons/generations/

[2] See Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13

[3] Brady, Christian Beautiful and terrible things: A Christian struggle with suffering, grief, and hope. Westminister John Knox Press, Louisville, KY: 2020. Pages 69-70.

[4] Page 21