Latest / Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons / A Mixed-Up people
Transcript
- 0:00Well, we can turn back to our reading in Mark's Gospel, chapter 10, and we'll look at these verses that we've read together from verse 32 down to verse 45.
- 0:15! A few weeks ago, just before the October holidays on the Lord's Day morning, we were looking at the previous section to this from verse 13 down to verse 31.
- 0:25And we saw there how in verse 13 there was the children that were being brought to Jesus, and the disciples were rebuking them and telling them not to bother the Master with them.
- 0:38But Jesus says, let the children come to me, for to them belongs the kingdom of God.
- 0:44And then we went on from there into verse 17 down to verse 31, where we see Jesus meeting with the rich young ruler, as he's known, the one who had great wealth, but yet lacked one thing.
- 0:58One thing missing in his life.
- 1:00He wasn't willing to give it all up and to come and follow Jesus.
- 1:05And the people who heard this and saw this, the disciples and those who were with Jesus, they were astonished.
- 1:11In verse 26, it says, they were exceedingly astonished and said to him, then who can be saved?
- 1:18If this young man, who's seemingly kept all of the law in his own eyes, a good man in many ways, how, if he can't be saved, how can anyone be saved?
- 1:28Well, Jesus reminded them that with man it's impossible, but with God, all things are possible, it says in verse 27.
- 1:37And so that's where we're continuing from as we come into verse 32.
- 1:42And who is Jesus speaking to in this passage?
- 1:47As you read from verse 32 down to verse 45, when you see everything that's taking place,
- 1:54when you see the kind of words that are used, you think of that word, verse 26, that people were exceedingly astonished.
- 2:01There was this astonishment in their midst.
- 2:03There was amazement.
- 2:05There was fear.
- 2:06There was demands being made.
- 2:07There was dismay.
- 2:09There was all kinds of thoughts going on among the people.
- 2:13So you might think that Jesus here is speaking to people who are opposed to him or know nothing about him.
- 2:20And he's teaching them his ways.
- 2:22But who is he actually speaking to?
- 2:26Well, he's speaking to the disciples and to his closest followers.
- 2:32And we see in their experience so much of what our experience can be like as well.
- 2:39We have all these times that we go through different experiences in life, different emotions,
- 2:45that sense of astonishment, amazement, fear.
- 2:48All can be our experience too in life when it comes to following Jesus.
- 2:56And so what we see here as we look at this passage is all of these mixed up feelings,
- 3:03mixed up questions that they have, mixed up reactions to the situation that they find themselves.
- 3:09And it shows us the reality of the world in which we live, that we have so many challenges that we have to face up to.
- 3:18Here are those who are closest to Jesus.
- 3:21This is coming towards the end of his ministry.
- 3:24He's been three years with them.
- 3:27And still you could say they don't fully understand who they have before them.
- 3:35And it's a great reminder to us as Christians or as those who are maybe seeking to know more about the Christian faith,
- 3:43to know more about the Lord, that in our own understanding, our own emotions,
- 3:49we can, as they would say, we can go through the ringer.
- 3:52We can go through all of these different challenges.
- 3:55And we feel one moment that we're close to the Lord, just like the disciples were,
- 4:00and the followers on many occasions.
- 4:03And at other times we can feel like we're so far away from the Lord
- 4:07and almost going in the opposite direction to him.
- 4:11But our faith is not dependent on our feelings.
- 4:15Our faith is not dependent on what's going on around us.
- 4:20And when we look at this situation and the way the people respond and the way the people act,
- 4:26it's almost an encouragement to us.
- 4:31It's an encouragement to us that, well, we're not alone.
- 4:35When we feel like we're going through these experiences of astonishment, amazement, doubt, and fear,
- 4:41and all of these things, we're not alone.
- 4:44We're not the first.
- 4:45We won't be the last.
- 4:46And there are many others going through these experiences as well.
- 4:51Even those who were the closest to Jesus, his own disciples,
- 4:56found themselves almost again and again asking that question that they asked in Mark chapter 4
- 5:03with the storm that they were with Jesus in.
- 5:06Who is this?
- 5:09They were astonished again and again.
- 5:12They react in different ways again and again throughout the Gospels as we see.
- 5:19But where does it always come back to?
- 5:22It needs to come back to the reality of the truth that Jesus speaks,
- 5:28the word that Jesus speaks to them and to us as well.
- 5:34They're brought back to see the teaching of Jesus.
- 5:40And that's what Jesus is giving to them in the verses that we are looking at this evening.
- 5:46And there is a wealth of teaching again.
- 5:49Chapter 10 just seems to be full of teaching after teaching after teaching of who Jesus is
- 5:56and how they need to trust him.
- 5:59And you see it's in the situation, the setting again of Jesus foretelling his death,
- 6:06reminding them this is the purpose that he has come,
- 6:09that he has a mission to fulfill,
- 6:11and that his mission is for the salvation of souls.
- 6:16And so he's telling them for the third time that he is going to die for them,
- 6:21and yet they don't understand.
- 6:25And don't we too have so much to learn?
- 6:27You don't know everything.
- 6:30I don't know everything.
- 6:31We don't have all the answers.
- 6:33Being a minister doesn't mean all the answers are contained in my mind.
- 6:38It's impossible.
- 6:40Being a church member doesn't mean you've made it.
- 6:43You've arrived and that's it.
- 6:46Coming to church doesn't make you better than others around us.
- 6:50And so it's important for us that we see that we are all a work in progress.
- 6:57That's what this passage reminds us about.
- 7:00We are all a work in progress.
- 7:04And in the midst of all the mixed up emotions that we can have in life,
- 7:09that we can depend on the word of God.
- 7:13And so the first thing we see with the people here is their mixed up feelings.
- 7:20Jesus here is continuing, as it says in verse 32,
- 7:24they were on the road going up to Jerusalem.
- 7:29So he's been on this journey.
- 7:31You see it in verse 17 as well.
- 7:34Just before he met the rich young man,
- 7:37he says he was setting out on his journey.
- 7:40What was his journey?
- 7:45Well, it was his journey that he was on going up to Jerusalem.
- 7:49And he outlines for them in verse 32 to verse 34
- 7:53the purpose for which he was going up to Jerusalem.
- 7:58And perhaps this is what leaves the disciples and the followers
- 8:02with so many mixed up feelings of amazement and fear
- 8:07all mixed up together.
- 8:09Because when you look at what this journey entails,
- 8:13he says to them in verse 33,
- 8:15See, we are going up to Jerusalem.
- 8:19And he outlines the purpose.
- 8:21The Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes
- 8:25and they will condemn him to death
- 8:27and deliver him over to the Gentiles.
- 8:30And so it goes on.
- 8:32This is the purpose for which Jesus has come.
- 8:35And since Jesus began his earthly ministry,
- 8:40he has been teaching the disciples who he called to follow
- 8:44and all who are in his hearing,
- 8:46he was teaching them of the purpose of his coming.
- 8:50He was revealing it to them again and again.
- 8:56He has called them to follow him.
- 8:58And he has been telling them who he is.
- 9:02And they believed so much about Jesus.
- 9:05They believed he was a great teacher.
- 9:08They believed he was a great prophet.
- 9:11But yet they were still missing out on so much.
- 9:15Again, you go back to that event in chapter 4
- 9:18when he was with them in the boat
- 9:20and they were astonished and they said,
- 9:22Who is this?
- 9:24When they had seen Jesus by his word,
- 9:27calm the wind and the waves to be a peaceful, calm sea.
- 9:33They were amazed.
- 9:34Who is this?
- 9:35And it's almost like they still have this question
- 9:38in the back of their mind,
- 9:40even at this point as they're just about arriving in Jerusalem.
- 9:45Who is this?
- 9:47They believed that the rabbi,
- 9:51their teacher as he was, Jesus,
- 9:53that he was going to deliver his people
- 9:57from the domination of Rome.
- 9:59They believed that Jesus was going to restore God's people.
- 10:04They believed that he would be the king of Israel.
- 10:09And all of these things they were right with.
- 10:13But where they were going wrong
- 10:14was just how this was going to happen
- 10:17and when this was going to happen.
- 10:21They expected it to be done in a way
- 10:23that they could understand.
- 10:26And because it wasn't going the way they expected,
- 10:30their feelings were all over the place.
- 10:34And so as Jesus tells them
- 10:36for the third time here
- 10:38that they are going up to Jerusalem
- 10:40for this very purpose,
- 10:43they're still not understanding.
- 10:47The disciples believed that everything
- 10:50was going to be right in their own lifetime.
- 10:54They believed that Jesus was on the verge
- 10:56of his kingdom coming in power
- 10:59and that he was going to rule.
- 11:01But they didn't see that what God was doing
- 11:04was beyond anything that they could imagine.
- 11:07that it went beyond their situation,
- 11:10that it went beyond their setting
- 11:12and their time.
- 11:13It went down to generation after generation
- 11:16that God was building his kingdom
- 11:19and his kingdom was going to come
- 11:21in an even greater way
- 11:23than they could ever imagine.
- 11:25That God was restoring his people
- 11:29through Jesus giving himself,
- 11:32as we see in this passage,
- 11:34as a ransom for many.
- 11:37When Jesus predicted his death
- 11:41three times in the Gospel of Mark,
- 11:43you find that each time
- 11:45that he tells his people
- 11:46what is to take place,
- 11:48there is a sense of confusion.
- 11:52There is a sense of misunderstanding.
- 11:55If he has really come to put the world in order,
- 11:58how is his death going to accomplish this?
- 12:02It just seemed absurd.
- 12:04But Jesus has his purpose.
- 12:09He is going to Jerusalem
- 12:11and they are afraid and astonished.
- 12:17But Jesus is here reminding them
- 12:19of the question that he had
- 12:20in chapter 8, verse 29,
- 12:23where he says,
- 12:24Who do you say that I am?
- 12:26It keeps coming back to this.
- 12:28It's not about your feelings.
- 12:29It's not about what you think should happen
- 12:32or how it should happen,
- 12:34but who do you say that I am?
- 12:38And that's the same for ourselves today as well.
- 12:41When life isn't going maybe the way that we expected
- 12:44or the church isn't going the way that we would want it,
- 12:47all of these things,
- 12:49we come back to see,
- 12:50well, what is the foundation of our church?
- 12:54What is the foundation of our faith?
- 12:58It is the one who asks of us,
- 13:00Who do you say that I am?
- 13:03Do we see that it is the Christ
- 13:06and that his word is our security?
- 13:10Not our feelings,
- 13:13but our faith in him.
- 13:17Martin Luther once famously said,
- 13:19Feelings come and feelings go
- 13:22and feelings are deceiving.
- 13:25My warrant is the word of God.
- 13:28Not else is worth believing.
- 13:31I'll trust in God's unchanging word
- 13:34till soul and body sever.
- 13:37For though all things shall pass away,
- 13:41his word shall stand forever.
- 13:44Feelings come and feelings go
- 13:47and feelings are deceiving.
- 13:49But we can say the same.
- 13:51My warrant is the word of God.
- 13:54Not else is worth believing.
- 13:59And that's what Jesus is teaching them here.
- 14:02In their mixed up feelings,
- 14:04it is to see that the word that he is speaking,
- 14:08it will stand forever.
- 14:10And that is our hope today as well.
- 14:14Faith is not on feelings.
- 14:17Faith is on the word of God
- 14:20and the promises given through Jesus in that word.
- 14:25And the question comes to us,
- 14:28do we believe?
- 14:31Who do we say that this man is?
- 14:34Is he the Christ who has come into the world?
- 14:39Well, we have these mixed up feelings,
- 14:41but we also see, secondly here,
- 14:43mixed up questions.
- 14:46You can almost ask yourself,
- 14:47have the disciples learned anything
- 14:50in all their experience with Jesus,
- 14:52given that this is the third time
- 14:54that he's told them that his death
- 14:56is going to come
- 14:57as they make their way up to Jerusalem?
- 15:00Have they learned anything
- 15:02from their experience with him?
- 15:04And when you look at chapter 8, 9, and 10,
- 15:08in each of these chapters,
- 15:10Jesus tells them his purpose
- 15:12in coming into the world
- 15:13is that he is going to give his life.
- 15:16In chapter 8, verse 31,
- 15:20he began to teach them
- 15:21that the Son of Man must suffer many things
- 15:24and be rejected by the elders
- 15:26and the chief priests and the scribes
- 15:27and be killed, and after three days,
- 15:31rise again.
- 15:33In chapter 9, verse 31,
- 15:37for he was teaching his disciples,
- 15:39saying to them,
- 15:39the Son of Man is going to be delivered
- 15:41into the hands of men,
- 15:43and they will kill him,
- 15:44and when he is killed,
- 15:45after three days, he will rise.
- 15:49And then we have it again
- 15:50in chapter 10 here,
- 15:53in verse 33, as we've read,
- 15:55to verse 34.
- 15:58See, we are going up to Jerusalem,
- 15:59and so on.
- 16:01Three times he has told them.
- 16:04And you would think by now
- 16:05they're going to understand,
- 16:07they're going to get it,
- 16:08that this is why Jesus has come.
- 16:11Surely, at least by this third time.
- 16:14The first time you see Jesus telling them,
- 16:17well, he has to tell Peter
- 16:18to get behind me, Satan.
- 16:20If we do not know what you are talking about,
- 16:23the things of God,
- 16:24your mind is not on the things of God,
- 16:26but on the things of man,
- 16:28in verse 33 of chapter 8.
- 16:30So there was a misunderstanding.
- 16:32They didn't get it.
- 16:34The same is true in chapter 9,
- 16:37after he's told them.
- 16:38What do they start speaking about?
- 16:39They start speaking about,
- 16:41in verse 33,
- 16:43who is the greatest?
- 16:45Who is the greatest?
- 16:47Their minds go to something
- 16:49completely different.
- 16:50So surely this time
- 16:52they're going to get it.
- 16:54But no.
- 16:56What do they have?
- 16:57After they've been told this,
- 16:59you'd think they'd have questions.
- 17:02But even their questions are mixed up.
- 17:05They almost don't know what to ask.
- 17:07So as in verse 35 it says,
- 17:10James and John,
- 17:11the sons of Sebedee,
- 17:12came to him and said to him,
- 17:14Teacher,
- 17:15you would maybe expect,
- 17:18help us understand.
- 17:19Teach us what this actually means.
- 17:23Teach us what it will mean for us.
- 17:25But what do they say in verse 35?
- 17:27Teacher,
- 17:28we want you to do for us
- 17:30whatever we ask of you.
- 17:33And you might think,
- 17:33well okay,
- 17:35what do they want?
- 17:36And that's exactly what Jesus says to them.
- 17:38What do you want me to do for you?
- 17:40And look at the reply.
- 17:41Grant us to sit one at your right hand
- 17:44and one at your left
- 17:46in your glory.
- 17:50Grant us to sit one at your right,
- 17:52one at your left
- 17:54in your glory.
- 17:57There's almost no thought
- 17:58of what Jesus is going to do for them.
- 18:02How glory is going to come to them.
- 18:04They think it's going to be easy.
- 18:08They want all this glory.
- 18:11They want the crown.
- 18:13But they don't want the cross.
- 18:16They don't want that suffering.
- 18:18They don't want any of that.
- 18:21And there's the problem.
- 18:23And perhaps in the back of their mind
- 18:24is the account of the rich young ruler
- 18:27and the cost of following Jesus.
- 18:31That's at the end of that section
- 18:33in verse 29 of this chapter
- 18:36to verse 31.
- 18:38You know, there's the cost.
- 18:39Truly I say to you,
- 18:40there is no one who has left house
- 18:42or brothers or sisters or mother,
- 18:44so on.
- 18:46There's a cost.
- 18:48And it's almost like
- 18:49as we come into verse 35,
- 18:50that's maybe in the back of their minds.
- 18:52They're wanting something out of this.
- 18:54They're wanting glory.
- 18:57But they don't grasp
- 18:59what the cost is
- 19:01that Jesus is going to pay.
- 19:04If only they truly knew
- 19:06who was before them.
- 19:08If only they could truly understand
- 19:10what he was about to do.
- 19:13What his death actually meant.
- 19:15The price that was being paid.
- 19:19Why did he have to tell them so often
- 19:21what had to happen?
- 19:22Why did he leave a remembrance
- 19:25before the crucifixion,
- 19:27that he gave this remembrance,
- 19:29the Lord's Supper,
- 19:31to do this in remembrance of me?
- 19:34Because we forget.
- 19:36Because we are a forgetful people
- 19:38where we want all the glory,
- 19:41glory,
- 19:43but none of the dirty work.
- 19:45Jesus came
- 19:47to give his life.
- 19:50But the problem with the disciples
- 19:51is just like us,
- 19:54pride so often takes over.
- 19:57We want glory.
- 20:00When you think about
- 20:01what they're asking for here,
- 20:03grant us to sit
- 20:04one at your right hand
- 20:05and one at your left
- 20:07in your glory.
- 20:08You wonder what they thought
- 20:11as Jesus was crucified
- 20:12with a thief,
- 20:14one on the right
- 20:15and one on the left.
- 20:18And one of these thieves
- 20:20actually crying out,
- 20:21remember me
- 20:22when you're in paradise.
- 20:27The humility that was seen
- 20:29there on the cross
- 20:30of Jesus giving himself.
- 20:33They would understand
- 20:35eventually.
- 20:37And that's what Jesus
- 20:38makes clear here.
- 20:39You don't understand
- 20:41at this point,
- 20:42are you able to drink
- 20:43the cup that I drink
- 20:44or be baptized
- 20:45with a baptism
- 20:46which I am baptized?
- 20:49He's saying at this point,
- 20:50you don't understand.
- 20:53But then he says
- 20:54in the end of verse 39,
- 20:57the cup that I drink,
- 20:58you will drink.
- 20:59And the baptism
- 21:00with which I am baptized,
- 21:01you will be baptized.
- 21:02So they will receive this.
- 21:06And as you see
- 21:06with the disciples
- 21:07as they go on,
- 21:08after the crucifixion,
- 21:10many of them suffered
- 21:11greatly.
- 21:13But at this point,
- 21:15they just don't understand.
- 21:16And that's the danger
- 21:17for us
- 21:18to allow pride
- 21:19to come in.
- 21:20The Bible teaches us
- 21:21again and again
- 21:22about pride.
- 21:23Proverbs 16,
- 21:25verse 18,
- 21:25pride goes before destruction
- 21:27and a haughty spirit
- 21:29before a fall.
- 21:301 Corinthians 10,
- 21:32verse 12,
- 21:33therefore let anyone
- 21:34who thinks he stands
- 21:35take heed lest he fall.
- 21:38Pride is so dangerous.
- 21:42And so as Jesus
- 21:44is teaching them here
- 21:45in their mixed up questions,
- 21:47again he is pointing them back
- 21:49towards himself
- 21:51and taking their minds
- 21:53off their pride
- 21:55and their glory
- 21:56and all of these things
- 21:58and to come and see
- 22:00as we see thirdly
- 22:01a need for a servant's heart.
- 22:05The disciples here
- 22:06asked that question.
- 22:09We want you to do
- 22:10whatever we ask.
- 22:11And Jesus says,
- 22:12what do you want me
- 22:13to do for you?
- 22:15They wanted glory.
- 22:17But if you read on
- 22:17to the end of the chapter,
- 22:18you see another man,
- 22:20Bartimaeus,
- 22:21with the same opportunity
- 22:22where Jesus says,
- 22:24what do you want me
- 22:25to do for you?
- 22:27In verse 51.
- 22:29And look at the difference
- 22:29in the response.
- 22:31The blind man,
- 22:32Bartimaeus,
- 22:33came to him and said,
- 22:34little rabbi,
- 22:35let me recover my sight.
- 22:38What would you ask
- 22:39of Jesus tonight?
- 22:41For glory
- 22:42or for gain
- 22:44in the sense
- 22:45of seeing Jesus?
- 22:48We can have mixed up questions,
- 22:50but what we need to do
- 22:51is humble ourselves
- 22:53before God.
- 22:56It's so easy for us
- 22:57to forget
- 22:58what the Lord has done
- 23:00and why.
- 23:01And so again,
- 23:03we don't go on feelings.
- 23:05We come
- 23:06to the word of God
- 23:08and stand
- 23:09on what the word
- 23:10of God says.
- 23:12That he has come
- 23:13to give his life.
- 23:16That we might be called
- 23:17the children
- 23:18of God.
- 23:20So we see
- 23:21mixed up questions.
- 23:22Thirdly,
- 23:23we see here
- 23:24mixed up reactions.
- 23:28There's a mixture
- 23:29of reactions here.
- 23:30The reaction
- 23:31of the James
- 23:32and John
- 23:32to hearing
- 23:33for a third time
- 23:34that Jesus will die.
- 23:36The reaction
- 23:37is to say
- 23:38this question,
- 23:38we want one
- 23:39to sit
- 23:40on the right
- 23:41and one
- 23:41to sit on the left
- 23:42in your glory.
- 23:44And Jesus
- 23:44rebukes
- 23:45James and John.
- 23:47But the ten
- 23:48are also there
- 23:49as well.
- 23:50And you notice
- 23:52that
- 23:52excuse me,
- 23:56you notice that
- 23:57when he begins
- 23:57to help them
- 23:58to understand.
- 24:00When he talks
- 24:01about the cup
- 24:02and all of these
- 24:02things,
- 24:04you know that
- 24:05all of these
- 24:05things are to come.
- 24:07But then he goes
- 24:08on to teach them
- 24:09about what it is
- 24:10to serve,
- 24:12to be a servant.
- 24:13The other ten
- 24:17were indignant,
- 24:18it says.
- 24:20When they heard
- 24:21in verse 41,
- 24:23when the ten
- 24:24heard it,
- 24:24they began
- 24:25to be indignant
- 24:26at James
- 24:27and John.
- 24:29You wonder
- 24:30if that was
- 24:31their first reaction.
- 24:34You wonder
- 24:34if when they heard
- 24:35James and John
- 24:36ask this question,
- 24:38that would come
- 24:39into our heart
- 24:40as well
- 24:40and say,
- 24:41wish I'd
- 24:42asked that first.
- 24:43Wouldn't it be great
- 24:46if I could sit
- 24:47on the right
- 24:48or on the left
- 24:49of Jesus
- 24:49in glory?
- 24:50You can almost
- 24:51imagine the other ten
- 24:52thinking these thoughts
- 24:53because it's most
- 24:55naturally what we
- 24:56might think ourselves
- 24:57if we heard somebody
- 24:58asking Jesus that.
- 25:01But the reply
- 25:02after Jesus
- 25:03has rebuked them,
- 25:05when he says to them,
- 25:06you don't know
- 25:07what you are asking,
- 25:08the response
- 25:09of the ten
- 25:10is then this
- 25:11indignant response
- 25:13towards James
- 25:14and John.
- 25:14They're almost
- 25:15tut-tutting
- 25:16James and John
- 25:17now,
- 25:17forever daring
- 25:18to think of
- 25:19asking that question.
- 25:21But the thing is
- 25:22that as you see
- 25:23Jesus teaching
- 25:24here,
- 25:26you see that
- 25:26Jesus sees
- 25:27into the hearts
- 25:28of all.
- 25:30Not just
- 25:31James and John
- 25:32who had asked
- 25:32the question,
- 25:34but the other ten
- 25:35as well.
- 25:36But when you see
- 25:37in verse 42,
- 25:39it says,
- 25:39Jesus called
- 25:40them to him
- 25:41and said
- 25:42to them,
- 25:42this is them
- 25:43all together,
- 25:46you know
- 25:46that those
- 25:47who are considered
- 25:48rulers of the
- 25:49Gentiles
- 25:50lorded over
- 25:51them,
- 25:52and their
- 25:52great ones
- 25:53exercise
- 25:54authority over
- 25:55them,
- 25:56but it shall
- 25:56not be so
- 25:58among you.
- 26:01He is saying
- 26:02this is not
- 26:02to be you.
- 26:04Instead,
- 26:06you are to
- 26:07have a
- 26:07servant's
- 26:08heart,
- 26:09but whoever
- 26:09would be
- 26:10great among
- 26:11you must
- 26:12be your
- 26:13servant,
- 26:14and whoever
- 26:14would be
- 26:15first among
- 26:16you must
- 26:17be slave,
- 26:18which is the
- 26:19same word,
- 26:19servant of
- 26:21all.
- 26:22So they are
- 26:23told this is
- 26:24what our
- 26:25hearts are
- 26:26to be like,
- 26:28not looking
- 26:28for glory,
- 26:30but for giving
- 26:31service to
- 26:33the Lord.
- 26:33the Lord.
- 26:35Why?
- 26:37Well,
- 26:37Jesus gives
- 26:38them the
- 26:38reason why.
- 26:39In verse
- 26:3945,
- 26:41for even
- 26:41the Son of
- 26:42Man came
- 26:43not to be
- 26:44served,
- 26:45but to
- 26:45serve and
- 26:46to give
- 26:46his life
- 26:47as a
- 26:48ransom for
- 26:49many.
- 26:50There is
- 26:51the reason.
- 26:52Not just
- 26:53why the
- 26:53disciples should
- 26:54have that
- 26:54servant heart,
- 26:55but every
- 26:56one of
- 26:57Jesus'
- 26:58followers
- 26:59should have
- 26:59the servant
- 27:01heart.
- 27:01Servant,
- 27:02as the
- 27:03word has
- 27:04here.
- 27:05When you
- 27:05look at
- 27:06its meaning
- 27:06in the
- 27:07Greek,
- 27:07it has
- 27:08that
- 27:08servant,
- 27:10slave
- 27:10mindset.
- 27:13It also
- 27:13has and
- 27:14is used
- 27:14for
- 27:15deacon
- 27:16or minister.
- 27:17It's used
- 27:18in the
- 27:18same way.
- 27:19And behind
- 27:20it all
- 27:20is the
- 27:21same thing,
- 27:22that we
- 27:23are not
- 27:24our own.
- 27:26As one
- 27:27person put
- 27:27it,
- 27:28both words
- 27:29denote a
- 27:30man who
- 27:30is not
- 27:31at his
- 27:31own
- 27:31disposal,
- 27:33but is
- 27:33his
- 27:33master's
- 27:34purchased
- 27:35property,
- 27:36bought to
- 27:37serve his
- 27:38master's
- 27:39needs,
- 27:39to be at
- 27:40his
- 27:40beg and
- 27:41call every
- 27:42moment the
- 27:43slave's
- 27:44sole business
- 27:45is to do
- 27:46as he
- 27:47is told.
- 27:50That goes
- 27:51for all
- 27:51who are
- 27:52servants
- 27:53of Christ.
- 27:55We are
- 27:55not our
- 27:56own.
- 27:57We are
- 27:57purchased
- 27:58with a
- 27:59price to
- 28:00serve
- 28:00our
- 28:01master.
- 28:05And so
- 28:05we are
- 28:06to live
- 28:06for our
- 28:07saviour
- 28:08because we
- 28:10see what
- 28:11he has
- 28:11done for
- 28:12us.
- 28:12For even
- 28:13the son
- 28:13of man
- 28:14came not
- 28:15to be
- 28:15served,
- 28:16but to
- 28:16serve.
- 28:18And so
- 28:18if Jesus
- 28:19himself came
- 28:20with his
- 28:20mindset
- 28:21not to
- 28:22be served,
- 28:22the one
- 28:23who if
- 28:23anyone
- 28:24deserved it
- 28:25was him,
- 28:25but no,
- 28:27he came
- 28:27to serve
- 28:28and to
- 28:29give his
- 28:29life as
- 28:31a ransom
- 28:31for many.
- 28:34And so
- 28:34that's what
- 28:35he asks
- 28:35of his
- 28:36people today.
- 28:38Not to
- 28:39seek glory,
- 28:41but to
- 28:42seek service.
- 28:44To see
- 28:45that he
- 28:46has bought
- 28:46us with
- 28:47a price.
- 28:48To see
- 28:48what he
- 28:49has done
- 28:50for us
- 28:51and that
- 28:53we are
- 28:53fellow
- 28:54servants
- 28:54together.
- 28:56Willing
- 28:57to do
- 28:58whatever
- 28:59he
- 28:59commands.
- 29:03That's
- 29:03what the
- 29:04love of
- 29:04Christ
- 29:05has done
- 29:06for us.
- 29:07And when
- 29:07you see
- 29:08the example
- 29:08of Jesus
- 29:09that even
- 29:10as he
- 29:12sat around
- 29:13the table
- 29:13with his
- 29:14disciples,
- 29:14he washed
- 29:15his
- 29:16disciples'
- 29:17feet.
- 29:18All that
- 29:19he did
- 29:19for his
- 29:21people,
- 29:22all that
- 29:22he gave,
- 29:23we are
- 29:25to be
- 29:25servants,
- 29:27not
- 29:27seekers
- 29:28of glory
- 29:29for
- 29:30ourselves.
- 29:32David
- 29:32Livingston,
- 29:33famous
- 29:34missionary to
- 29:34Africa in
- 29:35the 1800s,
- 29:38many people
- 29:39praised him
- 29:40for the
- 29:41sacrifice that
- 29:42he made in
- 29:43leaving his
- 29:44home and
- 29:44going to
- 29:45serve the
- 29:46Lord in
- 29:47a foreign
- 29:47land.
- 29:48But I
- 29:48want to
- 29:48read how
- 29:49David
- 29:49Livingston
- 29:50himself put
- 29:51it.
- 29:52He said
- 29:53this,
- 29:53people talk
- 29:54of the
- 29:55sacrifice I
- 29:56have made
- 29:57in spending
- 29:57so much
- 29:58of my
- 29:58life in
- 29:59Africa.
- 30:01Can that
- 30:01be called
- 30:02a sacrifice
- 30:02which is
- 30:03simply
- 30:04acknowledging
- 30:04a great
- 30:05debt we
- 30:05owe to
- 30:06our God
- 30:07which we
- 30:08can never
- 30:08repay?
- 30:09Is that
- 30:10a sacrifice
- 30:11which brings
- 30:11its own
- 30:12reward in
- 30:13healthful
- 30:14activity,
- 30:15the
- 30:16consciousness
- 30:16of doing
- 30:17good,
- 30:18peace of
- 30:18mind,
- 30:20and a
- 30:20bright hope
- 30:21of our
- 30:21glorious
- 30:21destiny?
- 30:23It is
- 30:24emphatically
- 30:24no sacrifice,
- 30:26rather it
- 30:27is a
- 30:28privilege.
- 30:29Anxiety,
- 30:30sickness,
- 30:31suffering,
- 30:32danger,
- 30:33foregoing
- 30:33the common
- 30:34convenience of
- 30:35this life,
- 30:36these may
- 30:37make us
- 30:37pause and
- 30:39cause the
- 30:40spirit to
- 30:40waver and
- 30:41the soul
- 30:42to sink,
- 30:43but let
- 30:44this only
- 30:45be for a
- 30:45moment.
- 30:47All these
- 30:47are nothing
- 30:48compared with
- 30:49the glory
- 30:50which shall
- 30:50later be
- 30:51revealed in
- 30:52and through
- 30:53us.
- 30:54I never
- 30:54made a
- 30:55sacrifice.
- 30:57Of this
- 30:57we ought
- 30:58not to
- 30:59talk when
- 31:00we remember
- 31:01the great
- 31:01sacrifice
- 31:02which he
- 31:03made who
- 31:04left his
- 31:05father's
- 31:05throne on
- 31:06high to
- 31:07give himself
- 31:08for us.
- 31:11Isn't
- 31:12that a
- 31:13great
- 31:13response?
- 31:15Where he
- 31:15didn't see
- 31:16his life
- 31:17as a
- 31:18sacrifice
- 31:19but as
- 31:20a privilege
- 31:20to serve
- 31:22the one
- 31:22who left
- 31:23the father's
- 31:24throne
- 31:24to give
- 31:26himself
- 31:26for us.
- 31:29The
- 31:29disciples as
- 31:30we see
- 31:30them here,
- 31:32they had
- 31:33their mixed
- 31:34up feelings.
- 31:35They had
- 31:36all these
- 31:36mixed up
- 31:37emotions,
- 31:39the mixed
- 31:39up questions,
- 31:40the mixed
- 31:41up reactions,
- 31:43but all
- 31:43the time
- 31:44they were
- 31:45learning.
- 31:47And so
- 31:47are we.
- 31:49We are
- 31:49learning what
- 31:50Jesus Christ
- 31:51has done
- 31:52for us.
- 31:53And the
- 31:53more that
- 31:54we see
- 31:55and the
- 31:55more that
- 31:56we believe
- 31:56in him,
- 31:57the more
- 31:57we understand
- 31:59that it's
- 32:00not about
- 32:00our glory
- 32:01but our
- 32:03humbling
- 32:04ourselves
- 32:04before him,
- 32:07the one
- 32:07who came
- 32:08not to be
- 32:10served but
- 32:10to serve
- 32:11and to
- 32:12give his
- 32:12life as
- 32:13a ransom
- 32:14for many.
- 32:16In a
- 32:16day of
- 32:17remembrance,
- 32:19may we
- 32:19remember the
- 32:21one who
- 32:21gave his
- 32:22life as
- 32:24a ransom
- 32:24for many
- 32:25and remember
- 32:27him by
- 32:28humbly
- 32:29serving him
- 32:30and following
- 32:32him,
- 32:33leaning on
- 32:34his word.
- 32:36Let us
- 32:36pray.
- 32:36Lord,
- 32:40our
- 32:40gracious
- 32:41God,
- 32:41we do
- 32:41thank you
- 32:42for the
- 32:43humble
- 32:44service
- 32:45of our
- 32:46Lord Jesus
- 32:46Christ,
- 32:48the one
- 32:48who did
- 32:49not consider
- 32:49equality
- 32:50with God
- 32:51a thing
- 32:51to be
- 32:52grasped
- 32:52but made
- 32:53himself
- 32:54nothing.
- 32:56We thank
- 32:56you that
- 32:57in Jesus
- 32:57we see
- 32:58the one
- 32:59who came
- 33:00and could
- 33:01and perhaps
- 33:01we would
- 33:02say should
- 33:03have been
- 33:03served
- 33:03and yet
- 33:05we see
- 33:05him
- 33:06despised
- 33:07and rejected.
- 33:08We see
- 33:09him even
- 33:09here reminding
- 33:10of the
- 33:11very purpose
- 33:12that he
- 33:12came as
- 33:14he made
- 33:14his way
- 33:14to Jerusalem
- 33:15to give
- 33:16his life
- 33:17but that
- 33:18the hope
- 33:18was as
- 33:19the hope
- 33:20still is
- 33:20of the
- 33:21resurrection
- 33:21and we
- 33:22thank you
- 33:23for all
- 33:23the promises
- 33:24that we
- 33:24find to
- 33:25that end
- 33:26in your
- 33:26word of
- 33:27the one
- 33:28who came
- 33:29not to
- 33:29be
- 33:29served
- 33:29but to
- 33:30serve
- 33:30and to
- 33:31give his
- 33:31life as
- 33:32a ransom
- 33:33for many.
- 33:33May it
- 33:34encourage
- 33:35us
- 33:35may it
- 33:36humble
- 33:37us
- 33:37and may
- 33:38it
- 33:38make
- 33:38ourselves
- 33:39cast
- 33:40ourselves
- 33:40upon
- 33:41him
- 33:41who
- 33:42came
- 33:42from
- 33:43the
- 33:43father's
- 33:43throne
- 33:44to
- 33:44give
- 33:45himself
- 33:45for us
- 33:46that we
- 33:47might see
- 33:48the privilege
- 33:48that there
- 33:49is in
- 33:50following
- 33:50him
- 33:51and believing
- 33:52in him
- 33:52and praising
- 33:54him
- 33:54with all
- 33:55our hearts
- 33:56so hear
- 33:57our prayers
- 33:57and pardon
- 33:58our sin
- 33:59in Jesus
- 34:00name
- 34:00Amen
- 34:03we're going
- 34:06to conclude
- 34:07by singing
- 34:07to God's
- 34:08praise
- 34:08in Psalm
- 34:09138
- 34:10in the
- 34:10Sing
- 34:10Psalms
- 34:11version
- 34:11page
- 34:12179
- 34:14Psalm
- 34:22138
- 34:23page
- 34:24179
- 34:25we'll sing
- 34:25from
- 34:25verse
- 34:251
- 34:26to
- 34:263
- 34:26we'll
- 34:39sing
- 34:39from
- 34:39verse
- 34:391
- 34:40to
- 34:403
- 34:40to
- 34:41God's
- 34:41praise
- 34:41we
- 34:42stand
- 34:42to
- 34:42sing
- 34:42!
- 34:44I'll
- 34:47praise
- 34:47you
- 34:48Lord
- 34:49with
- 34:50all
- 34:51my
- 34:52heart
- 34:53before
- 34:55the
- 34:56God's
- 34:57and
- 34:58Savior
- 34:59praise
- 35:01I'll
- 35:03learn
- 35:03to
- 35:04worship
- 35:05holy
- 35:07praise
- 35:10and
- 35:11bless
- 35:12your
- 35:12holy
- 35:14name
- 35:15always
- 35:17I'll
- 35:19praise
- 35:20you
- 35:21for
- 35:22your
- 35:23faithfulness
- 35:26and
- 35:28for
- 35:29your
- 35:29calm
- 35:30and
- 35:31love
- 35:32O
- 35:33Lord
- 35:35God
- 35:36over
- 35:37all
- 35:38things
- 35:39you
- 35:40have
- 35:42raised
- 35:43your
- 35:44holy
- 35:45name
- 35:47and
- 35:48faithful
- 35:49words
- 35:51the
- 35:53very
- 35:55day
- 35:55I
- 35:57called
- 35:58to
- 35:59you
- 36:00you
- 36:01gave
- 36:02an
- 36:03answer
- 36:04to
- 36:05my
- 36:07plea
- 36:08you
- 36:10made
- 36:11me
- 36:11hold
- 36:12within
- 36:15myself
- 36:16with
- 36:19pure
- 36:20soul
- 36:21!
- 36:22strengthened
- 36:24me
- 36:25after the
- 36:28benediction
- 36:28I'll go to
- 36:29the door
- 36:29to my
- 36:29left
- 36:30we'll
- 36:30close
- 36:30with
- 36:30the
- 36:30benediction
- 36:31now may
- 36:32grace
- 36:33mercy
- 36:33and
- 36:33peace
- 36:34from
- 36:34God
- 36:35Father
- 36:35Son
- 36:36and
- 36:36Holy
- 36:36Spirit
- 36:37rest
- 36:38upon
- 36:38and
- 36:38abide
- 36:39with
- 36:39you
- 36:39all
- 36:40now
- 36:40and
- 36:40forever
- 36:41more
- 36:41Amen