How To Be Great

Mark 10:35-45

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, are two of the all-time heroes of the Christian faith. They were seemingly closer to Jesus than any of the other Apostles except Peter. John lived a long and honoured life, and five books of the New Testament are attributed to him. James was one of the earliest martyrs of the faith, having died at the hands of Herod. Throughout the centuries they are fine examples of what it is to be a true follower of Christ.

Today’s Gospel tells of how these two Apostles came to Jesus one day and asked to be allowed to sit on His right and left when He entered His Kingdom. What a nerve they had to ask to have these places of prominence! What a shock they must have had when they did eventually reach Heaven to see God the Father in the prominent place, with Jesus on His right and the Holy Spirit on the Father’s left. Surely on the right of Jesus would have been His mother?

When the other Apostles learnt of this, they were offended and became angry with James and John. What right had they to make such a bold request? Had we been there our reaction would probably have been the same. Sincere and humble Christians are not supposed to have that kind of ambition. After all, one of the first conditions of discipleship is self-denial. Had not Jesus said, “If a man wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself?” Surely, there is no legitimate place for personal ambition among the serious followers of Christ?

Jesus did not rebuke James and John for their request. There is no hint in the reading that He was in any way offended by their ambition. He simply told them that they were asking for something which He did not have the power to give. Then He called them all together and tried to teach them the true meaning of greatness.

There is a lesson here for you and me. Our Lord did not discourage personal ambition among His followers. On the contrary, He spent much of His time teaching ordinary people that they were important. He urged His disciples to strive for excellence, telling them that their holiness must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, else they could not enter the Kingdom of God. Jesus believed that all people are endowed with a capacity for greatness, but there are many who miss it because they seek it in the wrong ways. We are not to exercise authority as the pagan rulers do making their authority felt. Things have not really changed in 2000 years!

Jesus dared to contradict these ideas. He told them, “This is not to happen among you.” Then He went on to make another of His revolutionary statements, “Anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to come first among you must be slave to all.” Notice that Jesus encouraged His Apostles to aspire to greatness, but He raised a new standard as to what that means: it must be through serving the most and being the slave to all.

It could be said that Jesus was a nobody from a carpenter’s shop in Nazareth. He never had any money. He never held any office. He was hated by the establishment and ultimately died on a cross. Yet the historian H.G. Wells said, “No one can write an honest history of the development of civilisation and the progress of humanity without giving a prominent place to the penniless Teacher of Nazareth.”

Charles Lamb once said that if Shakespeare were to enter a room everyone would stand to show him respect, but if Jesus was to enter, all would bow in reverence. Without doubt Jesus was the greatest Person Who ever walked this Earth, because He came to serve and to give His life for a ransom for many.

Lord Jesus, encourage each of us to be great and help us to realise we can only do it, like You, when we are prepared to be at the service of everyone.