The Way Up Is the Way Down - Part 2

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Please make your donation to on today send out all day. Jesus's death on the cross was more than just another Roman execution was the fulfillment of his mission to serve mankind around Turning Point of the Jeremiah reps up a series search of the Savior with a closer look at Mark 1045. The key verse in Mark's gospel and encouragement to take it to heart. The conclusion of his message the way up was the way down is David Jesus said he didn't come to be ministered to but to minister to give his life a ransom for many juices. Whole concept of life. Friends was that of service. He served others. He washed his disciples feet. Everywhere he went.

He did good. Everywhere he went he helped others.

He was a servant of servants, and he tells us that the way up the way to know the joy of industry is to get down her knees and serve others. There should never be a task to manual for a spirit filled Christian if something needs to be done for the kingdom and you're able to do it and you have the ability to doing God help you do it do it because service is that while it's the coinage of the kingdom's economy and when we serve we do business for God.

Well, let's get back into the book of Mark for one last time and let's learn everything we can about what it means to be a servant leader in the kingdom nation, culture a seat at the right hand of someone who was important was the seat of honor, the seat of the left would be reserved for someone who was an intimate friend walking through Jerusalem even to this day you see a rabbi walking there and he has his disciples the most important disciple will walk a little bit behind him to his right and the second will walk a little bit behind and to his left and the rabbi or the teacher will be in the middle in the value system of Jesus glory was reserved for those who endured suffering, not those who got to the right hand first. Jesus knew who was one day very soon going to be at his right hand in his left hand. You know that was to thieves hanging on crosses right beside Jesus question to his disciples is about to open up their understanding just a wee bit. Notice his response to them in verse 38 Jesus said that you do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with and they said we are able.

Oh my goodness. And Jesus said to them, you will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized Jesus response to James and John's ignorant self-serving request with the question of is all he says.

Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I baptized with his using symbolic language here the cup is a metaphor for suffering and baptism is a metaphor for being plunged into the midst of calamity.

Jesus will not be sprinkled with a bit of suffering is to be submerged in it and is asking these two disciples, are you ready to be submerged in the suffering to sit at my right hand left from our perspective, we know that the question is really a rhetorical question with an expected answer. I would have to say Lord we cannot do what only you can do, but the brothers declare that they can accomplish what Jesus accomplished in their pride in their arrogance and at this point we are surprised that Jesus is okay. You will and they didn't take it you know that James was the first martyr of the disciples, you read about his execution in the 12th chapter of the book of acts, and John was the last of the disciples to die on the Isle of Patmos is in exile for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. The bookends of the disciples. Jesus, as you will you will drink of my cup of suffering and you will be baptized in the baptism of my sufferings, and then Jesus adds one note, he says, but to sit on my right hand in my left hand is not mine to give.

And if you go to Matthew chapter 20 you discover why four Matthew 20 we read, you will indeed drink my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with, but to sit on my right hand in my left hand is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by my father, Jesus is the father has an assigned this to me he's holding this prerogative in his own hands and it's the father's decision as to who will sit at the right hand and the left now is possible to realize where we are in the story Jesus has predicted his death disciples of ask a stupid question. And Jesus is going to take these two things, and bring them together in one of the great teaching moments of his career. Notice the paradox of Jesus Dr. in verse 41, first of all, we learned that when the other disciples heard what was going on they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. Please understand this, they were displeased with James and John because they had come to grips with the fact that they had done a very evil thing they were displeased with James and John, because James and John got there before they could. That's why they were displeased words they thought James and John were rushing to the front of the line to be left behind. So the Bible says Jesus called all of them together. Jesus called his disciples together and he's going to tell them about true greatness. Verse 42 but Jesus called them to himself and said to them, you know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Jesus first of all, takes a look at the common understanding greatness greatness. He says the way the world looks out it is based upon how far up the hierarchy of responsibility and prominence. One can climb.

Jesus is the pagan path to greatness comes through domination and controlling other people having authority over others, but he says the Christian path to greatness is different. The Christian path to greatness comes through service and self-sacrifice.

People are not on the receiving end of service but on the giving end of service in the kingdom of God. It was the Lord Jesus who said, according to acts 2035. It is more blessed to give than to receive the examination of greatness. Now notice the explanation of it in verse 43. Yet it shall not be so among you but whoever of you desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be the slave of all know. Please note, Jesus is not against ambition is not against the desire to be great is against being ambitious about the wrong kind of greatness.

The contrast is between the world's definition of greatness and God's definition of greatness. Here is how one author has pointed. There is a profound difference between the false ambition for power and control ambition to love and serve. It is the difference between trying to raise ourselves up and trying to lift up fellow human beings in the discussion who belongs on Mount Rushmore of the NBA basketball world. One of the discussions that comes up in every one of the conversation is this one. Which of these people made the players around them better.

Michael Jordan always rises to the top. Michael will always be at the pinnacle of the greatness of the NDA as it stands right now, because even though he himself was incredibly gifted.

Somewhere along the way perhaps to the coaching of his famous culture through his own understanding. He began to realize that for him to be great to win championships and win championships.

He couldn't do it by himself and so we had to take the players around him weren't really great players and through his ability to elevate them to a new level and make them great. That in turn would make him great. If you've ever watched. Even the old films I used to watch Chicago Bulls every time I could and I remember over and over again. Michael would come out during the first half of the game and he would hardly even shoot it when you try to score.

You have an easy laugh.

He would take it with his whole mentality was finding the open people getting the other guys on the team involved their confidence so they would score in the second half. We had their confidence up. He would move in and he would do his thing was almost like if you want to see Michael, don't come into the game until half by the end of the game. All the players were playing at the highest level of their ability because he understood that greatness was not elevating himself first lifting up all the people around him so they could be great. There's a profound difference between how the world looks at greatness and how God looks at it because you see the preeminent virtue in the kingdom of God is not power but service services so powerfully the nature of God, Jesus point is just simple greatness comes through giving, not seeking for yourself and you've seen this before. For me, but I can't leave this without giving you this visual picture in the world's understanding of greatness. The triangle is like this and you know how it works. When you go into an organization to begin your service you come in at the bottom level and at the bottom level triangle are the most number of people.

The entry-level has the most number of people. Those who work hard, play the game do everything you're supposed to do. They start to move up the entry-level little by little as you get closer to the top.

There are fewer people at your level until you get all the way to the top and now you are at the top of the triangle. You look down and think about. Look at all the people who were serving under me and Jesus comes along and says that the triangle upside down and he says whoever wants the greatest among you, let him be the least, and Jesus says when you are in the greatness competition. If there is such a thing among believers. The question is not how many people are serving you.

The question is how many people are you serving and greatness in the kingdom of God is all about serving it's about serving others relevant to say that sometimes people say will I serve God, and you ask them how you serve God and they give you nebulous answer sums take this out of the nebulous.

The only way you can serve God by serving others. You can just serve God in your head.

You can just serve God in your wish. The Bible says you serve God by serving others. Jesus put it this way, whatever you have done to them under me you give somebody a cup of cold water. Jesus is you serve me so maybe you say I love God and I serve on my question to you is courier serving.

What are you doing how are you helping somebody because greatness in the kingdom is not about how many people you have under authority greatness in the kingdom is about how many people you are serving and how you serve now almost done, but not quite.

We have this prediction of Jesus suffering and the presumption of the disciples about what this means and Jesus telling them what it means and he's going now with an example that you can't get away from the example of greatness in a single sentence that rises like a mountain peak above all the previous statements about his purpose. Jesus is going to personalize servant hood as the standard of greatness. By the way men and women. Mark 1045 is the central verse of the book of Mark, did you know that it may not be just, you know perfectly centered in the book but it's the central verse because here's what it says for even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and give his life a ransom for many. This is the key verse to the book of Mark, because up until 1045 we are reading about the life of Jesus as he is serving other people's miracles. All the things we've been studying from 1045 to the end of the book were going to see Jesus sacrificing himself for the whole world is passion and just a couple of verses will be in the triumphal entry into Jerusalem now in this verse, which is the most important verse in the book of Mark, Jesus says, first of all, that the Son of Man that's a title but only is related to him and did not exist before Jesus was that mean Son of Man means that Jesus is the true representative of man even though he was 100% God.

He was 100% man is not merely a human being is a human being.

He is the true man and he says for the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and when he uses the word serve. He uses the word which is used for the lowest kind of serving.

In fact, in Luke's account of this incident. Look identifies what Jesus is talking about.

So we can't miss it. In Luke 2227 we read, for who is greater, sits at the table or he will serve is not he who sits at the table yet. I am among you as the one who serves Jesus as I am your servant's question is profound. What is greater the host and the gas or the waiter and Jesus said I am the waiter meeting. Is this the Son of Man man who lives in the truest human life waited upon others instead of seeking others to wait upon him. Jesus redefined the true nature of greatness to be great does not mean to lord it over someone needs to willingly serve under someone by giving his own life as a ransom. Jesus would soon show his followers what servant hood was all about. Sometimes when we study the servant hood of Jesus we think what I just did that for us so we would have an example, but notes far more than that. It's far better than that, it gets better and better as you understand it more and more. Jesus is not just an example to us of the cervical Jesus literally serves us his compass serve us in the truest and most dignified and biblical sense of that term is purpose is to carry our burdens on our sorrows and our worries and listen to this. I never saw this before when we get to heaven, he will still be serving us up there. But you know that. Let me read to you. Luke 1237 Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them to sit and eat and come and serve them. That leads me to believe that when we get to heaven, our Savior will not ever abandon his servant hood mentality but even in heaven we will see our Lord serving and serving us while most of the chart is then not only has the Son of Man in the serve of the notice verse 45. He used to give his life a ransom for many. And this is the crowning moment.

This verse invites us to discover and reflect upon the true purpose of Jesus life. He did not come to be served by people. His purpose was to serve others, and he served others by giving his life as a ransom term. We know very much about except if you watch movies about people getting kidnapped and you know some about a ransom. If you know that in the Bible. This is the only place where the word is ever used. It's a really significant word because Jesus is saying I have come to be the ransom not provided. I am the ransom to redeem you is a word which was used in the New Testament times of people who were slaves and they would be bought out of their slavery back in the New Testament times. If you were put into prison you have friends with enough money they could buy you out of your sentence and you would be redeemed and whatever money they gave to get you out. That would be called the ransom.

Jesus said, you are bound in slavery, but you can't get out of your under the bondage of sin and I am coming into this world and I myself and to be your ransom. I am the purchase price of your redemption into my death on the cross and what I have done. I am paying for your freedom in its entirety.

I am your ransom, and he said that's why I came in column to be served by others. I came to give my life as a ransom for many. Someone should ask us what was the moment of Jesus greatest greatness we would all, if we thought about it carefully would have to say it was the moment when he hung on the cross outside of Jerusalem as the ransom for our sin, stop and think about that for a moment. What was the greatest moment of the greatest person who ever walked on this earth. It was his sacrificial death on the cross day one 3500 feet up the long road from Jericho to Jerusalem so they can witness the greatest moment in the life of their leader was that great moment he hung on the cross and who was on his right hand a thief and on his (another thief and there between the representation of sinful man.

He gave himself up voluntarily so that we could be set free.

He became a ransom.

I wonder what the disciples thought when Jesus was done with his lesson and his illustration I don't have to wonder too much because you can kinda check on this. If you read the Bible carefully before the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. John said to the Lord Jesus, grant me that I might sit on your right hand, in your glory. But after experiencing the overwhelming love and grace of Christ. We read these words from the pen of the same man.

By this we know love because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for our brethren. First John 316 and first John four beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. I think John got it.

Don't you I think you got the message.

I think Jesus got through his heart heart as the resurrection was over John begin the process.

This I was there, greatest day for the greatest moment of my lovely Lord when he gave himself up on the cross for my sin and if he loves us that much. The lesson I take away from that is. That's the way I should love others. So it comes right down to this. Men and women.

Greatness is all about serving his and here's the good news for everyone of us. Everybody can be great because everybody can serve don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know Plato or Aristotle you don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics.

All you need is a heart to serve and you're on your way to greatness in the mind of God so here's my question. Are you serving or better yet are you serving don't come up with any of this mitigating nonsense about how you love God and you serve God you can't identify anybody who's at the other end of your service you serving if you want to be great in the eyes of God, the way up is the way down on your knees before the Lord serving well, that's the end of our discussion from the book of Mark, as I mentioned when we meet tomorrow we began our Christmas presentation: why the nativity with the whole month of teaching on the meaning of Christmas.

Have a great day will see you tomorrow. The message you just heard originated from Shadow Mountain Community Church with Dr. David Jeremiah as senior pastor does not have tending point keeps you spiritually strong like to point out the I 38 San Diego, CA 92163 or visit our website at David Jeremiah.old/radio real copy of the Bible Jesus in every book in the bottom of any amount you can also download the free Turning Point Michael after your private smart device will searching the app store for the keywords Turning Point ministries as the next programs and visit Jeremiah.old/radio details I'm very join us tomorrow as we begin the series why the nativity Turning Point. Jeremiah taking time to listen to all