Service in the Kingdom

In Mark 10, James and John confront Jesus with a request, to be able to sit on His right and left hand in glory. This was a request Jesus could not grant and His explanation came in the form of a question and is found in Verse 38, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" They thought they would be able, and Jesus acknowledged that “The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized, but to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give.” He was telling them that they would suffer in identification with His suffering but would not measure up to the redemptive work Jesus would complete at Calvary. Jesus added, “but it is for those for whom it has been prepared," meaning that the Father would decide who would occupy those seats. This conversation was in preparation for a deeper discussion about servanthood. 

Hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John. Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant [diakonos – minister, servant, deacon]; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave [doulos – one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another, his will being altogether consumed in the will of the other] of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve [diakonos], and to give His life a ransom for many."           Mark 10:41-45 

Greatness in the Kingdom 

In short, Jesus was giving them (and by extension, you and I) the definition of greatness in the kingdom of heaven and the characteristics of those who would be first. Both revolve around two Greek words, diakonos and doulos. Greatness centers itself around diakonos which is translated servant, minister, or deacon. Its root refers to “waiting on tables” and then by extension, “care for one’s livelihood”. Greatness in the kingdom of heaven is all about developing a willingness to serve the needs of others, making this attitude a habit.

Doulos, translated slave or bondservant takes service to another level. It encompasses an attitude derived from a submission of one’s will to another. Jesus says that the first in the kingdom of heaven is the one who is a slave of all. The Apostle Paul refers to himself over and over again as a bondservant of Christ and this is repeated by John, Peter, James, and Jude. Being a bondslave of God means devotion resulting in total obedience. In 2 Timothy 2:24-25, he is kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition to themselves. His devotion to God is manifested in his compassion toward others.

The Father’s Honor

who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant [doulos], and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason, also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.   Philippians 2:6-11 

According to Paul, Jesus was a bondservant to complete His Father’s will. The above passage reveals that it was Jesus’s choice to be totally surrendered to His Father’s will, even if it meant suffering and death. Fulfilling the will of God is the ultimate conclusion of a life in complete submission to the Lord. From this lowly place, God is exalted, and we who agree with this life decision will also be exalted as Jesus was. John writes in John 12:24-26 that when a believer chooses to die to his own will and live for someone else, he finds that. in losing his life, he finds real eternal life. In Verse 26, If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant [diakonos] will be also; if anyone serves Me the Father will honor him. 

Joseph, a Type of Christ 

Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. So, Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge. It came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph; thus, the Lord’s blessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field. So, he left everything he owned in Joseph’s charge; and with him there he did not concern himself with anything except the food which he ate.          Genesis 39:1-6 

Joseph was purchased as a slave by Potiphar to serve in his house. Because of Joseph’s faithfulness, the Lord anointed his work to bless Potipher and, after making Jospeh his personal servant, Potipher ultimately put Joseph in charge of his entire household. In the same way, Jesus wants to serve the believer as a slave. In Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Jesus has so much to take care of in a believer’s life if he would only leave Jesus in charge of his household. Christ’s entire public ministry was all about demonstrating what He could do to anyone who would believe. By allowing Jesus to serve the believer, Jesus empowers him to serve others. 

A Slave Loves his Master

"If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment. "If he comes alone, he shall go out alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall go out with him. "If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out alone. "But if the slave plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,' then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.       Exodus 21:2-6 

The Law of Moses gives us a glimpse into a bondslave relationship with God in the above passage. A slave is given his freedom (as a believer receives freedom in Christ), but he chooses to stay a slave because of his love for his master. The piercing by an awl was a symbol of permanent ownership, likened to the fact that the believer is no longer his own since he has been bought with a price (1Corinthians 6:19-20). Choosing to be a slave is a statement that he acknowledges the master’s will as supreme.

Freed from Sin

Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.            Romans 6:16-18 

As Paul reveals in Romans 6, man’s curse means slavery to the sin nature imputed to him from Adam. When he becomes a believer in Christ, he has a choice to make: to continue being a slave to sin or, through obedience, become a slave of righteousness. Unregenerate man is not aware of his condition as slave; in fact, he falsely believes he is free. When Jesus enters his life by faith, the believer begins wrestling with this nature that he comes to realize cannot be controlled. In Romans 7, Paul testifies that he does the things he does not want to do and does not do the things he wishes to do. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death (Romans 7:24)? His answer in Verse 25 is the Lord Jesus Christ! Through obedience from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed (paradidomai – entrusted), the believer is freed from sin to become a slave of righteousness. He accepts accountability for the understanding of truth God has given him.

 Two Masters

In Luke 16:13, Jesus instructs His disciples that a servant cannot have two masters because he cannot have multiple allegiances, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. It means that we cannot serve two masters; we are forced to make a choice. Otherwise, we cannot serve at all. A servant must have a single allegiance to truly serve.

Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant [menial attendee], for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later; but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.    Hebrews 3:5-6