But Jesus having called them to [him], says to them, Ye know that those who are esteemed to rule over the nations exercise lordship over them; and their great men exercise authority over them;
Jesus has just heard James and John ask for the top seats in His kingdom, and the other ten have grown angry about it. Instead of settling the argument on their terms, He calls them all near. He points to the way power works among the nations. Then He tells them their own circle runs on the opposite principle.
His first move is not a rebuke but an invitation. The example He picks was already in front of them.
The kindness with which the Lord speaks to them is precious. He first calls them to Him. He does not drive them away with harsh words; He wants them near Himself. Then He reminds them of what they already knew about the way the world governs. Men may be called "public servants," yet they hold places of dignity and authority above ordinary people. Of course they saw this in the rule of the Gentiles over Israel.
Why say this at all? Because the world's way looks normal, and disciples copy it without noticing.
How easy it was, and still is, for the disciples of Jesus to take on the standards and customs of the world around them. It is just as easy to take for granted that, because everybody seems to be doing it, it must be the right thing to do. Again and again our Lord would say to us, "But it shall not be so among you." The nations have their great men, who use their authority to lord it over people. Among the disciples of the Lord, greatness shows itself in a completely different way. There true greatness takes the lowly place of service to others — serving the Lord in serving them.
The contrast is not just between two styles of leadership. It reaches down to what a person enjoys.
Anyone who seeks to be great, and to take the lead among Christians, has completely falsified the Christian character. He will be the last of all. The true way to have the highest place is to serve, counting yourself the slave of the needs of other disciples… Seeking to be raised up yourself is only the selfishness of the flesh, the spirit of the world, which is enmity against God. Love delights to serve — this is what Christ did; pride and selfishness love to be served, and to take precedence over others.
The rulers in the verse hold power everyone can see. Authority among Christ's people starts somewhere else, and it aims at something else.
The world's officer carries all the marks of present power. He demands to be recognised as a man with power, and he should be. Everyone can see where his authority comes from, and everyone can watch him use it. The source of authority in the church is invisible. It comes from above, from the ascended Jesus, and it works as real spiritual control and guidance. The great aim is that the man who carries it should so lose his prominence that Jesus, and not the man himself, is exalted.
So who counts as great in the kingdom? One writer answers plainly, and the help he names is not always spiritual.
We gather from this that the great men in the kingdom are those who do all they can — simply, humbly, earnestly and with devotion — to help the saints of God on their path through this world. It may not always be in spiritual matters; it may be in material matters.
Jesus had told the two brothers that the chief places were not His to give. He does not leave them with nothing.
Jesus calls them to Himself and corrects the fleshly thoughts of the two disciples and the ten by setting before them the path of true greatness. If He cannot give them the chief place in glory, He can show them the path that leads there. The One who takes the lowest place on earth as the slave of all will have the highest place in glory. The Son of Man was the perfect pattern of such a path.
- Cause. Ambition for place is the flesh at work. It showed in the two who asked, and in the ten who resented them for asking.
- Call. Jesus does not drive the ambitious away. He calls them near and teaches them from the government they already saw over their heads.
- Contrast. The world's authority is visible and demands recognition. Authority among Christ's people comes from the ascended Jesus. It works so that He, not the man, stands out.
- Conversion. Greatness is not abolished but turned around. Love delights to serve; pride loves to be served. The great are those helping God's people in spiritual and material things alike.
- Crown. The chief seats were not His to hand out. But He could show the road: lowest on earth, highest in glory, with Himself as the pattern.
but it is not thus among you; but whosoever would be great among you, shall be your minister;
Two of Jesus' twelve disciples asked Him for the best seats in His coming kingdom. The other ten were furious when they heard it. So Jesus called them all together and overturned their idea of greatness. His answer sets the world's way of rising against the way of His kingdom, where the ladder runs downward.
The two who asked were not unbelievers. They were sure the kingdom was coming. What spoiled their asking was what they wanted out of it.
They truly believed the kingdom would be set up. But, as so often with ourselves, a good deal of unjudged flesh pushed its way into their faith. They saw the kingdom as a chance for their own advancement, not as the place where the glory of Christ would be displayed.
The ten who objected stood on no higher ground. Their anger exposed them just as much.
The flesh does not become plain only through the fault of one person or another. How do we behave when the faults of others are on display? The anger that broke out in the ten showed the pride of their own hearts, just as much as the two men wanting the best place.
The danger Jesus names is copying what everyone around us does.
How easy it was, and still is, for the disciples of Jesus to accept and take up the standards and customs of the world around them. Because everybody seems to be doing it, they take for granted that it is the right thing to do. Again and again our Lord would say to us, "But it shall not be so among you." The nations have their great men, who exercise their authority in a lordly way. Among the disciples of the Lord, greatness shows itself in a completely different way. There true greatness lies in taking the lowly place of service to others — serving the Lord in serving them.
This verse and the next use two different words, and the second goes lower. Kelly quotes an older translation: where the ESV has "servant" and then "slave of all", it has "minister" and then "bondman".
There is a difference between the two words. The word translated "minister" means a servant. But in the next verse it is a bondman or slave. Do you want to be really great according to the principles of My kingdom? Go down as low as you can. Do you want to be the greatest? Go down the lowest of all. Whoever has least of self is greatest in the Lord's eyes.
Greatness measured by serving cannot be won by any title. Kelly points to Paul as the man who lived it out most fully.
This is love which serves, not flesh which seeks to be served. What counts is the motive and spirit behind it, not a position held in the church or in ministry. I have no doubt that the one who was not a bit behind the very greatest of the apostles was the one most filled with the mind which was in Christ Jesus. That was true in his own soul and in his service too. Paul was bondsman of all.
So what happens when the day of glory comes and they do rule?
Service was the road to rule, and this could only be because rule itself would be fuller service. Whoever would be great among them would be their minister, and the chief among them by that very fact be bound to serve them. Must it not be plain that the Son of Man, the King, "came not to be served but to serve"? Glory might change the character of this service — not the spirit nor the fact of it.
He would not hand out the seats, but He did not leave them empty-handed. He gave them the road.
If He cannot give them the chief place in glory, He can show them the path that leads there. The One who takes the lowest place on earth as the bondman of all will have the highest place in glory.
And the One who commands this walked it first, further than anyone can follow.
Who was so great as He in His original state? Then "a thousand thousands served Him" (Dan. 7:10). Who took so lowly a place, ministering to others? Who carried service to such a length as "to give His life as a ransom for many"? For this reason alone, apart from anything else, the place of pre-eminence must be His. Those who follow Him most closely in lowly service in this day will be greatest in that day.
- Cause. Real faith can still carry self-seeking inside it. The two wanted the best place. The ten's anger showed the same pride.
- Contrast. Disciples soak up the world's way of ruling without thinking. Jesus rules it out among His own.
- Cost. The two words rise in weight — servant, then slave. To be great, go low; to be greatest, go lowest.
- Character. Greatness is love that serves, not a rank to hold. Paul, behind none of the apostles, was bondsman of all.
- Crown. Service is the road to rule, because rule itself is fuller service. Those who follow Him closest in lowly service now will be greatest then.
and whosoever would be first of you shall be bondman of all.
James and John had just asked for the top seats in Jesus' kingdom, and the other ten disciples were angry about it. His answer turns the word "first" upside down: the road up runs downward.
Jesus uses one word in verse 43 and a stronger one here. Kelly weighs the difference, working from Matthew's record of the same words, where the stronger word falls in verse 27.
There is a difference between the two words. The word translated "minister" means a servant. But in verse 27 it is a bondman or slave. Do you want to be really great according to the principles of My kingdom? Go down as low as you can. Do you want to be the greatest? Go down the lowest of all. Whoever has least of self is greatest in the Lord's eyes.
Wanting the lead is not a small flaw. It contradicts everything a follower of Christ is meant to be.
Anyone who seeks to be great and to take the lead among Christians has completely falsified the Christian character. He will be the last of all. The true way to have the highest place is to serve, counting yourself the slave of the needs of other disciples. This is what Jesus did. He did not come into this world to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. The lesson is simple and clear, but it is of the greatest importance! Seeking to lift yourself up is only the selfishness of the flesh, the spirit of the world, which is hostile to God. Love delights to serve — this is what Christ did. Pride and selfishness love to be served, and to go before others.
Darby pins the phrase down: the slavery is to other people's needs.
It is easy to read this verse as a rebuke aimed only at the two brothers who asked. The other ten had just given themselves away too.
The flesh shows itself in the ten as well. Their indignation with James and John proved that jealousy was at work in their own hearts. One writer has said, "The flesh does not show itself only in the fault of this person or that. How do we behave when the faults of others are on open display? The indignation that broke out in the ten showed the pride of their own hearts, just as much as the two who wanted the best place."
Jesus did not set a standard He kept clear of Himself. He went lower than anyone He was speaking to.
The Son of Man Himself is the shining example of this kind of service. Who was ever as great as He was in His original place? "A thousand thousands served Him" (Daniel 7:10). Who ever took so low a place, serving others? Who ever carried service so far as "to give His life as a ransom for many"? For this reason alone, apart from everything else, the highest place must be His. Those who follow Him most closely in lowly service today will be the greatest in that day.
Another writer adds that His self-humbling also showed He was fit to rule.
So He Himself showed the beautiful marks of self-humbling that lead to exaltation. The wise man, in Proverbs 30:22, tells of three things that make the earth tremble, and the first is "a slave when he becomes king." Position by itself does not make a person fit for it. In our blessed Lord we see the beautiful marks that fit someone for righteous rule. The Servant of all shall be the Lord of all — "Therefore God has highly exalted Him"!
If serving is the road to ruling, what happens when the ruling arrives? It does not cancel the servant spirit; it enlarges it.
No: service was the road to rule, and this could only be because rule itself would be nothing but fuller service. Whoever would be great among them would be their servant, and the chief among them would by that very fact be bound to serve them. Must it not be plain that the Son of Man, the King, "came not to be served but to serve"? Glory might change the character of this service — not the spirit nor the fact of it.
- Down. Greatness in Christ's kingdom runs downward. "Minister" in verse 43 means a servant; the word here is stronger — a bondman, a slave.
- Down to all. The place Jesus names is not servant of one person but slave of all — bound to the everyday needs of everyone around you.
- Down in the heart. The two who asked and the ten who were angry showed the same pride. Anger at someone else's ambition can expose your own.
- Down first, by Him. Thousands once served Him. He took the lowest place and gave His life as a ransom, so the highest place must be His.
- Up, and still serving. Lowly service now is the road to rule then — and that rule will be service on a larger scale, not an escape from it.
For also the Son of man did not come to be ministered to, but to minister, and give his life a ransom for many.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.