and whoever would be first among you must be slave 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.
Two Words, Two Depths
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.
William KellyThere 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.
Ambition and Christian Character
Wanting the lead is not a small flaw. It contradicts everything a follower of Christ is meant to be.
J. N. DarbyAnyone 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.
The Ten and the Two
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.
Hamilton SmithThe 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."
Christ, the Measure
Jesus did not set a standard He kept clear of Himself. He went lower than anyone He was speaking to.
F. B. HoleThe 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.
Norman AndersonSo 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"!
Rule as Fuller Service
If serving is the road to ruling, what happens when the ruling arrives? It does not cancel the servant spirit; it enlarges it.
Numerical Bible NotesNo: 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.
Summary
- 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.