Matthew 20:17-28; Mark 10:32-45; Luke 18:31-34;
Matthew 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-19:27;
John 12:1-11
You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.
Mark 10:42b-45
I memorized that last verse (Mark 10:45) 40+ years ago as part of a series of verses illuminating Who Jesus is. Here we see Him as the ultimate Servant, laying down His life for us, the many. We, of course, find tremendous comfort in that. And we are in awe (or should be in awe) that the King of the universe would do such a thing as to come and serve us puny humans. Glory!
But although I memorized that specific verse, I’ve never bothered to memorize the preceding verses, and so I’ve never really retained the context for Jesus’ description of Himself as a Servant. That context indicates that He is acting as our Example, that we are to follow in His steps in servanthood. Hmmm. Now Jesus is meddling, rubbing us the wrong way. It’s fine if He wants to serve us. It’s not so fine when He expects us to serve one another. But that’s what He says. So, James and John (and you and I), do you want to sit at Jesus’ side in His glory? Then become the lowliest of servants here and now.
See also:
- April 29 (2021) / Matt. 20:17-28, Mark 10:32-45, Luke 18:31-34
- April 30 (2021) / Matt. 20:29-34, Mark 10:46-52, Luke 18:35-43
- May 1 (2021) / Luke 19:1-27
- August 26 (2019) / John 12:1-11
One more thing…
I am of the opinion that Jesus’ anointing by Mary of Bethany described in John 12:2-8 is the same incident as given in Matthew 26:6-13 and Mark 14:3-9, which we won’t get to for nearly a week. I think The Chronological Study Bible leads us a bit astray here by separating these readings by several days, implying that they are two separate events. John 12:1 says that Jesus arrives in Bethany 6 days before the Passover. John 12:2 does not say that the dinner at which Mary anoints Jesus is held that very night. We all know that none of the Gospel writers feel compelled to present their material in chronological order, and John happens to present this vignette a bit early (or, conversely, Matthew and Mark may present the anointing a bit late). Hence, I think it would have been better for us to push John 12:2-8 later, reading those verses alongside the Matthew and Mark accounts a few days hence (or vice versa), but that’s OK.
By the way, I am also of the opinion that the anointing described in Luke 7:36-50 is indeed a separate, much earlier event, so I was glad to see The Chronological Study Bible cover that when we did. Now, some food for thought… I speculate (and it is pure speculation — no dogma here!) that the cast of characters is the same. That is, “Simon the Pharisee” in Luke is (speculatively) “Simon the Leper” in Matthew and Mark. And it is (speculatively) the same woman throughout all four accounts, Mary of Bethany. Now, here’s your homework: Assuming that my speculation is true (and it may not be!), fill in the blanks between Luke’s incident and this later incident as given in Matthew, Mark, and John…