Dividing Pride, Uniting Humility

If you’re new to the Gospels, the disciples, though they had unparalleled first-hand access to Jesus, got it completely wrong a lot of the time because they were ordinary, fallen people like you and I. We ought to find that encouraging because we are often the same way- despite walking with Jesus, being in His presence, hearing His words, we have an astounding capacity to get Him and His way completely wrong sometimes.

I love that Jesus perseveres with us despite us.

Mark 10:35- Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask."

What an astonishing statement of sinful pride- ‘God, I want you to do for me whatever I want’ In pride, whether we express it or not, that is our view of God- that He exists for us. Wrong. We exist for Him. We ought to do for Him whatever He asks.

Jesus probes-

Mark 10:36-37- "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked. They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."

What we see in motion here is a pride-fuelled power-play from James and John to gain a position elevated above the other disciples. They covet a position of prominence and glory. They are, in effect, grasping at equality with God.

This, in reality, is a complete contrast to the attitude of Jesus, which His disciples are to emulate. Philippians 2 tells us that Jesus, though ‘being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant’. Pride covets the position of Jesus rather than the person of Jesus. It sees Jesus as a means to an end, rather than ‘glorifying Him’ the chief end. It desires Jesus for what He can do for us, rather than for Himself.

James and John momentarily fell into the snare of foolish, sinful pride.

In verse. 41, we see that when the disciples heard about the power play of James and John, they were indignant with them. An argument broke out among them, as to who was the greatest. That’s what pride does; it divides, one against the other

In the Corinthian church, they were essentially having the same argument; which teacher was the greatest? Look at this;

1 Corinthians 1:11-13- My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?

1 Corinthians 3:4-5- For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task.

Humility is happy for Jesus to get all of the glory. Pride wants a share it does not deserve. Paul labored for the church and demanded none of the glory for it.

Paul concludes;

1 Corinthians 3:21-23- So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

and in;

1 Corinthians 4:7- ‘’….What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

Humility recognizes that everything it has is a gift from God and therefore there is no basis for them to boast, except to ‘boast in the Lord’. And that attitude unites people where pride divides.

It says in verse. 41- ‘So Jesus called them together…’

Then, in verse. 42, he says;

Mark 10:42-44- …"You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.

Jesus is in no way anti-authority. Jesus did and Jesus does institute authority among us in His church, and the Bible tells us in Hebrews that we are to ‘obey those leaders and submit to their authority’.But the difference between a proud shepherd and a humble shepherd is that a proud shepherd uses the authority that they have been given to be serve themselves; a humble shepherd uses the authority that they have been given to serve others.

The church needs humble shepherds who will be examples to them in the way that they love and serve Jesus and others and lead the way in humility. The world needs humble Christians who will be examples to them in they love and serve Jesus and others and lead the way in humility.

We all have good reason and a great commission to humble ourselves.

Let’s conclude with verse. 45;

Mark 10:45- For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

He came, not to be served. He came to give his life a ransom for many. Think about this act of humility. Let’s consider that this act of giving his life as a ransom was intentional. It says that ‘he came to do it’. He came to die.

Look back a few verses in Mark 10:32-34-

Mark 10:32-34-They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. "We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise."

So Jesus is knowingly walking into the jaws of suffering and death because He came to give his life a ransom for many. He is choosing to suffer; He is choosing to die; to ransom us from sin and death.