Everyone wants to be the kind of person that others look up to but what does it take to be the very best? Well, let’s look at a request that Jesus received from two of His disciples that provided an opportunity for Him to talk about real leadership and recognition…
“Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him in a low voice. ‘Master,’ they said, ‘we want you to do us a favor.’ ‘What is it?’ he asked. ‘We want to sit on the thrones next to yours in your Kingdom,’ they said, ‘one at your right and the other at your left!'” (Mark 10:35-37).
So James and John, the “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17) went to Jesus with a bold request: “We want the seats of honor -one at your right hand and one at your left- when you come to establish your leadership.” In answering their request, Jesus responded by saying this…
“But Jesus answered, ‘You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of sorrow I must drink from? Or to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?'” (Mark 10:38).
In saying, “You don’t know what you’re asking for” Jesus used the familiar terms “cup” and “baptism” as figures of speech to represent the kind of suffering and death that He was going to endure (see also Mark 14:36 and Luke 12:50). Now Jesus’ answer really should have caused James and John to stop and think about what their request actually meant.
You see, their request indicated that they were thinking in terms of honoring themselves while Jesus’ answer indicated that He was thinking in terms of sacrificingHimself on their behalf. In any event, the two brothers (perhaps a bit too quickly) answered Jesus in this way…
“‘Oh, yes,’ they said, ‘we are!’ And Jesus said, ‘You shall indeed drink from my cup and be baptized with my baptism, but I do not have the right to place you on thrones next to mine. Those appointments have already been made'” (Mark 10:39-40).
As Jesus predicted, James and John certainly didn’t have it easy later in their lives. Acts 12:1-2 reports that James was killed by King Herod and tradition tells us that others tried to kill John by boiling him to death in a large pot of hot oil. But those events wouldn’t occur until much later in the future- for now, James and John had other problems…
“When the other disciples discovered what James and John had asked, they were very indignant” (Mark 10:41).
James and John’s request clearly didn’t go over too well with the other disciples so Jesus took the opportunity to speak with them about what true honor and leadership is really all about…
“So Jesus called them to him and said, ‘As you know, the kings and great men of the earth lord it over the people; but among you it is different. Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant. And whoever wants to be greatest of all must be the slave of all. For even I, the Messiah, am not here to be served, but to help others, and to give my life as a ransom for many'” (Mark 10:42-45).
You see, James and John wanted the kind of recognition and honor that could only be earned through serving others. This is because service is always the best indication of real leadership. For example, a good leader will never say something like, “do as I say and not as I do.” Instead, a good leader will follow Jesus’ example of service and never ask more of others than what they would be willing to do themselves. As Jesus Himself said in John 15:13, ” …the greatest love is shown when a person lays down his life for his friends.”
Now perhaps you may feel that Jesus’ teaching on servant leadership doesn’t apply to you because you don’t have any kind of leadership position. That’s fair enough, but have you ever considered that everyone (including yourself) is a leader in some way? Sure, you may not have a title that goes along with a leadership position but the truth is that everyone is a leader in one way or another.
You see, everyone has some sphere of influence, even if it’s only just among a few people. Everyone is a peer leader to some extent and everyone constantly influences others by the things that they say and do. And since everyone is a leader to some degree, it means that everyone should keep Jesus’ teaching on leadership in mind even if they don’t have a position or a title.
The Apostle Paul also picks up on this idea of servant leadership in 1 Corinthians 4:1-2…
“So (we) should be looked upon as Christ’s servants who distribute God’s blessings by explaining God’s secrets. Now the most important thing about a servant is that he does just what his master tells him to.”
See that word servants above? Well in the original language, the word used for “servants” is a seafaring term that literally means “underowers.” This is an unfamiliar word to most of us in the 21st century because most boats and ships today are powered by some type of engine. But in Paul’s day, the only way that you could get around on the ocean was through the use of sails and human oarsmen.
The underowers were the guys who would sit below deck on a ship and provide the power necessary move the ship across the water. These people didn’t give the orders- they took their orders from the captain and then carried them out. While this work was hard and not very glamorous, it was something that was absolutely necessary, for if the unseen rowers didn’t do their jobs, the ship wouldn’t go anywhere. This is the word-picture that the Apostle Paul used to illustrate what real servant leadership was all about.
James and John didn’t realize that work comes before recognition but it’s true that hard work may sometimes go unseen and unappreciated by others, just like those underowers we talked about a moment ago. Don’t lose sight of the fact that the work that God has called you to do is valuable and important even if you don’t get the kind of recognition that you believe you deserve. So don’t be upset if it seems that you’re doing a lot of work with very little recognition. Keep on doing those things that God has called you to do and remember these words from Colossians 3:23-24…
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (NIV).