Well, as most of you know, this December we have been concentrating from the Beacon Pulpit on the question, why did Christ come? And we've been examining the answer to that question in the words of Jesus Christ himself. On December 1, we learned that Christ came to die, John 12, 27. December 8, Christ came to divide, Matthew 10, 34. Last Lord's Day, December 15, we learned that Christ came to preach. Luke 4.43, and now we have one more gospel. We've had John and Matthew and Luke, and so today, Mark 10.45, Christ came to serve. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Looking at that particular text, verse 45 of Mark chapter 10, we could probably lift at least two or three different statements accurately as to why Christ came. We could say Christ came to redeem, that is to ransom. Or we could say again Christ came to die, for He came to give His life. But the context points us in another direction and tells us what the primary emphasis for this statement is. Christ came to serve. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. The text itself divides rather readily, I think, into two parts. First of all, the example, and secondly, the elaboration. But before we're ready to understand it, we must first consider the context. We have to see the setting in which all of this took place if we're going to understand the import of what Christ spoke on this occasion. This took place within one week of Christ's crucifixion. Christ and his apostles are now on their final journey to Jerusalem. They began in the north in Galilee, and they crossed the Jordan River up at the north and came down the eastern side of Jordan through Perea, and then crossed again at the southern portion of the Jordan near the city of Jericho, and from there they traveled on to Jerusalem. The text for today takes place before they arrived in Jericho, before Christ healed blind Bartimaeus on the road to Jericho, and before they met Zacchaeus in the city of Jericho. But there are multitudes on the road all on their way to Jerusalem because it is Passover time. And so the crowds are coming. They are traveling. They are gathering and moving toward the city of Jerusalem. And many of these crowds had attached themselves to Jesus and to his disciples, and they were closely watching him and following him on the road to Jerusalem. And the Bible tells us that they were amazed and they were fearful. Verse 32, now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem and Jesus was going before them and they were amazed. And as they followed, they were afraid. Then he took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to him. Their amazement appears to be based upon what they saw in his face, in his posture, in his determined resolution. He was going to Jerusalem, and though they didn't know exactly what was going to happen there, they knew that that meant trouble. There's already been enough friction between Christ and the religious leaders that they are aware of the fact that when He goes to Jerusalem it's not going to be a peaceful time. And so they are amazed that He has set His face toward Jerusalem and He is determined to go there in spite of what is obviously going to be a difficult time. They were amazed and they were fearful. And the fear seems to be attached to the same reason. Apparently there was a sense of foreboding. They didn't know what was going to happen, but they knew that something was going to happen, and they didn't think it was going to be good. And so Jesus is marching resolutely to Jerusalem. The crowds are headed to Jerusalem for Passover, and those who are watching Him are amazed at His resolution. and fearful of what may happen next. In that setting, Jesus makes this announcement in verses 33 and 34. He said this to his apostles, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes, And they will condemn him to death, and deliver him to the Gentiles. And they will mock him, and scourge him, and spit on him, and kill him. And the third day he will rise again." This is the third clear announcement of his impending death given to his disciples. You'll find in Mark's account the first one in chapter 8, verse 31, and the second one in chapter 9, verse 31, and now this third one in chapter 10. And this is the most detailed of the three. It's very clear. Christ is crystal clear what He knows is going to happen to Him when He gets to Jerusalem. He's going to be mistreated terribly. He's going to die. But He is going to rise again. In light of the solemnity of this announcement, we are all the more disappointed that the request of two of Christ's apostles, James and John. And as we learn by reading Matthew's account in chapter 20, they seem to have been prompted by their mother who was leading this whole procedure. And James and John, led by their mother, came to Jesus and they said, we have a request of you. Will you promise to respond to our request, to answer our request? I'm always a little bit apprehensive when someone asks me to promise to do something before they have told me what it is they want me to do. And Jesus was dealing with that very same thing. Will you do for us what we ask of you, Master? They probably thought they had the inside track. Many Bible scholars believe that the mother of James and John was an aunt of Jesus and they would therefore be his cousins. And so out of the 12 apostles, they thought no doubt they had an inside track. And so they have just a little minor request for him. When you come into your kingdom, will you just make us number one and number two officials? One of us sit on your right hand and one sit on your left hand. That's all we want. Nothing, nothing very much. Just make us the two greatest officials in your coming kingdom. It's hard to know exactly what to make of their request. On the one hand, it almost seems to indicate some faith on their part. He just told them he's going to die, and yet they're talking about his glorious kingdom. They seem to have confidence that he is going to have a kingdom in spite of what he's just said. But on the other hand, we're tempted to think that maybe they didn't even hear what he said, because when he died, they seemed to be taken totally by surprise. So it seems even more likely that in spite of the fact that Jesus just told them that he's going to die, they didn't hear a word of it because their minds were set upon being number one and number two officials in his heavenly kingdom. How disappointing to see such evidence of carnal worldly ambition in two of these apostles of Christ, James and John. John, the beloved apostle of all people. How disappointing. And yet maybe it is encouraging to realize that if that was true of the apostles of Christ, then we shouldn't be terribly surprised when we find it among the people of God today. Disappointing, yes, always disappointing, but It's not terribly surprising when you find leaders in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ today who sometimes show more concern for their own carnal ambitions than they do for the interests of Christ's kingdom. Shame that it should be so. But Christ's reply to them is, first of all, to ask, can you endure the suffering that I will endure? Can you drink the cup that I must drink, the cup of judgment? That cup is highly symbolic. Can you be baptized with the baptism that I'm going to be baptized with? Not, of course, His water baptism, which had already taken place three years earlier in the Jordan River, but rather the baptism of judgment with which He is going to be inundated. Can you endure such such suffering, such judgment. And in immature confidence, they reply, yes, Lord, we certainly can. If that's what it takes to be number one and two in your kingdom, yeah, we'll go through with that. As the Lord reminds us once again, that there is suffering that proceeds glory. There is a cross before the crown. And Christ said, yes, you will suffer, you will suffer, you will drink the cup that I drink, that is the cup of suffering and judgment. You will be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with, but In regard to your request as to who will sit on my right and left hand in the heavenly kingdom, that's not mine to give. I can't grant that to you, a strange reply for the Son of God, the second son of the triune Godhead. But I cannot grant your request because, and there are two reasons actually, number one, because that prerogative belongs solely to the will of my heavenly Father. That's what becomes even more clear in the Matthew account. So he said to them in verse 23 of Matthew 20, you will indeed drink my cup and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with, but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by my father. Another one of these mysterious statements that leaves us puzzled in trying to understand the relationship between the persons of the triune Godhead. Jesus is as much God as God the Father, and yet He was continually submitting His will to that of the Father. And He tells them on this occasion that this request I cannot grant because this is in the prerogative of the will of my Heavenly Father. So that's the first reason I cannot grant it. This decision belongs to the Father, but number two, this decision has already been made. It's for those for whom it has been prepared. We'll have to wait. The implication is we'll have to wait and see who that is, but no sense in trying to lobby for that now, that's already a settled matter. Now the other disciples were quite indignant. They heard what was going on and they got James and John aside and they berated them mightily for what they had just done. Oh, wouldn't we like to think because they were indignant at their carnality and their audacity in asking such a request. But again, the evidence would indicate that they were probably indignant because they beat them to the punch. They wanted the same thing. How dare you try to horn in first? We want those positions as much as you do. How dare you try to use your family connection, your dear mother of all people, to try to grant this favor? They were highly indignant. But out of all of this, Jesus told his disciples, taught his disciples a very important lesson. He says in verse 42, You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you, but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all." A very important lesson. The world's concept of leadership, says Jesus, is this concept of pomp and splendor and grandeur and wielding of authority and having others bow to you and serve you and be submitted to you. But, said Jesus Christ, that's not the Christian concept of authority. That's not the Christ-like concept at all. I think Christ is no doubt disappointed that they haven't learned this lesson yet because He's taught it to them before, and He will teach it to them yet again before He goes to the cross, when in the upper room He girds His towel around them and takes the servants' place and begins to wash the disciples' feet. But Christ is teaching them that in My kingdom those who are the greatest are those who serve the most faithfully, the most humbly, the most diligently. The first, that is the ones who put themselves in first place, shall be last. And the last, those who are willing to humbly serve others, they shall be exalted into first place. That's the way it is in my kingdom, so different from the kingdoms of this world. In how many respects Christ's kingdom is exactly opposite the kingdoms of this world, and this is yet another one of those areas. We long for that kingdom. We want to learn more about that kingdom. We are amazed, intrigued, delighted, and drawn to what we learn about the kingdom in the scriptures, and we are looking forward to learning more about it in the future. But this is an amazing kingdom in which those who are exalted to the highest place are those who are most humble in service. That brings us, therefore, to our text. And first of all, to the example set before us of what Christ has just taught. For, verse 45, even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. Here's the example. If what I just said seems hard to you to take the lowly position in order to be elevated to greatness, it's not difficult if you keep your eyes upon me and learn from me and lean upon me for strength and ability because this is who I am and this is why I came and this is what I've come to enable people to do. Even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve. Consider first of all the greatness of His person. He is the Son of Man. That's in reference to his incarnation. That's the only way this particular phrase makes a great deal of sense, but it is from the perspective of heaven. He who was not man, he who is eternal God, he who ruled and reigned upon the throne of heaven as the great I AM, he became a man, son of man. It's a messianic title. It first appears in the prophecy of Daniel, and we read in Daniel 7, 13 and 14, I was watching in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man. coming with clouds of heaven. He came to the ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all the people, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed. Son of man, Son of Man, the one who has the greatest position on earth. He is the Son of Man, a title for Messiah, one of the several messianic titles. And you do understand that the word Christ is a title, not a name. It is analogous to, say, prophet, priest, and king. Prophet is a position, not a name, and there were many prophets. Priest is a position, not a name, there were many priests. King is a position, not a name, there were many kings. Christ is a position, not a name, but there was only one. Christ. There could only be one Christ. The other positions were filled by multiple people over generations of time, but in the case of Christ, there had to be a long time waiting for that one to come, the only one who could qualify for this position. And when he came, he fulfilled and completed the work of that position 100%, and there will never be another one. He is the Christ. He is the Son of Man. He is the one who enjoys the highest position of anyone upon earth. He is, as Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords, and He is therefore given the highest position in heaven. because of what he did in the incarnation and humbling himself and becoming the Son of Man and filling this role of Messiah. But if we see in our text the greatness of his person, we also see the relinquishing of his privilege. For he did not seek his own, but the things of others. Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, He did not come to be served. Although He deserves to be served, who could question that? Although we owe Him our service, who could deny that? Although He was served upon the earth, served by His disciples, many of them, not just the apostles, even served by angels who came to serve Him in the wilderness and serve Him at different times during His earthly sojourn. He who had been served by angels in heaven was likewise served by angels upon the earth. But though He was served upon the earth, that's not the reason why He came. He didn't come to have others serve Him, though it's only right that they should. He didn't come to try to increase the service that He had already enjoyed in heaven. How could he increase that service where the holy angels all served him with greatest joy and delight in doing so? Did he come to earth to somehow pick up a few more servants? Well, in one sense, yes, but no, that's not really the reason why he came. Because it is obvious that in his incarnation, the level of service that he'd enjoyed in heaven decreased. He was served a whole lot less upon earth than he had been in heaven. served but not very well by his disciples upon the earth, and served occasionally but not all the time by the angels who were sent to him at special junctures in his earthly sojourn. No, he didn't come to earth in order to be served. He tells us why he came, the statement of his purpose, but to serve. The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. but to serve. Diakonesai, to act as a deacon, to serve. That was his attitude in ministry. He had a servant's heart. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant. That was his attitude in ministering to others. He took the form of a servant. He took the place of a servant. He took the attitude of a servant. This shows us the humility of his character. Here he is, the God-man. Here he is, the perfect man. Here he is, the man who is the perfect example for us to follow and to learn what it means to be a redeemed son of Adam. ruined in the fall, but now redeemed. And what does that mean? What are the changes that need to take place in our lives to make us like we were before the fall, created unsinningly in the image of God? Well, Jesus Christ came to set the example of what that is, and here is one of the greatest aspects of that example. It means to be humble. It means to serve. That is a highlight of the perfect character of the Son of God, the Son of Man, who came to earth. And this is what He is doing in our lives. This humility of character in the perfect man, which is nothing more or less than the manifestation of God Himself serving others. What did He come to do? Among other things, He came to reveal God. to manifest the Father to us. And what is one of His greatest characteristics? This serving Desire this serving activity this serving attitude What does that tell us that tells us that the great God of the universe? Who rules this universe from the throne of his glory? before whom myriads of angels bow and worship and serve but it tells us that that great God's greatest delight is to serve others and That's why He gave His Son to serve us. He's the giving God. Every good gift and every perfect gift cometh down from the Father above. He is the giving God. He is the serving God. It's His nature. It's His nature to give. It's His nature to serve. And so here's the one, Jesus Christ. His great right is to be served. His great delight is to serve others. The chief throne of the universe was prepared for the chief servant of the universe. Here we have the great example of Christ himself and whose glory the ambitious disciples were hoping to share. And what is that glory? It involves serving others. Oh, how they missed it all in their ambitious request to be placed on the throne of splendor on his right hand and his left. And how in all of this, oh, we need to revise our notions of greatness and authority in the light of Christ's clear and regular teaching, for this is repeated often throughout the gospel accounts. We are so permeated with the thinking of this world, we're so permeated with the kind of thinking that we have growing up being sons and daughters of Adam and growing up in the world in which we live that it's even hard for us to conceive of God in the way that He's presented here. We don't have too much difficulty conceiving of God as the greatest king, the most glorious king, the most powerful king, the most ruling and reigning king, the one that all bow and submit to, which is all absolutely true. But do we have some place in our thinking to include this important information as well, that this very God is a serving God who delights to serve others? And Jesus set the example. Which brings me, secondly, to the elaboration, because he goes on to explain a little more of what he means by this. When he said, For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. To give his life a ransom for many. better defines and explains what he meant when he said he did not come to be served but to serve. He came to give his life a ransom for many. In other words, this is the ultimate act of service. And to give his life a ransom for many, that word and is a translation of the Greek word kai. We've already had that word earlier in this very same verse, but earlier it's translated even. For even the Son of Man, Chi, did not come to be served, but to serve, and, Chi, to give his life a ransom for many. It would be just as accurate to say this, for even the Son of Man did not come to serve, but be served, even to give his life a ransom for many. Connects it a little more closely with the preceding statement and indicates what is the epitome of his service. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend. Greater service has no man than this, but that he give his life a ransom for many. Yes, He came not to be served, but to serve, and He demonstrated that all throughout His earthly sojourn. This is not to imply that only on the cross did He actually serve others, because we see that He was constantly serving others, and constantly setting an example of service to others. But here is the epitome of it all, the ultimate act of service. He served most by giving His life a ransom for many. The ultimate act of service is the ultimate act of deliverance. This is the greatest gift. He gave His life. And that gets us to what we think about at the incarnation season, don't we? We think about gifts. We think about God giving His Son. That's very true. But let's get to the end of His life and to the purpose of it all. He gave His life! Voluntarily he gave his life. Intentionally he gave his life. He was neither a martyr whose life was taken from him, nor was his death a common death of a man who comes to the end of his bodily strength and has no more and his life is over. But he yielded up his spirit according to his own will and his own command. It was like no other death that has ever, ever occurred upon the earth. His person was like no other person. His life was like no other life. His death was like no other death. He gave himself. It is the ultimate gift. He gave His life. What more could He give? Even to give His life a ransom for many. If this is the greatest gift, and it is, it is also the greatest accomplishment. He gave His life for what? To accomplish a ransom for many. A ransom, what is that? A ransom is the price paid to redeem, to set free. It is sometimes used as the price paid for the release of a slave. At other times, for the price paid to release prisoners or captives. However you look at it, it always speaks of deliverance. And it's obvious that Christ is telling His disciples and all those who are here that People are captives. All men and women are captives who need to be delivered. And He came to give His life a ransom to deliver men from their captivity. If this is a ransom to be paid, then to whom is it to be paid? It's paid to the Father. As mysterious as that is, that's exactly so. Paul said, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation, a payment, a satisfaction to fully satisfy the justice of God. God set forth as a propitiation by his blood. God set him forth as a payment. to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time his righteousness, that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Again, the mystery of redemption. But it all has to do with the righteousness of God. God is a holy God. God cannot save simply by forgetting sin, excusing sin, sweeping it under the rug, but God's great love and God's great act of service was such that He was willing to supply that which His justice demands. Did His justice demand the ultimate price? to be satisfied, for righteous justice to be fully satisfied, does that require a great payment? Indeed it does, a payment greater than any man is able to render, but God himself was able and willing to make the payment. to give what is required, and God the Son was willing to come and to offer Himself as that payment, that ransom paid to the Father. As Isaiah the prophet put it, it pleased the Lord to bruise Him. He has put Him to grief. And for whom was this payment made? We're told it was made for many. and to give his life a ransom for many. This is not the most common Greek word translated for, which is gar, but in this case it is ante. It has the idea of something that is set over against. We get that idea in In the English word, ante, or the English prefix ante, which comes exactly from this. Something which is over against or instead of. The antichrist is instead of the real Christ and is said against the real Christ. And that's what we're told here. He gave his life over against and instead of many. Think of a prisoner exchange. One army has captured the general of another army. The other army has 673 privates. And they offer an exchange. We'll give you your general in exchange for 673 privates. And the exchange is made. The one for the many. He doesn't seem preposterous at all, does it? The one for the many, because the value of the life of the one is so much greater than the lives of the others because of who He is and what He knows and what He's able to do. And that's exactly what we have here. The life of Jesus Christ is so much greater than the lives of any one man, any many men or women, because of who He is. And so the one for the many, he gave his life in exchange for, in payment for, a ransom for, to redeem the many. Not a few, many. Rejoice in that 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands of thousands shall cry out in their, their redemptive glory in heaven. Worthy is the lamb that was slain. It is not few. It is many, but it is not all. It is many. It is a transaction. And he knew exactly what he was doing. The one for the many. And he knew exactly who those many were. Remember, justice is very much in view in all of this. There will be no double payment for sin. Christ will not pay for the sins of some who are unredeemed, undelivered, and then will end up paying themselves for that same sin that Christ already paid for. That would not serve the interests of justice at all. And there will be no failure in what Christ does. All that He purchased, will be delivered. All that he purchased will be released. He gave his life a ransom for many. And when he gave it, they were delivered. Every single one. All that the Father gave him are delivered by this great payment. Well, what a text. I'm glad that this one came on the Sunday before Christmas. There's so many lessons. The most obvious one is that He came to show us how to serve, didn't He? That's the whole purpose for this text in its context. This is the way that I want my servants to serve, with unselfish love and evident humility and meaningful service. It's a matter of attitude as well as actions. We must take the servant's place in our minds and our attitudes as we serve unselfishly, as we give ourselves to others with our actions. This is what Christ did and this is the pattern for Christ followers to mimic, to follow. We could take it a step further because in the context here with the kingdoms in view and with the question that was asked by James and John, it's evident that he also came to show us how to exercise authority. The two come together. serving and exercising authority. How does a Christian, how does a follower of Jesus Christ exercise authority? Not in pomp and splendor and arrogant pride. That's the way the Gentiles do, that is the unconverted. That's the way the people of this world do. Love to get themselves in positions of authority so that they can be served and lauded by others and exalted and everybody has to listen to them and do what they say. not by demanding submission and service for ourselves. That's not the way that a follower of Christ exercises authority, but by serving others. Servant leadership, how strange, and yet Christ shows us how, for he is the perfect example. You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you. But whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. This is a lesson for husbands and how to exercise headship in regard to our wives. This is a lesson for parents in learning how to exercise Christ-like parental authority with our children. This is a lesson for supervisors, bosses, people at work who have those who are under them and who must obey them if they're going to keep their job. But what is the attitude that a Christian brings into that position? He leads by serving, that humble attitude, that servant attitude. Government officials need to be reminded of this, and any who name the name of Christ especially need to be reminded that this is the way that you exercise authority, not by lording it over others, but by serving others. And yes, pastors, in exercising their spiritual authority in the church, and teachers in exercising their authority in the classroom. It doesn't really matter what the position is, but this is the example of leadership, of authority. It is servant leadership. How strange. How beautiful. What would happen in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ if all of God's people endeavored to serve one another like this? Everyone serving the other. Not some wanting to be served and others serving them, but yes, people being served because everyone is serving others, but everyone serving others. You are serving me, but I am serving you. What a beautiful kingdom Christ has established. What a wonderful church our Lord has inaugurated. Oh, that we would learn to carry it out according to his instructions. But we are reminded in this text as well that he came to serve by meeting our greatest need. That is the need for deliverance from sin. the need for redemption. Though it required his ultimate sacrifice, he was willing to do it because he came not to be served but to serve. He gladly served by giving himself on behalf of others. And therefore, Christian, rejoice! Rejoice in what He has done on your behalf and serve Him out of the utmost gratitude. And believer, praise Him for what He has done and serve others by the example that He has given for the way we are to serve. And sinner, sinner, trust in Him. Give yourself to Him. Surely you can trust one like this. Why would you refuse to give yourself to one who has given himself in such a manner? Recognize your need. Recognize your sin. Recognize your perilous condition. And embrace Christ, the one who gave His all to ransom many from their sins. To ransom all who will trust in Him. And that will be you. If you will trust in Him, give yourself to this One who gave Himself for us. Shall we pray? Again, O Lord, we are astounded as we consider who You are and what You have revealed of God to us and what you have done in giving yourself for us and what you are making us into. Lord, we confess that we are many times slow to change, slow to believe, slow to obey. Forgive us. Lord, for your children, teach us how to be like Christ who came not to be served, but to serve. And Lord, for those who are here who are yet outside of Christ, show them their sin, draw them to the Savior, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen.