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Good evening. Please do keep your bibles open in mark, chapter ten, if you don't know that. He's called Simon Sinek. He became famous for a viral video about how millennials are stupid and you should never employ them. But other than that, he's got some really good observations about leadership and work, and it's revealing, isn't it, as he tells that story, how much respect we afford to those in positions of power.

And as he talks about it, how alluring those little symbols of status can be. The best seat, the China cup at the free ride. And perhaps you've seen and experienced some of those things yourself. If you've flown business class, if you've gone to a spa hotel and you've been handed a towel. My towels are never that crisp or clean, but there you go.

There is a towel just for you. Ever been the guest at an event or won an award? Those simplest touches, even if you've ever been to somewhere like centre parks, and they've got one of those little bottles of shampoo just for you. They thought about me. They remembered me.

A few years ago, I had a little hotel break with my wife and I'd actually booked it on a credit card, which I hadn't done this deliberately, but when I signed up for the credit card, I used my ecclesiastical title. So the credit card said Reverend Huborn on it. And I don't know whether the two were related, but when I got there, there was a parking space reverend Hubert reserved and we got in and we'd been upgraded. Now, in hindsight, I think it's probably because it was on Sunday night and it was empty. And they just thought, I'll stick them into the grid.

But I kind of thought, wow, maybe I should start using this title a bit more. If it gets me ahead in life, if it affords me those few extra privileges, maybe I should use this more. Well, tonight and last week in the weeks ahead, we are thinking. We're in a series called Distinctives. We're thinking about some of the things that make the christian message, and hopefully the lives of christian people, distinctive, different in the world.

And tonight we're thinking about service, service contrasted to power, status, the pursuit of those luxury things. And our passage tonight begins with an awkward question. It's the disciples, at least some of the disciples, who've been attracted, entranced by the thoughts of power. And they reveal it in an awkward question. Now, we all know awkward questions, don't we?

We all know there's those questions that we just don't ask. You never ask a lady's age. I've never met a lady, so I wouldn't know. But you never ask a lady's age. You don't ask someone's salary.

You don't ask how much someone has earned. You don't ask someone, have you lost weight? Because if the answer is no, it's awkward. And I enjoy when people ask me that. And I let them have their awkward moments.

Why do you look so tired? Don't ask that question. Don't ask that question. You don't ask whether you wear pyjamas to bed or whether you sleep naked. You just don't ask that, do you?

Because it's just inappropriate. It's going beyond the kind of thing that you should ask. You don't ask who someone's voting for unless you're canvassing, but you just don't ask that, do you? There are some things that we know. There's a boundary, and we say, well, I won't ask questions, because if I ask beyond that, it's going to be awkward.

It's going to be inappropriate. However, James and John, the two disciples, have no such philtres. They have no boundaries for thinking this is inappropriate, isn't it? So they just go ahead and ask their stupid question. Anyway, let's look at verse 35.

Then. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus. Teacher, they said, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.

What do you want me to do for you? They replied, let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory. And you might think just on reading, okay, it's a bit much. It's a bit presumptuous. But is it really that bad a question?

Is it really that inappropriate? Well, yes. In fact, it's more than awkward. It's more than a little bit embarrassing. It's outrageous.

And it's outrageous because of what Jesus has just said. It's outrageous because of what Jesus has said about who he is and what he's about to do. So come back a few verses to the start of our reading, verse 32. Let's look there. 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 delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit on him and flog him and kill him. Three days later, he will rise.

This question is inappropriate because of what Jesus just said, what he said about who he is and what he's about to do. Firstly, who is Jesus? Well, Jesus describes himself here as the son man. It's a strange name to refer to yourself, isn't it? The son of man.

But no doubt Jesus had in his mind words from the Old Testament, words from Daniel chapter seven. In Daniel chapter seven, Daniel sees a vision. He sees a vision of God the Father, who he calls the ancient of days. And he's seated on his throne in a heavenly courtroom, exuding glory. And into that vision, Daniel sees one like a son of man approaching the throne.

And here's what he tells us about that son of man. He says, this son of man, he was given authority, glory and sovereign power. All nations and peoples of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away. And his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

So we're told that when Jesus uses that phrase, son of man, that title of himself, that Jesus is the one who is seated at the right hand of the Father, the one who's given all power and authority, who rules and reigns, who's glorious and is worshipped by the nations.

So my first question when I meet the son of man, when I'm in the presence of the son of man, should be something along the lines of, can I worship you like the nations? Can I fall at your feet and give you the praise that you deserve? Not can I share your power and glory? Can I have some of that? Let me sit in prime position.

Jesus is the son of man. He's the glorious one, the one that nations worship. And that should be our response. So inappropriate, so outrageous to say, let me sit next to you. Let me have the best seat.

But it's also outrageous because of what Jesus says he's about to do. Jesus says to his disciples he's about to suffer. He's about to become like a servant. That's what Jesus says to his disciples. He says the journey to Jerusalem that they are currently undertaking is the journey to his death.

He says he will be delivered to the rulers to be condemned, then mocked, then spat on, then flogged and killed. It's perhaps the most graphic description, his prediction of his death, where he lists all those things that will happen to him.

It's not a vague prediction, it's very specific. Jesus says he will suffer the most cruel, shameful, unjust death and he will do so willingly. And he says to disciples, that's where we're going. That's the journey that we're on now. In some ways, Peter's reaction to that news, which happens a couple of chapters earlier when Jesus makes a similar prediction in Mark, chapter eight.

Do you remember that? Peter says, no. It says, Peter rebuked him. He said, no, Jesus, not you. You're the christ.

You can't suffer, you can't go to this shameful death. At least Peter gets a sense of Jesus being the king. Whereas James and John, they hear that Jesus is the king. They hear about his terrible suffering and then they ask, what can we get out of it? How can we profit?

How can we share in your fame, your status? How can we position ourselves ahead of our fellow disciples? So you see, this is their question. Jesus, king of the universe, who has just revealed that he's about to give up everything in the ultimate act of sacrifice, do for us whatever we want. Let us sit next to your throne.

You see how outrageous it is, how inappropriate it is? And that's the question which prompts Jesus to answer. Verse 42.

Jesus called them together and said, you know that those who are regarded as rulers of the gentiles lorded over them and their high officials exercise authority over them.

Jesus says to his disciples, firstly, he says, they would be like the world.

They be like the world. You know how rulers are. You know how the rulers of the world are, that they lord it over others. They exercise their authority.

Jesus is calling out, James and John, don't be like the world. I can tell you're thinking in that way. You're thinking, how can I get power? How can I get status? How can I be recognised?

Don't be like the world. But I suspect he's speaking to the others too, like Peter, who thought that Jesus was too important to suffer. Or like the other ten, who were outraged by James and John's question. Look at verse 41.

When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Now, were they indignant because of the disrespect that they had shown to Jesus?

Or were they indignant because perhaps they thought, well, James and John should know their place, shouldnt they? Thats not for them to sit there, thats for me. Who do they think they are? If Jesus was going to pick anyone that should surely be me? You see, when Jesus says, dont be like the world when it comes to power, he knows it's a challenge for all of us, not just powerful leaders out there like Simon Sinek was saying in the video, it's how the world is.

On the one hand, we bend over backwards to serve the powerful, and yet when we get a little taste of power, it can so easily become addictive.

But Jesus is right, isn't he? In his take on world leaders? That's how leaders in the world so often are. Verse 42 they lord it over others and they exercise authority. We know that the pursuit of power causes so many problems in the world.

War starts when leaders want to demonstrate their power. Peoples are subjugated when leaders want to exert authority, workers are mistreated when leaders want to show who's boss. But the pursuit of power, be it in the form of fame, influence, money, respect, it lies at the heart of so many problems, lies at the heart of broken dreams, broken promises, broken families, and broken churches.

And yet we're still drawn to it. We're still drawn to power, even if it's simply that personal power of looking after number one, of putting my needs, my comfort, my desires before anyone else's.

But that's what we're told, and that's sometimes what we tell ourselves. No one else is going to think about you. No one else is going to put you first. No one else is going to put your family, your kids, your career, your future first. So I'd better be focused on me, because no one else is going to be here.

If I want life to be good, if I want to get ahead, if I want to be known and respected by the right people, then no one else is going to do that. It's going to have to be down to me. You see, Jesus so often gets the heart of what our world is like and what we're so often like. So Jesus continues to address his disciples. Let's dive a little deeper.

Verse 43 not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to be great among you must become your servant. And whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 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. In fact, this verse is so famous that it became our holiday club memory verse.

I was tempted to get Ben to come up and sing it for us. I won't because I fear that it might distract us. But perhaps you can ask Ben to sing it to you later. It was the son of man came not to be served. The son of man came not to be served, but to serve and give his life to serve and give his life a ransom for many.

That was the verse of the heart of a holiday club. And that's the verse that really here is Jesus summing up what he's trying to say. You see, he says, disciples, don't be like the world. Don't follow the way the world leads, but rather follow me. Disciples.

Friends here tonight follow Jesus. You see, Jesus answer to this question, this pursuit of power, how it can be so captivating, how it can take over even the disciples lives, is to redefine greatness, is to turn greatness on its heads. Jesus says, the great must be servants, the first must be everyones slave. But why? Why is that the way that christians should be?

Why is that the way that the world really is?

Well, the answer comes at the beginning of verse 45.

Because even, even the son of man, Jesus again uses this title of himself. Even the son of man, even that figure in Daniel chapter seven. Even the true king to whom nations will bow, even the one to whom all glory, power and authority is jewish. Even he became a servant, even he became a slave to all. Even he gave up his life as a ransom for many.

Even he became a slave to set other slaves free. If even the son of man can do it, how much more should we do?

You see, this was such a radical message in Jesus day and this message only appears vaguely normal to us because of the way in which Jesus message has already transformed the world. Historian Tom Holland describes this message as one which has turned the world upside down. Unprecedented, revolutionary. The message that Christ has made himself nothing. Taking the very nature of a slave God in Christ becomes the weakest and the least for the sake of the weakest and the least.

And when the weakest and the least of the world hear that message that the son of man, the God on high, has stepped down to serve, that's massively liberating, that's hugely powerful, that turns the world upside down. Indeed, Jesus words, it are compelling. Imagine a world where world leaders followed this and put it into practise. Imagine a world where world leaders followed the example of Jesus. Wars would cease, injustice would be abolished, inequality would be put to death.

But what about closer to home? It's all very well saying, oh, it's the leaders out there who need to change. If only they put the teaching into practise, the world would be a better place. True, but what about me?

What difference would it make for me to put Jesus teaching into practise? What difference would it make if we sought true greatness in humble service?

Well, here's some things it might mean.

It might mean that we prize our own and other people's character over their results.

We might look to the person rather than what they can do.

It might mean that we choose sacrifice over success.

We choose to give stuff up instead of getting ahead in life.

It might mean we choose to serve our families above our employers because we choose to serve the least. It might mean that we choose hospitality over entertaining because we want to love God's people, not put on a show. It might mean that we choose giving to others over receiving.

That's such a thing when it comes to church, actually, so often we come to church, and when our experience of church is dissatisfying, it's often because we say, I haven't really received. I haven't really got anything from that. Whereas Jesus is, what can I give? How can I serve others? Actually, what I get out of it is less important than what I can give to others.

We might choose kindness over status, that I choose to be kind to others, perhaps those that the world is not kind to. Over and above the praise or respect I might receive from my peers.

We might choose to love hard people.

It's easy to love lovely people, isn't it? Ben was helping us think about this this morning, about how we love one another. It's so easy to love lovely people. It's hard. It's sacrificial.

It's an act of service to love those who are hard. We might choose truth over popularity.

We know the kind of things that we can say that will get us liked. We know the kind of things to say that people will respect. Yeah, great. Yeah. Yeah.

You say that, actually. Sometimes the things that are true are harder to say and won't be greeted with the respect of our peers.

I don't know what it might mean for you in your context. There's a few ideas. Maybe you could apply them to your situation. What would it look like for me? What did it look like for me to put humble service sacrifice above what I get, above my promotion, above my status, above my popularity?

You see, Jesus teaching is radical. If it's radical enough to change the world, then it should change us, too, shouldn't it? And yet, Jesus messages so much more than a simple example to follow. Do this and make the world better.

You see, you can choose the way of sacrificial service in every area of your life, but Jesus still has more to give. In fact, Jesus says, you can't do all this. It's a funny bit, isn't there, in verse 38, where he asked them that funny question, can you drink the cup? I'm about to drink. Can you receive the baptism I'm about to be baptised with?

And they say, yeah, we can. And you go, oh, please. He's talking here about his death. The cup is a picture of God's judgement. Baptism is a picture of his death, his passion.

And James and John are like, yeah, we can do that. And Jesus says, well, you will drink and you will be baptised. He's probably there referring to the fact that they will later be martyred. They will later be killed for their faith. But James and John, yeah, yeah, we can do all this.

We can do what you want. And Jesus doesn't quite put it so bluntly here, but actually watch jesus think, no, you can't do this. You can't do this. You see, his death is unique. It's more than an example to follow, more than an ideal of a sacrificial service.

See, only he is a ransom for many. Only his death will save others. Only his death, in becoming a slave, sets other slaves free.

You see, we were all slaves to sin, slaves to serving ourselves and putting ourselves first, until he came, until he stepped down and served us and saved us. You see, James and John say, jesus, do this for us. And Jesus says, no, I've got something far better to do for you. I'm going to die for you. I'm going to give my life as a ransom for you and a ransom for many, even the son of man, even the king of the universe, the one nations bow down to, even he gives his life.

What an example to follow. What an example to change us on the inside. And what a death.

What an act of service for each one of us. That his death, his love for us, frees us, sets us free so that we no longer have to be servants of status and fame and power and success and promotion. We can be servants of one another. We can be servants of the king of the universe because he has already served us. Let's pray, 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.

Lord Jesus, thank you that you have served us, that you've given your life for us. Thank you now for the privilege of serving you and your people, that we get to serve the king of the universe and we get to enjoy life because you've given us yours. In your name and for your glory, we pray. Amen.