What Time Is It? It’s Time To Get Small

Watch the Service HERE

Texts: Mark 10:32-45

Supplemental Text: Hebrews 5:1-10, Isaiah 53:4-12

Psalm Reading: 91:9-16 

What Time Is It?

It’s Time To Get Small 

Mark 10:32-45

The disciples repeatedly had a confused vision of glory and greatness

This is Jesus’ third time foretelling his passion and resurrection. After each time, the disciples showed that they did not understand. After the first time, Peter flatly rebuked Jesus. After the second time, the disciples didn’t understand but were afraid to speak up. And now after this third time, James and John come asking if they can be Jesus’ Chief Officers. 

Jesus vision of glory and greatness: Move from great to small, Move from first to last, Move from leader to servant of all 

What happened at the cross?

The Son of Man was condemned, mocked, spat upon, flogged and killed.

Little did the Gentiles know that when they used Jesus as an example of a rebel, they were participating in God’s great plan of using Jesus as an example of his great love for everyone, including the ones who put him to death. The rulers thought death was the ultimate power, but God knew that He was greater. His love overcame death. 

What happened because of the cross?

Ransom/Rescue, Victory Over Death, Healing From Sin

In Mark 10:45 when Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many”, he showed that he accomplished two things on the cross: he gave an example for us to follow AND gave us freedom from sin and its effects. 

Isaiah 53:5-6

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,

    he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

    and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

    each of us has turned to our own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

    the iniquity of us all. 

Jesus not only came to rescue us, He came to heal us.  

Part of the healing process is having our minds healed of our misconceptions of our role on earth. Bad thinking leads to bad behavior that leads to bad relationships. If Jesus’ death means the healing of our lives, and part of the healing of our lives is accepting his instruction to get small, here are 5 (not so easy) steps to getting small. 

5 (not so easy) steps to getting small

Sacrificially serve like Jesus

Move with Jesus to the Margins

Admit Jesus is always right and you are not

Let go of excess and excuses to follow Jesus

Lean on Jesus in everything 

Are you prepared to die?

We do not know the hour when we will face our death. We do not know the hour when Jesus will return.  

2 Peter 3 talks about “The Day of the Lord” when Jesus will return and judge and renew the world. Peter asks, “What kind of people ought you to be?

“You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming…make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with him.” 

What step do you need to take to getting small like our suffering servant savior Jesus? 

Reflection Questions 

1. Begin with a prayer pause. Read Psalm 91:9-16. Choose a phrase to meditate on for two minutes.

2. Read Mark 10:32-34. Compare this to the other two passion predictions in 8:31 and 9:31.

3. Compare the disciples' reactions in Mark 8:32, 9:32 and 10:35-37. What does this tell us about the nature of being disciples?

4. What are ways that people in authority have abused their power in our own time? Are there any personal examples you have experienced?

5. Read Mark 10:35-45. What are the two visions of power and authority at work in this passage?

6. Think about how Jesus lived up to his description of coming to serve. What do you think are a couple of the quintessential “servant stories” of Jesus?

7. Mark 10:43-45 holds two interdependent truths together: 1) Jesus’ death was an act of ransom for us and 2) an example to follow. (To be ransomed is to be freed from a captor.) Why is it important to hold these two ideas together? What happens if we emphasize one instead of the other?

8. Jesus has freed us from sin so that we can serve like him. Take a moment to quietly reflect and answer the question: What small step is he calling me to take this week?

9. Close in prayer. Give thanks for blessings. Lift up any who are sick. Ask for softness of heart for the lost.

Weekly Reading (October 20-26)

Monday: Psalm 75; Hebrews 6:1-12

Tuesday: Psalm 37:23-40; Hebrews 6:13-20

Wednesday: Psalm 91:9-16; John 13:1-17

Thursday: Psalm 126; Hebrews 7:1-10

Friday: Psalm 34:1-8; Hebrews 7:11-22

Saturday: Jeremiah 29:24-32; Mark 8:22-26