Jesus Confronting Misconceptions

Session 10: Mark 10:17-45

Read Mark 10:17-45

Discuss

Take a look at Mark 10:17–31. Compare the response of the rich young man in this passage to that of the father of the boy with an unclean spirit in Mark 9:14–29.

What are you having a hard time surrendering to Jesus?

Now look at Mark 10:35–45. What are James and John asking for? What’s Jesus’s answer?

James and John were there when Jesus was transfigured. They know what he looks like in power and they want in on the deal, much to their comrades’ consternation. Jesus, however, turns the conversation on its head. Jesus establishes a different metric of greatness—not power, but servitude. We are to be servants (diakonos) as we follow the example of our Lord.

Peek at the Greek: diakonos

While describing his expectations for great disciples, Jesus uses two words in Mark 10:43–
44. The first appears in verse 43 and is translated “servant.” It’s the Greek word diakonos,
where we get our English “deacon” from. If the disciples want to be great, they must be a
servant. The word implies the idea of a higher-powered servant in a household—one who
might even be an administrator. It may not be the lordly position the disciples were after,
but it’s not a terrible substitute. But then Jesus chooses a different word to drive his point
home in verse 44. There, he says the first in the kingdom must be the doulos, or “slave,” of
all. Unlike a servant, a slave in those days had no standing and no rights. He or she was
subject entirely to the whims of his or her master. If the disciples wanted to be first, they
would have to submit not just to Jesus but to each other.

A favourite term in modern Christian writing is servant-leader. It’s a popular way of describing how one should lead—with the manner of a servant. But what if we focused on the servant part alone, without the leadership aspect? How would that change your attitude toward following Christ?

What words or images does the term “servant” bring to mind? What emotions do you feel thinking about being someone’s servant?

How does Jesus’s concept of greatness contrast with the world’s?

In what ways do you follow Jesus through serving others?