Thayer Thursday – Beyond
Chris Thayer is the Director of Discipleship at Good Shepherd Church in Charlotte, NC where he oversees adult life groups and Biblical education. On Thursdays I share his weekly “Thayer’s Thoughts” for small group leaders, which are based on the previous Sunday’s sermon. Click HERE to watch or listen to the accompanying sermon.
We live in a self-centered culture. We want what we want, when we want it, how we want it, and when we want it. You only need to look at one days’ worth of news headlines to see that as a human race, while there are people who defy this generalization, we don’t put others above ourselves. We want ours first. Then, if we’re “generous,” we give people what’s left-over. In contrast to this, we have Jesus interaction with His disciples in Mark 10.
Just several verses before James and John ask Jesus for the honor of sitting on his left and right in His Kingdom (places of extreme dignity & authority), Jesus tells them that the Kingdom of God belongs to children (Mark 10:15). To understand what Jesus meant by this, we must step out of our own culture (where we incorrectly sentimentalize this statement as meaning “innocent”)—and into Jesus’ culture. A culture where children had no rights. No standing. No power.
This was the platform from which Jesus launched into His revelation that He would submit to death. He would lay down His rights, His standing, and His power when He would be handed over to be crucified. Paradoxically, those who follow in His footsteps and become powerless in the eyes of the world are the ones who inherit the Kingdom of God.
James and John had just as hard a time stepping out of their own beliefs, expectations, and desires as we do when it came to their understanding of the Kingdom of God. They didn’t understand or apply Jesus’ analogy of becoming like a child because they expected the Kingdom of God to be something much different than what it is. James and John expected Jesus to be an earthly King who would reign on the throne in power and overthrow the current rulers of the day. However, Jesus’ Kingdom is much different (and far more comprehensive) than this. His Kingdom wasn’t just for that time period and in that place. He was defeating a much greater enemy than Rome or King Herod. He was defeating death. And in order to do this, He submitted to death. Mark highlights James and John’s grave misunderstanding by sharing in chapter 15:27 that those who were on Jesus left and right (the positions James and John asked for!) died with Him.
This is the call of every Christian. To die to ourselves. To become powerless in a world that craves power and lives for self. Those who, through Christ, die to themselves and live for God and others are the ones who inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.
How can you move Beyond yourself: taking on the nature of a servant, the persona of a child—giving up your desire to focus on yourself and instead focus on others?
Chris Thayer
Categories: Biblical Theology, Blog, Ministry, New Testament, Thayer Thursday