The Quest for Power, 28 February 2021
The Quest for Power
Series—Mark: The Real Jesus
Mark 10:32-45
Series Big Idea: Mark’s gospel is the most concise biography of Jesus.
Big Idea: The Kingdom of God is upside-down where the greatest serve.
What comes to mind when you think of power? What is power? Is power good or evil? Yes!
It seems that some want power, some are afraid of power, some need power, …and we all have a certain measure of power, though all of us have limited power.
Andy Crouch has called power “the ability to make something of the world.” I think we all want to make something of the world…and so does God!
Last Sunday we returned to our study of Jesus from the book of Mark. The more we know about Jesus, the more we will know Jesus. He came to earth to create a path not for religion, but relationships. Do you know Jesus? He wants to be known, yet there are so many obstacles that stand in the way, most notably our other gods and idols we discussed last week, such as our love for money, sex, and power.
John Mark, the writer of this gospel or “good news,” tells us
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. (Mark 10:32)
The Passover celebration is near. Jesus is with his disciples and others. He had told them twice already that he would die, though they will seem to be clueless about the prophecies later. He tells them a third time…
“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 the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” (Mark 10:33-34)
No wonder there was astonishment and fear. Jesus couldn’t be more clear about what was going the happen, and everything occurred exactly the way he predicted.
I understand there are skeptics who may think Mark simply took historical events and wrote Jesus’ words back into the story. While that may technically be possible, it is impossible for ancient prophets centuries earlier to rewrite the events. One of the greatest proofs of our faith is Jesus and the multiple prophecies he uniquely fulfilled. God knows the future. God is omniscient—all-knowing. The crucifixion was no accident. It was part of God’s plan, even though it didn’t make any sense at the time to the disciples.
This is true in our day, too. Josh Kaiser—pastor of OneHope Church—was telling me last week how one of his goals is to communicate God’s goodness to his congregation and generation. God is good…all the time. All the time…God is good!
“But how can God be good when I’m going through this…?” I don’t know, but your story is not over. As Tony Campolo famously said, “It’s Friday…but Sunday’s coming!”
God is good. God can be trusted. It’s okay if it doesn’t feel like it in this moment. You’ll see! In the meantime, faith fills in the gaps. “I believe, LORD. Help me in my unbelief.”
Now we move to a most interesting conversation.
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” (Mark 10:35)
They want a blank check! Can you imagine?! What audacity! Jesus is willing to play along.
“What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. (Mark 10:36)
They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” (Mark 10:37)
Translation: we want the two best seats in heaven, in the next life. To be fair, James and John were two of Jesus’ three best friends, along with Peter. But this is quite the request.
“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” (Mark 10:38)
Jesus knows what lies ahead for himself…death. Following Jesus—being with Jesus—means following him everywhere…including the cross. Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people come alive. It’s not all fun and games. You take the good with the bad, the hard with the easy, the suffering with the comfort, the pain with the glory. But whatever price you pay in this life for following Jesus will be rewarded in the next…for eternity!
“We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, (Mark 10:39)
Jesus says they will suffer and die…and they did. It’s believed that all of the disciples died as martyrs except John…who was boiled in hot oil. Jesus doesn’t invite us to a life of pleasure and parties. The invitation is come and die…so you can truly live. Any sacrifice for Christ will be worth it…for eternity. James and John died for their faith…
but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.” (Mark 10:40)
We don’t know who will sit beside Jesus…or if it really matters.
When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. (Mark 10:41)
Can you blame them? I would be angry, too! Now Jesus seizes this incredible teaching moment.
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. (Mark 10:42)
If you thought the lust for political power is a new thing, you haven’t been reading the Bible! Two thousand years ago, people were seeking to rule over others. They had agendas they wanted to implement, power they wanted to exert, and most likely people they wanted to oppress. This is the way of the world…money, sex, and power.
It’s easy to criticize politicians, but don’t you want power, too? Have you ever put someone else down so you could feel better about yourself? Have you ever silently thought you’re glad you're not like that person? Have you ever felt justified cutting in line or cheating because you felt better than another? Have you ever experienced a feeling of entitlement?
I thought so! Me, too! But Jesus says,
Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. (Mark 10:43-44)
God’s Kingdom is upside down. Jesus turns the tables. In his world, the greatest serve. The first are last. The word “slave” here is not like our nation’s understanding of slave, but rather a bondservant, someone who is working off a debt for a specific time. They often owned property and could obtain freedom.
Jesus always backs up his words with action. He practices what he preaches!
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.” (Mark 10:45)
Here’s Jesus with his disciples on the way to his crucifixion. He has just told them exactly what would happen. He knows his life will be given for theirs, a ransom or payment for their sins…and ours. God became flesh and spent more than three decades serving. God served us! What kind of God would do that? Furthermore, God died for us! Show me any religion with that love, that mercy, that grace!
Only a God like You/could be worthy of my praise/and all my hope and faith
That’s our God! That’s our King!
So What?
In his book Playing God: Redeeming the gift of Power, Andy Crouch writes,
Power is all about image bearing—reflecting and refracting the creative power of the world’s Maker into the very good creation. And image bearing is for flourishing. But as idolatry fills the world with false images, and as those false images proliferate, the image bearers lose their capacity to bear the true image. The more the image bearers lose this capacity, the more creation itself is diminished, reduced to utilitarian means to bitter ends. Idolatry is the true failure of power.
This flows perfectly with last Sunday’s sermon on money. Our hearts are drawn to money, sex, and power…for our benefit. There’s actually nothing inherently wrong with any of them. Money can be used to bless others. Sex is one of God’s most wonderful ideas, a remarkable experience for a husband and wife in bonding and celebration of their relationship, to say nothing of procreation. Power can bring about freedom for the powerless and justice for the weak.
The issue is the heart. Why do you want money? Is it for yourself or others?
Why do you want sex? Is it for your personal pleasure or strengthening your marriage?
Why do you want power? Is it to bless or oppress others?
Andy Crouch adds,
Every Maundy Thursday, the night before Good Friday in the Western liturgical calendar, Christians around the world gather to wash one another’s feet. Two thousand years after the Teacher and Lord knelt with a towel around his waist, his followers, servants and messengers continue to imitate his example. There is no act of culture-making power more extraordinary than creating a ritual, an act that continues to bear witness to truth from generation to generation, long after the first persons who experienced it lay in the dust of death. The persistence down to this day of the act Jesus performed at that table, and the acts from that night that the other Gospels report—taking, blessing, breaking and giving the bread and wine—is the ultimate test and sign of his power. In this moment, Jesus creates culture, forever transforming the meaning of towel, loaf and cup, forever altering the way teachers and masters will see their roles, and the way their students and servants will see them.
Following Jesus means following his example of service, of washing feet, of daily sacrifice, of putting others first, of praying for one’s enemies, of blessing those who curse you. Could anything be more counter-cultural?
I wish I could say Christians model this well, that we never seek power, that we put others above ourselves, that we are content to go last, that we are known as servants.
The great theologian (!) Jimi Hendrix famously said, "When the power of love takes over the love of power, that's when things will change.”
Tony Campolo notes, “A basic sociological principle is you can’t express love and power at the same time. Whenever you love, you lose power. Love makes you vulnerable … We have a God who loves us so much he was willing to become vulnerable.”
I have to admit I’ve been embarrassed by so-called Christians who clamored for power, especially during this past political season, as if either candidate was the Messiah, the Savior, the answer to the world’s problems…and that somehow their guy would give them power. Washington’s got nothing on the Kingdom of God! I know politics is messy, but our allegiance must never be to a president but to a Priest, the great high Priest, who is also a Prophet, and King, Jesus Christ. His mission wasn’t to seek power for himself. He came with all authority on heaven and earth. He came for the world. In fact, he gave us his power and authority…for the sake of others.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (Matthew 28:18)
What does Jesus do with power? He sends his followers on a mission.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
One final passage from Andy Crouch:
There is no point in this story where Jesus gives up power—instead, it is the culmination and demonstration of his power. What Jesus gives up in this story is not power but privilege and status…
For those of us preoccupied with protecting our privilege and raising our status, this indifference of Jesus is terrifying. It prompts the kind of outburst that came from Peter. It is holy power, utterly purified, without an ounce of self-protection or self-regard. Jesus’ only use of power was to create, never to protect himself or to exalt himself. Perhaps this is the deepest explanation of his nonviolence. Violence, even when used in justifiable self-defense, does nothing to restore, redeem or create. It only damages in return. And Jesus simply never had a thought except to restore, redeem and create a new community among whom power would be used always and only for flourishing. In such a community, privilege and status can only be disdained and discarded. They are distractions from the real calling of image bearers: to be fruitful and multiply, far as the curse is found.
To follow Jesus means rejecting the world. It involves dying to self. It requires you to think—and act—differently. There’s no keeping up with the Joneses, giving them what they had coming to them, or even telling them to pick themselves up by their bootstraps. Some people don’t have bootstraps!
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. (Proverbs 31:8)
This includes the unborn, yes, but it also includes the marginalized, the forgotten, the poor, the widow, the orphan, the stranger, the refugee. We all have a certain measure of power, given not for our own sake, but for the sake of others. We’ve been blessed to be a blessing. Everything we have—our money, time, talents, energy, power, influence, relationships—is a gift, on loan from God. We are to be good stewards and will one day given an account for what we did with what we’ve been given.
This is not a message about trying harder. It’s not a message about abusing yourself and being a doormat, either. Love your neighbor…as yourself.
It is a message of surrender, of letting go, of leveraging what you have for others, as Jesus did.
The Kingdom of God is upside-down where the greatest serve, where the first are last, and where power is poured out for others as Jesus poured out his life—and blood—for us.
Christianity stands or falls with its revolutionary protest against violence, arbitrariness and pride of power and with its plea for the weak. Christians are doing too little to make these points clear rather than too much. Christendom adjusts itself far too easily to the worship of power. Christians should give more offense, shock the world far more, than they are doing now. Christian should take a stronger stand in favor of the weak rather than considering first the possible right of the strong.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
One more thing…
I want to offer a final challenge to you today. Last week I said generosity kills the money monster, the temptation of greed. Likewise, there are three spiritual practices which kill the power monster, the temptation to selfishly use power. They are solitude, silence, and fasting. These classical disciplines—along with sabbath rest—allow us to disconnect from busyness, achievement, and striving and put our faith and trust into action. Dallas Willard’s classic The Spirit of the Disciplines and John Ortberg’s book The Life You’ve Always Wanted are two recommended titles.
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
You can watch this video and others at the First Alliance Church Video Library here.
Series—Mark: The Real Jesus
Mark 10:32-45
Series Big Idea: Mark’s gospel is the most concise biography of Jesus.
Big Idea: The Kingdom of God is upside-down where the greatest serve.
What comes to mind when you think of power? What is power? Is power good or evil? Yes!
It seems that some want power, some are afraid of power, some need power, …and we all have a certain measure of power, though all of us have limited power.
Andy Crouch has called power “the ability to make something of the world.” I think we all want to make something of the world…and so does God!
Last Sunday we returned to our study of Jesus from the book of Mark. The more we know about Jesus, the more we will know Jesus. He came to earth to create a path not for religion, but relationships. Do you know Jesus? He wants to be known, yet there are so many obstacles that stand in the way, most notably our other gods and idols we discussed last week, such as our love for money, sex, and power.
John Mark, the writer of this gospel or “good news,” tells us
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. (Mark 10:32)
The Passover celebration is near. Jesus is with his disciples and others. He had told them twice already that he would die, though they will seem to be clueless about the prophecies later. He tells them a third time…
“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 the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” (Mark 10:33-34)
No wonder there was astonishment and fear. Jesus couldn’t be more clear about what was going the happen, and everything occurred exactly the way he predicted.
I understand there are skeptics who may think Mark simply took historical events and wrote Jesus’ words back into the story. While that may technically be possible, it is impossible for ancient prophets centuries earlier to rewrite the events. One of the greatest proofs of our faith is Jesus and the multiple prophecies he uniquely fulfilled. God knows the future. God is omniscient—all-knowing. The crucifixion was no accident. It was part of God’s plan, even though it didn’t make any sense at the time to the disciples.
This is true in our day, too. Josh Kaiser—pastor of OneHope Church—was telling me last week how one of his goals is to communicate God’s goodness to his congregation and generation. God is good…all the time. All the time…God is good!
“But how can God be good when I’m going through this…?” I don’t know, but your story is not over. As Tony Campolo famously said, “It’s Friday…but Sunday’s coming!”
God is good. God can be trusted. It’s okay if it doesn’t feel like it in this moment. You’ll see! In the meantime, faith fills in the gaps. “I believe, LORD. Help me in my unbelief.”
Now we move to a most interesting conversation.
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” (Mark 10:35)
They want a blank check! Can you imagine?! What audacity! Jesus is willing to play along.
“What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. (Mark 10:36)
They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” (Mark 10:37)
Translation: we want the two best seats in heaven, in the next life. To be fair, James and John were two of Jesus’ three best friends, along with Peter. But this is quite the request.
“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” (Mark 10:38)
Jesus knows what lies ahead for himself…death. Following Jesus—being with Jesus—means following him everywhere…including the cross. Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people come alive. It’s not all fun and games. You take the good with the bad, the hard with the easy, the suffering with the comfort, the pain with the glory. But whatever price you pay in this life for following Jesus will be rewarded in the next…for eternity!
“We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, (Mark 10:39)
Jesus says they will suffer and die…and they did. It’s believed that all of the disciples died as martyrs except John…who was boiled in hot oil. Jesus doesn’t invite us to a life of pleasure and parties. The invitation is come and die…so you can truly live. Any sacrifice for Christ will be worth it…for eternity. James and John died for their faith…
but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.” (Mark 10:40)
We don’t know who will sit beside Jesus…or if it really matters.
When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. (Mark 10:41)
Can you blame them? I would be angry, too! Now Jesus seizes this incredible teaching moment.
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. (Mark 10:42)
If you thought the lust for political power is a new thing, you haven’t been reading the Bible! Two thousand years ago, people were seeking to rule over others. They had agendas they wanted to implement, power they wanted to exert, and most likely people they wanted to oppress. This is the way of the world…money, sex, and power.
It’s easy to criticize politicians, but don’t you want power, too? Have you ever put someone else down so you could feel better about yourself? Have you ever silently thought you’re glad you're not like that person? Have you ever felt justified cutting in line or cheating because you felt better than another? Have you ever experienced a feeling of entitlement?
I thought so! Me, too! But Jesus says,
Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. (Mark 10:43-44)
God’s Kingdom is upside down. Jesus turns the tables. In his world, the greatest serve. The first are last. The word “slave” here is not like our nation’s understanding of slave, but rather a bondservant, someone who is working off a debt for a specific time. They often owned property and could obtain freedom.
Jesus always backs up his words with action. He practices what he preaches!
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.” (Mark 10:45)
Here’s Jesus with his disciples on the way to his crucifixion. He has just told them exactly what would happen. He knows his life will be given for theirs, a ransom or payment for their sins…and ours. God became flesh and spent more than three decades serving. God served us! What kind of God would do that? Furthermore, God died for us! Show me any religion with that love, that mercy, that grace!
Only a God like You/could be worthy of my praise/and all my hope and faith
That’s our God! That’s our King!
So What?
In his book Playing God: Redeeming the gift of Power, Andy Crouch writes,
Power is all about image bearing—reflecting and refracting the creative power of the world’s Maker into the very good creation. And image bearing is for flourishing. But as idolatry fills the world with false images, and as those false images proliferate, the image bearers lose their capacity to bear the true image. The more the image bearers lose this capacity, the more creation itself is diminished, reduced to utilitarian means to bitter ends. Idolatry is the true failure of power.
This flows perfectly with last Sunday’s sermon on money. Our hearts are drawn to money, sex, and power…for our benefit. There’s actually nothing inherently wrong with any of them. Money can be used to bless others. Sex is one of God’s most wonderful ideas, a remarkable experience for a husband and wife in bonding and celebration of their relationship, to say nothing of procreation. Power can bring about freedom for the powerless and justice for the weak.
The issue is the heart. Why do you want money? Is it for yourself or others?
Why do you want sex? Is it for your personal pleasure or strengthening your marriage?
Why do you want power? Is it to bless or oppress others?
Andy Crouch adds,
Every Maundy Thursday, the night before Good Friday in the Western liturgical calendar, Christians around the world gather to wash one another’s feet. Two thousand years after the Teacher and Lord knelt with a towel around his waist, his followers, servants and messengers continue to imitate his example. There is no act of culture-making power more extraordinary than creating a ritual, an act that continues to bear witness to truth from generation to generation, long after the first persons who experienced it lay in the dust of death. The persistence down to this day of the act Jesus performed at that table, and the acts from that night that the other Gospels report—taking, blessing, breaking and giving the bread and wine—is the ultimate test and sign of his power. In this moment, Jesus creates culture, forever transforming the meaning of towel, loaf and cup, forever altering the way teachers and masters will see their roles, and the way their students and servants will see them.
Following Jesus means following his example of service, of washing feet, of daily sacrifice, of putting others first, of praying for one’s enemies, of blessing those who curse you. Could anything be more counter-cultural?
I wish I could say Christians model this well, that we never seek power, that we put others above ourselves, that we are content to go last, that we are known as servants.
The great theologian (!) Jimi Hendrix famously said, "When the power of love takes over the love of power, that's when things will change.”
Tony Campolo notes, “A basic sociological principle is you can’t express love and power at the same time. Whenever you love, you lose power. Love makes you vulnerable … We have a God who loves us so much he was willing to become vulnerable.”
I have to admit I’ve been embarrassed by so-called Christians who clamored for power, especially during this past political season, as if either candidate was the Messiah, the Savior, the answer to the world’s problems…and that somehow their guy would give them power. Washington’s got nothing on the Kingdom of God! I know politics is messy, but our allegiance must never be to a president but to a Priest, the great high Priest, who is also a Prophet, and King, Jesus Christ. His mission wasn’t to seek power for himself. He came with all authority on heaven and earth. He came for the world. In fact, he gave us his power and authority…for the sake of others.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (Matthew 28:18)
What does Jesus do with power? He sends his followers on a mission.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
One final passage from Andy Crouch:
There is no point in this story where Jesus gives up power—instead, it is the culmination and demonstration of his power. What Jesus gives up in this story is not power but privilege and status…
For those of us preoccupied with protecting our privilege and raising our status, this indifference of Jesus is terrifying. It prompts the kind of outburst that came from Peter. It is holy power, utterly purified, without an ounce of self-protection or self-regard. Jesus’ only use of power was to create, never to protect himself or to exalt himself. Perhaps this is the deepest explanation of his nonviolence. Violence, even when used in justifiable self-defense, does nothing to restore, redeem or create. It only damages in return. And Jesus simply never had a thought except to restore, redeem and create a new community among whom power would be used always and only for flourishing. In such a community, privilege and status can only be disdained and discarded. They are distractions from the real calling of image bearers: to be fruitful and multiply, far as the curse is found.
To follow Jesus means rejecting the world. It involves dying to self. It requires you to think—and act—differently. There’s no keeping up with the Joneses, giving them what they had coming to them, or even telling them to pick themselves up by their bootstraps. Some people don’t have bootstraps!
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. (Proverbs 31:8)
This includes the unborn, yes, but it also includes the marginalized, the forgotten, the poor, the widow, the orphan, the stranger, the refugee. We all have a certain measure of power, given not for our own sake, but for the sake of others. We’ve been blessed to be a blessing. Everything we have—our money, time, talents, energy, power, influence, relationships—is a gift, on loan from God. We are to be good stewards and will one day given an account for what we did with what we’ve been given.
This is not a message about trying harder. It’s not a message about abusing yourself and being a doormat, either. Love your neighbor…as yourself.
It is a message of surrender, of letting go, of leveraging what you have for others, as Jesus did.
The Kingdom of God is upside-down where the greatest serve, where the first are last, and where power is poured out for others as Jesus poured out his life—and blood—for us.
Christianity stands or falls with its revolutionary protest against violence, arbitrariness and pride of power and with its plea for the weak. Christians are doing too little to make these points clear rather than too much. Christendom adjusts itself far too easily to the worship of power. Christians should give more offense, shock the world far more, than they are doing now. Christian should take a stronger stand in favor of the weak rather than considering first the possible right of the strong.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
One more thing…
I want to offer a final challenge to you today. Last week I said generosity kills the money monster, the temptation of greed. Likewise, there are three spiritual practices which kill the power monster, the temptation to selfishly use power. They are solitude, silence, and fasting. These classical disciplines—along with sabbath rest—allow us to disconnect from busyness, achievement, and striving and put our faith and trust into action. Dallas Willard’s classic The Spirit of the Disciplines and John Ortberg’s book The Life You’ve Always Wanted are two recommended titles.
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
You can watch this video and others at the First Alliance Church Video Library here.