The Gospel of Mark – Part 37

Service and Sacrifice – Mark 10:32-45

Mosaic Rockford – Dave Spooner – May 31st, 2020

Intro:

Jesus just finished His encounter with the rich young ruler who turned away from following Jesus because he was unwilling to fully surrender all that he was and all that he had.  In the kingdom of God, “many who are first will be last and the last first” (Mark 10:31).Jesus continued His resolute march toward Jerusalem to all that awaited Him there.  In our text for today, we will learn from both the actions and teaching of Jesus what He came to do, our desire to follow Him, and the true pathway to greatness.  His convincing and convicting teachings are given to guide you in both the motive and the method of what it means to follow Christ. 

The mission of the Messiah

Mark 10:32-34 ESV

And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

Jesus was leading His disciples and His followers up to Jerusalem.  I love how it says “He was walking ahead of them.”  He was leading them and willfully walking into the place where He was going to be betrayed, brutally beaten, and tortuously crucified.  He was walking toward this. He was not running in the other direction, or being dragged to His fate. Jesus was not running away from His mission but intentionally leading them to Jerusalem.  This amazed His disciples. Jesus told them what was going to happen in detail, and the details were difficult, and they were amazed at His determination and willingness and resolve to head in the direction of these things.The crowd that was following along was fearful because they knew that in going to Jerusalem, there would be trouble and it may not end well.  This was the seat of power for their religious community and government.  This was the big city with increased power, pressure, and people, and they were afraid that this could cause conflict.Jesus knew what was going to happen, and He knew how bad it was going to be.  He did not deny or downplay the seriousness of the suffering.  However, He included in His description of the events that were to come, what was going to happen at the end.  “And after three days he will rise.”  Looking toward the result and reward of suffering and servitude will help empower you to willfully give of yourself through service, sacrifice, and suffering.     

Heb 12:1-2 ESV

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

It was the joy that was set before Him that gave Him the motivation to endure the cross. He would accomplish His mission by laying His life down in the most horrific of ways, knowing that the joy that awaited Him would be far greater than any sacrifice and suffering He would endure. This is the great motivation of the Christian faith.  We follow Him and become like Him knowing that He is worthy of our everything and that with Him there is greater joy and life everlasting.  So therefore, as those who have gone before us as a “great cloud of witnesses,” we in turn lay aside every weight and sin and run the race that is set before us, and we are to do so with endurance, with our eye fixed on Jesus, who is the founder and perfecter of our faith.As Jes