Mark 10:44 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.

NIV: and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.

NASB: and whoever wants to be first among you shall be slave of all.

CSB: and whoever wants to be first among you will be a slave to all.

NLT: and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else.

KJV: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.

NKJV: And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.

"Slave" is from the Greek root word doulos. It means someone who is bound to another to see to their needs; the submission of a doulos is at a higher level than that of a diakonos or servant (Mark 10:43). Christian leadership isn't a straight master/slave relationship. It's more like the slave who has authority over a man's children, even though the children will one day be his master. Christian leaders are first slaves to Christ, for His will. Christ's will is that the needs of His church body are met. The church body may be misinformed about what they need and what needs their church leadership is there to fill. For example, Jesus cooks a meal while the disciples fish (John 21:9–13), but He doesn't stop His teaching to help Martha fix a meal (Luke 10:38–42). The disciples quickly determine that their priority is to serve by teaching and appoint others to handle the administrative tasks (Acts 6:1–6). The role of a leader is to look to Christ and follow His direction for the benefit of His church.

The disciples' confusion about what leadership looks like in the church is understandable because it is a different model than what they are used to. They are not there to establish, defend, or maintain a kingdom under God. God's plan was always that His Son would die for the sins of the world and the Jews would be the source of deliverance, even for Gentiles. Now, Israel will be destroyed, and Jews will scatter, spreading the gospel to Gentiles as they go. God's kingdom will expand, even as the Jews' kingdom will disappear for a time.

In this new situation, the disciples are there to draw people to that kingdom and help the newcomers find their place in the community. Some of these newcomers, like Paul and James the brother of Jesus, may even rise to greater positions of authority. Just as God chooses who will sit on Jesus' left and right (Mark 10:40), He chooses who will have which role in His kingdom. When we remember that the role of every believer is to bring the church and other individuals closer to Jesus, the label "slave" takes on a new, nobler meaning.

Mark 10:35–45 describes the arrogant request of James and John to have positions of power and authority in Jesus' coming kingdom. This comes after learning that Jesus values the powerless like women and children (Mark 10:1–16), that those with earthly power and wealth can have a hard time following God because they can tend to value their possessions more (Mark 10:17–22), and that part of Jesus' plan for His kingdom is to die a horrible death (Mark 10:32–34). Neither Luke nor John record this account, but Matthew adds that James and John's mother is involved in the request (Matthew 20:20–28).

In this passage, Jesus again confronts the Pharisees by clarifying God's views on marriage and divorce. He reminds the disciples not to dismiss the spiritual perspective of children. This chapter also records Jesus' encounter with the rich young ruler, who becomes an object lesson in why wealth makes it hard for people to rely on God. After this, Jesus deftly sets aside an arrogant request from James and John, and again predicts His impending death. Just prior to the triumphal entry of chapter 11, Jesus is sought out by Bartimaeus, whom He heals of blindness.

In between chapters 9 and 10, Jesus resumes His public teaching as He travels to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles (Luke 9:57—18:14; John 7—10). We meet Him here across the Jordan in Perea and follow as He makes His way west again to Jericho. This chapter surrounds a third prophecy of Jesus' death (Mark 10:32–34) with lessons on His value for those others often dismiss: women (Mark 10:1–12), the powerless (Mark 10:13–16), those who value God more than the world (Mark 10:17–31), servant-hearted leaders (Mark 10:35–45), and those with bold faith (Mark 10:46–52). Next is the triumphal entry and the beginning of Passion Week.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes both Jesus' servanthood and His role as the promised Messiah: the Son of God. This is done through a concise, action-packed style. Mark provides relatively few details, instead focusing on actions and simple statements. This relates to the Gospel's authorship, which is believed to be based on the memories of the apostle Peter. These include many of Jesus' miracles, in contrast to other Gospels which include many more of Jesus' teachings and parables. Mark also makes frequent mention of Jesus' ministry being misunderstood by others.