The Son of Man Came Not to be Served but to Serve

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

As we celebrate Easter we remember the sacrifice of our Lord and His victory over death and sin. Christ’s emphasis on his purpose in coming is shown throughout his ministry. We see in the gospels Christ’s determined path towards Calvary. Christ was not a victimized Martyr. He was and is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. No one took his life from him, He lay down his life of his own accord (John 10:18).

In Mark 10:42-45, responding to the self-serving attempt of James and John to secure power in Messiah’s coming kingdom and the disciple’s subsequent indignation, Christ delivers an exhortative teaching describing the nature of leadership within the kingdom of God. In verse 45, Christ uses his favorite title for himself from Daniel 7, the “Son of Man.” The term Son of Man was widely understood as the title for the Messiah. In Daniel 7, we see this figure elevated by God to be served by all people. Thus, Jesus uses this term purposefully in Mark 10 to explain for his disciples that He, the one prophesied to be served by all nations, is himself an example of godly service. “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). This “ransom for many” purposefully alludes to Isaiah 53:10-12. Christ here uses himself as the supreme example of servanthood in God’s kingdom.

In Isaiah 53:10-12, the prophet clarifies the role of the suffering servant. Isaiah 53 itself looks backward to Leviticus and envisions the faithful suffering servant fulfilling the sacrificial requirements of the reparation offerings (also referred to as “guilt” or “restitution” offerings) seen in Leviticus 5:14-6:7. Isaiah looks backward and recognizes that the people are not only impure, but their sin has incurred a debt against God that they are unable to pay. Isaiah looks forward to the coming of the suffering servant who, by God’s design, will give his life as a sacrifice for the restitution of the debt owed by the guilty as described by Levitical law. Isaiah 53:10-12 shows the suffering servant paying the costly debt incurred by the transgressions of the people. His life will be given as the ’āšām, “offering for guilt,” paying the ransom of many. Scholar Brevard Childs states, “The point of the Isaianic text is that God himself took the initiative in accepting the servant’s life as the means of Israel’s forgiveness.”

The implications of Christ’s teaching in Mark 10 are as far-reaching, dynamic, and encompassing for the modern Christian as they were for the disciples themselves. Christ’s reference to Daniel 7 and Isaiah 53 in Mark 10 teaches us that He who shall be served by all, gave his life as payment for the debt that our sin had incurred, debt that we ourselves were powerless to pay. Even the moment and method of his teaching of this dynamic truth shows his servant’s heart. While the theological truths taught by Messiah’s words display for his disciples and the church both the nature of our need and the accomplishment of Christ’s sacrifice, Christ does not bring his words in the context of mere theological instruction. He brings this teaching at a moment where his disciples, once again, are acting in quite the contradictory manner to his example and teachings. Amidst his disciple’s arrogant grandstanding and attempts for positional power, Christ makes it clear that He knows exactly who He is and that He has come to serve unto death.

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him” (John 13:3-5).

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).

The King of Kings came and surrendered his life to serve and redeem us. May we the redeemed surrender our lives to the service of the King of Kings.

In His Love,

Pastor Brian Torres

April 1, 2024

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