At the Bottom of the Ladder

“But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave, of all. 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 10:43-45

Is greatness really what we think it is? 

It seems like these days everyone is constantly vying to be a leader, to be the best, to be in charge, or have more authority over other people. But I’ve been reading the Gospel of Mark this month and it teaches something very different. Although Jesus, the Son of God, holds the utmost authority, He lived his life as if He didn’t…He became a servant to others.

In Mark 10, James and John requested that they sit on the right and left sides of Jesus in his glory. The other disciples obviously became irritated with this request, as they all probably wanted to be seated next to Jesus. But Jesus tells them this:

“You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 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 10:42-45

If you want to be great, you must be a servant to all and put yourself last. It’s such a crazy idea that makes absolutely zero sense from a worldly perspective. Shouldn’t we be trying to get to the top of the ladder?

We can’t get to the top of the ladder if we’re letting everyone else go before us…

But the bottom of the ladder is where Jesus wants us, so we can hold it steady for our neighbors, our enemies, and everyone else to go first.

I believe that by dying on the cross, Jesus made a way for us to climb the ladder. Dying on the cross was His way of holding the ladder for us to climb up first. So if you want to find Jesus, if you desperately desire to be nearer to Him, try looking for him standing steady at the bottom of the ladder. 

Be a person that puts others first. Be a leader by how you serve, not by putting yourself first. Be the person at the bottom of the ladder.