A Leader with the Heart of Jesus

In the book of Mark, in chapter 10:35-45, James and John reveal their own hearts when they say, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask." Their request was strange, and their attitude was even stranger. Jesus responds with a question: "What do you want me to do for you?" The way they asked was strange, but the way they answered was almost insane: "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory." Several things are revealed here: selfish ambition, position, status, and pride—so much so that they lost sight of who they were speaking to.

Jesus confronts their hearts. He brings them face to face with their own limitations when he asks, "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" And James and John's senseless request is revealed again when they answer, "We can." They had no idea what they were saying. But Jesus brings their request to a close by revealing that those places belong "to those for whom they have been prepared." That belongs to the Father, and this answer confirms the absurd request James and John had made.

Jesus ends by revealing HIS own heart. In verses 42-45, he begins to break the logic that James and John carried in their hearts, revealing HIS own heart when he 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. 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."

The heart of Jesus is indispensable for a leader. The world’s logic of leadership is not what Jesus, the greatest leader of all time, taught us. Pride, position, status, and selfish ambition have no place in a leader; we will struggle with these issues just as James and John did, but we MUST learn to serve rather than be served.