What does real greatness looks like?
In this Word for the Week, we walk the road to Jerusalem with Jesus in Mark 10:32-45, where He tells his friends and followers for a third time what is coming.
They are (as we can be) very, very slow on the uptake, and two of them ask for the best seats in his kingdom ... which proves they are!
So Jesus spells it out for them very expllicitly, and turns our world’s idea of greatness upside down.
Using the work of Oxford philosopher J. L. Austin (How to Do Things with Words), we ask what the words in this passage are actually doing, why the disciples were so slow on the uptake, and why Mark 10:45 is not just a statement but a deed: “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
INFO RETENTION QUIZ
1. How many times does Jesus tell his disciples about his coming death and resurrection by Mark 10?
A. Once
B. Twice
C. Three times
D. Four times
2. Which philosopher’s work on speech acts frames this Word for the Week?
A. C. S. Lewis
B. J. L. Austin
C. Bertrand Russell
D. Alasdair MacIntyre
3. What did James and John ask Jesus for in Mark 10:37?
A. To heal their families
B. To be spared from suffering
C. To sit at his right and left in his glory
D. To lead the disciples back to Galilee
4. What do the “cup” and the “baptism” represent in Jesus’ question?
A. Communion and church membership
B. Suffering and judgement he would go through
C. Celebration and feasting
D. Purification rituals
5. According to Mark 10:43-44, how does someone become great in the kingdom of God?
A. By gaining authority over others
B. By gathering many followers
C. By being a servant and slave of all
D. By being the first to speak
6. What does “ransom” mean in Mark 10:45?
A. A reward for good behaviour
B. A price paid to set someone free
C. A punishment for a crime
D. A promise made to God
7. Who does Jesus ask the same question (“What do you want me to do for you?”) right after this passage?
A. Zacchaeus
B. Nicodemus
C. Blind Bartimaeus
D. The rich young man
ANSWERS
C. Three times (Mark 8:31, 9:31, 10:33-34)
B. J. L. Austin
C. To sit at his right and left in his glory
B. Suffering and judgement he would go through
C. By being a servant and slave of all
B. A price paid to set someone free
C. Blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:51)
Series: Discovering Mark
Word for the Week with Simon Bowkett (WelshRev), Y Grwp (Grace Rural Wales Partnership, Registered Charity No. 1170827)
Subscribe for a new Word for the Week each week, and find fuller studies on
the WelshRev page
https://www.welshrev.com/blog/slow-on-the-uptake-why-jesus-keeps-telling-us-what-were-very-slow-to-hear-mark-1032-45/
and Substack
https://simonbowkett331045.substack.com/publish/posts/published
#WordForTheWeek #DiscoveringMark #Mark10 #Mark1045 #ServantLeadership #TrueGreatness #WelshRev #BibleStudy