Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

c. Service
THE MISSION OF JESUS
§14.3
In the Gospel tradition Jesus is also presented as the model of service — Mark
10.41-45 pars. 77 In Mark, closely followed by Matt. 20.20-28, the teaching is Jesus'
response to a request for/on behalf of James and John that they should be
granted to sit on Jesus' right and left 'in your kingdom/glory' (Matt. 20.21/Mark
10.37). We need consider here only the closing section, where Matthew (20.24-
28) follows Mark almost word for word:
Mark 10.41-45
41 When the ten heard this, they began to be
angry with James and John. 42 So Jesus called
them and said to them, 'You know that among the
Gentiles those whom they recognize as their
rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are
tyrants over them. 43 But it is not so among you;
but whoever wishes to become great among you
must be your servant. 44 and whoever wishes to
be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For
the Son of Man came not to be served but to
serve, and to give his life a ransom for many'.
Luke 22.24-27
24 A dispute also arose among them as to which
one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25
But he said to them, 'The kings of the
Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authoritv
over them are called benefactors.
26 But not so with you:
rather the greatest among vou must become like
the youngest, and the leader like one who serves.
27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table
or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the
table? But I am among you as one who serves'.
We have already noted how deeply rooted in the tradition is the great(est)/least
motif, 78 and the variation between Mark and Luke is simply another indication of
how the tradition of particular teaching could vary in the different retellings. 79
That Jesus' talk of the kingdom should have given rise to such ambition among
his intimates is entirely credible, as also that the communities should cherish the
memory of Jesus' rebuke as a stark reminder of where their own priorities should
lie. What stands out here is that Jesus is remembered as putting forward his own
sense of vocation and priorities as a model for his disciples. Whether Mark 10.45
is a much elaborated form of what Jesus said is something we will have to consider
later. 80 Here the point is that the core memory is of Jesus depicting his role
in servant terms and commending it as an example to his close circle. 81 It should
be noted that Jesus apparently did not discourage ambition (to be 'great'); but the
greatness he commended was that of the servant.
77. Casey offers an Aramaic rendition of the whole episode (Mark 10.35-45) (Aramaic
Sources ch. 5).
78. See above, §12.4c.
79. Luke has chosen to present the material as part of his account of the last supper
(Luke 22.14-38).
80. See below, §17.5d(2).
81. The same memory no doubt lies behind John's account of Jesus' washing the disciples'
feet (John 13.4-5, 12-17). Fuller discussion in Fitzmyer, Luke 1411-15; O. Wischmeyer,
'Herrschen als Dienen — Mark 10,41-45', ZNW 90 (1999) 28-44.
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