This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

I'm glad you're back for day four of our look together through Mark chapter 10
verses 28 to 45 today. These are verses about keeping real life in perspective.
Jesus' challenge that we looked at yesterday for the ruler to leave it all and
follow him.

I want you to listen with me to what Peter says. He's just heard Jesus have this
exchange. He says to the rich young ruler, "Leave it all.

Follow me. " The ruler says, "No. " Listen to what Peter says in verse 28,
"Peter said to Jesus, 'We have left everything to follow you.

'" It just makes you laugh because it's so much like what we would do. Look at
us, Jesus. Look at me, Jesus.

We did what the ruler would not do. I can just see Jesus smiling, and here's
what he said, verses 29 to 31, "I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "No one
who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or
fields for me in the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this
present age, homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields and with
them persecutions. And in the age to come, eternal life.

But many who are first will be last and the last first. " Jesus has just heard
Peter say to him, "We've left everything to follow you," and he could have
sarcastically responded to Peter by saying, "Peter, you didn't really have that
much to leave. I mean, you had a few rotting nets, a few stinking fish, not like
that ruler over there.

" But that's not how Jesus speaks. Instead, he simply taught the truth. He
lovingly taught the truth.

He says to his followers, "Whatever you've truly left for me in the gospel,
you're going to receive back a hundred times as much in this life and eternal
life. " Now, what's that about this hundred times as much? Well, let's just walk
through this.

He talks about family, brothers and sisters. If you become a believer in Jesus
Christ and your family disowns you because you've become a believer, you are
going to get hundreds and even thousands of brothers and sisters in Christ in
the church, more than hundreds of times as much. Jesus talks about fields here.

If you lose fields, you'll get a hundred times as much. If your inheritance is
lost because you're a believer, and that is what a field would be in that day,
an inheritance you'd get from your family, he says you're going to get the
greater inheritance of serving the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills.
Your home may be lost, but you're now welcome in hundreds of homes, hundreds of
times as much, even in this life.

But Jesus says, "Remember, there's also eternal life on top of that. " And then
Jesus says, "He's just keeping life in perspective. Remember, along with them
this hundred times as much, there'll also be persecutions.

" That's part of living the Christian life. You have the blessing of all these
new brothers and sisters in Christ, but you also have the persecution of those
who don't agree with you following Christ. And your life for them, it feels like
a condemnation.

Now, you're not speaking condemning words, but it feels like a condemnation
because they don't want to cross that line of accepting God's love. And also
remember, Jesus says, "Let's just keep things in perspective. The first will be
last and the last first.

" Even you receive these hundred times as much, you may seem to have all these
blessings in this life. Remember, God's going to turn things upside down when we
get to heaven, so don't count on it too much. Count on God totally.

Don't count on things too much. Jesus is just saying here, "Keep life in
perspective. " Now, we see why this teaching is so important and what happens
next in the life of Jesus and the disciples.

Listen to what Jesus teaches the disciples in verses 32 to 34. "They were on
their way to Jerusalem with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were
astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again, he took the twelve
aside and told them that it was what was going to happen to him.

'We are going up to Jerusalem,' he said, 'and the Son of Man will be betrayed to
the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death,
and they will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him,
flog him, and kill him. Three days later, he will rise.

" Now, first at the beginning of these verses, it says they were astonished and
afraid as they were following Jesus. Why were they astonished and afraid?
Because they were headed to Jerusalem.

And they all knew that the centers of power, of religious power, of cultural
power, political power were in Jerusalem, and they hated Jesus. So they were
astonished that he was going back there. They were afraid of what was going to
happen when he got there.

And on the way there, did you notice Jesus tells them exactly what will happen
when they get to Jerusalem? There should have been no surprises. He just goes
down bit by bit, thing by thing, and says this is what's going to happen.

But their perspective, the perspective of these followers of Jesus, it was
totally out of whack. It was so out of whack, they were so focused on
themselves, that they totally miss what Jesus tells them, like that never
happens to me. Listen to what happens because they're so focused on themselves
in verses 35 to 40.

"Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. 'Teacher,' they said,
'we want you to do for us whatever we ask. What do you want me to do for you?

' he asked. They replied, 'Let one of us sit on your right and the other on your
left in your glory. ' 'You don't know what you're asking,' Jesus said.

'Can you drink the cup I drink, or be baptized with the baptism I'm baptized
with? ' 'We can,' they answered. Jesus said to them, 'You will drink the cup
that I drink and be baptized with the baptism I'm baptized with.

But to sit on my right or left, that's not for me to grant. Those places belong
to those for whom they have been prepared as a ransom for many. '" It's amazing.

Jesus has talked about his death. You would think the disciples would come and
say, "Jesus, we didn't understand. What is this about your resurrection?

" But instead, James and John immediately come and ask, "Jesus, can we have the
thrones beside you in glory? " They totally missed it. In fact, if you look at
what's happening here, they actually wanted to get glory for themselves through
the cross, a place where the glory only goes to Jesus.

Jesus says, "You don't know. You don't understand. To be beside me, I'm going to
be on a cross.

Can you drink that cup, that cup of suffering? Can you be baptized with that
baptism? " He's not talking about baptism of faith here.

He's not talking about the baptism that happens into the church. He's talking
about being immersed in a persecution, in a suffering of life. They said, "We
can," not understanding what they were saying.

Jesus said, "You will," because he knew what would happen. By the way, both of
these men, James and John, were martyred for their faith. James was the first of
the disciples to be martyred for his faith, and John lived to older age, but he
was the last of the disciples to be martyred for his faith.

They're walking down this road and they hear Jesus talk about the cross, and
they get all caught up in themselves. And if you think it's just James and
John's problem, it was the rest of the disciples too. They heard about it, and
the Bible says the others were indignant, not because they were concerned for
James and John's selfishness or their spiritual immaturity.

They were indignant because they wanted to be first too. They wanted to get
there before James and John got there. So listen to what happens in verses 41 to
45.

When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus
called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers
of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority
over them. 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. " Jesus uses this lack of
perspective as an opportunity to teach, and he teaches him this lesson once
again, "Whoever wants to be great must become your servant.

" Have you seen how he's teaching this again and again and again in these
chapters, these two chapters that we've just looked at? Jesus is headed towards
the cross, and as he heads towards the cross, he's increasing this teaching with
his disciples, with his followers. It's all about serving.

It's not about you. It is about God's plan and God's kingdom. And there's this
amazing verse, verse 45, "Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to
serve and to give his life.

" J. Vernon McGee calls this verse the key verse in the entire book. It is the
verse that focuses on why Jesus came, but it's also the verse that focuses on
who I am to be.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, I am a servant, even as Jesus was a servant.
These verses are all about how you and I can keep life in perspective. Here's
what Jesus is saying.

If things get lost in my life, even important things in relationships, because
I'm following the good news, they're going to be restored greatly, not without
persecution, not without difficulty in this life, but they will be restored. And
beyond that, Jesus said, "Keep this in perspective, I can look forward to
eternal life. " But as you look forward to eternal life, Jesus says, "Keep this
in perspective, the first will be last and the last will be first.

" In fact, Jesus says, "If you really want the right perspective on life,
whoever wants to be great has to be a servant. Whoever wants to be first must be
the slave of all. Even I," Jesus says, "get this perspective, even I did not
come to be served, but to serve.

" Let's talk to him. Jesus Christ, where do you want me to serve today? Who do
you want me to serve today?

How do you want me to give my life in service today? Forgive me for those times
when my perspective gets all caught up with me. And I invite you, draw me out of
those times to give me the right perspective on life.

God, you put me on this earth not to get caught up in me. You put me on this
earth to do the same thing you did when you walked this earth, to serve, to
give. Show me where I can do that today.

I ask it. I ask it, Jesus, in your name, amen.