Jesus the Servant
The Son of Man serves up a tasty slice of pie
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and whoever wants to be first among you must be the 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.
Mark 10:44-45 (NET)
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Mmmmm … humble pie.
🥧 😋
I’m eating some right now.
Jesus is once again showing some of the upside-down kingdom thinking that goes with His new reign. Of course as the king, He is the greatest servant of all. Even illustrating how He came to give His own life as a ransom for many (Jesus loves to refer to Himself as the Son of Man, a reference back to Daniel 7).
I don’t know about you, but I like serving myself, thank you very much.
Thus, reading and memorizing this verse often serves me up a big ol’ slice of humble pie.
Practically, how do I go about being “slave of all?”
It wouldn’t be in a strictly literal sense because that could get dangerous (especially if “taking orders” from a more evil person).
I could be wrong, but I think this is more about my heart attitude than my actions.
Which hearkens back to Philippians 2:3-4:
I will put the goals and interests of others above my own.
(not a direct quote, but a pithy summary).
Our example is Jesus. He certainly put some priority on His own goals and interests, we know that because He didn’t starve to death by giving away all His food. And He was in good enough shape to intimidate the money-lenders, driving them out of the Temple.
Yet time and time again we see Jesus humble himself and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit & doing the work of His Heavenly Father.
That’s a good place to start.
— Ricky Ketchum
Copyright © 2025 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
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