Regardless of whichever season of life you’re presently in, I think it can be a healthy experience to force yourself to volunteer to serve others in new ways. Serving others has the capacity to stretch you, and it’s a healthy reminder that the world doesn’t revolve around you.
Believing this to be a healthy mindset to cultivate, my wife and I recently made the decision to volunteer a week of our time to serve with a camping ministry that some of our children also volunteer with. The camp is about 7 hours from our home, and while our children have become known there, my wife and I were virtually unknown. We contacted the camp, expressed our desire to volunteer, went through their screening process, and then told them they could literally assign us to any job or any task. We wanted to serve wherever they thought we could be most helpful.
After a few weeks, we were told that we would be helping with campus security. It would be our primary task to patrol all ends of the property from early morning to late evening, making sure the campers were safe. At night we slept on bunk beds in a cabin that was quite warm with no easy way to cool it down. And as we served in our roles, there were dozens of other adults who volunteered as well. For an entire week, we all worked with minimal breaks, and as far as I can tell, even though it was tiring, it appeared to be a joyful experience for everyone who was involved.
When my wife and I volunteered to help, I thought we were doing something unique. It turns out, it wasn’t unique at all. We spent the entire week surrounded by people who didn’t expect to be treated like kings and queens. They just wanted to serve others and glorify Jesus.
I was impressed by this attitude, but I also find it particularly impressive when a literal king expresses that same kind of heart. While still speaking in the temple area, Jesus quoted the words of King David from Psalm 110, words that demonstrated David’s submissive spirit and desire to honor Christ as Lord, even before Jesus came to this earth in the flesh.
And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”’
David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly. - Mark 12:35-37
David reigned as king of Israel about a thousand years before Christ’s incarnation. During the time of Christ’s earthly ministry, David was revered by the Jewish people. He’s still revered today by Jews, Christians, and many others. The biblical accounts of David’s early life, his willingness to trust the Lord in the midst of impossible odds, his divinely ordained rise to power, his musical and poetic gifts, and the fact that the Holy Spirit inspired David to write the majority of the Psalms are highly impressive.
David was also a wise and powerful leader. His leadership decisions and the victories he was blessed with remain legendary to this day. Many Jews considered him the pinnacle of human leadership and they longed to be led by such a king again one day.
At one point during David’s reign, the Lord revealed to Nathan the prophet that a descendent would come from David whose throne would be established forever. This was a prophetic reference to the Messiah, and ever since the days when this prophecy was given, the Jewish people have looked forward to the Messiah’s appearing.
"When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” - 2 Sam. 7:12-13
Even though they looked forward to the Messiah’s reign, most Jewish people didn’t understand that the Messiah would be more than a human ruler. He would indeed be a man who was a descendant of David, but He would be more than a man. The Messiah would be God who would take on flesh, and live as the perfect union of God and man.
The Holy Spirit revealed that mystery to David, and David revealed that truth in the Psalms, particularly in Psalm 110. That’s why Jesus, the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies, quoted from that passage when speaking to the crowds in Mark 12. Jesus asked, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?”
Jesus was referring to the opening verse of Psalm 110 where David says…
"The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” - Psalm 110:1
Both God the Father and Jesus Christ are referenced in that verse. To help illustrate what’s being shared in that passage, the Amplified Bible translates it like this…
The Lord (Father) says to my Lord (the Messiah, His Son), “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet [subjugating them into complete submission].” - Ps. 110:1, AMP
This is what Jesus was attempting to teach this group of people. He wanted them to understand His real nature, the nature of the long-promised Messiah. Jesus was showing them from a passage they were already familiar with, spoken by a king they revered, that when the Messiah came, He would be more than just a physical descendent of David. The Messiah would be someone David would openly worship as Lord. The Messiah would be God in human flesh.
That was a hard concept for people to come to terms with because there is no other example in human history of anything like that taking place. It’s also a spiritual truth that can only truly be accepted or discerned when the Holy Spirit grants the spiritual discernment to understand it. Just as it was the Holy Spirit who inspired David to write it, so too must we rely on the Holy Spirit to comprehend that truth.
Additionally, there are multiple examples of humility in this teaching that we would do well to observe. David, a man who lived much of his life as a powerful king, was delighted to honor the Messiah as his Lord. Jesus, who has existed as one with the Father and the Spirit for all eternity was willing to humble himself to take on flesh and become a man in order to serve us and suffer for us.
This is the kind of heart attitude we’re being called to cultivate as followers of Christ. A heart that embraces humility and the desire to serve someone else even at great personal cost to yourself. *(Families hosting BBQs and other events)
Unfortunately, many people in this world don’t embrace humility or a desire to serve others. In fact, human history is littered with examples of people who coveted power so much that they didn’t care who they hurt in their efforts to obtain it. This is still the case in the present day. The world is filled with people who would rush to sell their eternal soul if in doing so they could obtain power for just a few short years.
It’s one thing to see that lust for power on display among politicians or governmental officials, but it’s tragic to see that mindset creep into the lives and leadership practices of religious leaders. Unfortunately, as the gospel accounts demonstrate, the religious leadership during the time of Christ’s earthly ministry was highly corrupt.
"And in his teaching he said, 'Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.'” - Mark 12:38-40
When you’re entrusted with a position of spiritual leadership, there may be many people in this world who will be skeptical of you, but at the same time, there will also be many who trust you implicitly. They will make important life decisions based on the example you set and the words you teach. Do not treat that kind of influence flippantly and do not take advantage of those who have taken the risk to trust you.
By this point, the crowds had witnessed the hard time many of the religious leaders had given Jesus. It wasn’t a secret that they despised Him. They wanted to trip Him up in what He said. They wanted to find some kind of accusation that might stick against Him and influence the crowds that were fascinated with Him to disperse. Jesus wanted the people to understand the real character of these men even though they were often thought of as pious.
Jesus told the people to watch out for those who like to draw unhealthy attention to themselves. Often they’ll do it in the way they dress, in the honor they want to be shown in public places, and in the seats they’ll select at whatever table they’re invited to. When they pray or speak, their primary concern won’t be honoring God, but rather being honored by their audience. Essentially, they’ll attempt to receive the praise that should be pointed heavenward.
And if you look really closely at their lives, you might even be able to find examples of them taking advantage of the most downtrodden and disadvantaged. The scribes of that era weren’t paid in a traditional sense, so they often relied on financial gifts. There’s no intrinsic problem with that, but unfortunately, it was also common for widows to entrust their personal finances to these men, and instead of helping them with pure motives, many of them took financial advantage of these women with the goal of enriching themselves.
This isn’t the only place in Scripture where we’re cautioned to watch out for people who abuse their roles in spiritual leadership.
"The word of the Lord came to me: 'Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them…Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.'” - Ezekiel 34:1-4, 10
What a contrast this is to the compassionate, shepherding leadership of Jesus. Jesus didn’t come to this earth to get something from us. He didn’t come to devour us or take advantage of us. He came to serve us, heal us, forgive us, and bring us back from our wandering.
He is Lord of all creation, yet He took the form of a servant. He should have been treated like a king, yet we treated Him with contempt.
As David prophetically called Jesus his Lord, let’s join him in offering that same kind of sincere and submissive praise. The goal of our lives should never be to be treated like kings. Rather, our goal should be to honor and glorify Jesus, the one who reigns as King forever.
© John Stange, 2024 Originally published on Bible Study Headquarters. Used with permission.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Thomas Barwick
John Stange is the Lead Pastor at Core Creek Community Church and a professor at Cairn University where he leads the Digital Media and Communication program. He also leads an online community called Platform Launchers where he helps people build message-based online platforms.
John has authored over 30 books and presently hosts several podcasts on the LifeAudio podcast network. His shows have been downloaded millions of times by listeners throughout the world.
You can learn more about John’s ministry, books, and podcasts at BibleStudyHeadquarters.com.