DCLM Daily Manna 2025: DCLM Daily Manna 7 July 2025: Position Rivalry
Text: Mark 10:35-45 (KJV)
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.”
36 And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
37 They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.”
38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
39 They said to Him, “We are able.”
So Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; 40 but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared.”
41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. 42 But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. 44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
KEY VERSE: (Mark 10:43,44) But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.
This excerpt is from a sermon titled Closer Walk posted on the Sermon Search website in December 1991. “In the summer of 1986, two ships collided in the Black Sea off the coast of Russia. Hundreds of passengers died as they were hurled into the icy waters below. News of the disaster was further darkened when an investigation revealed the cause of the accident. It wasn’t a technology problem like radar malfunction or even thick fog. The cause was human stubbornness. Each captain was aware of the other ship’s presence nearby. Both could have steered clear, but according to news reports, neither captain wanted to give way to the other. Each was too proud to yield first. By the time they came to their senses, it was too late.”
Christ emphasises the importance of humility in leadership. In today’s passage, James and John request that Jesus do whatever they desire. They wanted Him to secure their two topmost positions in His coming kingdom. The narrative shows that all the disciples of Christ were equally concerned about position, power, and prominence in God’s kingdom. However, Christ’s response redefines what constitutes true greatness in the kingdom of God. He points out that true discipleship and greatness are about sacrifice, service, and readiness to suffer for His sake. The paradox of true greatness in God’s kingdom is that the one who serves the most is the greatest.
After coming into God’s kingdom, you must be sanctified and be purged of the worldly tendency to lust and lobby for position and power to control others. Your focus would then be to Christ and be conquered by Him rather than asking Him to do for you whatever you desire. Selfish ambition would be uprooted from your heart, and you would put on the mind of Christ, the Servant-leader, who became extraordinary by humbling Himself to the point of dying on the cross.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Your greatness is measured by the extent to which you are ready to serve selflessly in God’s kingdom.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Kings 14-15
Daily Manna 7 July 2025
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