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[0:00] This is the First Mustang Pulpit Podcast, a podcast of the weekly preaching and teaching at First Mustang.! Thank you for joining us. So you could go back and pick that up and catch up, but just start today. Pick up on day 21 and join with us from this day forward.

[0:19] I would love to encourage you to do that. We still have some of the handouts, so you can know the exact Bible reading plan at our ministry connection. The Bible reading plan is also online on our church's webpage at fbcmustang.org.

[0:35] You can go on there and print that out, and I would love for you to be able to follow along with us. I'm doing every day, each day of the reading, about 12 to 15, 17 minutes of a daily teaching video that goes through what we're covering.

[0:53] And that is on my—I do that on my own personal Facebook page each morning. So if you'd like to follow along with us, you can do that. I try to give some observations and some applications from the reading every day, and then just a brief summary from what we've read.

[1:09] And the intent of that is just to help us to make sure together, as we're reading, that we're also seeking to understand and apply God's Word.

[1:21] I don't want us to ever just be reading for the sake of checking off that daily reading box. I want to make sure that we're understanding, comprehending, and living it out. So if that would be an encouragement to you, you can watch those videos each day.

[1:37] I leave them on my Facebook page. You can watch them anytime. They're also now in podcast form that you can listen to anytime. You can go to anywhere that you get your podcast and just look at FEC Mustang through the Bible.

[1:52] And they're on there. They're on our church webpage. We've got a podcast tab. And you can go on the podcast tab and just look at Through the Bible. And those daily teaching videos or the audio are on there.

[2:07] So I encourage you, if you would like to join us with that, it's not too late. And if you think, I wish I'd have known that or I wish I'd have done that or I wish I wouldn't have already got behind, just jump in today. Jump in day 21.

[2:18] Tomorrow, we start a brand new book anyway in our read-through. So just jump in with us. Be a part of it. And I would love to encourage you to do that.

[2:31] Anyone who is a pastor at a church will tell you that their least favorite part of their job is trying to be a quasi-meteorologist.

[2:43] It is the worst thing. And if you know me at all, you know that one of my really, really major pet peeves is canceling something on Sunday.

[2:56] It goes against everything within me. We had to cancel growth classes last week. It was snowing during our second service. I didn't know. I was in here saying, we're planning to meet tonight. We'll let you know.

[3:06] What I don't know is it's snowing while we were doing that in the second service. But what I've just been informed is that the National Weather Service has moved up freezing rain to the metro.

[3:19] It's supposed to start at 4 o'clock. Now, don't hold me to that. I'm not a prophet. But that's what I've just been informed, that they're saying in this area up to 4 o'clock. Our growth classes are 5 to 6.

[3:31] And so, if that freezing rain comes in around that time at all, then our parking lot and sidewalks, entrances would not have a chance to have been treated and could be unsafe.

[3:43] So, we are not going to meet with our growth classes tonight. So, our four-week growth classes are becoming two-week growth classes. So, growth may be stretching it.

[3:54] It's just going to be, you know, kind of learn a little something. So, maybe next week we'll do our growth classes from 5 to midnight and get caught up. I don't know. I don't know.

[4:05] But the last thing I want to be worrying about is weather stuff on Sunday morning. But that's just, that's kind of the nature of it. So, we're not going to meet tonight.

[4:17] And if the weather ends up holding off and comes in late, then stay home and get caught up in your Bible reading plan. Okay. With that being said, let's go to Mark chapter 10.

[4:31] Mark chapter 10. We took a few weeks off with the holidays to study some different things. Otherwise, our church has been in the gospel of Mark for a while as we just walk verse by verse through this.

[4:47] And we've come here to the latter part of chapter 10. And we are now just a couple of days before what's known as the Passion Week.

[4:58] Passion, Latin word meaning suffering. So, it's the week of the suffering of Christ leading up to His crucifixion. Three times the Lord has predicted His crucifixion.

[5:14] So, chronologically, we're just a couple of days before the triumphal entry. And about a year before that time, in Mark chapter 8, it records for us that He began to teach them, The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed.

[5:38] And after three days, rise again. It's about a year before the crucifixion. Six months later, crucifixion happens in April.

[5:51] So, around November before the crucifixion, He says that again. Chapter 9, verse 30. He was teaching His disciples, saying to them, The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him.

[6:08] And when He is killed, after three days, He will rise. So, around April, the year before He dies, He is prophesying about His death and resurrection.

[6:25] Around November, before He's crucified in April, He will be prophesying of His death and resurrection. And then, as we just studied recently in chapter 10, He does it again.

[6:38] This is the third time that He has done this, that Mark records for us in chapter 33. He says, See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him over to the Gentiles.

[6:54] And they will mock Him and spit on Him and flog Him and kill Him. And after three days, He will rise. So, as we go through Mark's gospel, He very intentionally, purposefully helps you to understand that this is a theme in the life of Jesus as He teaches His disciples.

[7:16] Mark 8, Mark 9, Mark 10. A year before the crucifixion, six months before the crucifixion, and just a few days before the crucifixion, Jesus teaches His disciples what's going to happen.

[7:31] Now, the disciples respond to His third prophecy of His crucifixion. Very interesting way, in verse 35, we looked at this last Sunday morning, James and John, along with their mother, come up to Jesus and say, Will you do for us whatever we ask?

[7:54] And Jesus says, What do you want me to do for you? And they say, Hey, will you make sure when you come in your kingdom that we get to sit on your right hand and your left hand? It's a very strange response to Jesus talking about laying down His life for us.

[8:12] Hey, can I be first? Can you make sure you take care of me when the kingdom begins? And Jesus goes through that conversation and teaches them that to be great in the kingdom is not something you request.

[8:33] That greatness in the kingdom is to live your life as a servant and as a slave. Verse 43 that we looked at last Sunday, Whoever would be great among you must be your servant.

[8:50] From Diakonos, a word we get our word for being a deacon. It means to be a table waiter. If you want to be great in the kingdom, be a servant.

[9:01] Don't worry about fame. Don't worry about recognition. Don't worry about trying to take care of yourself as James and John were doing.

[9:15] Just serve people. Meet needs. Normal, non-heroic, routine acts of service.

[9:29] Be a spiritual table waiter. Be a servant. Be a slave. Doulos, he says in verse 44, Whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.

[9:46] If you're looking for greatness, it's not recognition and it's not prestige. It's being a servant and a slave of all.

[9:56] And at the very end of that conversation that we looked at last Sunday, I purposefully ended in verse 44. The paragraph ends in verse 45, but I purposefully wanted to say verse 45 for its own day today.

[10:16] So we're going to look at just verse 45. And something significant happens in verse 45. Three times, as I've already mentioned to you, the Lord prophesies he's going to be crucified.

[10:30] He's going to lay down his life. Mark 8, Mark 9, Mark 10, all make that point for us. That's what Jesus is going to do. He's going to lay down his life for us.

[10:42] And when you come to verse 45, what you really have is the entire book of Mark summed up in one sentence.

[10:56] In fact, we could go further than that. You really have the entire New Testament summed up in one sentence. You could go even further and say it, and it's no exaggeration to say, the entire Bible, 66 books, all of it, summed up in Mark 10, verse 45.

[11:27] And what happens in verse 45 is Jesus clarifies not only what he is about to do, but why he's doing it.

[11:41] This is the first time in Mark that he's given the full reason behind these events. He's told them he's going to be handed over. He's told them he's going to be delivered over.

[11:52] He's told them he's going to die. He's told them he's going to be spit upon. He's told them he's going to be cursed and hated. He's told them he's going to die. He's told them he's going to come back to life.

[12:04] But Mark now, very clearly, very succinctly, is going to tell us not just what is happening, but clearly and succinctly why it's happening.

[12:20] Look at this verse with me, Mark 10, 45. For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve.

[12:34] Here's the purpose. And to give His life as a ransom for many. The cross is by no means simply a prophecy of Jesus saying, they're finally going to get me.

[13:00] They're finally going to catch me. They're finally going to do to me what they've been wanting to do to me. That's not what's happening on the cross. You'll recall there's been several times where the people have wanted to kill Jesus.

[13:16] The Gospels tell us that at certain points in His life that they wanted to destroy Him. The Gospels tell us at one point they're trying to get Jesus and throw Him over the edge of a cliff.

[13:31] They are plotting and planning and scheming to get Him. They don't simply want to arrest Him. They don't want to silence Him.

[13:42] They want to kill Him. And Jesus has prophetically said three times in the Gospel of Mark that this is going to happen.

[13:52] These things are going to take place. They are going to put me to death. But it's not because the people finally won. It's not because Jesus could no longer avoid it.

[14:06] And it's not because He's going to be tricked or overpowered. It is because He is laying His life down as a ransom.

[14:22] This is the second part of the bookend that began in Genesis 3.

[14:34] When it says in Genesis 3 verse 15 that the Lord is going to send one to crush the serpent's head.

[14:46] Genesis 3 verse 15 known as the Proto-Ewangelium. First Gospel. First prophetic mention of Christ. The first prophetic mention of the Father sending one who would destroy the work of the devil.

[15:03] And in Mark 10 45 it gives us the clarity of who that is, how it's happening, and why it's happening. He is laying down His life as a ransom.

[15:17] So let's look at verse 45 before we come to the Lord's table this morning. First, let me show you a statement of His person.

[15:30] A statement of His person. Who He is. Verse 45. He says, For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.

[15:42] His person. He's the Son of Man. We know this is Jesus' preferred way to refer to Himself. And it may help us.

[15:52] We can just stay in the Gospel of Mark for a moment. And let's just take a quick look at how He's used that name. Go to chapter 2 verse 10. I'll just show you here in the Gospel of Mark how the Lord uses this name of Himself.

[16:16] He heals the man and the people question Him in verse 9. He says, What He's teaching is that the Son of Man is able not only to heal bodies, but to forgive sin.

[16:51] So Jesus heals this man and He says, Your sins are forgiven. Take up your bed and walk. And the religious leaders are troubled by that.

[17:02] And Jesus asks the question, Which is easier? Is it easier to say, Your sins are forgiven? Or is it easier to say, Take up your bed and walk? And His point in asking that question is, That in one way, It's easy to say, Your sins are forgiven.

[17:21] Because how can you know? But if I say, I command you, Take up your bed and walk, Because I've healed you. If that man cannot take up his bed and walk, Then you would know right away, That the man speaking is a fraud.

[17:38] And so Jesus says, It may be easier to say, Your sins are forgiven, Because you can't see someone's heart. But if I say, Take up your bed and walk, You have a way to check and to know right away, Am I who I say I am or am I not?

[17:55] And the reason why I say, Take up your bed and walk, Is so you know that I can do what only God can do. So when I say, Your sins are forgiven, You have a reason to believe me.

[18:08] So Jesus makes clear, The son of man is able to forgive sin. And make no mistake about it, His opponents got it.

[18:20] Because they will charge him with blasphemy. They understood clearly, Jesus was making himself to be God.

[18:32] God, The son of man, The son of man, The son of man, Is able to heal bodies, But more importantly, The son of man, Is able to forgive sin.

[18:44] Go to chapter 8. Chapter 8, Verse 36, Jesus says, What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

[19:02] For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words, In this adulterous and sinful generation, Of him will the son of man also be ashamed, Speaking of himself, When he comes in the glory of his father with the holy angels.

[19:25] So the son of man in Mark 2 can forgive sin. Son of man in Mark 8 returns to judge the wicked. When you think of the person of Jesus Christ, In Mark 10, 45, The verse we're looking at, He calls himself son of man.

[19:43] And I just want you to know, And have in your mind, What his disciples would have in their mind, When they hear him say, I'm the son of man. He's the one who can forgive sin.

[19:53] He's the one that returns to judge the wicked. Turn to Mark 13. Turn to Mark 13. Mark 13 verse 24.

[20:12] But in those days, After that tribulation, The sun will be darkened, And the moon will not give its light. And the stars will be falling from heaven, And the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

[20:23] And then they will see the son of man Coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out his angels, And gather his elect from the four winds, From the ends of the earth, To the ends of the heaven.

[20:40] The son of man is coming to receive his own. So just in the gospel of Mark, We see clearly that when Jesus says son of man, He's saying, I forgive sin.

[20:54] I return to judge. I am returning to gather my own. I'll show you just one more. Go to chapter 14. Let's look at verse 60.

[21:12] And the high priest stood up in the midst And asked Jesus, Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you? But he remained silent and made no answer.

[21:24] Again, the high priest asked him, Are you the Christ, The son of the blessed? And Jesus said, I am. And you will see the son of man seated at the right hand of power, And coming with the clouds of heaven.

[21:43] Now watch this. And the high priest tore his garments and said, What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy.

[21:58] Why? Because they understood That when Jesus said, I am the son of man, He is saying, I am God.

[22:10] The opponents of Jesus understood it perfectly. To say you're the son of man is to say, That you claim to forgive sin, That you claim to return to judge the wicked, That you claim to return and gather the elect for yourself, And that you are the one seated in heaven.

[22:34] To say, I'm the son of man, Is to say, You are God. Now where did that all come from? And just make a note, It comes from Daniel 7, Verses 9 to 13, Is where that phrase son of man comes from.

[22:54] In Mark 14, That I just read for you, He's quoting from Daniel 7. So Jesus says, That the Old Testament spoke of the son of man, Coming in power, And coming in glory, I am the one that Daniel spoke of.

[23:16] As the son of man, I have the authority to forgive sin. As the son of man, I am coming to judge the wicked. As the son of man, I am coming to gather my elect from the ends of the earth.

[23:27] As the son of man, I am the one seated in glory. And his opponents understood it. They refused to believe that it was true. But they understood, That to claim to be the son of man, Is to claim to be God.

[23:40] When Jesus says to his disciples in Mark 10, 45, Even the son of man, Came not to be served, But to serve. He was saying, I am God.

[23:53] Truly man, Truly God. That's a statement of his person. Second, Verse 45 shows us a statement of his priority.

[24:09] A statement of his priority. For even the son of man, Here's his priority, Came not to be served, But to serve.

[24:20] In verse 45, When he says he came to serve, It's the verb form of our word for deacon. We saw that word in verse 43 and 44.

[24:35] It's just the verb form of it. So, In just a few minutes, When we take the Lord's Supper, You will see the deacons of our church, Serving the elements. These men are our deacons.

[24:49] It's a noun. But they are, To use the language as it is in verse 45, They're deaconing. Make it a verb form. That's what they do in verse 45.

[25:01] They're deaconing. They're serving. And that's what deacons in the church are to be. It's a noun. It's a verb. It's a group of men, yes, But it's more about the work they're doing, The service they're providing.

[25:19] And Jesus says, Even the Son of Man came not to be served, But to serve. So please hear what Jesus is saying.

[25:34] If you think serving others is beneath you, You need to look to Jesus. Because there's a reason Jesus uses this exact sentence structure.

[25:53] Even the Son of Man came to serve. Who's the Son of Man? The one who forgives sins, The one who judges the wicked, The one who gathers his elect, The one who sits in glory.

[26:06] Those are the four elements from Mark I've already shown you. Even the Son of Man Came to serve. So how could we ever say That we're above serving others?

[26:27] Even the Son of Man had his priority to come And to serve. Do you understand the argument Jesus is making? Now, context is key. Jesus says this As a response to what?

[26:44] To James and John saying, Can we be first and second place in the kingdom? And Jesus says, If you want to be great, Don't request it. Just start serving.

[26:57] And before they can even say, Us serve, But we're the apostles, Jesus says, Understand, Even the Son of Man Came to serve.

[27:12] If Jesus' priority was serving others, Certainly, None of us Are above that either.

[27:26] We should be servants. In our homes, Servants. In our church, Servants.

[27:40] In our schools, Servants. Servants. And there's that part of your flesh that says, But shouldn't people be serving me?

[27:53] I'm the boss. Shouldn't people be serving me? Look how much older I am than them. Shouldn't people be serving me? Do you know how long I've been a member of this church?

[28:05] Shouldn't people be serving me? Don't you know how many degrees I have? Shouldn't people be serving me? Don't you know that I pay the bills around here? Whatever our mentality may be, Jesus is calling us back over and over and over.

[28:21] Even the Son of Man came to serve. So James and John, Stop looking for glory And start serving others.

[28:31] That's a statement of his priority. Now there's something that's interesting to me of how Jesus says this.

[28:43] In verse 43, He says you've got to be a servant. In verse 44, You need to be a slave of all. Now Jesus in verse 45 says, If you want an illustration of what that looks like, Just look at who?

[29:00] Himself. Apostles, You ought to be a servant. And they say, Well what would a servant look like?

[29:14] Jesus says, Emulate me. For even the Son of Man Came not to be served, But to serve.

[29:28] In other words, He says, Follow my footsteps. It's very important That we understand That in the kingdom, Leadership is about love And leadership is about service.

[29:48] Let me just give you one application of this. We could look at several. Let's give you one. Ephesians 5, Verses 22 to 25, Speaking to wives and husbands.

[30:02] Wives, Submit to your own husbands As to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, Even as Christ is the head of the church, His body, And is Himself its Savior. Now, As the church submits to Christ, So also wives should submit And everything to their husbands.

[30:20] Husbands, Love your wives As Christ loved the church And gave Himself up for her.

[30:30] So, In the family, Husbands, Lead your families. Husbands, Be the chief servant in your families.

[30:43] Be the spiritual leaders. Be the spiritual protectors. Husbands, Spend time with your wife. Love your wife.

[30:54] Serve your wife. If you've got children, Husbands, Be with your children. Teach them. Train them. Don't hand that off to somebody else.

[31:06] As a church, We want to do our part to teach, But we're not a substitute for godly parents. We don't ever want to be a substitute For godly parents. Mom and dad Are the primary teachers in the home.

[31:17] The father is to be the primary leader in the home. So, Husbands, Fathers, Lead your families well. And if you wonder, Well, What would it mean to lead my family?

[31:29] What would that look like? It tells you, Love your wives As Christ loved the church And gave Himself up for her. Be a servant in your home.

[31:44] Jesus said, Even the Son of Man Didn't come to be served, But to serve. Husbands, Don't walk in your house after work Waiting for everyone in your family To come serve you.

[32:03] Be a servant. You said, I thought I got to be the leader. You do. The lead servant. That's the point Jesus is making.

[32:16] That's what leadership is. It's laying down your life For the good of somebody else. Husbands, Love your wife like Christ loved the church.

[32:33] Not demanding your own way, But loving, Serving, Sacrificing. As Jesus did.

[32:45] A statement of His person Is He's the Son of Man. The one who heals. The one who forgives sin. The one who judges. The one who gathers His people.

[32:57] The one who reigns in glory. A statement of His priority Is that He came to serve. And then third, A statement of His purpose. A statement of His purpose.

[33:11] He came to give His life As a ransom for many. Jesus, why did you come to earth? Here's the answer.

[33:24] To give His life as a ransom. Jesus, why did you need an incarnation? Why did the Son of God Need to take on flesh?

[33:38] To give His life as a ransom. Jesus took on flesh So that He could die for us. And you say, Well, is the cross Just an example of His enemies scheming and plotting Finally catching up to Him?

[33:58] No. John 10 makes this crystal clear. Verse 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. His life was laid down.

[34:11] Verse 17 For this reason the Father loves me Because I lay down my life That I may take it up again. No one takes it from me But I lay it down of my own accord.

[34:22] I have authority to lay it down And I have authority to take it up again. His purpose Was to lay down His life.

[34:37] Jesus on the cross is not a victim. He's victorious. He's not overpowered.

[34:49] He's overpowering. He is accomplishing the purpose For which He came.

[35:01] He came. Here's His purpose. To give His life as a ransom For many. What's a ransom?

[35:13] Well, In short, Ransom means to pay a price To release someone to freedom. That word was used of soldiers Who were captured in battle.

[35:27] And the country that you represented Would pay a ransom To give your freedom back to you From the enemy. The word ransom is used To describe slaves Who were bought out of slavery And released to their freedom.

[35:43] It was used in Exodus 21 For the price a family would pay To keep someone from being put to death. I'll summarize it this way In the Old Testament law.

[35:54] If you had an ox And that ox got loose And it killed somebody. The law said The ox is put to death But you as the owner of that ox You're not put to death.

[36:08] However, If this has happened before And it keeps happening And you've been warned about it And you keep letting your ox go free And the ox is never put to death Then you can be put to death.

[36:24] Or your family can pay a ransom. They can pay a price To spare you from death And give you life.

[36:38] That's the word Jesus used. The son of man came To give his life As a ransom.

[36:54] The price To pay for your sin. James and John Will you do whatever we want you to do for us?

[37:08] And Jesus says Let me just tell you You better stop thinking About earthly things And you better set your mind on eternity.

[37:26] And James and John And their mother Filled with pride In their request Jesus says Jesus says Your sin of pride Today Must be paid for.

[37:42] Here's the good news. One week from this occasion Jesus will hang On the cross As a payment For their sin And for yours.

[37:54] His purpose Was to give up his life So church Let's be servants In your home In our church In your business In your community In your schools Let's be servants Because when we're servants We reflect The one That we worship And when you think Of the cross Think of this Jesus Is willingly Laying down his life To pay the price For your soul And to purchase Your freedom He is worthy Of all of our worship And of all of our praise As we prepare

[38:56]  To take the Lord's Supper Can I ask you Just to bow your head And close your eyes To take the Lord's Supper