“Living Among the Giants”
TOPIC:“Jesus' Restless Spirit”
by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap
TEXT:Mark 10:45
“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.”
During His life Jesus was known as the Miracle-Worker. He was always performing astonishing miracles everywhere He went. He was always moving, always doing, always helping. Notice the urgency of His service when He stated: “I must work the work of Him that sent me while it is day; the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4). Jesus knew that the opportunity to do work was limited. The words “the night cometh” refer to His death and emphasizes the urgency of not waiting to do His work. It had to be done now - Jesus could not wait. Again Jesus proclaimed: “I must be about my Father's business” (Luke 2:49).
As we come to our text we realize that Mark is the Gospel of action when it comes to Christ. It is a book of deeds more than words. That is why it is the shortest of the four Gospels. The words “straightway” and “immediately” occur over forty times while we read words such as these in the book: “He called.” “He left.” “He came.” “He healed.” “He arose.” “He went out.” Action! Action! Action!
Jesus wanted to be helpful so He got involved with the needs and problems of people. So it was always the next town, the next place. He had a divine restlessness to finish His mission. It was a holy imperative. “Let us keep going, always doing,” was the thing that characterized His life. In the moments before us today I want us to take a close look at the words found in our text as we think together on the restless spirit of Jesus.
I.
First of all, think of what I am going to call the restlessness of SERVICE. Recall the words of verse 45: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served.” Then why did He come? The answer is given: “to serve.” Or as The Living Bible has it: “to help others.” The greatest Man this world has ever known came to serve. That goes right against the thinking of modern man which is what can you do for me. It is the “me first” philosophy of life.
We ought to get this down in our thinking: Christ had no ambition for Himself. His one ambition in . . .