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READ: Mark 15:16-20
LISTEN: Mark 15

And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. Mark 15:20

Jesus’s trials and crucifixion reveal the path to greatness comes through serving and sacrifice. Mark repeatedly highlights this theme. Jesus says, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). The apostle Paul teaches the same in his letter to the church in Philippi: “And being found in appearance as a man, he [Jesus] humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8). It pleased God to exalt the humiliated one. He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

We are to have the same attitude as Jesus, even when he was obedient to death on a humiliating Roman cross. However, we should avoid focusing only on what Jesus has done for us. While recognizing what Jesus did and thanking God for it is necessary and right, if this is all we do, we can miss what we are to do for him and others. Part of our response to God’s love is to serve, sacrifice and even suffer. Our path to greatness is to be the same as how Jesus lived and died, in humility and servanthood.

TODAY: Complete transformation doesn’t often happen overnight. Identify one area where you need to recognize Jesus’s authority and yield to him today. It might be in your finances, your marriage, with your parents, your work-life balance or serving in the church. Make a specific commitment to follow Jesus’s example of humble service in that area. Yielding in one area often leads to growth in others as we follow Jesus’s path of servanthood.