Mark 10:42-45
“Jesus called them to himself, and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you, but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant. Whoever of you wants to become first among you, shall be bondservant of all. For the Son of Man also came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.””
This passage is from the Gospel of Mark, written in the mid-first century CE, likely for a Roman Christian audience. Jesus is speaking to his disciples, responding to their arguments about who among them is greatest, and contrasting their understanding of leadership with the power structures they observed in the Roman world.
How does Jesus's redefinition of leadership challenge or affirm the ways we understand power and success today?