The Desire to Lead
Introduction
1. Question. Many years ago, one of my sons asked me, “Dad, is it right to want to be the greatest preacher in the world?” As I recall, I did not have a very good answer at the time. He had asked a very profound question, one which still challenges me to think very deeply. To some degree, I believe we are all challenged by this question.
2. The Story. As you know, we are using the story in Mt. 20:20-28 as the basis for this series. The story raises many leadership issues. We will read the entire story again, but we will focus our attention in this lesson on verses 20-21. In these two verses the issue of the desire to lead arises. 
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Him with her sons, bowing down, and making a request of Him.
21 And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left.”
22 But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to Him, “We are able.”
23 He said to them, “My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”
24 And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers.
25 But Jesus called them to Himself, and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.
26 It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,
27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave;
28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (NAS)
3. Mixed Feelings. Our feelings about whether or not we should want to be leaders are very mixed. Although most of our Bible schools are built with leadership training in mind, we sometimes make students feel guilty when they want to lead.
When I have asked students whether or not they want to be leaders, I have received mixed replies. Some will reply, “yes” or “no” without any qualifying comments. Their answers depend, I am sure, on what they have in mind by the word leader. A few will give a qualified answer which brings into focus how the word leader is being defined. If I were to suggest that a qualified answer would suffice, I believe most would give such a response. What I mean by leader in my question is important to their replies.
4. Preview. Several points attract our attention as we consider the desire to lead. We will discuss
- The desired positions.
- The reply of Jesus.
- Our evaluation of the desire to lead.
- The results of leadership through service. All these points will help us with our feelings about wanting to lead.
The Desired Positions
1. Salome’s Request. The mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with a request. The mother of James and John is generally thought to be Salome (Mt. 27:55-56; Mk 15:40; 16; Jn. 19:25). Whether Salome or Mary, the wife of Clopas, was the sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is sometimes debated. Whatever conclusion is reached about this, Salome’s request was, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left” (verse 21). Mothers will do things like this!
2. Old Testament. We can draw upon the Old Testament to understand Salome’s request. A couple of illustrations will suffice.
- Bathsheba. Adonijah, the brother of Solomon, went to Bathsheba and persuaded her to ask Solomon to give him Abishag The Shunammite as a wife. When Bathsheba went to her son Solomon , the king arose to meet here, bowed before her, and sat on his throne (I Kings 2:19) . Then, he had a throne set for her, and she sat on his right. Sitting at the king’s right was clearly a place of high honor.
At this point Bathsheba made her request. Although she was sitting in a place of honor, her request was not granted. Solomon correctly assessed the situation, blamed Adonijah for the request, and had him executed. He told his mother that she might as well have asked him to give the kingdom to Adonijah.
b. Ezra. Ezra the scribe was called upon to read the law of Moses to the people (Nehemiah 8:1-4). They had gathered at the square which was in front of the Water Gate. Ezra stood at a wooden podium which was made for this purpose. He was accompanied, on each side, by a group of men. These assistants stood at his right hand and at his left. The presence of these men at his right hand and left hand suggests honor, delegated power, and responsibility.
Being at the right and left hand of a leader in Old Testament times suggested honor, power, and position. This was not only a common meaning in the Old Testament, but it has been in many cultures throughout history. In a royal court both the right hand and the left hand are places of honor. The left hand is only slightly less glorious than the right.
3. Salome’s Motive. Salome may have understood that her sons would be called upon to serve others, but she wanted them to have positions of honor, power, and fame. The common meaning of right hand and left hand, the indignation of the disciples, and the reply by Jesus all suggest this. She wanted her sons to be prominent in the kingdom.
With regard to Salome’s request, Lenski writes, “Despite all its fault, Salome’s request contains something worth noting. All about us men seek the world’s honor and high places, here are three persons who put the kingdom and glory of Christ above everything else. The wish of Salome, duly purified, has be seconded by many a mother who prayed for her son that he might serve Christ is some high work in his church” (pp. 786-87).
Matthew tells us that the mother of the mother of James and John came with them to Jesus to make the request to sit on the right hand and the left hand of Jesus. According to Mark 10:35, it was James and John themselves who made this request. Clearly, all three were in agreement. Apparently, all three had a part in presenting the request.
The Reply of Jesus
Jesus did not condemn Salome, James, or John for their desire to lead. Rather, he responded by showing them the cost of true leadership and by defining leadership for them.
1. Price. Jesus confronted the disciples with the price of leadership. He asked, “Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” On this 
point Lenski cites Luther and Augustine. According to Luther, the ambition of these disciples springs from faith and needs only to be purified and as Augustine said, “They sought the exaltation but did not see the step” (Lenski 787). The “step” usually shortens the line of “would be” leaders. Real leadership, as Jesus would define it, usually has a high cost.
2. Definition. Jesus defined greatness. A good definition says what a thing is and what it is not. Jesus said what true greatness is not. It does not make power the sine qua non (without which not). People can be great without being in positions of power. Jesus also said what the essence of true greatness is. Without service, greatness wouldn’t be possible. Those who would be great must be the servant of all. Without this they are not great.
3. Will. Jesus recognizes without condemnation that some have the will to be great. When people have the desire and determination to be great in service, much good can be done. We must remember, however, that servant is itself a position with its own greatness. Other positions may come to the servant, but he must be willing to serve without them.
4. Paradox. The reply of Jesus is paradoxical. True leadership puts service before power and honor. By putting service first, one can become a true leader. By putting power and honor first, one loses true leadership.
Jesus does not condemn the desire to lead. He redirects that desire from position and power to service. However, the desire itself, when kept in its proper place, is not condemned. Jesus captures this motivational force, puts it in proper perspective, redirects it, and uses it for very productive purposes. This gives us a wholesome approach toward the desire to lead.
Evaluation
1. Right. The desire to lead can be right. Paul wrote in I Tim. 3:1, “To aspire to leadership is an honourable ambition” (NEB). The NAS version says, “It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.”
- Service. Here, Paul clearly approves of the desire to lead. He sees the office of overseer as an opportunity for someone to serve. Thus, he does not put down the desire for this office. Instead he puts his blessing on it.
Whether or not we approve of the desire to lead depends to some degree on our culture and values. Please observe the following categories. In our culture we would consider the desire to be a pastor as good and admirable, but we are more ambivalent about the desire to be a presbyter or superintendent. Even though the desire might be considered honorable, few would admit to having it. Some motives are not considered the best, such as wanting a luxury car, but we are willing to admit it. Other motives, such as personal aggrandizement, are considered bad, and we do not readily admit them.
b. Desire. To desire to lead through service is both honorable and important. We should not be ambivalent about this. Some people have become leaders when initially they did not want to lead. However, as they acquiesce to the will of God, the desire to some extent is born. Others begin with a greater desire to lead.
c. Oswald Sanders illustrates from the life of William E. Sangster. In a private manuscript found after his death, Sangster wrote:
“This is the will of God for me. I did not choose it. I sought to escape it. But it has come. Something else has come too. A sense of certainty that God does not want me only for a preacher. He wants me also for a leader–a leader in Methodism. I feel a commissioning to work under God for the revival of this branch of His Church–careless of my own reputation; indifferent to the comments of older and jealous men. I am thirty-six. If I am to serve God in this way, I must no longer shrink from the task–but do it” (109).
Ross et al. discuss their opinions on a leader:
“The leader who has no desire to be the leader is often a person who is ambivalent, if not disinterested, in his leadership role. It has been suggested that persons with insistent needs for dominance, power, and prestige may be expected to have higher potentialities for leadership. This may be, but certainly it can be said that only those with some desire for leadership will be sufficiently motivated to undertake the responsibilities implicit in leadership and thus satisfy the needs of their followers, who, as we will see, desire as leader someone with initiative, a sense of responsibility, and willingness to serve the group interests.” (pp. 54-55)
2. Wrong. The desire to lead can, obviously, be wrong. We must guard against this at all costs. Let’s take a closer look at this now.
- Extremes. Let’s take a look at verses 26-27. The English word great, in verse 26, is a translation of the Greek word megas. The great ones are the megaloi. Sometimes we combine megas with mania which means madness. Thus, megalomania is a disordered mental condition in which a patient has grandiose delusions of grandeur. An extreme desire for greatness can lead to disorder. In verse 27, Jesus used the word protos which means “first.” We could, therefore, coin the word protomania meaning an extreme desire to be first. This, too, can be a great functional disorder.
b. Symptoms. We can recognize the symptoms of these overemphasis in the lives of some “would be leaders.” Very often, they emphasize expediency over principle. For them the end justifies the means. We often see great selfishness and the raw exercise of power in reaching various objectives. Generally, such people disdain others and will step on others to get to the top.
Such people existed in New Testament times as well as ours. John stated, “I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say” (III John, verse 9). As the KJV says, Diotrephes loved to have the “preeminence.” Clearly, John was unhappy with his attitude.
3. The Mix. As believers, we can consider as dead the motives which are by nature wrong. Also, we can subdue motives that have become wrong because we have allowed them to become predominant. The Holy Spirit will help us do these things.
Even so, our motives, at best, are somewhat mixed. We often speak as though we can be solely, and purely, motivated by love and service. Thank God, with the help of the Holy Spirit, these motives can dominate our lives. However, we usually also are motivated to some extent by what we might call “enlightened self-interest.” Kept in proper perspective, this is not wrong. Jesus brings up the law in Lev. 19:18 in Matthew by stating, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).
With regard to leadership, one must provide service. As long as men desire to serve, and keep other legitimate motives secondary, they remain Christian. Other motives can be captured, disciplined, and put to use for the glory of God.
4. Application. Especially in Christian leadership, but also in other contexts, the pathway to leadership is paradoxical. We see this in Peter’s advice to the saints concerning humility and exaltation (I Peter 5:5-6).
5 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility to one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.
Humility may or may not lead to a position in the kingdom, but God will certainly reward us at the right time and in the right way. A sure way to be ruled out of Christian leadership, however, is to approach it through pride and self-exaltation. Peter wisely advises us to be humble.
Results of Leadership Through Service
Salome wanted her two sons to have places of prominence in the kingdom. Jesus encouraged them, and the other disciples, to lead through service. When we follow this path, what will be the results for us?
1. Unachieved Position. The man who wants to lead through service will have ample opportunity to serve. He will be able, no doubt, to meet many needs and help others. This does not mean, however, that he will have a place of prominence, position, and power in this life. He may well serve all his life without temporal public honor. We know, of course, that God will appropriately honor him, whether in this life or the life to come.
2. Unrecognized Service. Sometimes, a person renders great service without any recognition. Even the service itself goes unnoticed. When a person continues to serve under such circumstances, his true greatness is only enhanced. Sooner or later, most of us are tested on this very point. Once again, we can take comfort that a just and loving God will reward us appropriately.
3. Honored Service. Many times people are honored for their service. The service itself is recognized. Moreover, those who serve sometimes come into places of honor and power. Thus, they become great in both the eyes of God and men. Such people, however, will lose the approval of God unless they continue to lead through service. Without service, leadership would not be possible.
Conclusion
We began with a question asked by one of my sons, “Dad, is it right to want to be the greatest preacher in the world?” If one of your sons asked you this question, how would you answer? At this point I would say, “Yes, providing you lead through service and put service ahead of all other motives.” Then, whether you are recognized or not, you will not be disappointed.
The times, human conditions, and the commands of Christ all demand that we lead. We cannot accomplish all that we must do without leaders and leadership. We must not be ambivalent about this. Rather, we need to properly define leadership, commit ourselves to paying the price, and take up the task of leading through service. May God give us many leaders!