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THE RULER WHO SERVES
RAY C. STEDMAN
EDITED BY JAMES DENNEY

The Ruler Who Serves @ 2002 by Elaine Stedman
Discovery House Publishers is affiliated with RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49512.
Discovery House books are distributed to the trade exclusively by Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville,

Ohio 44683.
Discovery House Publishers
All rights reserved.
Book Design: Sherri L. Hoffman
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture references are from the New International Version, @ 1973, 1978, 1984

by International Bible Society. Used by permission.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Stedman, Ray C. [Ruler who serves] The ruler who serves: exploring the gospel of Mark / by Ray C.
Stedman. p. cm. Originally published: The ruler who serves. Waco, Tex.: Word Books, cl976. ISBN 1-57293-
085-3 1. Bible. NT. Mark VIII-XVI-Commentaries. I. Title.

Printed in the United States of America

Contents
Foreword by David Roper
Part Two: The Ruler Who Serves
15. The Way of the Cross (Mark 8:34-38)
16. Glory on the Mountaintop (Mark 8:38-9:29)
17. The Child in Our Midst (Mark 9:30-50)
18. What About Divorce? (Mark 10:1-12)
19. The Plight of the Overprivileged (Mark 10:13-31)
20. The Ambitious Heart (Mark 10:32-52)
21. The King Is Coming (Mark 11:1-25)
22. By What Authority? (Mark 11:27-12:27)
23. Top Priority (Mark 12:28-44)
24. Watch! (Mark 13)
25. Love's Extravagance (Mark 14:1-25)
26. Strike the Shepherd (Mark 14:26-52)
27. Jesus and the Priests (Mark 14:53-72)
28. Jesus and the Rulers (Mark 15:1-20)
29. The Awful Penalty (Mark 15:21-47)
30. A Rumor of Hope (Mark 16:1-8)
31. Alive Forever! (Mark 16:9-20)
Notes

Foreword
An author I read many years ago drew a distinction between those who manufacture
servanthood and those who distribute it.

"Manufacturers" derive their motivation to serve from within themselves. They serve because
they pity the needy or because they believe they have a duty to give something back to the world
(noblesse oblige). Some have a compulsive need to be needed; others serve out of guilt and fear.
In any case, "manufacturers" soon find their efforts dreary and empty, and they lose interest; for,
as Ray Stedman continues to remind us, "the flesh [human endeavor] counts for nothing" (John
6:63).

"Distributors," on the other hand, serve out of an intimate connection to Jesus. They sit at His feet, listen to His words, learn from His great heart, respond to Him in prayer, drink in His love, draw on His power, and distribute His compassion to others. That's what keeps Jesus' servants going for the long haul. They give away all that He has given to them, a concept Ray weaves through the warp and woof of these studies.

It was my privilege to gather weekly with staff members at Peninsula Bible Church when Ray
was first thinking his way through the gospel of Mark in preparation for preaching this material,
and then I heard each text taught on subsequent Sundays. More importantly, I saw the texts lived
out in Ray's life, for he was truly a leader who served over the long haul. He was my friend and
teacher for many years, and I sorely miss him. But like Abel, though now in God's presence, he
"still speaks."

David Roper
Boise, Idaho
Fifteen
The Way of the Cross
\u27a4Mark 8:34-38

Some years ago, a Christian businessman and friend of mine, Howard Butt, wrote an article entitled "The Art of Being a Big Shot." One statement he made particularly impressed me as a powerful truth about the Christian life:

It is my pride that makes me independent of God. It's appealing to me to feel that I am
the master of my fate, that I run my own life, call my own shots, go it alone. But, that
feeling is my basic dishonesty. I can't go it alone. I have to get help from other people,
and I can't ultimately rely on myself. I'm dependent on God for my very next breath. It is
dishonest of me to pretend that I'm anything but a man--small, weak, and limited. So,
living independent of God is self-delusion. It is not just a matter of pride being an
unfortunate little trait, and humility being an attractive little virtue; it's my inner
psychological integrity that's at stake. When I am conceited, I am lying to myself about
what I am. I am pretending to be God, and not man. My pride is the idolatrous worship
of myself. And that is the national religion of hell!

That is a profound restatement of what I call the way of the cross. It is an eloquent interpretation of what Jesus means when He says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." To follow the way of the cross means to give up all rights to run our lives, to submit ourselves to His leadership and His lordship.

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