It is important that we have a Biblical definition of the word servant, or “duolos” in the Greek in Mark 10:45: “One who gives himself up to another’s will; someone devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interests.” A doulos then describes a person whose life is consecrated to Jesus Christ and then used by Christ in extending and advancing His cause among men.
It is interesting that in this section where the question is asked and then answered about greatness in the Kingdom, Jesus does not discourage the desire to be great; rather, He defines it.
So, in His teaching about greatness, we are really being taught a lesson on the nature of Jesus because He is, and always will be, the greatest in the Kingdom of God. In the Kingdom of God, the “power pyramid” of the world is inverted. The order is reversed. In the Kingdom of God, authority is on the bottom. In the kingdom of God, the greater the authority, the more feet to wash and the larger the towel.
So vital is this servant attitude, or the mind of Christ (Phil 2:3-8), that our lives will be borderline boring until we come to the place where we choose to imitate our Master and be the servant of all.
