But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.
Jesus is speaking to his twelve disciples after an argument erupted among them about status. Two of them — brothers named James and John — had asked to sit at his right and left hand when he came into his kingdom, and the other ten were furious, likely because they had wanted those spots too. Jesus gathers everyone together and points to the Roman world they all live under. The "Gentiles" were non-Jewish peoples, and Rome was the occupying superpower of the day. His disciples knew firsthand what Roman authority looked like — soldiers on the roads, crushing taxes, and governors with the power of life and death. Jesus doesn't moralize yet; he simply names the pattern everyone already recognized before offering a completely different model in the verses that follow.
God, I don't always see the subtle ways I use power to protect myself or elevate my own position. Open my eyes to those moments — the ones I've dressed up as good leadership. Give me the courage to lead differently, not with control, but with genuine care for the people you've placed around me. Amen.
Rome was everywhere in first-century Israel. Roman soldiers at checkpoints on the road. Taxes due every harvest, collected by neighbors who had sold out. Governors with the power to crucify a man on a slow afternoon. When Jesus said "you know that those who are regarded as rulers lord it over them," every disciple in the circle nodded. They had lived inside that machinery their entire lives. Power, in the world they knew and in the world you inhabit, tends to compress people. It demands. It extracts. It keeps score. You don't need an empire to see this — you've seen it in a meeting room, a family dinner, maybe even a church committee. What is remarkable here isn't just that Jesus names the problem. It's the two words that come next in verse 43: "not so with you." He draws a clear line. His people are meant to be genuinely different — not just individually nicer, but different in how power actually flows in their communities. That is harder than it sounds. The habits of dominance are subtle: talking over people, making unilateral decisions that serve your comfort, holding a quiet grudge when your authority gets questioned. Where in your life might you be using influence to compress people rather than carry them?
What does it mean for a ruler to 'lord it over' people? What does that look like in actual everyday relationships — not just in governments or corporations?
Can you think of a time when someone in authority over you used their power to genuinely lift you up rather than control you? What did that feel like, and why has it stayed with you?
Is it actually possible to lead effectively in the real world without ever relying on the kind of authority Jesus is describing here? Where does the tension between effectiveness and servant leadership feel most difficult for you personally?
How does the way you currently use authority — in your home, your workplace, your friendships — reflect or contradict the contrast Jesus is drawing in this passage?
Think of one specific person who has less power or status than you in some area of your life. What would it look like this week to use your influence deliberately for their benefit rather than your own?
But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
Matthew 20:25
Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
1 Peter 5:3
And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors.
Luke 22:25
And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
Mark 9:35
Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their powerful men exercise authority over them [tyrannizing them].
AMP
And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
ESV
Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, 'You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them.
NASB
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
NIV
But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
NKJV
So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them.
NLT
Jesus got them together to settle things down. "You've observed how godless rulers throw their weight around," he said, "and when people get a little power how quickly it goes to their heads.
MSG