Diakonos and Doulos as Concepts of True Discipleship in Mark 10.43–44

Abstract

In Mark, the life of the disciple is presented as being essentially continuous with that of Jesus. A disciple is one who is able to become a diakonos and a doulos, which come with following Jesus. However, the disciples of Jesus in general and James and John in particular demonstrated a misunderstanding of discipleship when they made a request for seats of honor in Mk 10.35–42. This article demonstrates through a social scientific reading of Mk 10.43–44 that Jesus’ teaching on diakonos and doulos is a call to true discipleship. This shall be achieved by studying the literature review on Mk 10.35–45 as a point of departure. The meaning of the words diakonos and doulos in Mk 10.43–44 shall be explained as part of exegesis on the text. The purpose is to demonstrate that Jesus’ response to discipleship misconceptions is a call to true discipleship.