172 GEERT VAN OYEN Once more, the only thing Jesus demands is service. It is “power as service ” and nothing else 33. These words of Jesus are not easy to accept, and demand more explanation 34. The explanation follows in the subsequent monologue in which Jesus teaches the disciples about the meaning of power (10,41-45). In his teaching, Jesus shifts the theme from heaven back to the earthly reality 35. These instructions for the disciples function as a kind of “community rule” 36. The rule is given to the Twelve (ten plus two) and contains a criterion for insiders of the community (triple emphasis on en ym˜n). The human relationships within the ß Ωı community must be different compared to the ones of those “among the Gentiles” who rule the world. Note the ironic nuances in the formulation of v. 42 (oı dokoyntev arxein), which draws attention ˜ ¶ Ω to the fact that the rulers themselves think they rule 37. This is not a neutral description of their hierarchical position but an ironical statement. They might have the power, but they only seem to control the world. And Vouga adds a second form of critique: external power does not imply control over the spiritual freedom of their subjects. Over against the tendencies of the world, Jesus does not immediately recommend the opposite attitude among his followers. He first observes – note the indicative present in v. 43a oyx oytwv ß © de estin en ym˜n — that there exists another logic that does not ¥ß ß Ωı allow for any form of compromise with the attitude of the rulers of the world. Authentic followers of Jesus believe in a different way of behaving. They withdraw from the dominant systems because they do not seem to belong to them. They do not urge for human See the title of an article by J. LAMBRECHT, “Power as Service”, Louvain 33 Studies 12 (1987) 54-61. Or should one say “Service as Power”? The saying in v. 40 “prepares for the further instruction that is to come in 34 vv. 41-45” (YARBRO COLLINS, Mark, 498). See, among others, FOCANT, Marc, 398. 35 FOCANT, Marc, 398: “la règle communautaire”; 400: “règles de la 36 communauté ” (with reference to Bultmann). So say, e.g., FOCANT, Marc, 398 and VOUGA, Politique, 79; but not 37 Yarbro Collins, who sees it as “a term of honor and contain[ing] no hint of depreciation ” (Mark, 499). For an overview of the most important positions and an interpretation in favor of irony, see DE MINGO KAMINOUCHI, “‘But It Is Not So Among You’”, 118-123: “Mark’s intention in using the term dokoyntev is ˜ first and foremost to make the reader wonder” (123).