THIS Gospel reflects on the nature of rule. James and John want positions of authority in the Kingdom. The anger of their fellow-disciples then prompts Jesus to draw a lesson from the episode. All the disciples, guilty of hankering after status, need education in Kingdom priorities.

If true that Christianity means that “it is not so among you,” we cannot know if it has succeeded; for such service-centred lives are, by definition, lived mostly out of the public eye. Examples of those who have the same aim as James and John — using faith as a means to preferment — are easier to spot.

We are not told why the disciples want seats at the Lord’s side. It appears that status and celebrity are self-evidently desirable. Now, Jesus connects rule with tyranny. His understanding of “greatness” is not like any kind of greatness that the world has recognised before, because it depends on serving others (being a “deacon”) rather than lording it over them. Being first among others means becoming their slave.

This topsy-turvy take does not come out of the blue. Jesus often contrasts his teaching with established norms. But is he teaching us what Christian rulers should be like? or saying that Christian leadership is totally at odds with worldly authority? His take on rule, in other words, could be always negative, or be dependent on how power is exercised. Christians who acknowledge their earthly rulers could be showing co-operation or collaboration.

I tend to choose the tricky bits from passages for discussion in this column, not the straightforward words and ideas. This is not a frivolous pursuit of obscurity, but a reasoned choice, focusing on what is not self-evident and unambiguous. My interpretation of this passage depends on a verb that makes modern translators wriggle. Once again, we must dip a toe into the Greek.

No Christian who accepts scripture as a whole has anything to fear from such an endeavour. The “good news” speaks clearly when it is not reduced to one verse against another in a contest for authority. The number of translations available witnesses to the ongoing power of the gospel message — and to our freedom to explore in whatever ways we need to.

Puzzles and problems drive us to think harder. When I tackle them here, or in a sermon, I do so not to undermine people’s confidence in scripture, but to show that the Bible can sustain rigorous questioning while remaining a trustworthy witness to God-with-us. It is we human beings, with our shifting priorities, our changes of heart, taste, and custom, who need new translations and interpretations, which are always “of their time”.

Comparing Bible versions can clarify meaning, even if it sometimes feels like straining at gnats while swallowing camels (Matthew 23.24). Mark 10.42 is a case in point. Reading “whom they recognise” in the NRSV, I wondered what the verb was, consulted the Greek, and checked some other translations. The older translations were closest to what, I think, the Greek means. More modern ones soften it. I struggled to understand why; for it is not a teaching that triggers squeamishness, or theological conflict.

I would translate verse 42 as “those who seem to rule over the Gentiles exercise dominion over them”. Here are some other versions, in approximate descending order of date and literalness:

“they which seme to beare rule” — Tyndale
“they which are accounted to rule” — AV
“those who are supposed to rule” — RSV
“those they call their rulers” — NJB
“the recognised rulers” — REB
“those who are regarded as rulers” — NIV

Literal translations expose a gap between apparent and real rule, reflecting an authentic Christian belief that there is only one true ruler — God (1 Timothy 6.15). If Gentile rulers only “seem” to lord it over people, they lack real authority, and their idea of their own status is a delusion. Less literal translations still express that gap, but in a way that plays down the contrast between divine and human.

I still do not understand why translators avoid the straightforward translation of verse 42. But, when God is the only true ruler, the only true human rule must take the form of servanthood. Service, Jesus says, trumps tyranny. So, to no one’s surprise, Nelson Mandela images the Christian ruler better than Vladimir Putin. God rules truly, not seemingly, because he is eternal — whereas even dictators who withstand democracy cannot withstand death.