---
title: Mark 10:42
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/mark-10-42/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/mark-10-42.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Mark 10:42
testament: NT
section: Gospels
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Mark 10:42

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them.

## NWT Wording of the Key Phrase

- NWT (2013 revision): "But Jesus called them to him and said to them: 'You know that those who appear to be ruling the nations lord it over them and their great ones wield authority over them.'"

## JW Usage

The Watchtower applies Mark 10:42 only to secular governments and worldly religious leaders, not to its own organisational hierarchy. The "rulers of the nations" who lord it over their subjects are read as Satan's worldly kingdom; by contrast, the Governing Body and elder body of Jehovah's Witnesses are presented as humble brothers giving direction rather than exercising authority. The verse functions in JW publications as external critique, never internal mirror.

## Protestant Usage

Hold the verse up as the test Jesus himself prescribed for leadership in his name. The Governing Body has eleven men (October 2024) determining what 8 million Witnesses believe, who they may speak to, whether they may receive blood transfusions, how they may spend their weekends, and whether they remain in fellowship with their families. If publicly disagreeing with the Body's teaching brings a judicial committee and potential shunning, that is "lording it over" whatever euphemism is preferred. Pair Mark 10:42 with 1 Peter 5:2-3 ("not lording it over those entrusted to you") and Acts 15 (the Jerusalem council as a one-time meeting, not a standing governing body) to show what New Testament leadership looks like when it follows Jesus's pattern. The "fellow servants giving direction" framing is doublespeak — if the structure functions as leadership and carries the consequences of leadership, calling it something else does not change what it is.

## NWT Issue

The NWT renders Jesus's opening clause "those who appear to be ruling the nations" rather than the standard "those who are considered rulers" or "those regarded as rulers" (hoi dokountes archein). Both renderings are lexically defensible — dokeō can mean "to seem" or "to be reputed" — but the NWT's choice sharpens the skepticism, fitting the JW worldview in which worldly governments are seen as Satan's apparent (but illegitimate) rule about to be replaced by Jehovah's true Kingdom. The shift is mild but consistently tendentious in the direction of JW political theology.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [The Governing Body — Eleven Men in New York](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/governing-body.md) — The faithful slave is the channel through which Jesus is feeding [Authority]