35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to
him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them,
“What do you want me to do for you?” 37 And
they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your
left, in your glory.” 38 Jesus
said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the
cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”
39 And they said to
him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will
drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, 40 but
to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those
for whom it has been prepared.” 41 And
when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 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. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be
great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be
first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of
Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for
many.”
Mark 10:35-45
This text is loaded with
so many teachings. I won’t be able to
expound every single thing in this short time.
But I want us to focus on a few very important things in this passage. Let me begin by saying that it is fascinating
to reflect on the interaction between Jesus and His disciples. In this particular context, Jesus was just
done telling them the third time that He was going to suffer and die and then
resurrected. By this time the disciples
should have had a glimpse of the concept of the Kingdom of God in Jesus’
mind. Yet they continued to display
their complete misunderstanding of the version of the Kingdom of God Jesus had
been proclaiming all this time. Along
the same line, Allen Black of the College Press NIV Commentary pointed out:
This
occasion is the most explicit demonstration of how the disciples’
misunderstanding of Jesus’ messiahship led them astray in understanding their
own roles.[1]
Black continued further:
The
request is cast in the language of ancient royal customs. The king sat in his
glory on the throne and those nearest in authority to him sat first on his
right and second on his left. The request reveals what appears to be a earthly
Davidic messianism in which Jesus is envisioned as establishing an earthly
kingdom with the apostles as his chief assistants.[2]
Their misunderstanding is hard to break.
This is the heart of the problem here.
Their hope and dream of the earthly kingdom drove them to embrace a
fantasy version of God’s kingdom. And
they thought that Jesus was inaugurating that fantasy kingdom. Their stubborn hearts and minds refused to
see the truth. So they ignored their
Lord’s plain teaching about His Kingdom.
J. C. Ryle in Crossway Classic Commentaries of Mark observed:
In
spite of all the plain warnings of our Lord, they clung obstinately to the
belief that Christ’s kingdom on earth was immediately going to appear.[3]
The disciples dreamed more than just the model of the kingdom. They dreamed also about who they would be in
their fantasy kingdom. Their mistake was
so serious. Agreeing with Black, Ryle
pointed out:
For
all their faith, grace and love to Jesus, they neither knew their own hearts,
nor the nature of the path before them. They still dreamed of temporal crowns
and earthly rewards. They still did not know what sort of men they were.[4]
Because of their own fantasy, they were stuck in their desire to become
the greatest. This desire was recorded
by Mark in Mark 9:33-37:
33 And they came to Capernaum. And when he
was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept
silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the
greatest. 35 And he
sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first,
he must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of
them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one such child in my name
receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”
And this was exactly after Jesus told them the second time about His
suffering and death. How stubborn they
were. James and John did not seem to
care about what Jesus was teaching them all.
So they proceeded to make the selfish request. James Edwards of the Pillar New testament
Commentary bluntly called the request:
It
is self-serving, callous toward Jesus, and an offense to their comrades.[5]
Furthermore, following Jesus ought not to be motivated by some kind of
earthly rewards. Again, this is how
dangerous it is if one does not have the right understanding of the concept of
the Kingdom of God that Jesus is proclaiming.
Edwards rightly stated:
The
disciples are not to follow Jesus because they know in advance what will happen
or because of what they hope to get. The rightness of their way is determined
solely by the fact that it is where Jesus leads.[6]
James and John, and the other 10 disciples secretly dreamed about
becoming the most important person in the Kingdom of God after Jesus. They wanted to be the greatest. They wanted to be on top. They wanted to be above everyone else. The worldly concept of greatness was deep in their
hearts, that it was so difficult for them to throw it away. G. K. Chesterton is right when he said that
the most difficult task in education is “unlearning.”
Brothers and sisters, what James and John did in this
text is no stranger to what we are also doing to Jesus in the 21st
century. Today we also witness that many
Christians follow Christ because they think by following Christ they could
become important. Many who claim to be
Christians today treat worship service like it is a cinema or a theater. They want a show, an entertainment, something
they could enjoy and feel good. Some are
going too far so as to think that they are paying for the entertainment, so
they feel entitled to it. The business
law: customer is king, so the customer must be served like king. In that way, they do not actually follow
Jesus, but they are following their own fantasy about being Christians. What is worse? This is what is worse, some Christians even
expect God to serve their earthly desire or that it is God’s responsibility to
serve them. They claim that because they
think they are the children of the king, and thus they are entitled to “God
giving them whatever they want.” This is
the first type.
J. C. Ryle warned about the second type of Christians who
boast about their own strength and suffering and claim privileges because of
that:
There
are few true Christians who do not resemble James and John when they first
begin the service of Christ. We are apt to expect far more present enjoyment
from our religion than the Gospel warrants us to expect. We are apt to forget
the cross and the tribulation, and to think only of the crown. We form an
incorrect estimate of our own patience and power of endurance. We misjudge our
own ability to stand temptation and trial. And the result of all is that we
often buy wisdom dearly, by bitter experience, after many disappointments and
not a few falls.[7]
Yes, like James and John thought they could drink the cup of the
suffering of Christ, we too often think that we can do so and thus expect we be
honored as the greatest. Many Christians
praise themselves because they have done so much for God, so they say. Things like: I have gone to the remotest
places to evangelize, or I work day and night while sleeping less in order to
get this crusade running well, or I sit in the council meeting every week
without absent to tackle difficult stuff in our church, or I have left my
family behind in order to serve in the church in many committees and
capacities, or many other things like that.
By boasting about what they have done, they now presume that they have a
claim on the privilege of honor. In Mark
10:28 Peter said: “See, we have
left everything and followed you.” As if Jesus now owed
him something. Are we like Peter, or
James and John? If so, it is good to
listen to Ryle’s advice:
Let
us not, like them, be over-confident in our own strength, and forward in
professing that we can do anything that Christ requires. Let us, in short,
beware of a boastful spirit when we first begin to run the Christian course. If
we remember this, it may save us many a humbling fall.[8]
It is important to take note of this second type, because it often is
brushed off as deserving because of the “bruises” and “suffering” they have
endured. Remember where the disciples
were when Jesus was arrested? Yep, you
know it, they all fled. They failed to
live up to their own boast of strength.
They did not deserve the honor they claimed. How about us?
These two types of people are doing harm to their own
faith and to the faith of others. The
first is what Christian Philosopher James Smith called as the mall mentality –
customer is king, or children of the king kind of attitude. The second is using ministry and their
miniscule suffering in order to claim the seat of honor. Both types want to sit as kings, and in their
minds, kings are to be served.
Just like us, the
disciples couldn’t be more wrong, could they?
They went to exactly the opposite direction of what Jesus is teaching
all along. They are blind, deaf, brain
dead, and suffering a massive heart failure.
They do not know what it means to follow Christ and what being a
Christian is all about. So Jesus had to
correct their terrible mistake. He had
to repeat what He had said in Mark 9:35: “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” In our text Jesus elaborated further the nature
of the Kingdom of God:
42 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. 43 But
it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your
servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.
45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus’ teaching is plain and simple, not difficult to grasp at all. Even a child can understand this concept
without difficulty. The problem is just
that the way of the world is too deeply rooted in our core being. To plant this new way of life requires the
old way of life to be uprooted first.
More often than we want to admit, we sinful humans do not wish to uproot
our old way of life. Just like what
Jesus said in Luke 5:39: “39 And no one after drinking old wine desires
new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’” It was extremely difficult for the disciples
to adopt this new way of life, and in this case, to serve like Jesus
serves. For they were still attached to
the old way of life, and in this case, to be served like powerful kings of the
earth. James Edwards explained Jesus’
answer:
In
response to their exclusive request, Jesus instructs the Twelve that the
economy of God’s kingdom is not based on power and control but on service and
giving, for the latter are not only the ethics of the kingdom but the means of
redemption.[9]
I must say, my brothers and sisters, this is tough. If we read the gospel, we will find out soon
enough that the disciples still did not get Jesus’ excellent teaching. In the night Jesus was arrested, Peter lashed
out his sword and attempted to take control of the situation by power and
force. Thus Peter opted for the way of
the world, forgetting what Jesus had taught them several days earlier.
This is what Edwards
called as the clash of the kingdoms, the kingdom of the world and the kingdom
of God. Edwards said:
At
no place do the ethics of the kingdom of God clash more vigorously with the
ethics of the world than in the matters of power and service.[10]
In order to apply Jesus’ teaching of the ethics of the kingdom of God,
the disciples had to practice love. This
is why Jesus told His disciples to love one another. And this is tougher. Because all their lives they thought that in
order to win a war one must be powerful, and love could not win any war. Love was considered weak. The world was upside down for the
disciples. They could not see what Jesus
saw. Edwards elaborated further about
the ethics of the kingdom of God:
The
preeminent virtue of God’s kingdom is not power, not even freedom, but service.
Ironically, greatness belongs to the one who is not great, the diakonos, the ordinary Greek word for
waiting on tables (on diakonos, see
further at 9:35). The preeminence of service in the kingdom of God grows out of
Jesus’ teaching on love for one’s neighbor, for service is love made tangible.[11]
Jesus final punch in His teaching in our passage is drawing the ultimate
example of serving to Himself. There is
no greater example than what Jesus does.
Nothing even comes close to it.
The Creator of life, the King of all, the Lord of lords, the Almighty
God, willingly came down from heaven to the fallen world, to be born in a
stable, to live a simple life, to be rejected by the people, to be hated
without reason, to work as a teacher without prestige, to assume the lowly
position as a servant, to be accused of crimes He never committed, to be
betrayed by His closest friends, to be tried unjustly, to be abandoned by those
He loved, to be punished with the worst death sentence without any wrongdoing,
to be mocked and insulted as He was in the process of saving the world, and to
love those who are His enemies. Yes
listen carefully to what Jesus said: “45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for many.” Now if we call
ourselves Christians, followers of Christ, little Christs, tell me: “What
possible reasons do we have to demand to be served? Or to feel it is our rights to be
served? Or to think that God owes us
something that He ought to serve us?”
This final punch could
not be denied, could not be shaken, could not be cheated. This model Jesus leaves His disciples and us
is the only way. Without it nobody would
be saved. And without it we will be lost
for all eternity. Jesus is the
light. He is the way. He shows us how to live as God’s children
created in His image. His way is the way
of a servant. Edwards put it:
The
reason why a servant is the most preeminent position in the kingdom of God is
that the sole function of a servant is to give, and giving is the essence of
God.[12]
Yes, serving is the essence of Jesus.
As His followers, it is only fitting for us to serve just like He does. To be served like kings is not the way of the
kingdom of God. A Christian who demands
to be served like king does not fit in the kingdom of Christ. Ryle advised practically:
Above
all, let those who desire to walk in Christ’s steps labor to be useful to
others. Let them lay themselves out to do good in their day and generation.
There is always a vast field for doing it, if people have the will and
inclination. Let them never forget that true greatness does not consist in
being an admiral or a general, a statesman or an artist. It consists in
devoting ourselves body, soul and spirit to the blessed work of making other
people more holy and more happy. It is those who exert themselves by the use of
scriptural means to lessen the sorrow and increase the joy of all around them—the
Howards, the Wilberforces, the Martyns, the Judsons of a country—who are truly
great in the sight of God.[13]
I sure hope you do not follow the way of James and John, or Peter, in
this context. I sure pray you will not
be a selfish Christian, who thinks only about yourself and your gain. I sure admonish you to abandon the spirit of
entitlement the 21st century is poisoning the world with. I sure encourage you to adopt the way of
Jesus, to be a servant, to serve one another in love. Always have the eyes and hands of a servant,
ready to serve those who are in need. If
you do, you are the great people in God’s eyes, you are God’s children. Amen.
[5] James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark, The Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2002), 321.
[6] James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark, The Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2002), 324.
[9] James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark, The Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2002), 321.
[10] James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark, The Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2002), 325.
[11] James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark, The Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2002), 326.
[12] James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark, The Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2002), 326–327.
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