The Gospel of Mark 10:34-45
41 And hearing this, the ten began to
feel indignant with James and John. 42 And calling them to Himself, Jesus said
to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord
it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. 43 But it is
not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be
your servant; 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of
all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to
give His life a ransom for many.”
Jesus and
His disciples were walking toward Jerusalem and He had pulled them aside to
explain in greater detail what would happen to Him. That He would be delivered
over to the Gentiles, be mocked and beaten, be killed and rise on the third
day.
James and
John Zebedee came up to Jesus asking, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your
right and one on Your left, in Your glory.” Jesus gave them in His love for
them the opportunity to ask Him what they would want Him to do for them. We can
come to Christ asking of Him, as one who is saved by Jesus, what our desires
are boldly and without fear. Christ is willing to listen to all His brothers
and sisters in their petition to Him.
But what the Zebedee brothers, “The Sons of Thunder,” asked seems to be led by the notion that the Messiah would have an earthly kingdom. This could be because in their eyes they might have assumed a risen Messiah would claim His Davidic throne for even before His ascension to the Father, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6)
This notion
as I have spoken before comes from the Rabbinical teaching of the priests in
their time. That their Messiah would rise and conquer their enemies and free
them. The disciples had discussed this before after the Transfiguration of
Jesus but kept it secret to themselves, it was now they allowed their ambition
to be known.
Jesus tests
their ambition by saying 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?” They do not know because Jesus was fully aware of what
was going to happen to Him. His question was would they be able to be
persecuted and suffer the cup of God’s wrath for the sake of mankind?
Jesus will
be baptized by fire, suffer and die, and rise again on the third day just as it
was written of Him by the prophets. And yet, the pride of possibly being at
Jesus' right and left hand in His kingdom is being asked? They said to Him, “We
are able.”
And Jesus said
to them, “The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized
with the baptism with which I am baptized. But to sit on My right or on My
left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been
prepared.”
The baptism
and cup that Jesus is preparing are of two things. 1. The elements of the faith
are that when we drink the cup of wine, eat the bread, and are baptized, in
these sacraments, we share symbolically in the death, burial, and resurrection
of Jesus. And 2. With the persecutions and death that come from following Jesus,
we share in His sufferings for His glory. James will be martyred by Herod and
John will be imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos for their faith in Jesus.
Even still, one
thief went to paradise for His faith while the other perished. In Matthew 2531-33
Jesus says, “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels
with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be
gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the
shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His
right, and the goats on the left.”
The other
ten disciples became indignant after hearing this from James and John. Among
them was Peter, and I make this point because if he were to become the Pope why
would he be indignant, Peter was not the cornerstone that the church would
build upon, that was Jesus. The 11 became the foundation of the faith and none
lorded over the other.
Why? Because
Jesus called them all together and said to them, “You know that those
who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great
men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but whoever
wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to
be first among you shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did
not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Is this not
the way of man? Rulers are given authority and use it to lord over others for
either their own good or the lie of the greater good. They exercise authority
much like the Pope who commands Catholics to do as He pleases not the will of
Christ Jesus. And what of the State? Do they not imprison you falsely,
steal your money through policy, and command you to obey?
Jesus said that this is not the way among followers of Jesus. Jesus explained two other times, and this is His third rebuke where he says again, “Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant;” and then He doubles down and says, “Whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.”
Here is that
humility that is required of all who follow Jesus. Pride is a great sin and
causes one to lord over others, but humility places a person beneath others
willingly. First to Yahweh and then to your neighbor. And as our example, Jesus
says of Himself, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to
serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Jesus is the
example by which we live, as stated before He descended from His glory in eternity
and was born in the likeness of man, humbling Himself to His Father and then to
others, not to be served, but serve others and be that ransom for mankind that
they may have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
And when he
returns will you be ready? You will either be a sheep on His right hearing, “Come,
you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom, which has been prepared
for you from the foundation of the world.” or a goat on His left
hearing, “Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has
been prepared for the devil and his angels;”
Jesus came
to save sinners. Sinners suppress the truth and hide in their darkness because
they love darkness. They are unbelieving, vile, foolish, rebellious, haters of
God who have adopted the ideologies of this world and the doctrines of men.
They have become slaves to their sexual desires, perverting the flesh and mind,
and rebelling against the created order of God. They are doomed to condemnation
and will be judged by Jesus and sent to Hell where they will burn for eternity
in the lake of fire.
However, God so loved His creation, mankind, that He sent His Son Jesus, who can forgive you of your sins and redeem you because He has the authority and power. Jesus brings eternal life to all who repent and believe. For Jesus bore all our sins; He bore all the sins of all who believe in Him. Jesus was born and lived a perfect life of obedience to God as a man. Jesus was condemned to be executed and die in the sinner's place. He suffered the totality of God's wrath upon Himself on the Cross, which every sinner deserves, so that those who believe in Jesus may have peace with God.
Jesus rose
from the dead, conquering death, and lives, and ascended to the right hand of
God the Father. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and He is in your
midst with us offering you salvation, repent, and believe Jesus.
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