Learning To Serve

Reading

Mk 10:35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

Mk 10:36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

Mk 10:37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

Mk 10:38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

Mk 10:39 “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with,

Mk 10:40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

Mk 10:41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John.

Mk 10:42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.

Mk 10:43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,

Mk 10:44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.

Mk 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, x and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Getting it wrong

Don’t you just love it when something goes wrong?

That’s what all the ’you’ve been framed’ type shows are based on

The Gadget show even used the format to test movie cameras

We like to laugh at others misfortune, maybe we shouldn’t

who knows – it may be us next!

The ’disasters’ – even the staged ones show ridiculous mishaps.

Sometime they are simple accidents

Often we ask – How did they manage to let that happen

or

How didn’t they see that coming?

That’s the type of story we have in the scripture before us this morning

James and John (The sons of Thunder Jesus called them in another place – what does that tell you about the sort of people they were? - Mildly scary perhaps, but definitely loud and probably without any effect. - anyway I digress.)

James and John have come to ask Jesus a question. If you read the Matthew version the story is blamed on James & John’s mother being pushy. Here though she is not credited. Either way – they were the ones who actually asked the question – and if they can’t deal with their mother by this age – well!!!

"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask."

bit of an oblique way of opening a request. That’s not how I ask for holiday at work – I’m sure it put Jesus on his guard straight away.

Now, if you’ve listened to Jesus you might be expecting a clever diversionary response – He simply leads them on

"What do you want me to do for you?"

"Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."

Well I wouldn’t have seen that coming, but Jesus knew them better than I do, so I suppose He might have. Now here comes the diversionary question:

"You don’t know what you are asking, Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"

Might that question make you hesitate? Might it make you stop and think – what don’t I know about what I’m asking? Where does this lead?

... but no they are straight back into it.

"We can".

… and they did.

James:

He was the first one of the disciples to die:Acts 12:1-2

ABOUT THAT time Herod (Agripa I ) the king stretched forth his hands to afflict and oppress and torment some who belonged to the church (assembly). And he killed James the brother of John with a sword.

John

- The 4th Gospel, the book of John was written by him

- Probably the youngest one out of the twelve disciples

- did healing miracles in Acts

- He is the only one that saw Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb of God

- He is the only one that died of old age

"You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared."

and that could have been an end to it, but the other 10 disciples found out what was said, and Jesus has an argument on his hands. He uses it, as he always does, to tell them ONCE AGAIN about his mission