It has been about 3 years that Jesus has been working with the disciples. They have heard some teaching that they understood, and some that they didn’t. They have seen Jesus do some incredible things. They believe with all of their being that he is the Messiah. But what they believe of the Messiah is that he is going to beat up the Romans, and take over the world. They don’t know how it is going to happen, but they are sure that is the plan. For these followers of Jesus it is more political than spiritual…their faith in the Messiah is more concerned about earthly power than heavenly peace. They want to be a Senator on the King’s council, not preachers in a servant’s dungeon. Although they have listened to Jesus, they have not heard him. Jesus spoke of a kingdom to come, not a government to overthrow. Jesus spoke of a heavenly throne, not a senate seat…and yet these disciples of Jesus are so convinced about the political direction of Jesus’ leadership that they begin fighting over the best seats in this King’s Parliament.
During this 3 years the 12 have been heavily involved in ministry. But there is also a smaller group of three that was involved in some special privileges. Peter, James and John are often mentioned as a separate group, a closer group. They were the ones that actually went into the house of Jairus when Jesus raised his daughter from the dead. They were the ones invited up onto the mountain when Jesus was transfigured before them. They were the ones who, in just a short time, would be invited in with Jesus when he goes to the inner parts of the Garden to pray on the night before he is crucified.
So it makes sense that they would start feeling special. But three is an odd number…three just does not fit. Have you ever gone to an amusement park with just 3 people? One always ends up riding alone, or with someone you don’t know. If you have had two other friends, you probably know that at times it seems like 2 gang up on the third. When you ride in a car, 2 sit up front and the 3rd sits in the back. Or have you ever been on a date with friends, the couple and you? I always felt like a third wheel…
Three just doesn’t work. In Bible times there were special seats at any banquet or kingdom. The most honored person would sit on the right of the king, or the guest of honor. The second most honored would sit on the left. There simply was no room for the third, no special place. No where to fit in.
So in their planning ahead, a couple of the disciples decide that they want to address that detail right now, before Jesus chases out the Romans and establishes his government. They’re planning ahead…looking out for themselves….thinking about what is best for their families. Looking for significance and comfort through prestige. James and John are brothers, so it makes sense that they get together and leave out Peter. Here is what happens:
Mark 10:35-45
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask."
Don’t you like that? They want a blank check from Jesus. It is like the person who asks you, “will you do me a favor?” If you are wise, you will say, “why don’t you tell me what the favor is first.”
It’s like when your children come to you and say… “Dad, just say yes.” And you say, “Say yes to what?” They say, “ Just say yes.” That’s a loaded question… It’s like when my wife is standing in front of me holding the credit card and is saying… “honey, you know how handsome and brilliant you are…just say yes.”
But Jesus can’t be manipulated so easily. He asks,
[36] "What do you want me to do for you?" [37] They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."
No big deal … just the two best seats. Why did they ask for those? It is the same reason that you work overtime. The same reason that you make improvements or additions to your house. They wanted to be comfortable. They wanted the easy life. It’s the same reason we allow our lives to become so busy….we are afraid we won’t be noticed. James and John just want to be noticed. Whether at work, in the home, or in the church…we want someone to notice us so we can feel significant. James and John had been toughing it out with Jesus for 3 years and they wanted to be rewarded for their labor, they wanted recognition for all they had given up.
Think about the person who gives so much time to the church and then when they are not asked their opinion, they are offended. They want rewarded.
Or like the person who leaves the church and complains that no one called them after they left. They want to be noticed. They wanted someone to give them attention. Like James and John the root is often selfishness and me-centered. They find comfort in feeling important and comfort in being recognized.
James and John only had to beat out Peter for the seats…they already had the edge on everyone else.
It is sort of like the two guys that were going hiking through the woods. They didn’t have any weapons and they were discussing the possibility that they might encounter a bear. One guy says, “do you think we can out run a bear?” The other says, “I don’t have to out run a bear, I just have to out run you.”
James and John just wanted to outrun Peter! But the bear they would face because of Jesus is bigger and faster than they can run.
Jesus tells them.
[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?"
They are asking for comfort. That is not what they will get. They’re seeking control. They’re looking for significance. Jesus is saying, “can you really do what I am about to do?” Can you face the bear and look him eye to eye? Do you think you are as strong as I am? The correct answer is, “no,” but that is not the answer they give.
[39] "We can," they answered.
Do you see their arrogance…and their ignorance? Often times we are either self focused or do not have all the facts too. In a sense, James and John are saying, “You go ahead and overthrow the Romans and we’ll be right by your side, generals in your army!” “We know you’re going to win and you will protect us so yes we can face the giants of political betrayal and military battle. Jesus has walked on water, calmed the storm, healed the sick and raised the dead. Beating up a few Romans is no problem as long as they are going to do it with Jesus! Bring ‘em on! We can take them.
I think Jesus is so shocked with their arrogance … and their ignorance … that he doesn’t even address that part of the issue. Instead…
Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, [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."
Jesus wasn’t interested in their personal comfort. In fact, he goes ahead and promises the suffering, but makes no such promise of the comfort!
Did you get that…never does Jesus tell his followers that we will be comfortable…but he does promise that there will be suffering, and surgery, and searing pain, and days of dark shadows…but comfort….significance…he never promises.
Even if you haven’t heard this story, you know what is coming next, don’t you? Here are 12 men, two of them ask for the promotion … not for everyone, for themselves. Two of them ask for the cushy comfort of the best places, the padded chairs while everyone else gets metal! You know what is coming; the other 10 are ticked!
[41] When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John.
“James and John, you selfish pigs! You are trying to get the best places for yourselves, you are going after the places that I want!” It is not that they are any less selfish, they just didn’t think of it first!
Jesus calls them all together and tells them that personal comfort is not what this kingdom is all about. It is not about padded seats and 72 degrees. It is about sacrifice. It is about making yourself uncomfortable for the benefit of others. That is what He says:
[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. [43] Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, [44] and whoever wants to be first must 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 as a ransom for many."
In other words, Pagans and sinners use their authority for their own benefit. Pagans and hedonists seek their own significance. It isn’t enough just to be in the position…but sinful people use their position to turn the spotlight on them and say….look at me….look at how much I do….look at how spiritual I am and how important I am…..but that’s not the way Jesus intended his kingdom to be.
That’s a great story, isn’t it? Here is what I know from that story.
God is not concerned about your comfort or you sense of significance. I am sorry to tell you that. In some ways I don’t like it any more than you do. But it is the truth. Your comfort here isn’t even on his radar screen. And your significance thermometer is pointing at zero.
Ouch….that hurts doesn’t it? After all that the current Christian culture has said about finding our worth in Jesus and how the church in recent years has promoted involvement so you have a sense of purpose in your lives and we have bought into it. But that’s not what Jesus is concerned about. He knows….because He has walked this path…that true greatness is found in serving others through menial … ongoing….tasks….when you don’t get noticed. It is serving others for the Love of God….instead of the love of self….It is getting dirty and bored and feeling worthless sometimes….and being uncomfortable often….it’s when we trudge along that path of servant hood, day in and day out that we find greatness.
Do you remember in 1 Corinthians when Paul is talking about food sacrificed to idols? They would buy this meat at the market. There was nothing wrong with eating it. But apparently some who had come out of that culture thought that it was sinful to eat that meat, meat that had been used for something so anti-God. What difference does it make that it has been waved in front of some statue? Those people that feel like eating it is sin need to get over it, don’t they? But Paul said, 1 Cor. 8:13
Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.
Paul is saying, I am willing to be uncomfortable if it will help someone else get into the Kingdom. I’m willing to give up my rights and my wants because church and Christianity are not about my comfort, nor is it about receiving attention or being noticed.
The struggle for us who often times feel so insignificant is to buy in to Christ’s vision of Christianity. For those who are seeking worth it’s tough to give up what little worth you may feel…and yet Jesus says, lose your life for my sake, humble yourself, like me…seek to descend into greatness.
God is not concerned about our comfort or our significance, that’s what I know from that text…
Here is how I got there.
There is a very tough teaching of Jesus found in Matthew 8. Two people ask if they can follow Jesus. You would think Jesus would say, “come on! There is always room for more.” But He doesn’t. Apparently he realizes that they want to come based on their own personal comfort.
Jesus has been healing scores of people and it is just chaos. Apparently Jesus wants to get away, to escape and get the chance to recharge. It’s at this moment the first person arrives….
Matthew 8:18-22
When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. [19] Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
It sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? I will follow wherever you go. Isn’t that what Jesus wants? Isn’t that what churches want? Apparently this teacher of the law, like James and John before, has a rosy view of what he is asking for. So Jesus says this:
[20] Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
Jesus is basically saying, “following me isn’t about a life of comfort.” If Jesus told you to give up your home and head to the mission field and live in a mud hut and you at least knew you would be safe…you would go….but if Jesus told you to give up your home, sell all you have and go live on the streets with the homeless most of us would walk away…because that is too uncomfortable isn’t it? If we would truly evaluate our own hearts…and look at what Jesus teaches and compare the two…many of us would realize that we are committed to Jesus as long as we are comfortable. We don’t know what happened with this man, but since the story ends, he apparently doesn’t follow. But then another man comes and this one really makes us uncomfortable:
[21] Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." [22] But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."
What is wrong with what this guy says? Is it too much to ask to go bury your father? Some commentators think that his father wasn’t dead and he wanted to care for him in his last days. Either way I don’t think it changes the story. So what is the problem?
He wants to follow on his own timetable. He is saying, “Lord, I want to follow you, but now is not a convenient time.” He was saying, “when it is comfortable, I will come!” When I have everything in order, my life is in order, my responsibilities are fulfilled…then I will follow you…but first let me make sure everything at home is comfortable before I surrender to you.
The Kingdom doesn’t work that way. It is not something that can wait for a more convenient time or a more comfortable place.
Moses didn’t want to lead the people out of Egypt. By the time God called him he was uncomfortable with the idea. He wasn’t the right man for the job.
He couldn’t speak, he wasn’t dynamic, (pause) he wasn’t comfortable. God was not concerned about Moses spirit of significance or his own comfort level…God was concerned about his own plan to save the world.
Jonah definitely didn’t want to go to Nineveh. He was uncomfortable telling those people about the chance to repent and get right with God. God didn’t seem to be interested in Jonah’s comfort level.
Although it is not as clear, I doubt that Hosea wanted to marry a prostitute. It is not comfortable for a man of God to be married to such a woman. But it wasn’t about Hosea’s comfort.
I know God’s not concerned about our comfort because of what I see through the old testament prophets and what I have witnessed around the world.
If we think God has blessed us because we have a warm facility, comfortable, padded chairs, a baptistery instead of breaking ice off of the creek, lights…or if you think God has blessed you with a warm home, plenty of food, resources to choose any restaurant you want any day of the week….then does that mean he hasn’t blessed the little church in Costa Rica where their only shelter is a rusty tin roof, no walls, wooden benches…and when it rains you either lift your feet up or let them get muddy from the dirt floor. Or does that mean he hasn’t blessed the pastor there who doesn’t know where his next meal is coming from? God is not concerned about your comfort…nor about our significance.
I wonder how many of us would have come to church this morning to gather with believers if we were meeting around a fire down by the creek and we had to walk five miles to get there? I just wonder if we never found significance and if Christianity was uncomfortable for us here…I just wonder how many of us would still follow the Christ then.
Here is what I don’t know.
I don’t know how Peter reacted. This is one of the few times that Peter is silent! Why didn’t he say, “this isn’t fair.” What did Peter think? How did he feel getting left out by two of his closest friends? I don’t know the answer to that. I don’t know if he felt betrayed or if he felt wounded or if he was jealous.
And I don’t know why as Christians we get so worked up over trivial issues….I don’t know why it’s difficult to rejoice with those who find success.
Maybe you have heard it said that the church is the only army that shoots her wounded.
I don’t know if James and John are hurting or confused or feeling about humiliated but I do know that the other disciples became angry at them for asking for the best seats in Jesus government…which leads me to something else I don’t know…I don’t know why we Christians struggle with lifting up those who have fallen and encouraging those who are not perfect. I don’t know why it is so easy for us to point our finger at those who aren’t perfect when we know that we aren’t perfect.
But there is another thing that I don’t know about our personal comfort. I don’t know how we as the American church arrived at the mentality that we are suppose to like everything in the church and above all we are suppose to be served. Where did this mentality come from…maybe from the disciples.
When James and John made their selfish request, why didn’t Jesus just blast them?
Why didn’t he pull both triggers and unload both barrels into them. They had been around him for three years, you would think they would start to get it now. And if they don’t get it now, are they ever going to get it? But Jesus didn’t blast them. He didn’t boot them out and start over.
I don’t want to offend you, but I don’t know why He would use you … or me! We often want to be comfortable, have things go our way. We wonder why we can’t be comfortable, when we should wonder why we even have the chance.
You know how they say that if a deal is too good to be true it probably is? This is the one exception to that. This deal … His perfection and our … well … our imperfection. His commitment and our wavering. His selflessness and our selfishness. The question shouldn’t be, “why do I have to be uncomfortable?” It should be, “why am I allowed the slightest bit of comfort at all when Jesus wasn’t ever concerned about his personal comfort.”
Here is what this account of James and John should means for you.
I think all of us are guilty at times of trying to be comfortable Christians. We don’t want to do anything that takes us out of our comfort zones. We might take risks and be uncomfortable at times at work, but we don’t do that as much at home, and certainly not in the church.
For some, this might mean that we need to swallow our pride and be baptized. It is pretty humbling. It is an admission that we can’t do this on our own. It is uncomfortable. But it is commanded, and it doesn’t look like Jesus is going to change that. So maybe we need to step out of our egos of comfort and step into a spirit of humility.
Maybe for you it means that you need to set a better example. There are people watching what you do. They are watching what you do with your spare time. They are watching how you treat other people. They are listening to your language. They are wanting to see if this is just a title you wear, or if it really means something.
And I know I have been saying this a lot lately. But some of you need to walk across the room, or the yard, and plant some seeds with a neighbor or coworker about Christ. “But I am not comfortable with that.” I think we have established that your comfort is not the issue here. Maybe it is better for you to be uncomfortable here to prevent your friend, or family member or co-worker from spending an uncomfortable eternity.
For some of you this means that you are to be Christ to your family. Being Christ means being willing to sacrifice. It means putting the needs of others ahead of your own. It means giving up some of your comfort for the comfort of others. I don’t think Jesus was comfortable on the cross, so maybe you need to not be so worried about being comfortable yourself.
I want you to do something that seems incredibly odd. I want you to think of a way that God is calling you to be uncomfortable. What is he calling you to do, that you have been resisting, because it isn’t comfortable? When you come up with what that is, why not determine today that you are going to do it. Whatever it is for you, you are going to do it.
A college baseball team, from a small college in Ohio, was traveling in a charter bus to go to Florida to get ready for their season. When the driver got to Atlanta, he went up an exit ramp that was in the middle of the highway, between the north and south lanes on I-75. He apparently didn’t know he was on an exit ramp. He must have thought that he was in one of those bus only lanes that big cities often have. He was still going full speed when he got to the top of the ramp. He turned, slammed into the wall on the far side of the bridge and actually fell over it, back onto the highway below. The last I heard 6 were dead with another 9 seriously injured.
Why can’t you be comfortable? There are people dying without Christ, and your comfort here pales in comparison to their need. There is no time.
Is Jesus against comfort? No. Heaven is stuffed with it! But the reason why he had “no place to lay his head” while he was here on earth was that there was no time. There was no time to get comfortable, no time to settle in. He had a job to do, and personal comfort only got in the way.
The time is coming when we will have unbelievable comfort. I love the words of Revelations 21:4 that says,
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
And then again in Revelation 22:5
There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
That day is coming, but not now. For now, we can look ahead, but there is work to do.
As James and John learned…the best seats are for those who descend into servant hood. The best seats are for those who are willing to be uncomfortable now so others can find comfort later.
For even the Son of man…the very Son of God….Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords…did not come to be served or bowed down to or honored…he came to serve others, to lift up the fallen, touch the unlovely, restore the broken, love the sinner. Jesus was not concerned about his own comfort but ours…and maybe we should emulate his life and be more concerned about the comfort of others later rather than our own comfort now.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served…but to serve…and I hope one day it can be said of me….and you… He did not come to be served…he came always seeking to serve others.
