Walkin’ with Jesus:
Swimmin’ in the Baptistery
Scripture Text: Mark 10.35-45
INTRODUCTION
We need the “meat” of the gospel. We need the stuff that’ll sustain and prepare-us for the long-journey of following Jesus. And that’s-why He teaches James-and-John ~ …and the rest of us, …His followers ~ …that servanthood is a critical-element in being one of His disciples. Being a servant is at the heart of what it means to follow Jesus.
BODY
I. A Cup & A Baptism
James and John were asking more-than simply to sit next to Jesus at the dinner-table. They were asking for the seats of honor. The seats of power and privilege. They wanted Jesus to do this for them: to let them be the most-important people in Jesus’ kingdom. I think they still had visions of sugar-plums dancing in their heads! They thought that Jesus was gonna waltz into Jerusalem, …take His rightful place on the throne of Israel, …kick-out the rotten-scoundrels, …and make everything o.k.
But, Jesus knew that the path He was called to walk-down was not-gonna-be a walk-in-the-park. And He had been-tryin’ to-give the disciples a ‘heads-up’ ~ …that, what-was-waiting-for-Him in Jerusalem was rejection and betrayal, suffering and death. You-remember, don’t-you, …that at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, …that He was baptized, …and immediately, He found himself in the desert being sorely-tempted by Satan for 40 days?
And in just-a-few-short-days, …Jesus will be in the Garden of Gethsemane ~ …only-a-few-short-hours before the soldiers come to arrest Him; …and in the Garden He prays, “Father, if it be your will, please take this cup from me!”
The story of Jesus’ life-and-ministry are quickly moving toward Golgatha and the Cross. The baptism that marked the beginning of His ministry, …and the dark-night in the Garden, just-before being carried away in police-custody ~ …Jesus knew that it was not going to be an easy row-to-hoe! But, the disciples were a little slow to catch-on.
James and John ask if they can be on His “right” and “left”. And-what comes to my mind is: “Are you guys ready hang on the crosses next to Jesus!?!” Jesus is headed to Jerusalem ~ …but a throne doesn’t wait for Him, there! It’s a Cross! And there will be two people by His side, …but they will be convicted criminals. And they won’t be sitting-and-soaking in the fan-fare and adoration of the people, …but they will be mocked and ridiculed and humiliated as they die a slow, painful death.
James and John ask if they can be on Jesus’ “right” and on His “left” ~ …but I don’t think they quite-understand what that means!
You catch-a-glimpse of Jesus’ incredible patience, in His response to James-and-John’s outlandish request. We might expect Him to say something-like: …”Have you guys been listening to anything-I’ve-been-saying for the last 6 months!?! “How long will it take you fellas to get it!?!
But-instead, He asks: “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
He was asking James and John whether they are ready to follow Him into the experience of serving the kingdom of God ~ …seeking God’s will, …doing the work of God, …sometimes, setting-aside your own plans-or-fears, dreams-or-uncertainties.
The funny-thing-is that James and John are told that they will drink the ‘cup’ and be ‘baptized’ with Jesus’ baptism. They will follow in Jesus’ footsteps; …they will give-their-lives to the call-of-God to live-like-servants of the Kingdom of God. Now, this doesn’t-necessarily-mean that they will be crucified, just-like-Jesus-was. In-fact, James was beheaded; …and John lived to a ripe old age of around 90 ~ …though he nearly died a martyr’s death several times: …including-once, when he was dropped into a pot of boiling oil! He survived that and continued to live as a powerful-witness to the love-of-God and the power-of the Kingdom. The ‘cup’ and the ‘baptism’ that Jesus refers to are the calling-of-God to lay-it-all-on-the-line for the sake of our Lord God. His will is our supreme desire. His calling is our path. His ways become our ways. His example of living-for-others and not-for-our-own selfish reasons ~ …”Can you drink the cup that Jesus drank and be baptized with the baptism that Jesus was baptized with?”
II. Servanthood
I’m pretty-sure-that James and John are thinking about the kingdom of heaven in a worldly way. They think that seats of honor and power are-also places of privilege. But Jesus teaches that things in the kingdom of heaven are topsy-turv! Power is expressed in servanthood. Honor is received through humility. To be “privileged” means that we’ve-been-included in the plans-and-the-work of God!
And-so, I was thinking about different people who have been great servants. In politics we hear politicians talk-a-lot-about “public service”. Whether most-modern-politicians have a servant-attitude or a selfish-attitude, I’m-not-gonna touch that-one! But, history has shown George Washington was a great leader and a great president. But-recently I’ve learned that he did-not-want the mantle of presidential leadership. He wanted to quietly retire to Mt. Vernon, after the dust-had-settled from the Revolutionary War. But, he accepted the call to be our nation’s first president as a way to serve the people and our newly-found-nation.
In modern-times, Nelson Mandella endured years of suffering in South Africa prisons. He protested against his government’s apartheid policies. And because he stood up for people who were mistreated under those policies …he was thrown into prison. The system lashed-out against-him; …but he continued to-serve his people in hopes that they’d one day be freed.
Mother Teresa served the poor and dying in Calcutta, India. Although she eventually became a household-name, throughout the world, …that was not her aim or her desire. She toiled-away in anonymity for years ~
…taking care of street-children and lepers and people on death’s-door. I will always remember her small, stooped-frame standing in the presence of international dignitaries and presidents ~ …they would enter a room with great ‘pomp-and-circumstance’; …but she was a giant in their company ~ …not-because she had the power-and-authority that comes from standing-armies and great-economies and weapons of mass-destruction; …but-because she was a servant to the helpless. Her status as a “giant” among the world’s leaders was-rooted in her serving-as the hands-of-Jesus to outcasts and cast-aways.
Jim Elliot, his wife and four other missionary couples went to the jungles of Ecuador in the 1950’s. They wanted to share the message of Jesus with hidden tribes, … like the Waodani tribe. The world didn’t know who those five missionary –couples were ~ …much-like they don’t know the names-and-stories of thousands of missionaries who go in the name of Jesus today. After making contact by dropping gifts from a plane to the Waodani tribe, …Jim Elliot and his friends eventually attempted a face-to-face meeting. They landed their plane on a sandy beach along a jungle river ~ …but the Waodani-people thought they were up-to-no-good. They speared the missionaries to death. Although Jim Elliot and the others went without fanfare, …to a place and a people that few knew about, …and eventually were-killed in their attempts to reach a hidden people, …the missionaries did-it-all because they believed that Jesus came for all people, …and-that no-effort was too great to-reach those who had not heard!
You probably recognize each one of the names that I’ve mentioned here ~ …George Washington, Nelson Mandella, Mother Teresa, and Jim Elliot. In some way, each of these people was a servant.
But there are millions of Christians who live-their-lives, …quietly serving in outposts for the kingdom. Prayer warriors who lift their brothers and sisters to the Lord. Sunday School teachers who spend time every week, …studying the Word and helping others to-grow in their understanding of God’s ways. Board members and Committee members who give oversight and planning to the church and its ministries. Followers-of-Jesus who offer helping-hands to their neighbors.
…Servanthood is all about our attitude. It’s investing your time-and-talents in the work of the kingdom. It’s touching lives for Jesus’ sake. It’s-about living for God, …not for the world, …not for your-self, …but being a genuine follower of Jesus and serving others with grace, love, and mercy. In the Book of Ephesians, Scripture says it this way:
“Be imitators of God, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2
III. Suffering
Would you agree ~ …that it’s important to know what you’re getting’ yourself into?
When I start-planning a family-vacation, …I try to anticipate how much it’s gonna cost to do the things we’d like to do; …I try to think about how-much-time we have and how-much-time different-things will take.
Well… there’s a sense-in-which it’s good-to-know what we’re gettin’ ourselves-into when we decide to follow Jesus! Sometimes we sugar-coated the whole thing. We’ve made it sound-like a deal you can’t-refuse. That it’s all-benefits, with no-costs. We package-it in glitter-and-gold.
So, I’m sorry if I’m burstin’-your-bubble! If you thought that followin’ Jesus was a cake-walk, …if you thought your Heavenly Father was a great-big-Santa, …this passage makes you sit-up and take-notice.
It’s good-to-know what you’re gettin’-yourself-into… …and The deal is-that walkin’ with God is an awesome adventure. It’s filled with blessings because our Father in Heaven is generous and He has a loving-heart toward His children. It’s filled with goodness because He wants to flood our lives with the gifts of love and grace, peace and joy. But, the flip-side is that for the time-bein’, We live in a confused, mixed-up world! It’s broken because of sin…. Now, Jesus came to rescue us from the power of sin. And if you’ve given Him your heart, …He’s done-it for you!
But not everybody has. Not-everyone’s sought His forgiveness and let His Spirit change their ways. And-so, there’s a lot of selfishness and self-centeredness out there. Besides, the Lord knows that sometimes it’s not-just “out there” in the world; ..but sometimes the old-sinful-impulses rear their ugly-heads in those of us who’ve already-been freed from sin. The result is: Sin still creates havoc and suffering and brokenness. We all know that!
But, let’s not live with the illusion that when you and I give our hearts to God, …let’s not be mistaken: Walkin’ with God does not magically protect us from the fact that sin is still causing-craziness and chaos in our world. And-so, quite-often, we suffer from living in this-ole-world. And-sometimes, we suffer because we choose to follow-Jesus, rather than follow-our-friends. And-sometimes, we suffer because there is an enemy who hates the Kingdom of God and those who are devoted to serving the Lord.
I think that a lot of Christians ~ when it comes to this-thing of following-Jesus and being servants for the Kingdom ~ There might be a lot of Christians who’d say that they’d have no problem being more-of-a-servant to others; …the problem is that other people are so-ungrateful! If they’d just-be a little-more-appreciative, we’d be a lot-more-giving! If they wouldn’t treat us like ‘dirt’; …if people just-compliment me whenever I make a sacrifice for their sake ~ …then I’d feel a whole-lot-more-disposed to live like a servant.
But, people are so cruel. They’re so uncaring. They’re consumers and takers and grabbers ~ …just-living-life for what they can get-for-themselves!
And-maybe you’re like the 90% of Christians ~ …whether we say-it, …or just think-it ~ …but it would be so-much-easier to live-like-Jesus-lived, …so-much-easier to be a servant and love-our-neighbors the way-that-God loves-them, …it would be so-much-easier to live-a-life-of-servanthood if there wasn’t so much heartache and suffering and rejection! I-mean, why do people mis-understand loving-actions? Why do they hold-onto hard-hearts when we’re trying to reach-them-for-Christ? Why do people reject us, …and belittle the tender-hearted, …and push-past-us like we were push-overs, …and why do they take advantage of those who are so-generous with their time and attention and resources?
Sometimes-it’s-enough to make-you-wanna draw-up in a little-shell, …and shut-out the world, …and move your heart into a big-strong-castle with a deep, wide moat. You wanna guard your heart. You wanna protect yourself from being hurt and rejected and trampled-on…
And the call to servanthood ~ …You see the risk that comes with it. To be a servant in world-broken-by-sin, …is to expose your heart to suffering and heartache. It is a risky-venture.
But-here’s-the-thing: Whatever-it-is that we hope-to-receive in life: …whether it’s joy or peace or blessings or happiness or love or acceptance or success ~ …whatever-it-is that we hope-to-receive in life does not come from those we serve. As Christians, the benefits of living a servant-lifestyle are not found in the people that we serve. If that’s-where we’re lookin’ for the benefits, …we’re bound to be disappointed and hurt and feel-rejected.
But-instead, …the benefits of living a servant-lifestyle come-from God-Himself! And-so, …we serve because Jesus was a servant; …we serve because He is our example; …we serve because He laid-it-all on-the-line for you-and-me! We do not serve because of people’s praise-or-applause. We don’t serve because of accolades-and-attention. We don’t-serve because others will speak-well of us. We give our lives to a life-of-servanthood because we’re walkin’-the-walk. This is the kind-of-life that Jesus lived, as an example to us. This is the kind-of-life that shows we love our neighbors. This is the kind-of-life that reflects godly-love ~ the kind of love displayed in the life-and-death of Jesus!
CONCLUSION
Have ya noticed the title of this sermon? ~ …”Swimmin’ in the Baptistery”?
It never-fails… that whenever I’ve had a baptism-service, …that somebody-says that they’ve always dreamed-of jumpin’-in and swim-around! Usually it’s-kids. But-sometimes it’s an older, kid-at-heart.
“Swimmin’ in the Baptistery” is a playful-picture of what we’re invited into by Jesus. He says,
“Can you… be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
James-and-John say, “Yeah, sure!” And Jesus said, “You will!” And-what’s goin’-on in that conversation is that Jesus invites His followers to jump-in! Following Jesus.. walking with Him means that we’ll cover the same-kinds-of landscapes that He traveled on. This may not be a pleasant thought to those-of-us who are-driven by a desire to live a nice, comfortable life. It may be an unsettling-thing for those-of-us who are-afraid to put our hearts on-the-line, in front-of-people who may use us-as a doormat. But following Jesus is about following Jesus! ~ …it’s not-about how other people receive-us, or respond-to-us, …or whether they appreciate-all-the-things we’re givin’ up for them!
The world may reject us. The world may-even hate us. The world may mis-understand, …or accuse us of false-motives, …or treat-us like “dirt” ~ even-if we’re treatin’ them the way that Jesus would have us treat them. But, then-again… that’s how they treated Jesus!
It’s an adventure. It’s a good-thing! It’s a joy-to-follow Jesus because so-long-as you’re followin’ Him, …that-just-means that you’re close to His heart and He’s close to yours! And isn’t that exactly-where we wanna be!?!
Earlier, I said that there are millions of Christians serving the Kingdom of God in outposts around the world. Some of the are found right-here, in our church family. I guess-what-I’m-wondering is whether all of us ~ who’ve made a decision to let Christ into our hearts ~ …I’m-wondering if all-of-us are living the servant-lifestyle. Getting’ our hands dirty by helping others. Emptyin’ our resevoirs because there’re so-many thirsty people. Droppin’ into our beds-at-night, exhausted, …but-knowing that we’ve laid-it-all on-the-line for-to life up the name of Jesus. Our hearts are free because we’re not bogged-down with the world’s worries or appetites. We’ve let-go of those attitudes that eat-away-at-the joy-of-the-Lord; …and we’ve surrendered those attitudes that crave the spot-light and attention and the front-and-center. Are we willing to wash feet, …and welcome children, …and let go our ‘rights’, …and give a cup of cold water, …and offer the coat off our back, …and work-the-backstage, …and use a day-off to build the kingdom, …and take-on the ugliness and the mis-understanding of the world, …and lift up the name of the Lord, …and live to glorify our Heavenly Father, …and-to-say that it’s all-about-Him, …and it’s all-for-Him?
