Three of the Oldest Church Traditions
(Mark 10:32-45)
1. We all live within the boundaries of routines and patterns; but they do not always hold true.
2. Two old friends bumped into one another on the street one day. One of them looked forlorn, almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked, "What has the world done to you, my old friend?"
The sad fellow said, "Let me tell you. Three weeks ago, my uncle died and left me forty thousand dollars."
"That’s a lot of money."
"And, two weeks ago, a cousin I never even knew died, and left me eighty-five thousand dollars."
"Sounds like you’ve been blessed...."
"You don’t understand!" he interrupted. "Last week my great-aunt passed away. I inherited almost a quarter of a million."
Now the friend was really confused. "Then, why do you look so sad?”
"This week... nothing!" (Source: Sermoncentral)
3. Today we are going to look at three bad routines — three traditions — that predate Pentecost but were always part of God’s Kingdom here on earth.
Main Idea: Because the disciples were very human, and because human nature hasn’t changed, they exemplified three established traditions that are every bit as common in the church today.
I. The Tradition of Spiritual OBLIVIOUSNESS (32-34)
Chicago, laymen taught 2 months, parable 10 virgins. Last lesson, question time: “Yes, what is all this about 10 virgins.”
A. This is the THIRD and final attempt Jesus’ made to communicate
B. As a man of sorrows, was Jesus understood as being in a BLEAK mood?
1. Our pride makes us think we understand when we do not
2. Our brain usually converts what sounds wrong to right; that is why it is so hard to catch all the typos when you proofread a paper you write
3. We also have a tendency called “normalcy bias” called by firefighters a “negative panic.” For example, why did people not evacuate New Orleans before the Hurricane? Why do people sit in their seats in a burning plane rather than jump out off a wing? Why did people believe 911 was a hoax? Too awful to be true, so must not be true or exaggerated.
C. Yet they felt the atmosphere of GLOOM
1. Did you question what made the disciples feel “amazed?”
2. Why did those who followed feel “afraid?”
John 11:16, “So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’”
Perhaps the 40-day warning discussed in Talmud? Tractate Sanhedrin (43a) contains this passage:
Jesus was hanged on Passover Eve. Forty days previously the herald had cried, “He is being led out for stoning, because he has practiced sorcery and led Israel astray and enticed them into apostasy. Whosoever has anything to say in his defense, let him come and declare it.” As nothing was brought forward in his defense, he was hanged on Passover Eve.
D. We can be the same way: we don’t KNOW that we don’t know!
Many people in church today do not understand salvation by grace alone through faith alone, the Trinity, the nature of Biblical inspiration, or some of the most essential doctrines. They don’t know the difference in beliefs between evangelicals, Catholics, and Mormons. And when they hear things taught, it is as though their minds were coated with Teflon and everything skids off. Church is not a place to focus attention and concentrate, it is a place to feel or alleviate ones consciences or find comfort in pattern. They think they know the things that are important; they don’t know they don’t.
Application: Some of our oldest traditions need to be trashed, including the ancient tradition of spiritual obliviousness. We need to get out of our stupor by choosing to develop a routine for steady growth in knowledge.
II. The Tradition of Coveting INFLUENCE (35-40)
A. The NATURE of the request: expecting Millennium soon
B. Most scholars believe that Jesus and James and John were COUSINS
By comparing Matt. 27:56 with John 19:25, it seems likely that Salome was sister to Mary (Jesus’ mother).
“By inference from the other Gospel accounts, Salome is also identified with the mother of the sons of Zebedee (Mt. 27:56) and with the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus…. (John 19:25)… If these identifications are valid, Salome was Jesus’ aunt and James and John were His cousins. This would help to explain her request that Jesus give them preferential treatment (Mt. 20:20-24; Mark 10:35-40), as well as Jesus’ request of John at the cross (Jn. 19:26f.) and the immediate response of James and John to Jesus’ call (Mk. 1:19f.).” [“Salome,” International Bible Encyclopedia, Volume IV, p. 286].
C. Matthew tells us that Aunt SALOME channeled the request
Matthew 20:20-21, Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.”
D. Human nature says “blood thicker than water,” but Jesus SAYS otherwise
1. We are called to love Him above our families (Luke 14:26)
2. Allegiance to Him matters more than peace in the family (Matthew 10:34)
3. We see the “blood is thicker than water” principle play out in divorce: Divorce: in-laws may first side with their daughter-in-law or son-in-law
Exceptions: People who are constantly aware of their propensity to rearrange the past. We need to come to terms with the idea that we cannot trust ourselves .
4. The cup = the suffering Jesus would go through
Isaiah 51:17b, “…you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, ho have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering.”
5. Baptism = wrath as well
Psalm 59:16, “Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me.”
6. The Son voluntarily submits to the Father’s choice of seating
E. The quest for influence and personal AGENDAS is alive and well in the Kingdom
Application: The idea of infiltrating a church with an agenda to turn it into your dream church is highly unethical. It is good to contribute and add to it…
III. The Tradition of CONFLICT and ARGUING (41-45)
A. Schemes for influence INSULT others
1. Our egotistical pride angers others
2. Our self-centered, self-serving actions alienate friends and family
3. There can only be two winners, meaning they consigned the others to fail
B. God’s people are SUPPOSED to be different, but often are not
C. Jesus taught the way to rise is to SERVE well
1. We call this servant leadership: we develop influence through serving
2. From this, we learn that the quest for influence is not necessarily bad, if it is service-based. The other option is ego-based influence.
D. Jesus practiced what He preached: giving His life as a RANSOM for you
