FOUR GREAT QUESTIONS OF JESUS III
A Series of Devotional Sermons
Third Great Question:
“What do you want me to do for you?”
(Mark 10:36)
Oftentimes Jesus asked a question in response to a request. As you and I most likely have learned during our lifetime, the requests made of us can be such that they tell us a lot about the person(s) making the request, but they also tell us that the person(s) making the request have a lot to learn.
In this story, Mark tells us that Jesus asked this question in response to a request made of him by two disciples who were brothers – James and John. Mark 10:35-40 . . .
For many interpreters of the Bible, this account of such an unusual request tells us about the honesty of Mark; for, you see, Matthew tells the same story but says that it was James and John’s mother who came to Jesus to make the request.
Why would Matthew say the request was made by their mother rather than by the two brothers themselves? Well, Matthew was a stickler for protecting the Jewish image of those closest to Jesus, as if to paint a picture of Jesus’ disciples as men without flaws.
So, by attributing this inappropriate request to their mother, I suppose the former tax collector Matthew thought that readers of his gospel would chalk up this unworthy request to the natural ambitions of a mother’s heart and, therefore, spare James and John the embarrassment of everyone finding out about their prideful quest for superiority. Shame on Matthew!
Good for Mark! Mark told it like it was. He chose not to “gloss over” the warts and the imperfections of the early followers of Jesus.
William Barclay tells of an artist who painted the portrait of Oliver Cromwell – a British general and statesman known as “Old Ironsides.” This great man was afflicted with warts all over his face; so, trying to please his superior, the artist omitted the warts in the painting. When Cromwell saw the painting, he yelled, “Take it away! And paint me with warts and all!”
Mark painted word pictures of Jesus’ disciples – warts and all! Mark did the right thing, because the twelve apostles were not exactly a company of the saintliest people who ever lived! These guys were very ordinary men. When I realized that Jesus set out to change the world by aligning Himself with ordinary folks, warts and all, it encouraged me to know that God can use people who may not be among the elite and extraordinary of society.
Now, I think it must be pointed out that, probably, James and John came from a well-to-do family since their father was known to have the ability to hire servants. So, it may be that they had been accustomed to living in a household which by standards of that day were a cut above.
It is within the realm of possibility that their ambitions had been kindled by the social superiority of their family; and I don’t think it’s a stretch of the imagination to think of them as being rather snobbish about it. At any rate, James and John coveted the highest positions in what they at that time thought was going to be an earthly kingdom with a royal throne like unto that of King David.
The rather shocking aspect of this ambitious request on their part lies in the apparent lack of understanding on their part as to who Jesus really was and what kind of kingdom He had come to establish. How arrogant of them to preface their request for positions of superiority by inferring that they were deserving of anything they asked. What arrogance!
Folks, when we get the notion that we deserve from God anything we ask, we show ourselves to be lacking in an understanding of who God is versus who we are.
God is great! We can only strive to be greater than we are.
God is good! We can only try as best we can to be better than we are.
God is love! We are still in the process of learning what real love is.
Nothing Jesus could have said to these two disciples could have enlightened them as to the kind of kingdom He came to establish. It took His dying on the Cross to finally convey to them why He came and to convince them that they, too, must take up their cross and follow Him.
To their credit, however, even though at the time James and John made their request, they did not fully understand, they kept on following Jesus and remained loyal to Him, despite hearing Him say, “Request denied!” James and John knew in their hearts that eventually, no matter where their journey with Jesus might take them, the Cause of Christ their Lord would ultimately triumph!
There may be times when you and I feel that our requests have either been ignored or denied; yet we must keep on trusting in the One whose life was the greatest life ever lived and whose death was turned into the greatest miracle the world has ever known – the resurrection.
Had James and John been granted their request for high positions, they might have missed their opportunity for true greatness; for, in God’s kingdom there are no positions that are higher than others; God’s standard of greatness is measured not by how high your position is but how low you are willing to stoop to serve.
Jesus asked them if they could “drink of the cup” that was His to drink. In Jewish thought, the “cup” was a metaphor for the life that God had given them to live. When the psalmist shouted, “My cup spills over!” he was speaking of the life of happiness that God had given him to live.
There is no doubt – throughout both the Old and New Testaments – that the life given to Jesus on this earth was that of a “suffering servant.” He came not to be served but to serve – and He served so effectively that even though He died, He lives – forevermore!
You may feel that your suffering is more than it ought to be, and so much more than you deserve, but when you think about the suffering of Jesus, what do we have to complain about? Instead of dwelling on our suffering, would it not be better for us – and for others – to dwell on the life that God has given us to live and is still ours to live – not only in the here and now but more importantly in the hereafter!
Jesus challenged James and John to be “baptized” with the baptism He was baptized with – IF they wanted to be great in the eyes of God. Once again Jesus is using a metaphor – this time baptism – to indicate that true greatness is seen in those who are willing to be “submerged” in the seas of adversity that are oftentimes experienced by faithful followers of Christ.
Among those who serve their fellow men – proclaiming the gospel, promoting peace in the world, planning for the well-being of people all over the world – the characteristic I admire most is a willingness to be subjected to harsh criticisms and hard work for the sake of others.
James and John indeed subjected themselves to the adversities that befell all known followers of Jesus in the first century. James was beheaded for the cause of Christ. John suffered much for the cause of Christ.
You and I are fortunate that we live in a country where freedom to worship is one of our most cherished freedoms, and we have James and John to thank, along with all the others martyrs and witnesses who went before us.
Thanks to Christ and others who gave their lives for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ, you and I will not likely be subjected to martyrdom. Yet, there is a cross for each one of us to bear – and to bear our cross willingly is to pass the test of true greatness.
Jesus puts the question to you and me, “What can I do for you?”
May I suggest that, based on the response Jesus gave to James and John, our answer be: “Lord, you have already done so much for me that words cannot convey my gratitude, yet there is one thing more I ask, and that is, what can I do for you?”
The Lord’s answer to our change of attitude has already been given to us, and it is this: “Inasmuch as you have done the right thing unto the least of these, you have done so unto me.”
Then follows the commendation of our heavenly Father: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Amen.
