Walking Along God's Road

Moving Along "

Mark 10:35-45

The Request of James and John

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

36"What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.

37They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."

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?"

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,

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

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

42Jesus 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.

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

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

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

I was thinking to myself about how the Methodist Church has the best system for deciding what pastor goes to what church and so on…but even within the best of systems…there are flaws.

I have heard people speak about pastors they have known who have spent their entire careers calculating their next move…how they will get moved up to a bigger church, which of course, means a bigger salary and I suppose more prestige.

Ministers are human creatures just like everyone else, and can easily fall prey to thinking about Christian ministry in worldly ways.

And the first disciples of Jesus were no exception to this flaw in thinking.

Here in our message ;

we find James and John asking Jesus to give them positions of prestige and power…

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

Take a look back at Mark chapter 9:33-35.

Jesus has just gone through this same discussion with the twelve…

…and a chapter later He must deal with it again.

The disciples missed the point in chapter 9 and they miss it again in chapter 10…

…and some 2,000 years later, we often miss it as well!

What is greatness?

In the kingdom of God greatness is not about moving on up…

…it’s about transformation!!!

The violent reversal of the world’s way of measuring greatness…can go no further than Jesus explains it, embodies it, models it, and makes it possible!!!

In Jesus’ world…which is the world of reality…

…the greatest at the banquet is the slave who does the serving…

…not the one sitting at the head of the table making the toasts, getting all the attention, and telling others what to do.

Well, let’s think about it…

…let’s really think about it brothers & sisters…

Within our families, our social circles, our church…

…who is it that we love and respect the most?

Who do we prize the most?

Who do we trust the most?

Is it the person who drives the most expensive car?

Is it the person who wears the most flashy and expensive clothing?

Is it the person who is best looking?

Is it the person who holds high positions and tells others what to do?

Is it the one who exercises their authority over us…who causes us to quake in our boots?

Or is it the person, rich or poor, who is not a show off…if they do happen to have anything to show off?

The person who is the first to visit us when we are sick…maybe bringing us a pot of homemade chicken soup?

The person who is more than willing to sit and listen to our problems…without complaining…without judging?

The person who holds our hands and prays for and with us when we are facing trials and tribulations?

The person who rejoices with us when good things happen in our lives, and grieves with us when bad things happen?

The person that we know we can count on to help us in our time of need no matter what?

Look at verses 42-45 in the verse.

“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you.”

Again we find Jesus turning the world upside down!

Notice the irony and scorn in the phrase: “those who are regarded as rulers…”.