What Do You Desire?

Mark 10:32-52

Jesus’ Sufferings Foretold

32 They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him,

33 saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles.

34 “They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.”

35 James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.”

36 And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

37 They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.”

38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”

39 They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.

40 “But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

41 Hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John.

42 Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them.

43 “But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant;

44 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall 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 a ransom for many.”

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

46 Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road.

47 When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

48 Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.”

50 Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus.

51 And answering him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!”

52 And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.

What do you want? It's quite a question, isn't it? It's a question which sets our minds racing. Ask any child that question, and you will get ten or fifteen quick answers in rapid fire.

We all have things we desire. But just how big are your desires? And further, if you get them, will they really satisfy you? George Bernard Shaw said, "There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it."

The question is not only what do you want; but is what I desire what is really important? Will it help me or hurt me? Do I really know what I am asking for? Have I really understood the implications of my desire? Are my priorities really in line?

One of the signs of our time is misplaced priorities. The world so effectively preaches its message that we can be affected by it without even noticing. It is so easy for our priorities to get just a little out of kilter. A wall only has to be slightly out of plumb at the beginning in order to become a veritable Leaning Tower of Pisa. Our priorities are easily misplaced in such a secular age.

The disciples, at times, had misplaced priorities. In fact, our text today is an illustration of this fact. James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, had some great ambitions. They wanted to go places. They had some dreams, some desires, some very definite wants. But they often did not understand the implications of what they wanted. And we see that illustrated in our text today.