The Rev. Paul J Cain
Mark
10: (32-34) 35-45
Servant of All
Fifth Sunday in Lent, 25 March 2012
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, WY
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
It sounds like something a
small child would ask of a parent or grandparent: “I want you to do whatever I
ask you to do.” Really? That’s your plan, James and John? They ask that their
request be granted before they even tell Jesus what their request is. Guys, why
not ask your mom to make the request on your behalf? Actually, that also
happened, according to the additional detail given in Matthew’s account (20:20ff).
35 And James and John, the sons of
Zebedee, came up to [Jesus] (him) and said to him, “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 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at
your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38 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 And
they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink
you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be
baptized, 40 but to
sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those
for whom it has been prepared.” 41 And
when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called
them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of
the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over
them. 43 But it
shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your
servant, 44 and
whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served
but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” [1]
“We are able,” James and John
said. Really? Do you guys really know what you’re getting into? Again, it
sounds like a child asking if he or she can keep the stray cat or puppy found
in the neighborhood promising, “I’ll take care of it.” Parents may want to say
what Jesus does say: “You do not know what you are asking.”
They did suffer. They did eventually
drink the cup of suffering that Jesus drank. So how do we get from these two
brothers, the sons of Zebedee essentially praying the prayer, “Let MY will be
done on heaven as it is on earth,” to both James and John suffering for their
proclamation of Christ? Acts 12:2 says one of the Herods who was king executed
James with the sword. The book of Revelation was recorded by John when he was
exiled to the island of Patmos, near the city of Ephesus in what we now call
Turkey.
How do we get from two guys who
want Jesus to make them earthly princes at His right and left in an earthly
kingdom to those who serve, willing to give their lives rather than compromise
their confession of Christ?
There are three additional
verses of the Gospel reading appointed for this day. They are usually
considered optional, but should be considered very important today. These three
verses precede verse 35 of Mark Chapter 10:
32 And they were on the road,
going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were
amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he
began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and
the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and
they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock
him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will
rise.”
So, how does Christianity really
work? Who is Jesus and what did He come to do? Jesus is the Son of Man and Son
of God, the predicted Suffering Servant of the book of Isaiah, our Prophet, Priest,
King, and also the Temple that would be destroyed and rebuilt in three days.
And what did He come to do? As
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, he will ransom the sheep,
us. He will be delivered over, be mocked and flogged and ridiculed, will be
forced to carry His own cross, suffer crucifixion, and will die.
The disciples have a bad habit
that modern folks sometimes have, too. Sometimes, we only hear, remember, or want
to know the bad stuff. People want the latest rumors, the nastiest gossip, the
secrets that should remain secret. People guilty of a certain sin feel
singled-out if someone even mentions the sin they feel guilty about. The law does
that to people. It is part of our sinful human nature.
Listen to all of verse 34. What
have we and the disciples missed that we should make the focus of this whole
text? 34 And they
will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days
he will rise.”
Did you hear the good news, the
Gospel? And after three days, he, Jesus, the Son of man, will rise from the
dead.
Jesus’ kingdom is no mere
earthly kingdom. He will rule over things. He is given authority over all
heaven and earth, from the kingdom of power, earthly nations, to the kingdom of
grace, the Holy Christian Church, and even the kingdom of glory, heaven itself.
Yet Jesus does not rule like an earthly king rules. The Lord’s ancient people
were warned about it when they begged Him for a king like all the other
nations. According to 1 Samuel, And Samuel prayed to the Lord.
7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all
that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me
from being king over them. 8 According
to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of
Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also
doing to you. 9 Now
then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the
ways of the king who shall reign over them.”
10 So Samuel told all the words of
the Lord to the people who were
asking for a king from him. 11 He
said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take
your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run
before his chariots. 12 And
he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties,
and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements
of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13 He
will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the
best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his
servants. 15 He will
take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers
and to his servants. 16 He
will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men
and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you
shall be his slaves. 18 And
in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for
yourselves, but the Lord will not
answer you in that day.”
Quite a warning, isn’t it? 1
Samuel 8 is very clear what earthly kings are all about. Do you remember the
accounts of Saul, David, and Solomon? Didn’t they live up to the warning?
19 But the people refused to obey
the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, 20 that we also may be
like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and
fight our battles.” 21 And
when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears
of the Lord. 22 And the Lord
said to Samuel, “Obey their voice and make them a king.”[2]
And so Samuel anointed Saul. Jesus
is not such a king. He says, “You know that those who are considered rulers of
the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over
them. 43 But it
shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your
servant, 44 and
whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served
but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus is the king promised of
old. 2 Samuel proves it. 7 Now
when the king lived in his house and the Lord
had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, 2 the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I
dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.” 3 And Nathan said to
the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.”
4 But that same night the word of
the Lord came to Nathan, 5 “Go and tell my
servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord:
Would you build me a house to dwell in? 6 I
have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from
Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. 7 In all places where I
have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the
judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why
have you not built me a house of cedar?” ’ 8 Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant
David, ‘Thus says the Lord of
hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should
be prince over my people Israel. 9 And
I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from
before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great
ones of the earth. 10 And
I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they
may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall
afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from
the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you
rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord
declares to you that the Lord will
make you a house. 12 When
your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up
your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish
his kingdom. 13 He
shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom
forever. 14 I will
be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I
will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast
love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from
before you. 16 And
your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne
shall be established forever.’ ” 17 In
accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan
spoke to David. [3]
And Jesus is THAT kind of King.
Solomon is the initial fulfillment of the Lord’s promise. The fullness of the
Lord’s promise of a king who will be established on the throne forever is found
in Christ, just as we read in Matthew 27, where Jesus is declared to be “King
of the Jews.”
33 And when they came to a
place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), 34 they offered [Jesus]
(him) wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink
it. 35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among
them by casting lots. 36 Then they sat down and kept watch over him there.
37 And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is
Jesus, the King of the Jews.” 38 Then two robbers were crucified with him,
one on the right and one on the left[4].
Jesus had told James and John,
“The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am
baptized, you will be baptized, 40 but
to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those
for whom it has been prepared.”
Now they know why Jesus also
said, “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 And they said to
him, “We are able.”
By faith in Christ and by the
power of God the Holy Spirit they were able to remain faithful unto death. They
received the crown of life won by Christ on their behalf.
There is one last loose end for
us to address this morning. After James and John made their request of Jesus,
the rest of the disciples had a visceral response: 41 And
when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.
Yes, you heard that right. Ten
of the disciples were upset with James and John for making their request to sit
at Jesus’ right and left because they didn’t think to ask first!
This is the temptation of the
disciple of Christ, even today. There are days when we are jealous of someone
else. You or I may envy the gifts, talents, possessions, family, or life
situation of some other Christian. All of that is but another case of the grass
looking greener on the other side of the fence. We are told to be careful what
we wish for, to be careful what we pray for, for we may not like what the other
person’s life is really like.
Learn to be content with what
you have: your possessions, your vocations, your skills and abilities, and your
spiritual gifts. As Paul reminds us all in 1 Corinthians, spiritual gifts may
be given to individuals when and where the Holy Spirit wills, but all those
gifts given to individuals are given so that the whole body of Christ is built
up.
Don’t be jealous of James or
John. James was martyred. John was persecuted and exiled. How do we get from
two guys who want Jesus to make them earthly princes at His right and left in
an earthly kingdom to those who serve, willing to give their lives rather than
compromise their confession of Christ?
Jesus provides the answer: “See,
we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the
chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver
him over to the Gentiles. 34 And
they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three
days he will rise.”
This is Jesus, the ransom for
all, the King of the Jews, the servant and slave of all. It is as Luther
himself wrote, “A Christian is the freest lord of all, subject to none. A
Christian is the most dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” For more on this
Biblical paradox of the Christian life, join us as we read Luther on Christian
Freedom Sunday mornings at Bible Class.
Jesus says it best: “You know
that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and
their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever
would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be
slave of all. 45 For
even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as
a ransom for many.” For that, thanks be to God! Amen.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version.
2001 (Mk 10:32–45). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version.
2001 (1 Sa 8:6–22). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version.
2001 (2 Sa 7:1–17). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
[4] The Holy
Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Mt 27:33–38). Wheaton: Standard Bible
Society.
