Mark 10: 35-40 Follow Jesus, the Great Servant

Mark 10: 35-40 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”  “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.  They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”  “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?”  “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, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

We read this exchange of words immediately after Jesus describes his approaching betrayal, condemnation, mockery, suffering, and death.  James and John have seemingly skipped over all this and tuned into his final words: Three days later he will rise.  They see Jesus seated in heavenly places on a throne of authority, and if they are not going to rule in this life, they want a place of importance in the life that is to come.  So they ask the Lord the type of question a child might ask a parent, a trick question because they want to ensure a positive answer: Can we have whatever we ask from you?  Knowing their hearts, Jesus asks them what they want, and they selfishly reply, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”  Understanding their ignorance of what they ask of him, Jesus tells them they do not know what this request means.  He asks: “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”  Without hesitation or thought, they answer, "We can."  Jesus goes on to tell them that they will indeed drink of the cup He drinks and participate in the same baptism He is baptized with, but He knows they do not comprehend the reality of those words.  James and John are thinking of themselves, not the death of their Lord.  Their quick agreement to drink his cup and follow him in baptism show their ignorance of what lies ahead.  Soon a detachment of soldiers with their commander and Jewish officials will come to arrest Jesus, and the disciples will run away.  Peter will want to defend Jesus, but when he takes his small sword and strikes the ear of the high priest's servant, Jesus says, “Put your sword away!  Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”  (John 18:11)  The time has come for Jesus to drink the cup of suffering and journey to the cross.  He has chosen those He would want to follow him, but can they drink this cup; can they face this baptism?

Many times people make promises to God when they want something from him.  We are prone to call upon the name of the Lord in times of trouble, in the midst of a crisis.  Fortunately for us, God loves us!  The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.  The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.  (Psalm 145:8-9)  We often hear the term foxhole conversions, describing when a person is ready to die, and calls upon the name of the Lord for salvation.  God saves the person; but when the pressure is off, and everything is back to normal, the person forgets about his promise to God.  Here is a good question: Was the salvation real?  Yes, the Bible says, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  (1 John 1:9)  When the person in trouble calls upon the Lord, God answers, and if the sinner repents, God forgives his/her sins.  The Holy Spirit comes and enters the temple and cleanses the person from all sin.  That individual is free from sin and justified before God, but what comes next is up to the new creature in Christ.  We all have free will, just as the disciples had free will to follow Jesus to the cross or to run in fear from what they did not understand.  Ignorance is a scary thing and it keeps many young believers from growing in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord.  We all need to pray, to read the word, to spend time alone with God, and to fellowship with other believers.  This is like giving water and sunshine to a plant, so it will grow and become strong and healthy.  Put a plant in a dark room with no water, and it dies.  Take a new Christian or an old one away from nourishment, and they wither and dry up spiritually.  Psalm 89:15 says, Blessed are those who walk in the light of your presence.  We read in the New Testament: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.  (1 John 1:7)  Walking with Jesus brings us into fellowship with other believers, and we bring ourselves to the cross daily to find renewal and strength to grow in our relationship with the Lord.   

As with James and John, our eyes wander sometimes, and we look to rule and reign when the Lord is calling us to serve.  We know Jesus came to seek sinners and to serve the church, doing the perfect will of his Father in heaven.  One day after Jesus described the failings of the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, how they did everything so people would see them, He told his disciples, "The greatest among you will be your servant.  For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."  (Matthew 23:11-12)  James and John should have listened more carefully to their Lord's teaching, paying better attention to the One they followed.  He was a servant to all.  He met the needs of the downhearted, the poor, the sick, the hungry.  He was moved with compassion when He looked over Jerusalem.  His heart was for the people, and He was willing to drink the cup, to accept the baptism of death.  He put his trust in his heavenly Father; and as an example to all, He prayed, "Not my will but yours be done."  Peter wrote to the church: Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.  (1 Peter 4:10)  How can we not serve when our Lord was the Great Servant?  He says to each of us yet today:  "Here I am, daughters and sons, I love you.  I am here to serve you.  I am here to change your lives, to bring you into the household of faith.  Come home today to the family of God!"  We do not know or care who will sit at the right or left hand of Jesus because we will be there in the blood-washed throng, praising his name forever.  We are thankful that we know at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  (Romans 5:6-8)  Blessed be the name of the Lord!  Praise him today dearly beloved of God!  

Mark 10:32-34 Jesus Goes to the Cross

Mark 10:32-34 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid.  Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him.  “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law.  They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him.  Three days later he will rise.”

Just after telling his disciples that in the age to come they would have eternal life, Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem and leads his followers to his cross of suffering and death.  The Bible tells us his disciples were astonished and the others who followed him were full of fear.  Why would Jesus go to Jerusalem where He knew his enemies waited to capture and possibly destroy him?  Sensing their anxieties and doubts, Jesus once again explains his purpose for walking this earth is to offer himself as a sacrifice.  He has mentioned these truths previously, but they do not have ears to hear his meaning.  Earlier after Jesus asked his disciples who men said He was and then who they thought He was, and Peter said He was the Christ, Jesus uses words quite similar to those in today's passage: He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.  Rather than understanding Jesus' statement, Peter rebukes Jesus, and his Lord says, “Get behind me, Satan!  You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”  (Mark 8:31 & 33)  In this previous instance and in the event we witness today, the disciples were not ready to hear that Jesus was going to face a painful death, and they did not understand the meaning involved in his resurrection from the dead.  They were looking for an earthly king, not one who was to die.

If Jesus' disciples had fully understood his words and what He was describing when he spoke of his death and his resurrection, they would have reacted differently.  They would have confessed their loyalty to him and their obedience to God's will.  They would have looked for ways to support him on this journey.  They would have praised God for a Son who came to die for their sins, but they did not yet understand they were in the presence of the Messiah, the Anointed and Holy One, come from the Father to redeem a fallen people from bondage to sin and shame.  Had the followers of Jesus known what Jesus meant when He described the events ahead of him, they would have looked to the cross with new eyes of faith, looking to a Savior who would bring them to the Father and bridge the awful gulf of sin that separated them from true fellowship with their God.  There were many clues along the way to the identity of Jesus and the purpose for his life.  When John the Baptist saw Jesus pass by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”  A lamb is clearly a sin offering.  After hearing John's words, Andrew goes to his brother Simon and tells him, “We have found the Messiah”  (John 1:35 & 41)  Andrew and Simon come to Jesus, and Jesus renames Simon, Peter.  The disciples saw many signs and wonders throughout Jesus' ministry: they walked, talked, ate, and slept with him.  Yet many times, Jesus said to them: “Do you still not understand?”  (Mark 8:21)  He said that they had eyes but they did not see; they had ears but they did not hear.  This is the problem of the unredeemed: we are not tuned in to spiritual realities.  We think we understand the plans of God, but we are often far from the perfect will of our heavenly Father.

As we continue our study we will see that rather than picking up on what Jesus is teaching them, James and John completely dismiss what Jesus has just said to them, and they ask him, if He will do whatever they ask him to do.  We see men who should be deeply touched by what their close friend and spiritual leader has just revealed to them, looking to their own situation and their own best interests.  It is rather like someone saying, "I just found out I have terminal cancer and have only a few weeks to live," and the friend they are speaking with says, "Then I hope you won't mind helping me paint my house like you promised before you get too sick."  James and John are making sure they get what they want from Jesus.  They seemingly are not concerned that Jesus has just said when He reaches Jerusalem, They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him.  Most important to them is that He grant their wish to sit at his right and his left in his glory.  Set the humiliation, pain, and suffering aside, Jesus; just give us what we want.  The Lord so often has to be patient with us, AND HE IS!  He is patient because He loves us.  In the NIV version of the Bible, we read that God is slow to anger nine times in the Old Testament.  Most of those verses read like this one: But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.  (Psalm 86:15)  We praise God today that the steadfast love of the Lord never changes and his mercies are from everlasting to everlasting.  We thank Jesus today that his words were true when He spoke them to his disciples so long ago, and his words are true when He speaks them to us today.  He says, "My child, I love you.  You are precious to me.  I have chosen you.  I have work for you to do.  You are strong in my strength.  Rejoice and be glad.  I overcame death and the grave for you!"  Yes, brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord!     

Mark 10:28-31 Leave Everything, Follow Jesus!

Mark 10:28-31 Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!” “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields — and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

The disciples have just watched a man of "great wealth" walk away sad because the Lord told him, Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  (Mark 10:21)  When Jesus commented on how hard it is to enter into heaven, the disciples wondered who then could be saved, and Jesus came back with the powerful answer that what was impossible with man was possible with God.  Now in today's passage, we have Peter with his response that the disciples have left everything, all their worldly goods and their families and friends, to follow their Lord.  Jesus replies that in this present age they will receive a hundred times as much, and He goes on to list specifics: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields.  We cannot help but pause to question his remarks, for we know the disciples' lives following their commitment to Jesus.  We know they faced deprivation and hardships in every area of life and, as Jesus ended his statement, and with them persecutions.  Yet as we think more deeply, we realize, as these men of faith embedded their lives deeply into serving their God as disciples of their Lord, they did indeed gain a hundredfold over what they lost.  Everywhere they went, they found new families in the faith.  They made new brothers and sisters, and they met mothers and fathers who nurtured them and built them up in their faith.  While at times they had nowhere to place their tired bodies at night, on other cold nights, kind folks shared their homes, and the disciples slept by a warm fire after a filling meal of food from the harvest of the field.  The persecutions were unending; but as they were chased from one town, they hurried to the next, believing there were hungry souls, awaiting the "Good News" of the gospel and brothers and sisters in the faith.

We know from the historical record of the New Testament church that all the disciples not only left everything for Jesus and faced many difficulties as they took the gospel to the known world, they all faced a martyr's death for their Lord.  When we think of their loving commitment and their total sacrifice, we are so thankful Jesus does not stop his answer to Peter with his discussion of worldly situations, but He ends his list by saying: and in the age to come (they will receive) eternal life.  The end result of leaving EVERYTHING to follow Jesus is eternal life.  Jesus said, I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.  (John 5:24)  This is the inheritance of the saints of God; this is the everlasting reward.  We are servants of the Most High God, under orders to a Higher Authority, doing his will and not our own.  This world is not our home, so we do not consider the events and vicissitudes of life as the most important elements of our existence.  Paul wrote, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  (Galatians 2:20)  He knew who he was in Christ and who Christ was in him.  He was serving the risen Lord through the power of the Holy Spirit and looking for that heavenly city not made by human hands.  Paul would not have thought it strange to think that Christians should give up everything to follow Jesus because what else would a fully committed believer do?  If you have been crucified with Christ, then you have died to yourself, and you have come alive unto Christ your Lord.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.  (2 Corinthians 5:17) 

Since you are a new creation in Christ, Satan has no more power to defeat you.  When John writes about false prophets, he says, You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.  (1 John 4:4)  We are filled with the Holy Spirit; therefore, John says we are to try the spirits and see if they are of God.  This spiritual discernment should keep us from following false teachers who would lead us from the truth.  Jesus said, But many who are first will be last, and the last first.  If we want to please the Lord, then we should not lift up our own positions in life.  We should use the gifts of the Holy Spirit to advance the kingdom of God.  As new creatures in the family of God, joint heirs with Christ, we have the privilege of serving the Lord where He leads us.  Each day is a new beginning, a day the Lord has made for us to worship him and to serve others.  We attended a memorial service for Cliff's oldest brother this weekend.  Members of the family got up and shared their memories of growing up with him.  They told how much they loved him as a brother and a friend, but the most important event shared was when he surrendered his life to Jesus and was born again.  He was changed completely from darkness to light.  Everyone rejoiced in his salvation.  We saw him a week before his passing and were able to pray with him.  He shared with us how wonderful it was for him to know the Lord and how much he loved Jesus.  He told us how he loved his family and his friends.  We saw the joy of the Lord in him despite the pain he was experiencing from cancer.  We were touched by the sweetness of his spirit.  We know we will meet him again someday in our eternal home.  Blessed be the name of the Lord!  If you are struggling in any area of your life today, turn to Jesus.  He is for you, on your side.  Therefore submit to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  (James 4:7-8)  You may feel oppressed on every side, But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 4:19)  Our God is an awesome God!       

Mark 10:17-27 All Is Possible With God!

Mark 10:17-27  As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him.  “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered.  “No one is good — except God alone.  You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”  “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”  Jesus looked at him and loved him.  “One thing you lack,” he said.  “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me.”  At this the man’s face fell.  He went away sad, because he had great wealth.  The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”  Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” 

God alone is good.  He planned this creation, knowing that his creation could choose the "other" or follow something other than his perfect plan that harmonizes all of his works.  He told man in the beginning not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but man chose this course for his existence.  This brought other than God's perfect will for all living creatures.  The whole world, everything in it, was corrupted by this divisive seed of rebellion.  In Noah's time, God saw fit to destroy all living matter because of what He saw when He viewed Earth: The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.  (Genesis 6:5)  But He repented of that thought and gave mankind and all living things a second chance, yet the "other" is still the nature of men: Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood.  (Genesis 8:21)  The flood had not changed man's heart.   

God gave the Law to corral man's destructive ingenuity and proclivity to do wrong.  If only he would obey the Law, he would maintain harmony in his existence.  But man's basic nature to go his own way, to have the "other" as a choice rather than serving the Creator, led him to corruption and destruction.  In today's story, we see a young man who kept the law completely, at least in his perspective.  Jesus thought that was good and loved him for his effort, but He knew the heart of this young man and of all men, so He adds something else to the equation.  “One thing you lack,” he said.  “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me.”  He asks this young man to put away the "other" in his life, ALL that would hold him back from total surrender.  He tells this young man to be completely dependent upon God for everything in his life.  As long as this man had money, he had an "other" in his life, another choice, another way.  He could live life on his own terms.  He would not have to live always in God's domain, under God's authority.  When he wanted an out, he could just live life as he defined it, escaping God's authority and direction when he desired.  When problems arose, he could avoid those situations by using his great wealth.  If he hungered or needed shelter for a night, he could buy his way out of the predicament.  Jesus knew this was not a life of complete faith and servanthood.  This young man's faith and dedication to God would last only as long as he prospered according to his definition.  With money, he could always choose the "other," his way rather than the Lord's way that would sometimes include suffering and pain.  For Jesus knew the Son of Man must suffer many things (Mark 8:31) and his servants were not greater than their Master.  (See John 13:16)

This theme carries on the message of little children having faith.  Little children see the world in absolutes.  As far as existence is concerned there is no "other" in a baby's mind.  They might be discontented because their diapers are wet or their food is arriving too late, but as far as their existence is concerned: this is the way life is supposed to be: they do not look for another way.  They expect their needs to be met by concerned and loving parents who represent God to them.  This kind of belief, or faith, is that which unlocks the door to heaven.  That kind of faith is the way it was before the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was assailed.  A baby relies on everything to be in order, to work in harmony.  This is the opposite of fallen man who can choose to do everything out of God's will, except for breathing.  The heart of mankind is so wicked that man himself does not realize how far he is away from God's nature of goodness and holiness.  In the above passage this man obeyed the law.  He believed he was perfect in the sense of obedience to the law, but he was not accepted by Jesus, for he was running his life according to his religious nature, not according to a commitment of faith.  How many of us do that?  Jesus asked him for complete, unadulterated faith in God's way of running things.   Jesus asked the man to eliminate the "other" and then come follow him.  This was true of all those Jesus called.  When he commissioned Andrew and Simon, they were busily casting their nets into the sea.  “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”  At once they left their nets and followed him.  (Mark 1:17)  At once they left their homes, their family, their livelihood; and forsaking all, they followed Jesus without looking back.  

The disciples completely understood what Jesus was saying about the young man, for they had left everything to follow Jesus, but they knew Jesus was asking this young man a question that was even deeper than their commitment.  Jesus was asking this young man to live by every word that comes out of God's mouth.  Jesus was asking this man to succumb completely to God's will: no "other" in his life could rule or have sway over him.  The disciples understood this challenge, for they immediately say, “Who then can be saved?”  They knew that not even their lives could be measured by that yard stick, even though they had left everything to follow Jesus.  Jesus quickly answers them, “With man this is IMPOSSIBLE, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”  In other words, man will always have the "other" in his domain, but God chose One who would always completely follow his every word, and that one is Jesus.  He alone is the propitiation for our sins--the final sacrifice.  We read in Hebrews that He did not have to die again and again as the priests had to offer perpetual sacrifices for the sins of mankind.  But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.  (Hebrews 9:26)  He substituted his life for ours.  He died for the sin of the "other," the sin of going astray and choosing our own way.  Because of the cross of Christ, we are raised by faith into the holiness and perfection of Jesus Christ himself.  We are NOW PLEASING to God because of Jesus, and we stand clothed in his righteousness.  Praise Him forevermore!