The Disciples’ Mistake - Mark 10:35-45
The Disciples’ Mistake - Mark 10:35-45
September 19, 2010 AM
By Pastor Lee Hemen
School had just ended and Tyler was eager to leave the campus for several reasons: One, because school was so boring to him and, two, his mother was picking him up in their clunky old van. He didn't want anyone to see him with his mother or get into that rotten old van. Of course being the great mother she was, she parked the “hunk-of-junk” right smack dab in front of the school where it could easily be seen by pretty much everyone. So, having been already embarrassed that he had to be seen getting picked up by his mother in their trashy old van, he reaches for the sliding door, and the slider just keeps right on sliding and does not stop. It falls off its rail and clunks right onto the parking lot. His mortification did not end there though, Tyler then had to trudge to the wood shop and ask for a screwdriver to fix it! One of life’s wonderfully embarrassing moments.
Have you ever had one of those moments when you wished you could take back either something you said or something you did? I know I have and my father made me painfully aware I had! There can also be times when our loving parents have either said or done something that embarrasses us. For some of us we may think it is our job to embarrass our children, but in reality, it may not be as humorous as we think it is. This, in fact, was the case with the incident we read about in Mark’s gospel. Luckily, for us, the disciples have one of those embarrassing moments in life that is immortalized in Scripture for all of us to read. The followers of Jesus make several blunders we never want to make. Let’s discover what they are and why they were a mistake…
READ: Mark 10:35-45
Can you imagine being a grown man and having your mother come to your rabbi master to ask a favor for you? ARGH! How embarrassing would that be? Matthew relates that it was “the mother of Zebedee's sons, [who] came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.” (Matthew 20:20) As bad as it was for the mother of a couple of the adult disciples to come and beg Jesus to favor her sons, we find in Mark that they unknowingly make the faux pas themselves. We discover that…
I. The disciples made the mistake of wanting the wrong thing! (Vv. 35-40)
1. Some of life’s most awkward moments can begin with the wrong motivation! James and John ask Jesus, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask!” Wow, how self-centered is this! “We want you to do whatever we ask” is the same thing we do when we place Jesus in our own private bottle for our own benefit. Jesus immediately realized their spiritual myopia. He slyly asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus wants them to completely commit to their mistake. Why? Because it is often when we make a mistake, and learn by it, that we mature the most. “They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.’” (v. 37) -- literally, they were asking Jesus for greater position in his kingdom than the rest of the disciples! Jesus also understood that they clearly did not understand what they were asking him to do. And he tells them so. “You don't know what you are asking.” The disciples did not realize what was involved in their ambitious request. To ask for a place of honor in His kingdom was also a request to share in His suffering since the one is indispensable to the other. For Jesus’ kingdom to come, he had to die on a cruel cross! Could they follow him in that? Perhaps in a moment of precognition of his prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus rhetorically asks them, “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” and like the puerile plebes they were, in pubescent immaturity they immediately respond, “We can!” Jesus warns them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with.” Baptism portrayed a picture of being overwhelmed by calamity. It also displayed one’s dying to self and living anew. The disciples would experience both. James was the first apostle to be martyred and John would suffer extreme persecution and exile for his faith. Jesus tells them, “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.” Interestingly, Jesus is referring to those God the Father had already chosen. He denies their request. The disciples made the mistake of wanting the wrong thing. I pray we do not.
EXAMPLE: I can remember wanting the wrong thing and being embarrassed by the results. I wanted a sport coat, something we could not really afford, and to my utter horror, my mother bought me an ugly green sweater instead. And, yes, I have photographs of myself wearing it somewhere. Luckily, they are in black and white. Did you know that Jesus spoke about this very thing? He related that there would be those who would want the wrong things in life and would be embarrassed by the end result. He told his disciples, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”(Matthew 7:21-23) Can you imagine getting to heaven and finding out that you not only did the wrong thing with your life, but you also wanted the wrong thing in life? Talk about being embarrassed by the results!
We can live our whole lives and misunderstand what life is truly about. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) But what is our life in Jesus to be like? The disciples had followed Jesus for three years and still they misunderstood, so is it any wonder that even today Christians misunderstand as well? However, the mistakes do not stop there we discover that…
II. The disciples misunderstand what discipleship is all about! (Vv. 41-45)
1. Misunderstanding in life can lead to unfortunate results! When the rest of the disciples hear about what the other two had asked Jesus for, “they became indignant with James and John.” Usually, when folks become indignant with others, is because they harbor jealousy. Perhaps, their jealous reaction indicates that they also harbored those selfish ambitions and they had not acted as quickly as James and John. Jesus will have none of it and calls all of them together so that each one can hear for themselves exactly what authority in his kingdom meant. Disharmony within the group would not be tolerated at this late stage of his ministry. They would need one another. Jesus begins by telling them, “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.” The world would need the message Jesus was leaving them to share. Therefore, in the days, months, and years ahead they would need to understand that, “Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” Each would face persecution for their faith. Each would have to decide whom they would follow, after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Each would have to live in obedience to the gospel. The truth of the message is that for the believer, “whoever wants to be first must be slave of all!” This is so contrary of today’s worldly message. We want to be first, we want service fast, and we want it our way or no way at all! Like gas stations of yesteryear, Christians have come to expect their church to be full-service for them, or they will move on. The eternal truth of the gospel is that “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” If they want to be great in his kingdom, Christians would do well to remember what Jesus had told them before, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35) The disciples misunderstand what discipleship is all about! I pray we do not.
EXAMPLE: Vernon Grounds, for RBC, writes, “Members of the upper level Brahman class in India never stoop to do any menial labor. So you can imagine how shocked Shriman Naraarayan was when, spending time at Gandhi’s ashram (a spiritual retreat center for Hindus), he was assigned a task that he felt was beneath his dignity. Having earned a doctorate from the London School of Economics, that young man had come to the ashram to seek guidance about his future. Unknown to him, everybody at the ashram was given some specific assignment, and Shriman’s was to clean toilets. Deeply offended, he went to Gandhi immediately and complained, ‘I hold a doctorate. I’m capable of doing great things. Why do you waste my time and talents on cleaning toilets?’” interestingly, Grounds writes that Gandhi responded in much the same way Jesus did with his disciples. Gandhi told him, “I know of your capacity to do great things, but I have yet to discover your capacity to do little things.” Grounds goes onto write that, “You may be highly qualified to serve our Lord Jesus in a significant way. Because of your training and gifts, you may have the potential to carry on great and effective spiritual service. But are you willing to humbly perform some menial task if He so assigns you?” We discovered that the disciples misunderstood what discipleship was all about, do you?
Conclusion:
The disciples made the mistake of wanting the wrong thing! The disciples misunderstand what discipleship is all about!
—
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2010 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
September 19, 2010 AM
By Pastor Lee Hemen
School had just ended and Tyler was eager to leave the campus for several reasons: One, because school was so boring to him and, two, his mother was picking him up in their clunky old van. He didn't want anyone to see him with his mother or get into that rotten old van. Of course being the great mother she was, she parked the “hunk-of-junk” right smack dab in front of the school where it could easily be seen by pretty much everyone. So, having been already embarrassed that he had to be seen getting picked up by his mother in their trashy old van, he reaches for the sliding door, and the slider just keeps right on sliding and does not stop. It falls off its rail and clunks right onto the parking lot. His mortification did not end there though, Tyler then had to trudge to the wood shop and ask for a screwdriver to fix it! One of life’s wonderfully embarrassing moments.
Have you ever had one of those moments when you wished you could take back either something you said or something you did? I know I have and my father made me painfully aware I had! There can also be times when our loving parents have either said or done something that embarrasses us. For some of us we may think it is our job to embarrass our children, but in reality, it may not be as humorous as we think it is. This, in fact, was the case with the incident we read about in Mark’s gospel. Luckily, for us, the disciples have one of those embarrassing moments in life that is immortalized in Scripture for all of us to read. The followers of Jesus make several blunders we never want to make. Let’s discover what they are and why they were a mistake…
READ: Mark 10:35-45
Can you imagine being a grown man and having your mother come to your rabbi master to ask a favor for you? ARGH! How embarrassing would that be? Matthew relates that it was “the mother of Zebedee's sons, [who] came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.” (Matthew 20:20) As bad as it was for the mother of a couple of the adult disciples to come and beg Jesus to favor her sons, we find in Mark that they unknowingly make the faux pas themselves. We discover that…
I. The disciples made the mistake of wanting the wrong thing! (Vv. 35-40)
1. Some of life’s most awkward moments can begin with the wrong motivation! James and John ask Jesus, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask!” Wow, how self-centered is this! “We want you to do whatever we ask” is the same thing we do when we place Jesus in our own private bottle for our own benefit. Jesus immediately realized their spiritual myopia. He slyly asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus wants them to completely commit to their mistake. Why? Because it is often when we make a mistake, and learn by it, that we mature the most. “They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.’” (v. 37) -- literally, they were asking Jesus for greater position in his kingdom than the rest of the disciples! Jesus also understood that they clearly did not understand what they were asking him to do. And he tells them so. “You don't know what you are asking.” The disciples did not realize what was involved in their ambitious request. To ask for a place of honor in His kingdom was also a request to share in His suffering since the one is indispensable to the other. For Jesus’ kingdom to come, he had to die on a cruel cross! Could they follow him in that? Perhaps in a moment of precognition of his prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus rhetorically asks them, “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” and like the puerile plebes they were, in pubescent immaturity they immediately respond, “We can!” Jesus warns them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with.” Baptism portrayed a picture of being overwhelmed by calamity. It also displayed one’s dying to self and living anew. The disciples would experience both. James was the first apostle to be martyred and John would suffer extreme persecution and exile for his faith. Jesus tells them, “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.” Interestingly, Jesus is referring to those God the Father had already chosen. He denies their request. The disciples made the mistake of wanting the wrong thing. I pray we do not.
EXAMPLE: I can remember wanting the wrong thing and being embarrassed by the results. I wanted a sport coat, something we could not really afford, and to my utter horror, my mother bought me an ugly green sweater instead. And, yes, I have photographs of myself wearing it somewhere. Luckily, they are in black and white. Did you know that Jesus spoke about this very thing? He related that there would be those who would want the wrong things in life and would be embarrassed by the end result. He told his disciples, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”(Matthew 7:21-23) Can you imagine getting to heaven and finding out that you not only did the wrong thing with your life, but you also wanted the wrong thing in life? Talk about being embarrassed by the results!
We can live our whole lives and misunderstand what life is truly about. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) But what is our life in Jesus to be like? The disciples had followed Jesus for three years and still they misunderstood, so is it any wonder that even today Christians misunderstand as well? However, the mistakes do not stop there we discover that…
II. The disciples misunderstand what discipleship is all about! (Vv. 41-45)
1. Misunderstanding in life can lead to unfortunate results! When the rest of the disciples hear about what the other two had asked Jesus for, “they became indignant with James and John.” Usually, when folks become indignant with others, is because they harbor jealousy. Perhaps, their jealous reaction indicates that they also harbored those selfish ambitions and they had not acted as quickly as James and John. Jesus will have none of it and calls all of them together so that each one can hear for themselves exactly what authority in his kingdom meant. Disharmony within the group would not be tolerated at this late stage of his ministry. They would need one another. Jesus begins by telling them, “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.” The world would need the message Jesus was leaving them to share. Therefore, in the days, months, and years ahead they would need to understand that, “Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” Each would face persecution for their faith. Each would have to decide whom they would follow, after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Each would have to live in obedience to the gospel. The truth of the message is that for the believer, “whoever wants to be first must be slave of all!” This is so contrary of today’s worldly message. We want to be first, we want service fast, and we want it our way or no way at all! Like gas stations of yesteryear, Christians have come to expect their church to be full-service for them, or they will move on. The eternal truth of the gospel is that “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” If they want to be great in his kingdom, Christians would do well to remember what Jesus had told them before, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35) The disciples misunderstand what discipleship is all about! I pray we do not.
EXAMPLE: Vernon Grounds, for RBC, writes, “Members of the upper level Brahman class in India never stoop to do any menial labor. So you can imagine how shocked Shriman Naraarayan was when, spending time at Gandhi’s ashram (a spiritual retreat center for Hindus), he was assigned a task that he felt was beneath his dignity. Having earned a doctorate from the London School of Economics, that young man had come to the ashram to seek guidance about his future. Unknown to him, everybody at the ashram was given some specific assignment, and Shriman’s was to clean toilets. Deeply offended, he went to Gandhi immediately and complained, ‘I hold a doctorate. I’m capable of doing great things. Why do you waste my time and talents on cleaning toilets?’” interestingly, Grounds writes that Gandhi responded in much the same way Jesus did with his disciples. Gandhi told him, “I know of your capacity to do great things, but I have yet to discover your capacity to do little things.” Grounds goes onto write that, “You may be highly qualified to serve our Lord Jesus in a significant way. Because of your training and gifts, you may have the potential to carry on great and effective spiritual service. But are you willing to humbly perform some menial task if He so assigns you?” We discovered that the disciples misunderstood what discipleship was all about, do you?
Conclusion:
The disciples made the mistake of wanting the wrong thing! The disciples misunderstand what discipleship is all about!
—
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2010 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
Comments