And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”
Mankind always wants to seek his own glory. In the Garden of Eden it wasn’t that hard to convince Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. The knowledge (untrue as it would be) that she could be a “god” was enough to tip her toward disobeying God’s command. Self-promotion is a shameless act of men that is repeated over and over in story after story. In the above story we have the beginning of a long paragraph that talks about James and John wanting to be elevated above the other disciples when Jesus ushers in His kingdom. This desire of these two men might have been fueled by the Transfiguration (chapter nine). Their seeing Jesus transfigured into a bright light and surrounded by Moses and Elijah may have given them visions of grandeur. Remember, the only disciple that saw that, beside them, was Peter. Their motives are obviously suspect. Jesus response to them is with teaching recorded in all the Gospels:
Mark 10:43-45 (ESV)
But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 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 explains to them that this ask was not in line with the entire scoop, mission and spirit of His ministry. He, Himself, was not sent to be served, but to serve. The ultimate act of service was to give His life for others out of pure love. God sent the Son to be a ransom for many. Yes, the Kingdom of God would be set up. Yes, there would be others elevated to rule with Christ (see the book of The Revelation of Christ). But this was not the time or place for this type of mindset. This actually brought in division among the other disciples.
Mark 10:41 (ESV)
And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.
Christianity is not a self-promoting belief system. It is self-debasing. It is being a servant as we follow Jesus, the ultimate example. Ironically, note what John, himself, records about Jesus’ teaching. Over fifty years later he must have finally got the point:
John 12:23-26 (ESV)
And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
No comments:
Post a Comment