SERIES: My Way or the Higher Way TITLE: A Message of Importance TEXT: Mark 10:35-45 DATE: January 9, 2005 PLACE: Freeland PASTOR: Jim Rule

Last week we began this series by discovering how unique we are among God’s creatures. Of all the creatures that God made, we are the only ones created in His image, His likeness, with a soul. All of God’s other creatures are bound to Him through soul-less compliance to their God-given design. But we have the capacity to contemplate self and awareness of our “otherness.” That means that we are both conscious of self and conscious of God.

Along with that capacity for self-consciousness and awareness comes self-determination, or free-will. Our God-created design and purpose is to live in a conscious freely determined relationship with God. But when we exercise that free-will choosing to live our way other than God’s way, that creates conflict not only between us and God, but within the soul or self. That is the root of the conflicted self and the reason for all the self-help, self-actualization, self-esteem issues we deal with in our society. We have inherited a basic conflict by virtue of being human descendents of Adam and Eve and we are trying to resolve it just like they would by our own wisdom and insight.

James and John, the two disciples at the center of today’s Scripture lesson, are immersed in that conflict. For them, the self-issue is one of importance – self-importance. Here’s what they are aspiring to. 35 And James and John, the sons of Zeb'edee, came forward to 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." (Mark 10:35-37). Something within these two is driving them to find a sense of importance and significance. It’s something they aspire to attain.

Have you ever had aspirations to rise to the top of some field of endeavor, some day-dreams about being the best at something, or if not the best, at least highly respected and honored for your skills, knowledge, or achievements? Now you don’t have to raise your hand, but if you don’t have such aspirations you’re probably over forty. I admit it. I have aspired to prominence and recognition in practically every field of endeavor I ever undertook. Most of us have, if not in actual effort to attain it, at least in occasional fantasies, particularly when we were young. We imagine ourselves being the best, the most popular, the most sought after, etc. There’s something in the self that desires to feel significant and important.

The two brothers, James and John, were aspiring to achieve importance by ascendancy over the other disciples and by participating in the honor and glory of Jesus. That’s something that many Christians do. We use the work of the Lord to satisfy our own pride and esteem. But look at what pursuing that drive leads James and John to do.

These two are schemers. They know that things are getting decisive for their little band of disciples. They are approaching Jerusalem. The tension is mounting. The pressure is building. And surely Jesus is getting poised to take action as promised Messiah, God’s anointed one sent to their nation of Israel. If these two are going to rise to ascendancy within the new order Jesus is establishing, they’d best get assertive. That’s what human wisdom tells us right? Grab the bull by the horns. Seize the opportunity. If we don’t stand up for ourselves, no one else will.

“Now the serpent was more subtle than any other creature the Lord God had made.” We read that verse in last week’s Adam and Eve story. But it fits here too, with modifications. These guys were more subtle than any other disciples the Lord Jesus had chosen, with the exception of Judas. They came privately to Jesus to ask Him a favor. But these schemers knew theirs was a bold request. Jesus hadn’t knick-named them “the sons of thunder” for nothing.

We really don’t know the action or incident that caused Jesus to call them that, but we can be sure it had something to do with their conduct. Perhaps it was their preaching style, their demeanor in working with people, or it might have been the incident where they asked Jesus if they should call down fire out of heaven to burn up some resistant Samaritans. Whatever it was, they were obviously bold and brassy.

Their request, though subtle, was a bold request and they knew it. And so they knew it wasn’t tactful to just blurt it out in front of the other disciples. They were going to confidentially soften Jesus up first, so they asked Jesus to do them a favor. That way, He would be more likely to grant it, they thought.

I’m sure you’ve probably never asked someone to do you a favor before you told them what it was, but maybe you’ve had someone do that to you. When you hear that, watch out. The asker is trying to remind you of your relationship to try to get more out of you than he or she thinks you might otherwise grant, or perhaps to make you feel better than he or she thinks you would about doing it. That’s called manipulation and some of us feel like we have to work that way to get what we desire or need.

Jesus can see right through that. He doesn’t say, Oh sure, I really love you guys and you know I’d do anything for you. No! He says, what is it you want me to do for you? He’s saying, ask me first then I’ll decide.

Now, with the conversation initiated and their courage screwed up, they blurt it out. And it comes out something like, Jesus, give us the highest positions of power and honor in your government, next to you of course.

Rather than reacting to this inappropriate request and putting them down or scolding them about their insensitivity to the other disciples, Jesus challenges their request. 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?" (Mark 10:38). Jesus asks can you endure what I’m going to endure in order to receive what you think is honor and glory?

And they said to him, "We are able." (Mark 10:39a). They think they have what it takes. But they have no clue.

39bAnd 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." (Mark 10:39b-40). Jesus says that indeed they will go through what He’s going to go through. After all, He had chosen them, and God would bring them along, all but one.

So there are some things that Jesus knows that the disciples don’t. He keeps telling them over and over but they don’t get it. Just before their bold request listen to what Jesus told them. 33 ..."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 deliver him to the Gentiles; 34 and they will mock him, and spit upon him, and scourge him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise." (Mark 10:33-34). That is Jesus glory, to be the One to suffer, die, and rise again for the sinful human family. That is His honor, His privilege. Another of the gospels makes that even clearer. 23 And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified. 24 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. 25 He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (John 12:23-25).

The theme verse for this series is Isaiah 55:8 - For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. This business of glory and honor illustrates that. We think the honored and glorified self receives elevation, admiration, exaltation, adoration, all those grand things. But God says the honored and glorified self suffers, dies, and lives for others.

James and John don’t comprehend that yet, but once they experience what is ahead, once they see what Jesus goes through, and once they are filled with His Holy Spirit, they too will indeed be glorified. All of the disciples will suffer and die for their faith and association with Jesus. But then listen to what the outcome of that will be. This is addressed to believers, the fledgling church at Ephesus. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone...(Ephesians 2:19-20).

James and John and the others become the apostles, the foundation. They are the solid base upon which the whole structure of the Church is built with Christ as the keystone of it all. These two may not be singled out to be above the other apostles, but they have the positions of foundational importance in God’s scheme of things along with the prophets. Like Jesus and the prophets, they have suffered and been victorious in their faith. It is because, when they came up against God’s purposes and plans, they let go of their own attempts to find significance and importance. Instead, they determined to follow Jesus’ way, even when it meant doing things that brought them dishonor and disrespect in this world. So eventually they learned what Jesus taught them that day on the way to Jerusalem.

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 the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:43-45). So does that mean we have no importance, no significance in this world, except for what purposes God can use us for? No, not at all. I’ve already said we can’t use Jesus’ honor and glory for our purposes. We do not serve the Lord in order to have importance. We love and serve Him because we already have it. We are the very reason that Jesus came into the world, suffered, died, and lived again. We were that important to God. He loved and cared about us that much.

Ultimate significance and importance cannot be self-determined, though we go to great lengths to do that with things that are insignificant to God, things like wealth, prestige, talents, power, etc. But those are all temporary things of this world that have no place in God’s eternal scheme of things. Consequently they do not carry over into eternity, and some of them don’t even last long in this world. But ultimate significance and importance is not something we have to attain or achieve. They are determined by God, who designed, created, loved, lost, and redeemed us. We already have that in Jesus and as we serve and love Him, He simply adds that much more. As we let go of self-importance and trust God, real importance is not diminished, but increased in ways that do not give us temporary self-importance but soul-significance forever.