Pastor Jonah Albrecht

April 17th, 2024

5th Sunday in Lent

Mark 10:35-45

35And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to [Jesus] and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38Jesus 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?” 39And 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, 40but 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.” 41And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42And 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. 43But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Glory and Honor do not Come Easy

Oswald Chambers was a Scottish evangelist who wrote this concerning servanthood:

‘If we are devoted to the cause of humanity, we shall soon be crushed and broken-hearted, for we shall often meet with more ingratitude from men than we would from a dog; but if our motive is to love God, no ingratitude can hinder us from serving our fellow men… [N]o matter how men may treat me, they will never treat me with the spite and hatred with which I treated Jesus Christ. When we realize that Jesus Christ has served us to the end of our meanness, our selfishness, and sin, nothing that we meet with from others can exhaust our determination to serve men for His sake.’

In our text for this morning, Jesus has a lot to say about servanthood. In these last days before His death, He is impressing on His disciples what it means to truly be a follower of Him. Right before this, Jesus had a rich young ruler come up to Him and ask Him what he needed to do in order to inherit eternal life. Jesus’ answer was simple: Keep the 10 commandments. Though the young man professed to have kept those even from his youth, Jesus knew what was in His heart. He told the young man to go, sell all his possessions, and give it to the poor. At this, the young man left disheartened because his love for money went beyond his love for God. Jesus took this opportunity to warn His disciples of two things.

Attachments to the riches of this world, yes even father, mother, son or daughter, can become a hindrance to the kingdom of heaven.
Those who desire to be first in the kingdom will be last and the last will be first.

Both of these teach a lesson in humility. Humbly admitting to sin and humbly recognizing your position in the Kingdom of Heaven is solely by the grace of God and nothing that you have done. Despite spending three years with Jesus, some of His disciples, James and John, did not catch to Jesus’ teaching.

35And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to [Jesus] and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” From Matthew’s account, we know that their mother was with them when they made this request of Jesus and prompted them to ask for it. They desired to secure their place in heaven at Jesus’ right hand. This should be of no surprise to anyone. Earlier, Jesus had sent word to a Samaritan village to prepare for His coming, but they would not welcome Him because He was heading to Jerusalem. James and John, not liking the disrespect Jesus was given, asked Jesus if they should call down fire and brimstone to consume the people, just like Elijah did. On that occasion, Jesus rebuked them strongly.

He also rebukes them here, but in a way to teach them a lesson on humility. James and John desired glory and honor. However, in God’s kingdom, that is not something that is simply asked for and granted. Jesus tells them exactly how glory and honor is given from God: 38Jesus 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?” 39And 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, 40but 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.” 

Using the pictures of baptism and a cup, Jesus illustrates that James and John will follow in His steps: be persecuted for the sake of the Gospel. James would be beheaded at the hands of Herod. John would live a long life, but would spend much of it in exile. The road that Jesus has called them on, the road that He has called each of us on, is not an easy one. How might you fulfill Jesus’ words spoken to James on John? Might it be becoming outcast because you are a Christian? Are you willing to suffer setbacks or abuse or disdain because of Jesus’ name? It is easy to answer as James and John did, “Yes Lord!” Yet, when we are faced with those moments of difficulty, Satan works his hardest. He tempts you with, “Is this even worth it? I did not sign up for all this suffering when I became a Christian. Why is this still happening to me? Does God just not care about my prayers?”

This is where Oswald’s quote really resonates. When our reason for serving others is only for the cause of humanity, we will inevitably lose heart. As the famous saying goes: You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Humanity will reject the message of the Gospel. It will react harshly especially when confronted with the Law and their sins. So much for glory and honor.

Is there any reason so serve then? If we are going to be faced with opposition and continually lose heart when rejected, why even serve? 45For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” As with every difficult path we have been called to walk down as Christians, we ought to look towards our Way, our Truth, and our Life; our Savior.

Jesus had every right to stay in heaven and simply tell human beings what to do. There was no reason for Him to descend to earth, take on human flesh, and endure all the suffering and rejection that He did. Destroy everything and start all over from scratch. That would make sense, but that is now how God decided to operate. God decided to operate on His selfless love. Rather than unleashing His anger on the world right away, He decided to enter into human history to provide a chance for His creation to avoid destruction.

As we read in our Epistle lesson this morning, Jesus became our Great High Priest. The priest’s job in the Old Testament was to intercede on behalf of the people before God. However, every single priest also had their own sins to reckon with. They had to make a sacrifice for their own sins before they could offer a sacrifice for the people. This is where Jesus far exceeds in His role as priest. The Savior had no sin. Because of this He had direct access to God the Father. His will aligned perfectly with His Father’s will. When Jesus faced those periods of rejection, or abuse, the cup and baptism He describes in our text this morning; He did not lose heart like we are prone to do. Rather, He continued to look to God for His source of strength. His love for His Father and for you remained the #1 priority even when He was face to face with death.

You are the biggest benefit of Jesus’ love. You have been brought to faith in His name, you have received forgiveness from God, and you have Jesus as your friend, companion, and intercessor. This is what the Son of Man did for you, when He came to serve and to give His life as a ransom for your life. You, and me. He gave to us, who often sin against Him and disregard His commands to us, new life.

This is what we are to look towards as our reason and motivation to serve. The love with which our Savior, our God served us. Whatever the world can throw against us pales in comparison to what we did to our God. And yet, Jesus loved us anyways. He came to serve us anyways. He gave up His life for us anyways. If that is the depth of love our Savior showed us, why wouldn’t we, also be willing to suffer for His sake!

Glory and honor are usually earned by doing some heroic act in the face of great danger. War heroes often earn glory and honor for their efforts on behalf of their fellow soldiers. In a way, the glory and honor that comes from the Lord is very similar. Except, it is not some great heroic act. It is serving one another. Taking the love with which your Savior loved you, and letting that be the driving force behind your life. Who needs the glory and honor that the world gives, when God has promised glory and honor to those who walk the path of His Son. To those who are willing to suffer, not only for the Gospel’s sake, but even for the sake of their brothers and sisters in Christ. No, glory and honor do not come easy, but the Lord your God has promised to be with you, to grant you the Holy Spirit to stoke the flame of His love for you, and to give you the glory and honor of heaven with Jesus. Amen.