“A Big Favor”
Amazed and Afraid
In the text that immediately precedes today’s text, we see Jesus, the Twelve, and the crowd of disciples following him on the road up to Jerusalem. The Bible regularly uses this phrase, “up to Jerusalem,” and it is most appropriate wording, for Jerusalem’s elevation is more than 2,500 feet above sea level. Jericho, down near the Jordan River, 850 feet below sea level; so their morning walk, they travel about 15 miles up—about 3400 feet—to Jerusalem.
For many of us this would be a kind of marathon, but this was normal traveling in Jesus’ day.
The text says the disciples were “amazed and afraid.” (Remember your wedding day?) Here they are, finally, approaching Jerusalem. Anything might happen. Jesus tells them for the third time that he will be arrested, handed over, mocked, beaten, and killed before he rises on the third day. Today’s text picks up here:
Text: Mark 10: 35-45 Esv
35 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." 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." 38 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?" 39 And 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, 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." 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And 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. 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 even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.""†
1. reading the text
My sisters would regularly come up to me and say, “Would you do me a really big favor?” I always hated that because it put me between a rock and hard place. If I said yes, I was obliged to do their will, which might have meant anything; but if I said no, I was being selfish. The only way out was immediately ask, “What? What’s the favor? You tell me the favor you want done first and then I’ll tell you whether I’ll do it or not.” Are we all familiar with this dynamic?
As Jesus and his disciples are on their way up to Jerusalem, two of his closer followers—James and John, the brothers—kind of sidle up to him, perhaps out of the others’ hearing. They say: “Rabbi, would you do us a really big favor?” Jesus says, “What is it?” They say (and the size of this can’t be overestimated, hence the all caps):
“Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”
Just a teensie-weensie favor: we want to sit in the seats of honor when you take the throne in your kingdom.
James and John were in fact close to Jesus—a kind of small group—there are times he takes Peter, James and John into special confidence, as during the Transfiguration, but the unmitigated gall of this request seems out of all proportion.
“You don’t know what you’re asking,” says Jesus, which is a gentle understatement. “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"
“Oh yes, most certainly!” they say, but they are clueless. We have no reason to think that they were not listening when Jesus reminds them for a third time that he will be arrested, beaten, betrayed and murdered. It may be that it was something they didn’t want to hear.
DIFFERENT VISIONS
Jesus and his followers were operating with different visions of how the kingdom would come. James and John were like most of us. They were like most of the people of God of their day in that they expected something very different than what was going to happen, despite Jesus clearly telling them.
In the Old Testament, a cup typically represents joy and the salvation of God for his people. James and John see the cup of joy and the cup of salvation, and so they think they too can drink of it, but for Jesus, the cup means something different: it is a cup of suffering.
As for baptism, in the Old Testament, baptism represents purification and holiness. Ancient Jerusalem had dozens of mikvahs or baths. Visitors coming to temple in Jerusalem were expected to bathe and change their clothes before even entering the city gates. James and John thought the baptism represented this kind of purification and holiness, so they thought yes, they could do that; but for Jesus, the baptism was his death, by which humankind would be purified and made holy.
EMPOWERMENT, GLORY, GAIN, & HONOR
James and John saw their movement up to Jerusalem as one of empowerment, glory, gain and honor. This is why they colluded to ask for Jesus’ own cup and baptism.
Knowing what is coming, you and I have to hear the request of James and John on behalf of fallen humanity as the ultimate favor: Lord God, would you do us a big favor? Since we can’t do the whole righteousness thing, would you do that for us? Oh, yes, and would you suffer and die for us as well? Thanks!
The odd thing about this is that Jesus says yes.
James and John will get what they ask for, short of the seats of honor, which Jesus, in short, says are already reserved by the Father.
When the other disciples hear what James and John did, they were indignant, which I think here means very ticked off. I have to imagine that Peter especially would have been riled, for it seems James and John, in going to Jesus for those seats of honor, directly threw him under the bus.
INVERTED PYRAMID
Whatever fracas ensued, Jesus reminds them that the way of his people will not be the way of the world:
“Whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.”
Jesus announces that his kingdom will be an upside-down version of the kingdoms of this world. The first will be last and the last will be first. The lowly raised up and the high and mighty brought low.
What is more, Jesus sets the example by going up to Jerusalem not to win, in the world’s eyes, but to lose.
Ransom: the Big Favor
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom
Perhaps the ultimate irony of the gospel is not that the Disciples are constantly clueless, or the religious Jews looking for the Messiah fail to see him, but that Jesus’ answer to the preposterous question Will you do us a huge favor? is yes. When asked—Oh Lord, would you please be rejected, spit on, beaten to a pulp, betrayed by us and killed in the most excruciating way for us?—his answer is yes.
Because of this big favor, our righteousness is accomplished for us in the life of Christ. The cup we drink is a cup of joy and salvation, and our baptism is indeed one of purification and holiness.
What more could we possibly ask for? What more could we possibly want?
The Challenge
We, like James and John—and perhaps all disciples and human beings—are driven to find our own empowerment, glory, gain, and honor. But we’ve been given all these things through Jesus, so why do we need to seek them further?
On Super Bowl Sunday I tell you we have already won, therefore we do not have to strive to win.
We are called to live as servants of the gospel and slaves of Jesus Christ—that is for all who desire their own greatness. The kind of righteousness we live out today can be best seen by giving these things away.
We can afford to let others win.
Empowerment Like Jesus, since we have been granted his kingdom, we have no need to grasp power; we can share or give it away meaningfully.
Glory: As Jesus passed all glory on to the Father, we can pass all glory on to him. Therefore, we can let others have earthly glory, let others have the limelight and the adulations of this world.
Gain: Sometimes the best way to win is to let someone else cross the finish line first.
Honor: We have the love of God, therefore we do not need the praise of men. As God said to Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you.” We can let others be honored and even actively honor others. I’ll remind you, two weeks ago our text called us to “outdo one another in showing honor.”
The challenge of living in Christian love is to share these things out, as Jesus did for us. We can be givers of empowerment, givers of glory, givers of gain, and givers of honor.
We can let someone else win. We no longer need to “be good” in order to be saved, but because we are being saved, we can be good. Give goodness. Give love. Love all, serve all.
†