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Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them, and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him. "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again."
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask." And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?" They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory." But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" They said to Him, "We are able." So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared." And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
- Mark 10:32-45
Yesterday, we read that as Jesus was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'" And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth." Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!" And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible." Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You." So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first."
Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them, and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him. "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again." This is the third time that Jesus has warned the disciples what is to come in Jerusalem. But this time, more detail is given. He has set His sights upon Jerusalem, and He knows exactly what will happen there, including what will happen when He is handed over to the Gentiles, the Romans. His Resurrection is also predicted here
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask." And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?" They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory." But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" My study bible notes, "Jesus says you do not know what you ask because He does not promise a visible kingdom on earth or an immediate, victorious and glorious consummation, but rather toils, struggles and conflicts. Cup and baptism are references to suffering and death. The disciples do not grasp this now. But they will meet both these realities in future persecutions and in the sacramental realities of the cup of the Eucharist (1 Cor. 11:26) and the death and resurrection of baptism (Col. 2:12)."
They said to Him, "We are able." So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared." A note here reads: "A place of honor in the eternal Kingdom will be given by the Father to those for whom it is prepared, that is (according to the Church Fathers) not by God's arbitrary choice but according to a believer's sacrifice and suffering for Christ and the Kingdom."
And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." My study bible comments: "Service is characteristic of true greatness. The model is Christ's incarnate life and death: the perfect man is the perfect servant. Ransom is the price paid for the release of someone held captive. In this case, humanity is released from the bondage of sin and death by Christ's redemptive sacrifice on the Cross."
I have a friend who speaks about the difference between cultural perceptions before Christ and after Christ. It would seem that the idea of service being correlated to greatness is truly a gift of Christ to the world. If we think about the unabashed uses of power in service of Empire, in the ruling of kings and emperors, and especially pre-Christian societies, we get a picture that is quite different from the notion that power must at least be couched in the language of justice and, more particularly, of service. Our politicians call themselves "public servants" and the notion of nobility and courtesy really has to do with the graciousness of Christ. The world still chases after its own material power: we call war "hell" after the words of a famous general in the US military. But we have to acknowledge the contribution of Jesus to our notions of greatness: that those who would be great among us must be servants of all. He says it here Himself: "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them." This is the notion of greatness in the world that Jesus is born into. But He is seeking to bring a kingdom into the world with different rules, a different energy, a different reality that forms and shapes and guides its values. That's the Kingdom to which we aspire to belong, and that we must carry in our hearts. These notions of the great ones being the ones that serve, that sacrifice, who accept hardships, even persecutions, is an entirely alien notion to the world of power in which Jesus was born. It still remains a difficult, uncomfortable understanding in terms of how we think of greatness, material power, acquisition of wealth and social position. But it remains the ideal we're given as Christians. This lesson follows closely upon the lesson of the wealthy young man, who is perfect according to the Mosaic Law (yesterday's reading), who has done all that he must to obey the commandments. But Jesus teaches him that to truly be saved, he must sell what he has and give to the poor, and follow Him. He calls us to more, and in the heart of Jesus this notion of service remains supreme. In yesterday's reading, He told His disciples that those who sacrifice for the Kingdom will receive a hundredfold -- with persecutions. Again, the notion of service, a very alien concept for greatness in a kingdom. If we're going to wrap our minds around what He teaches, perhaps it helps if we think about service as doing that which is best for everyone by seeking to serve God, and finding the way in which we are called to serve. To reach that goal, every sacrifice asked is "worth it" as a kind of exchange. To be the servant or slave of all isn't, to my mind, to become some sort of a doormat. Rather, it's to love God with all one's heart and mind and soul and strength, and what follows must be loving one's neighbor as oneself, finding a place in the Kingdom where service is the ultimate greatness. Christ does not mean that we should all find ways to become martyrs or victims in any sense: I don't believe this is what service is. It doesn't mean we serve the whims of others in some unreasonable or chaotic way, either. Rather, we find His way to be of service, in the image He calls us toward, through love of God, through prayer, and love of neighbor. His plan, not ours. Let us think in terms of the ways in which we are called to serve; it may be something as simple as giving a cup of water to someone in His name. Service may involve a great dose of humility, but each one of us has a way in which we're called to use our own gifts to serve this Kingdom. Let us remember this is His definition of greatness.
