Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask"

 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 man 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."   The time has come, and Christ and the disciples are now really and truly on the road, going up to Jerusalem.  And Jesus is leading the way.  This is the third time Christ deliberately informs the disciples of His coming Passion.  My study bible tells us that His repeated predictions of His Passion were meant to encourage and strengthen them for the terrifying events they will be facing in the future.  They also confirm that Christ goes to His death of His own will and choosing.

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."  My study bible comments that this quest for temporal power and glory is unfitting for a disciple.  It also shows an earthly misunderstanding of the kingdom of God.  Jesus calls His Crucifixion a cup and His death a baptism.  My study bible explains that the Cross is a cup because Christ drank it willingly (Hebrews 12:2), and that His death is baptism, as He was completely immersed in it, while it cleansed the world (Romans 6:3-6).   It is also noted that Christ's prophecy of John and James participating in the same cup and baptism reveals the life of persecution and martyrdom they will lead after Pentecost.  Jesus also declares that the places of honor in the Kingdom are not His to give, but that does not mean that He lacks authority.  It means that they are not Christ's to give arbitrarily.  Instead, my study bible says, He will give them to those for whom God has prepared them.  St. John Chrysostom comments that no one could possibly occupy a position of equal on the right and left hand of Christ in His Kingdom.  As to the highest places of honor given to human beings, the icons of the Church depict the Virgin Mary (most blessed among women -- Luke 1:28), and St. John the Baptist (greatest born of women -- Matthew 11:11) in these two places.

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."   Throughout the past several readings (and particularly beginning with Saturday's) we have read of Jesus' repeated emphasis to the disciples regarding issues of greatness and their connection to a capacity to serve -- and in particular, to serve the others.  Here on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus contrasts the power and authority of the "great ones" of the Gentiles -- that is, the kings and emperors of the world and those who serve under them -- with the greatness He wants in His Church and those who serve Him, and to whom He will grant authority.   These are very stark images He gives to emphasize the need for service and humility among them, and that this confers greatness.   He addresses all of the apostles when He says that whoever desires to become great among them has to be their servant -- and the one who desires to be first shall be slave of all.  When He speaks of Himself, He speaks of service, and even giving His life as a ransom for many.  In Aramaic, my study bible explains, the expression for many means "for all."

It is quite remarkable when we consider that the Gospels give us not very flattering pictures of the fallibility of the disciples.  This is particularly so when we consider which disciples we read about whose flaws are so evidently and explicitly depicted.   Perhaps no one comes in for more criticism than St. Peter.  We know of his denial of Christ in the courtyard of the high priest -- even after Christ predicted to him that he would do so, after Peter swore he would even face death first with Jesus.   This is made so explicit in Scripture that it appears in all four Gospels (Matthew 26:33-35, Mark 14:29-31, Luke 22:33-34, John 13:36-38), as does His three-time denial (Matthew 26:69-74,Mark 14:66-72,Luke 22:54-62, John 18:13-27).  There are other occasions when St. Peter comes in for extreme criticism, such as when He rebukes Christ for teaching that He will be killed.  Christ's response to Peter is sharp, indeed: "Get behind Me, Satan!" (see Matthew 16:21-23, Mark 8:31-33).   In today's reading, it is James and John Zebedee who come in for the criticism and displeasure of the rest of the disciples.  But it was only recently that we read that all of the apostles were disputing among themselves who would be greatest (Saturday's reading).  Perhaps after Jesus announces that it is time to go toward Jerusalem, they have assumed He will be coming into a worldly kingdom, as was expected of the Messiah.  And there was an earlier time when James and John were rebuked by Christ, for not knowing "what manner of spirit you are of" (Luke 9:51-56).  These two, also named "Sons of Thunder" by Jesus, asked if they should command fire to come down from heaven upon a village of Samaritans who would not receive Him.  It's John who asks Jesus about others, not of their group, whom they saw casting out demons in Christ's name, and were forbidden to do so by the disciples -- only to be corrected by Jesus (see Mark 9:38-39, Luke 9:49-50).  What is really remarkable about the reporting of these incidents in the Gospels is that they concern those individuals who form Jesus' closest inner circle at special times, such as the healing of Jairus' daughter, and also the Transfiguration.  These men who are distinguished in the Gospels through the explicit recounting of their faults, are also those of the greatest faith among the apostles.  That seems like a strange paradox.  Moreover, Peter, to whom Christ exclaims, "Get behind Me, Satan!" and whom we know as the one who would deny Christ three times, is the leader among them.  Why would the Gospels reveal to us weaknesses and flaws of these men who would be greatest in His Church, greatest among the apostles?  Indeed, if we simply began to consider their roles in the context of the Church, we might find it even more remarkable.  The Bible is not simply a book that appeared out of nowhere as a revelation from God, intact and whole.  It is the "Book of the Church."  That is, the texts we call Holy Scripture were selected and chosen by the Church as canonical and inspired.  Therefore, what we read in the Gospels does not contain anything that sort of "slipped in" or is contrary to what is understood to be necessary for our total understanding of our faith, given by God as the word which we need.  Moreover, St. Peter would go on to be leader among the apostles in the early Church, St. James would be the first martyr among the Twelve, and St. John contributing (at least in attribution) one Gospel, three Epistles, and the Revelation.  So what are we to make of the revelation of the flaws of these greatest among the apostles?  It tells us an important story about ourselves and about discipleship.  Jesus emphasizes to each of them the need to understand humility and service as hallmarks of greatness among them and in His Church.  One important understanding of humility is our familiarity with our own flaws in the context of discipleship over the course of a lifetime.  That is, flaws and failings are to be revealed in the course of discipleship, and correction is the key.   Discipleship is most clearly a process, as we witness the evolution of these men into the greatness that Christ asks of them.   Their flaws in the Gospels are neither celebrated nor are they condemned as that which denies them the capacity to move forward in discipleship.  They are, instead, times for correction from the One who loves them and has chosen them for this role of disciple and apostle, and even those who will be greatest among them all.  Note the difference between correction and condemnation; this is something we all need to learn, especially in the context of modern misunderstandings of the benefits of true and good discipline and loving correction.  As Christ replies to John when questioned about others who cast out demons in His name:  "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them" (Luke 9:56).  If only more of us would understand this gift of loving discipline and how, exactly, we may best exemplify it among ourselves.  It is given to save, and not to destroy or to condemn.  And this is what the Gospels teach us:  that discipleship is a process, meant for us, as we are meant for better things than we know.  Proverbs 3:12 tells us, "For whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights."  James and John come to Christ and say, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  So often, we do the same, and assume that love means simple indulgence of all that we desire.  But God has other, grander, better things in mind for us than we are capable of knowing.  Through a loving God, Christ becomes human and gathers disciples to Himself.  Through them, we are meant to follow and learn this kind of love as well.  Let us consider all that we are shown through the Scripture, and how love comes into play as that which refines, edifies, teaches, corrects, and above all seeks to save -- and not to destroy.