Introduction

For the third time, Jesus warned the disciples about what was going to happen when they got to Jerusalem. On the road to Jerusalem Jesus prepared the disciples for what was about to happen in all their lives.

He talked here about His death and resurrection, Mark 10:32-34. The occasion sparked an opportunity for James and John to reveal what was in their hearts. Since Jesus spoke of His departure from this world, James and John realised that leadership must be assumed.

‘Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘we want you to do for us whatever we ask.’ ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ he asked. They replied, ‘Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.’ ‘You don’t know what you are asking,’ Jesus said. ‘Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?’ ‘We can,’ they answered. Jesus said to them, ‘You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.’ When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’ Mark 10:35-45

Jesus has just finished giving the disciples a detailed description of the suffering He would experience there in Jerusalem but meanwhile, James and John were imagining a different scenario. The future of the disciples still rested in their misunderstanding concerning the kingdom’s reign of Jesus.

They were still thinking that the kingdom would be something of this world, Acts 1:6. And because they were thinking of the reestablishment of national Israel, their understanding of leadership in the kingdom was twisted.

The occasion sparked an opportunity for James and John to reveal what was in their hearts. Since Jesus spoke of His departure from this world, James and John realised that leadership must be assumed, Mark 9:33-34. They are seeking positions of power and influence in this physical kingdom, Luke 17:20-21 / John 18:36.

Who made the request?

It seems that their mother, Salome, Matthew 27:56 / Mark 15:40 / John 19:25, accompanied James and John and made the request as if were her own but in reality, it was from James and John because Jesus goes on to address his answer towards James and John and they, in turn, continue to demonstrate it was actually their request as we will see later, Mark 10:37.

Clarke, in his commentary, says the following, concerning the request mentioned in Mark 10:35.

‘Mark says, Mark 10:35 says that James and John made the request but Matthew says, Matthew 20:20, the request was made by Salome their mother; the two places may be easily reconciled thus: The mother introduced them, and made the request as if from herself; Jesus knowing whence it had come, immediately addressed himself to James and John, who were standing by; and the mother is no farther concerned in the business, Matthew 20:20.’

Remember that James and John’s father was Zebedee, who was a very influential man and the reason we know this is because when Jesus was going through His trials, John 18:15 tells us that John was known to the high priest and went with Jesus into the courtyard.

Not everyone had access to the Jewish leadership but because John did have access this tells us that his family must have been influential in Jesus’ day.

The reason for mentioning Zebedee and his influence is simply to suggest that this may be the reason why James and John come to Jesus with the request in the first place.

In their mind they know what it’s like to be influential, they know people in ‘high places’ so to speak, maybe they thought out of all the disciples they were the best two for the leadership role when this new kingdom is established.

Notice also that they’re wise enough to come to Jesus privately as they knew the other disciples wouldn’t be too happy about it, Mark 10:41.

Jesus gave a detailed description of the suffering He would experience there in Jerusalem, Mark 10:32-34, but James and John were imagining a different scenario. They asked Jesus to agree to do whatever they would request, Mark 10:35.

The request is made, Mark 10:35, probably by their mother on their behalf, Matthew 20:20. James and Johns mother’s name is Salome, Mark 15:40 / Mark 16:1, she is the wife of Zebedee, Matthew 4:21 / Matthew 10:2.

She came to approach, possibly on behalf of her sons, to ask Jesus about special positions of power in the kingdom. They wanted to know if Jesus would agree to their request, Matthew 20:21 / Mark 10:31. Jesus asked what they wanted, Matthew 20:21 / Mark 10:36.

Jesus already knew what was on the two disciple’s minds, as He knows all things, John 2:25 / Matthew 9:4, but He asked them what He can do for them because their request is going to demonstrate to them what was going on in their own hearts. It was going to demonstrate that once again they didn’t understand the nature of Christ’s kingdom.

Jesus wasn’t going to sign a blank cheque by agreeing before they made the request. They replied that they wanted to sit on Jesus’ right and left hand, that is, they wanted the chief positions in His administration, Matthew 20:21 / Mark 10:37. The place of honour was the seat on the right and the place of second honour was the seat on the left, 1 Kings 2:19 / Psalm 110:1.

Coffman makes some important points here regarding the disciple’s request.

1. It showed a lack of faith in what Jesus had just said regarding his being raised ‘after three days.’

2. It was founded on human vanity and conceit.

3. It represented an effort on their part to gain ascendancy (power) over the other apostles.

4. It showed a fundamental misconception of what God’s kingdom would be.

5. It was a selfish manoeuvre prompted by the Lord’s repeated announcement of His forthcoming death and resurrection in which they appeared as desiring the chief places in the presumed absence of the Lord.

6. It was a request founded in ignorance, Mark 10:38.

Sadly, like so many men who are in leadership positions today within the church, it’s all about power and it’s all about them sitting down, whilst getting others to get up and do the work for them.

Too Hard On James And John!

I think it’s easy to come down too hard on James and John because we focus so much on their misunderstanding of the nature of Christ’s kingdom. Let’s pause for a moment about what they are requesting in their minds.

They are thinking of a physical kingdom, a physical kingdom which is going to get rid of these Roman dictators once and for all. For this to happen many people would have to die to fight for this freedom, James and John seem to be willing to do just that, Acts 12:1-2.

They were obviously ambitious, courageous and far from being weak men who couldn’t handle a leadership position, Mark 3:17. In other words, if they were going to help establish a physical kingdom, it wasn’t going to be easy, it was going to be full of struggles and they seem to be up for the task.

Notice that Jesus responds to their request with the spiritual kingdom in mind. Jesus responded by asking if they could drink the cup He was going to drink, or be baptised with His baptism, Matthew 10:22 / Mark 10:38 / Psalm 11:6 / Psalm 75:8 / Isaiah 51:17 / Jeremiah 25:15.

Jesus was referring to His sufferings which were often spoken of as a cup of agony that He would have to drink, Mark 14:36, and as a baptism in pain, Luke 12:50.

Jesus asked them these questions because He knew they were going to have to face even greater struggles in this spiritual kingdom than they would in a physical kingdom, they would need useful spiritual weapons, Ephesians 6:10-20, they would need to be courageous, they would need to be strong, they would need to be willing to die.

Christ went through immense pain and suffering and demonstrated what real sacrifice was all about, especially when He went to the cross to die. Jesus is basically asking them if they are willing to go through what He’s been going through and will go through at the hands of the Jews and the Romans.

They had no clue as to His real meaning, but they enthusiastically accepted the challenge, Mark 10:39 / Matthew 20:22. On the negative side, this shows their ignorance because they were still thinking of a physical kingdom but on the positive side it shows their courage and their strength, it shows their willingness to lead, and it shows their enthusiasm to lead if it costs them their lives.

These two simple Galilean fishermen have come a long way in their personal journey with Christ, Mark 3:17, despite their misunderstanding of Christ’s kingdom.

They would suffer, John 15:18-19 / John 21:18-19. James would even be the first apostle to be killed for the faith, Acts 12:1-2, though John his younger brother would be the last to die, Revelation 1:9.

Interestingly, Jesus makes no attempt to clarify the nature of His kingdom to the disciples, this is possibly because He knew that they would need similar courage and strength to be leaders in this spiritual kingdom.

They’ve just said, ‘we can’ and Jesus says, ‘oh you guys can just count on that, you will go through the pain and suffering that I’ve been going through and will go through.’

They will go through all the struggles that leaders have to go through when they go into battle, they will go through all the highs and lows involved in leadership.

Jesus then replied that He didn’t have the authority to grant their request because He wasn’t the One who assigned the positions of honour in the kingdom, Matthew 20:23 / Mark 10:40. Jesus couldn’t give such honours, except to them for whom they were prepared.

The ten weren’t simply unhappy with James and John, they were furious, the word, ‘indignant’ means greatly displeased, Matthew 20:24 / Mark 10:41 / Mark 9:34 / Mark 10:31 / Luke 22:24. The other disciples were indignant, why?

It seems that James and John had jumped ahead of the game, it appears they wished to have the highest positions and resented the fact that the sons of Zebedee had requested them first. As a result of this, it seems another dispute broke out among them concerning who was the greatest and gets the positions of ‘power’, and Jesus has to once again step in to sort it out.

This is not the first time Jesus had to address this issue of greatness with His disciples, Luke 9:46 and it won’t be the last, Luke 22:24, and on all three occasions, Jesus has just been speaking to them about His upcoming death.

This must have been so disheartening for Jesus, He’s speaking about His upcoming death and all the disciples could think about was who was going to take over when He leaves.

Jesus took some time to define what greatness in the kingdom really meant, He said that in human affairs, whether government or business, the greatest have the most authority, Matthew 20:25-28 / Mark 10:42-45.

In other words, they weren’t to be like the Gentiles, who lord it over people and exercise authority over the people, Mark 10:42 / Matthew 20:25. In Christ’s kingdom, they need to be serving not lording it over people, Matthew 20:26 / Mark 10:43 / 1 Peter 5:3.

Jesus contrasts the leadership style of the world with that which would be among His disciples. The disciples need to learn, instead of ‘lording it over’ the people, they need to bear the burden of the needs of the people, they were to become slaves and be reminded that there is no authority among slaves.

There won’t be any ‘lords’ among the disciples, there won’t be any ‘high officials’ among His disciples. Leaders within the body of Christ must remember that Jesus has all authority, Matthew 28:18, and that He is the only Lord and Head. Ephesians 1:20-23 / Ephesians 4:4-6. Since Christ is all these things, then every other Christian must be servants.

He explained that in God’s kingdom it’s different, rather, the greatest is the one who humbles himself most and serves most, Matthew 20:27 / Mark 10:44 / Matthew 18:1-4 / Matthew 23:11 / Mark 9:35 / Mark 10:43-45.

He pointed to Himself as the model, Matthew 20:28 / Mark 10:45 / Matthew 26:28 / John 13:1-17.

He hadn’t come to be served, but to serve and to offer Himself as a sacrifice for others, Isaiah 53:10-11 / Daniel 9:24-26 / John 11:51-52 / Romans 5:15 / Romans 5:19 / 1 Timothy 2:5-6 / Titus 2:14 / 1 Peter 1:19.

He would lay down His life as a ransom, Exodus 21:30 / Numbers 3:49-51 / Numbers 35:31.

Lane, in his commentary, says the following.

‘The ransom metaphor sums up the purpose for which Jesus gave his life and defines the complete expression of his service. The prevailing notion behind the metaphor is that of deliverance by purchase, whether a prisoner of war, a slave, or a forfeited life is the object to be delivered. Because the idea of equivalence, or substitution, was proper to the concept of a ransom, it became an integral element in the vocabulary of redemption in the Old Testament. It speaks of a liberation which connotes a servitude or an imprisonment from which man cannot free himself.’

If anyone had the right to demand service and lord it over people it was Jesus Himself but didn’t exercise that right, He points to Himself as the model of servitude, He hadn’t come to be served, but to serve and to offer Himself as a sacrifice for others, John 10:17-18.

To lead men to redemption, Jesus had to give Himself, He had to ransom Himself for the sake of buying us out of the bondage of sin because we couldn’t do it ourselves. He is the ultimate example of what spiritual leadership looks like, 1 Peter 2:21.

Jesus didn’t say it was wrong to desire to be great in His kingdom, but He did say we have to go about it the right way, with the right attitude. Leaders must lead by following Christ’s example of serving because there are way too many Christians who want to lead but aren’t willing to serve.

True greatness

We still desperately need these lessons of Jesus. Many, even in religion, are seeking to be great by trying to gain honour, glory and power. Churches are infested with ‘politicians’ who want the limelight and who vie for positions of maximum control and authority. We should be ashamed.

Jesus was born in a stable outside a small town. He lived His life as a village carpenter and itinerant preacher. He accumulated neither riches nor worldly power.

Yet, today, many of His self-proclaimed followers seek and promise the very things He rejected, as they pursue higher and higher positions in churches. It is hard to imagine that Jesus would feel at home in their costly cathedrals.

It is impossible to believe that He would preach the ‘gospels of health and wealth’ which is so popular today. Jesus said the way to true greatness was the road of service and suffering.

Jesus said the way to true greatness was the road of service and suffering, as His followers, we must learn how to serve the Lord, we must learn how to serve each other, we must learn how to serve those around us, those who so desperately need to not only hear Jesus in our words but see Jesus in our actions.