Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley
Ministries, 17 October 2021 by Captain Michael Ramsay
This is a very interesting passage. You need to picture this. Jesus has been teaching. His disciples are with him. They are helping. They are assisting. They are doing what needs to be done. They all serve Jesus but there isn’t really a hierarchy among the 12 of them; though some do have specific responsibilities: Home League, YPS, CSM, CFS, … okay maybe not these roles but they are a team working with Jesus as he is preaching, serving, and teaching. Jesus is a popular speaker, and he is on a speaking tour travelling from the north to the south, with his final show to be in Jerusalem in Judea. Jesus is not only teaching the large crowd of disciples, students, adherents, and interested public who come to hear him speak on his cross-Palestine tour, he is also teaching his 12 especially selected disciples, the ones with whom he will leave his ministry when he retires, is promoted, gets his raise (from the dead) and goes to be with the Father.
In the early part of Chapter 10 leading up to our passage today, Jesus has been teaching about some very important things. This chapter opens with Jesus telling the crowds and the Pharisees, that contrary to their laws, divorce is a non-starter with Jesus. He said that marriage is ordained by God and people cannot tear apart what God put together. Jesus forbids divorce.[1] He goes even one step farther when he is alone with his disciples: he says that if you remarry after you are divorced you are guilty of adultery. This may not sound like much to us today but then and there adultery was a serious legal matter: you could be killed for adultery. Jesus said if you get remarried you are guilty of a capital crime. I believe he does this to protect women.[2] They were very vulnerable to exploitation in the first century but that is another sermon for another time.[3] There is more than that too because some of the most significant victims of divorce, even still today, are children.[4]
After Jesus addresses the fate of vulnerable in and out of marriage; some moms, dads, or others who are there in the crowd with their children (children are always vulnerable and on the outside of adult activities) bring the kids to Jesus.[5] The disciples with Jesus try to stop this so that Jesus can deal with some ‘more important’ things – adult talk, or get back to what he was teaching about before he was so noticeably interrupted, or something else. Jesus stands up for the children the same way he stood up for the vulnerable by prohibiting divorce. He exalts the children. He notes that the children are coming to him with no agenda of their own. They are just coming to see him, like a little child who will hug a mascot of a character they love, or an even younger child whose face just lights up when they see their parents or even hears their voice. If we come to God like this, if we are like this, we will inherit the Kingdom of God ourselves.
A rich person probably saw this and was obviously quite concerned: he ran up to Jesus as he started on his way, it says, and fell on his knees before him, He is probably picking up on this theme: vulnerable are protected, excluded are exalted – what about him? What about the privileged people? Then, like now, it is the wealthy -far more than any other group - who have all the advantages in society. If you are part of the privileged group called ‘wealthy’, that is a trump card that cancels out any non-privileged cards you might have in your hand. (Again, this, like the preceding two pericopes, is a whole sermon series on its own.) Jesus tells this person whom I believe comes to Jesus with a very sincere heart, that he needs to give away not only all his privilege, all his excess; Jesus says he has to give away all his security, and become completely vulnerable to receive Jesus’ protection. The man is understandably heart-broken, sad. The disciples are understandably worried even; They ask in essence, ‘who is willing to do this? to give up everything? Anyone? Us even?’ They come right out and exclaim, Verse 26, ‘Who then can be saved?! Anyone?’
Jesus says no; with man this is impossible. He then offers them this: with God nothing is impossible. God can save them. Those who give up everything, who are vulnerable and thus rely fully on God can be saved. Peter then I imagine nervously checks with Jesus, Verse 28, ‘we have left everything to follow you…’. Can we be saved? Only those fully relying on God are saved in this discourse – but God can do anything. Jesus does put the disciples’ minds at ease, Verses 29-31, “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
It is after this, and after Jesus tells them some of the horrible things he is about to suffer by way of the crucifixion, et cetera that Mark tells us about the conversation that we read earlier today.
Verse 35: Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
Jesus has just been teaching to the crowds and all the disciples about how the vulnerable are protected, the excluded are exalted, the disadvantaged will be advantaged, those who seek for themselves will be left outside by themselves and then these two brothers (whom Jesus loves) come to Jesus seeking left and right privilege for themselves! Do they learn nothing from what Jesus teaches them?[6] Do we learn nothing from what Jesus teaches us?
Verse 38 “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?”
39 “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,
This cup is of course persecution and death; as Jesus said, Verses 33-34, he will be condemned to die, handed over to others, mocked, spat open, flogged and killed. This is the cup from which Jesus will drink before he heads into his glory through the resurrection. This is the cup from which the disciples may drink.[7] Jesus says, Verse 40, “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.” And, of course, the people on Jesus left and right, as he moved into His Glory were the thieves on the cross. At least one of whom joined him in Paradise very quickly thereafter.
When the rest of the disciples hear that James and John were seeking privilege for themselves, when they hear that they want to be assured status as teacher’s pet. When they hear that James and John are trying to exalt themselves above everyone else – and especially the 10 of them! - they get quite upset. Verse 41, When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John.
I imagine, they are all quite excited now! So Jesus puts all their minds at rest. Verse 42ff:
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. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 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.”
This is important. Everyone here, I think you have been doing great. Especially through Covid-19 (and other times), not worrying about yourself but going out of your way to include and involve others.
When people were most afraid of Covid-19 in our community, when people were most vulnerable; you were making food for people, you were handing out food to the most vulnerable; you were making food for those removed from society; you were going on the truck delivering meals to people in places where (even not during a pandemic) others are afraid to go. You prayed with people. You did not stop gathering as some churches got into a habit of doing, but you met together, even daily, you met together as the Church to serve God by serving your neighbour!
We have been blessed with a great opportunity to serve God and our neighbour through the pandemic but even beyond the plague; many of you here given up a lot in your life to serve God in community here for many, many years. Some of you have served God in full-time ministry for a time; many of you have served him full-heartedly in ministry while you were employed at other things. Many of you have given up hours and hours and days and days over many, many years serving God in the Church, in community. Many of you have led people to Christ. Many of you have taught people the Scriptures. Many of you have discipled children, women, men, and others. Many of you have fed and cared for those in need. Many of you have tithed religiously for your whole Christian life. Many of you have been willing to go without, so that you can faithfully give to God and the Church, and His ministry. This is what salvation looks like! This is what many of you are continuing to do and that is what many of you are continuing to experience!
This is my encouragement to you. Sometimes we get tired. Sometimes I get tired. Sometimes we are tempted to throw in the towel. Sometimes we can be tempted to look at friends, family members, or peers who have not given up their life in service to God and the Kingdom the way you here have. Sometimes we can look at them and then look at ourselves and wonder, is it worth it?
It is. It really is. Persevere my friends, persevere. You are doing God’s work. This is what it looks like when you are saved![8] Jesus loves you and he will get you through everything and I know that many of you have given up much for Jesus and for the Kingdom and I would like to leave you with these words for you to reflect on whenever you need to be reminded of them, Mark 10: 29-31, “Truly I tell you…no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life...”
So my friends, keep up the good work. Jesus loves you and he will see you through to victory. He promises.
Let us pray.
[1] Cf. Victor Babajide Cole, “Mark 10:1-12: Teaching on Divorce” in Africa Bible Commentary, (Nairobi, Kenya: Word Alive Publishers, 2010), 1214.
[2] Cf. David Smith, Mark: A Commentary for Bible Students (Indianapolis, USA: Wesleyan Publishing house, 2007), 191.
[3] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, "Matthew 5: Jesus' Election Speech and Moore," Sheepspeak.com, 27 October 2019, https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2019/10/matthew-5-jesus-election-speech-and.html
[4] Cf. NT Wright, Mark for Everyone (Louisville, US: WJK, 2004), 133.
[5] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, "As Christians do we have a responsibility to take care of the poor?" Nipawin Journal, January 2008. Cited from Sheepspeak.com, http://sheepspeak.com/sasknews.htm#poor
[6] Cf. David Smith, Mark: A Commentary for Bible Students (Indianapolis, USA: Wesleyan Publishing house, 2007), 200.
[7] Cf. Victor Babajide Cole, “Mark 10:35-45: The Request of the Zebedee Brothers”, Africa Bible Commentary (Nairobi, Kenya: Word Alive Publishers, 2010), 1215.
[8] Cf. David Smith, Mark: A Commentary for Bible Students (Indianapolis, USA: Wesleyan Publishing house, 2007), 204.
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