Sermon Tone Analysis

Mark 10:32-45

JESUS WAS WALKING AHEAD OF THEM

A third time (8:31, 9:31, 10:32) Jesus tells His disciples what is going to happen to Him at Jerusalem - clearly this is a message they need to have repeated over and over.

The first time he speaks to them about this Peter rebukes him.

They disciples are having a hard time conceiving of the Messiah having to suffer and die.

This is the most detailed passion prophecy of the three - ‘He will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles (the Romans), they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him, and after 3 days he will rise.’

It seems obvious but it’s worth saying again - Jesus’s death wasn’t a tragic accident, it was ordained of God before the foundation of the world.

And what’s more - Jesus knew what He was headed into, but He led the way, He walked ahead of them.

Jesus chose the cross for you - His love for us was so great that He chose His own brutal death to save a sinner like you.

He didn’t bargain for an easier path - He didn’t drag His heels, He led the way.

He is an example to His followers, when we are easily given to temper tantrums when God’s road for us leads through the Valley of Humiliation or up Difficulty Hill.

Just as the road to glory led through the cross - so too our journey to salvation leads through suffering, and just as so much good came from Christ’s suffering, our suffering also leads to so much good:

We mature in our faith

We are able to minister to others who are suffering

We learn humility

Each time Jesus prophesy’s about His death the disciples immediately jockey for prestige and position - it’s almost like they aren’t hearing what He is saying!

And James and John - the sons of thunder, two of Jesus’s inner circle - now approach him on the road and try to manipulate him into promising them the most prestigious positions in His kingdom.

Some have claimed that there is a contradiction here between Mark’s gospel and Matthew’s gospel - since in Matthew 20:20-21

In Matthew it’s James and John’s mother who asks Jesus this question, not her two sons.

We know that Mark’s gospel was built on the eye witness testimony of Peter, who was there when this happened, as was Matthew.

Both accounts place James and John at the scene, even in Matthew Jesus responds to James and John not their mother, it’s just that Matthew includes more detail - their mother was there asking the question.

It’s not logically impossible that both James and John and their mother were asking Jesus this question.

The gospels are independent eye witness accounts of the life of Jesus, they’re not copy and paste documents from the same source.

This is what makes them all the more believable - that there are slight variations in each of the accounts.

The brothers hope to honor Jesus while honoring themselves.

How easily worship and discipleship are blended with self-interest; or worse, self interest is masked as worship and discipleship.

- J. Edwards

Now it’s easy to scoff at James and John’s attitude here - they are so brazen ‘teacher we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.. grant us to sit one at your right and your left in glory.’

They have an unmasked desire for importance, fame, power and recognition.

They see Jesus as their route to those things - Oh Jesus - we want you to be glorified but us too, please!

It’s easy to tut and tsk at James and John but the truth is that this open desire of theirs to be honoured and glorified in ministry is a desire that is sadly held by many in ministry today.

Some have an unhealthy desire for recognition, for honour and prestige and instead of going into the world of business or politics to acheive this, they go into ministry.

They’re ok with Jesus being glorified so long as they get a share as well.

Jesus says to them ‘you don’t know what you’re asking’.

Isn’t this just the truth about our prayers sometimes - we don’t know what we’re asking!

It’s just as well that some of our prayers don’t get the answer we were hoping for.

He asks - are you able to drink the cup that I drink - speaking of His suffering (and maybe even in a sense the cup of the wrath of God against our sins), and - or to be baptised with the baptism with which I am baptised - speaking of His death.

Without hesitation they say that they are able - it’s never usually a good idea to make promises to God concerning your ability to do great things for Him!

Jesus says that they will drink His cup of suffering and that they will be baptised with His baptism.

Verse 39 seems best read as a reminder and renewed call to discipleship, which ineluctably entails sacrifice and suffering.

Disciples of Jesus do not decide to accept or reject hardships on the basis of the future rewards accruing from them.

They accept suffering on the sole basis that it is the way of Jesus.

“The Son of God suffered unto the death, not that men might not suffer, but that their sufferings might be like His.”

Jesus says that those places aren’t His to give away - they are for those for whom it has been prepared.

This is another one of those divine passives.

Once again we see the hidden hand of the sovereign God in this passage.

That The Father knows who will sit in those places of honour, He has has pre-pared that place for them.

Once again, we see that the whole of salvation is in the hands of God.

WHEN THE TEN HEARD IT

The other ten disciples then overhear this conversation and are ‘indignant at James and John’ we’re told.

It’s the same word that we heard about Jesus earlier this chapter

Jesus was indignant because some people were being hindered from coming to Him - the disciples were indignant because they were afraid that James and John might take their share of the glory!

What a contrast.

It’s not Christlike to have a ‘me, me, me’ attitude.

If we can’t abide it when a peer gets praise and we get overlooked then what does that reveal about us?

On one hand - it reveals that we have a need for recognition.

That isn’t inherantly bad actually - it’s bad when we try to meet that need by hogging attention and approval wherever we can get it.

All our approval needs must be brought before God - we need to be ok with not having the approval or applause of people.

We need to be ok with some of our greatest wins going unseen and uncelebrated by others.

This only happens when we stick close to God in the place of prayer - it’s impossible to be free of the temptation to hoover up approval, but by God’s grace and in prayer we can overcome it.

JESUS REDEFINES GREATNESS

Great leadership in a worldly sense is seen as:

Dominating/ruling over your sphere of influence

Control

Being cutthroat

Winning/success

Acclaim

Having a large team that serves you

Talking a good game - talking yourself up, talking up your work

Jesus says ‘but it is not so among you’.

None of these ways of leadership are the ways that Christians lead - none of them.

Worldly leadership is focussed on self, Kingdom leadership is focussed on others.

Jesus says that a pastor is both a servant, and even a slave of all.

A slave is not a prestigious position, a slaves job is to serve others, that is their focus.

If Pastors and ministry leaders really understood and followed what Jesus says here we wouldn’t see half as much pastoral abuse in churches.

It’s incumbent upon every Christian to know the marks of a true pastor according to scripture so that we’re not led away by imposters or damaged by unqualified men or women.

Too many pastors get their model for church leadership from the world and not from Jesus.

ACCORDING TO SCRIPTURE CHRISTIAN LEADERS:

1. Must not be arrogant or prideful

2. They must not be a self promoter or a lover of self

3.

They should not be domineering or bullying or look to control and drive out those who disagree with them

4.

They shouldn’t have a critical spirit or abusive speech or brutality in dealing with others

5.

They should not be vindictive or unwilling to seek forgiveness for the wrongs THEY have done, or uncorrectable

6.

They should not manipulate people by making misleading statements in order to draw peoples attention away from any issues that they or their ministry might have.

7.

They should not use flattery or gifts to gain favour.

8.

They should not be a respecter of persons esp favouring the talented, rich, powerful, famous.

9.

They should not have a bad reputation with those outside the church.

10.

Must faithfully teach the Christian faith according to scripture, not their own private revelations/ideas.

A RANSOM FOR MANY

Jesus said that no servant is greater than his master (john 13:16), and if he came to humble himself and serve sinners like us, how is it that we think Christian leadership ought to look different?

Jesus says that the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve.

The problem is, the disciples already had an idea of who the son of man was from Daniel 7:13-14

This was what they were thinking was about to happen!

But they hadn’t factored in that there is another Old Testament scripture that speaks about the very same individual but in a very different way; Isaiah 53:3-5

The disciples still hadn’t understood that there were two comings of the son of man, the first as a servant, the second as a King.

And so our lives this side of eternity are to be marked by servanthood just like Christs.

When He returns, all those who are his, who served with Him in this life, will reign with Him in the next.

So just as Christ gave His life for the people, so also pastors and Christian leaders are to give their lives for the people of God.

Not build their own lives off the back of God’s people.

Jesus pays the ransom to free you from sin, death and the devil if you will put your faith in Him.