One on his right, one on his left

?”Dismiss Kids

Recap on Church Planting

For those who may have missed it, last week we made a big announcement regarding church planting

In our ministry plan as a church, we highlight supporting church planting as a key way to Reach Sarasota

Over the last few years, we have been active members of the Florida Church Planting Network, we have hosted a church planting apprentice, and we have sent some people from our congregation to be part of GraceLife Church as it was launching

Covenant Life’s support of church planting goes much further back

Some of you even in the room here this morning were integral parts of Covenant Life planting Cornerstone of Lakewood Ranch

In some ways, what we are prayerfully pursuing is modeled after that work of planting Cornerstone

Cornerstone started early in the days of Lakewood Ranch and positioned to grow as Lakewood Ranch grew

Similarly, we are looking and asking how we can be among the first churches to target the fast growing areas around town to reach them with the hope and truth of the gospel

Much more yet to come, but invite you to be praying if God would call you to be a part of this great work

And if you are, join us next Sunday evening at 6:00 for a Q&A time or reach out to me and I’d love to meet with you individually

Pray

Opening Illustration

Ok, now that the kids are gone, I have a purely, totally hypothetical question for all of you

I’m sure none of you have experienced this

But just imagine for me if you will

Your kids come up and say, “Mommy, Daddy…” - really laying it on thick - “Umm, you know… I love you Mommy. I love you Daddy.”

At this point, you are trying not to sprain your eyeballs as you roll your eyes

“Yes, my dear child?”

“Well, umm, can you say yes?”

“Yes to what my dear child?”

“I just want you to say yes”

“Yes to what my dear child?”

“Well, say yes to what I am going to ask you?”

Transition

Our passage this morning opens with a question that really seems to have that same feel

As a child trying to get their parents to agree to something without knowing what they are agreeing to, James and John approach Jesus with a question

Please stand with me if you are able to as we read our passage for this morning, Mark 10:35-45

Scripture Reading

Mark 10:35–45 ESV

And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Transition

This passage closes with what is maybe the most well known verse in Mark’s gospel

A verse used to support everything from servant leadership to appeals to act like Jesus

Mark 10:43-45 “But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.””

But for us to truly grasp this picture, we need to remember where we are in the flow of Mark’s narrative

Context

Mark 10:32-34 “And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.””

So the context of our passage of this passage is Jesus’ third prediction of his impending death

Just like the second in Mark 9, the disciples totally miss

In Mark 9, get the immediate argument between the disciples over who is the greatest among them and Jesus responds:

Mark 9:35 “And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

Retell the Story

James and John approach Jesus (vs35-37)

Coming immediately on the heels of Jesus predicting his impending death for the third time (which we looked at last week), James and John come to Jesus with a request

As I said a couple of minutes ago though, they don’t actually lead with their question

First, like the kid approaching mom or dad to get them to say yes before asking the question, they start

Mark 10:35 “And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.””

Jesus, not biting on replies with

Mark 10:36 “And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?””

Let me add one detail that comes from Matthew’s recounting of this event

Matthew 20:20 “Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something.”

They brought their mom to be part of it!

This was a whole family affair!

So what do they ask of Jesus

Mark 10:37 “And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.””

They ask Jesus to guarantee them positions of honor in the kingdom of God

To illustrate, picture a wedding reception

At the wedding reception, all the groomsmen and bridesmaids are seated next to the bride and groom at the head table

James and John - supported by their mom! - ask to be seated at the head table

Jesus’ Response (vs38-40)

So how does Jesus respond to this big ask?

Look at verse 38

Mark 10:38 “Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?””

First, you don’t even know what you are asking

To which all of us here immediately respond, “Ya think?”

Second, Jesus responds with his own question

Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”

They rather foolishly respond, yes

Mark 10:39 “And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized,”

But what did Jesus mean?

“Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?”

To drink of the cup, in its biblical and historical use, means to fully undergo or share in an experience

And it usually is in reference to suffering

To drink the cup of suffering is to enter fully into suffering

Ps 11:6 “Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.”

So when he says, “The cup that I drink you will drink,” what he is anticipating is that yes, they will suffer

“Or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”

Jesus doubles down on the suffering idea here

Drinking a cup is active - something one does

Being baptized is passive - something one receives

Both actively and passively, Jesus endured suffering

He was baptized in suffering in this sense of being overwhelmed and having it flood over him

Jesus responds that yes, they will endure that level of suffering

Though we can be pretty sure that isn’t what James and John thought they were asking for!

Mark 10:40 “but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.””

Finally here in response to their request, Jesus tells them that granting of the seats to the right and left of him in glory are not his to give

It is the Father who will grant those seats of honor to whomever he chooses and has prepared for them

Greatness in God’s Economy

The whole time we are wondering, how did the rest of the disciples respond when they got word of James and John’s request?

Mark 10:41 “And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.”

Yeah, I’m sure they were indignant

But probably not for the reason you immediately think

They weren’t mad at the request

They were all involved in the last go around of this

Mark 9:34 “But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.”

Their response wasn’t one of anger that James and John dared ask such a question, because they had done the same thing!

No, they were jealous that if Jesus said yes to James and John, that would mean they all missed out

Mark 10:42-45 “And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.””

And so here now we can come to this most well known of verses in Mark

Jesus is redefining greatness in his kingdom, in his economy

The Jews knew what it was to be the subject of oppression

As soon as the Gentiles found power, they used it to lord over others

But what often happens is that when party has power, they use it to lord over others - so those oppressed push back and take the power - them immediately do the exact same thing in lording their new power and position over others

That is not the path of greatness in the kingdom of God

Mark 10:43-44 “But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.”

Again, the path of greatness in the kingdom of God is very different

Want to be great? Wonderful. Be a servant.

Want first place? Wonderful. Be a slave of all.

In the kingdom of God, greatness is measured by service and sacrifice, not attainment of power and power

Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.””

Here, finally, we get the verse that “the Son of Man came not to be served”

He who was infinitely worthy and deserving of being served!

“But to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many”

Transition

Ok, having walked through the passage, I want to look at four themes

Pride

Greatness Redefined

Jesus as Example

Jesus as Vicarious Substitute

Pride

James and John ask to be seated next to Jesus in his kingdom

Upside of James and John’s request

Demonstration of great faith

They truly believed Jesus was going to usher in the kingdom of God

They believed Jesus would sit on his throne in glory

Downside of their request

Quite a bit of pride and arrogance mixed in

When I hear of James and John’s request, do I, like the other disciples, become indignant?

And is it because I am saddened that they missed the point?

Or is it, more likely, because I’m jealous that if they get it, it means that I did not

The whole world seeks power, prestige, position

Listen to this quote attributed to Genghis Khan

“a man’s greatest work is to break his enemies, to drive them before him, to take from them all the things that have been theirs, to hear the weeping of those who cherished them, to take their horses between his knees and to press in his arms the most desirable of their women.” - attributed to Genghis Khan

When I hear that, first, it makes me shiver

But second, I see myself all to clearly in those words

Here these words from John Stott

The world “(and even the church) is full of Jameses and Johns, go-getters and status-seekers, hungry for honour and prestige, measuring life by achievements, and everlastingly dreaming of success.” - John Stott

See, I’m more like Genghis Khan than I want to admit

We, even those of here this morning, are full of ambition seeking status, hungry for prestige, dreaming of success

And angling to get there

Yet, that is not greatness in the kingdom of God

Radical Greatness

As Jesus said, Mark 10:43-44 “But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.”

Jesus redefines greatness

For some years now, I have used the phrase “Radical Greatness”

Let’s define that phrase, starting with Greatness

Greatness - noun - “noteworthy, remarkable, of exceptional value”

Radical - adjective - “of, relating to, or proceeding from a root”

I like that phrase, “of, relating to, or proceeding from a root”

What makes the Christian life great - “noteworthy, remarkable, of exceptional value” is its connection to the root

For us, for those that are in Christ, the path of greatness is the path abiding - staying ever connected to the root

As Jesus said in John 15:5-6 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”

Jesus as Example

Mark 10:43-45 “But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.””

Jesus redefines greatness, but he is also our example of it

He tells his disciples that he - the one who really is worthy of all worship, all service, all surrender, all submission - came to serve

How do you became great?

Look at Jesus

He cared for the sick, loved the unlovable, drew near to the broken hearted, was tender and loving to those who had been hurt or abused

That is what biblical greatness, Kingdom Greatness looks like

Serve first, serve second, serve always - and trust God to be honored in your serve

Because our service is not for our acclaim, honor or prestige, but for his

Jesus as Vicarious Substitute

Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.””

But it is not enough to say that Jesus is an example of this radical greatness

If we left it there, we - you, me, everyone - would be powerless to actually pursue it

It is in this last phrase of our passage - “to give his life as a ransom for many” - that our hope lies

The gospel is so counter-intuitive to us

The whole time we are pursuing our own greatness - our own power, honor, prestige, acclaim, position - the one rightfully deserving of greatness gave his own life

A ransom is a sum or price paid to release someone from captivity or bondage

WSC 19 tells us that all humanity is “subject to all the miseries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever.”

That is our captivity and bondage

The very next question in the WSC asks, “Did God leave all mankind to die in sin and misery?”

“From all eternity and merely because it pleased him, God chose some to have everlasting life. These he freed from sin and misery by a covenant of grace and brought them to salvation by a redeemer” (WSC 20).

While we were all pursuing this distorted and, ultimately, futile path of greatness, Jesus became our substitute

He ransomed us - at the price of his own life - to redeem us from our captivity to sin and death

He gave his life for many… for us

Conclusion

As we close this morning, let’s return one more time to James and John’s request

They asked if, when he comes into his kingdom, if they could be seated “one on his right, and one on his left”

That idea of one on his right and one on his left occurs just a single other time in Mark’s gospel

The thieves hanging next to Jesus on the cross

Mark 15:27 “And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left.”

James and John asked about being on Jesus’ side in glory

But to be on his right and on his left is to be with him in his suffering

Dear friends, the invitation is to be on Jesus’ right or on his left

But not the way James, John or any of the disciples expected

The greatness to which we are invited this morning is to be with Jesus - to be near Jesus - not just in his glory but in his suffering

As Paul summarizes...

Phil 3:10-11 “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

The path of greatness in this world is through that reckless pursuit of power, position, prestige, and more

The path of greatness in the kingdom of God is through being near him in his suffering in death so as to be near him in the glory of his resurrection

Pray