A Fork in the Road
Text: Mark 10:35-45
Title: A Fork in the Road
Thesis: The disciples argue over their places of position in God’s kingdom. Jesus reminds them that to live as His disciples is to be servants, not masters.
Time: Lent, 5 Sun, B
This morning’s sermon begins with a riddle. Let’s say you are out hiking along a trail and you come to a fork that leads off in two directions. The two paths look identical, but they lead to two drastically different places. There is a sign explaining that one of the paths leads to heaven and the other path leads to hell. The sign also states that once you make your choice and start walking down the path, you can’t turn around.
There to help you make the right choice as to which path to take are two men. Both men know which path leads to heaven and which leads to hell. You are allowed to ask one and only one question to only one of the men. Now here is where it gets tricky: one of the men always tells lies and the other man always tells the truth. Unfortunately, it’s impossible for you to tell who the liar from the truth teller. So here is the riddle, “What one question can you ask either man and have the assurance that you will go down the right path?” No matter if you ask the one question to the liar or to the truth teller, what is the question that will ensure you will be given directions to the path to heaven?
Give up? Here is the answer. “You would say this, ‘If I asked the other man, which path would he say leads to heaven?” If you ask this to the truth teller will say the liar would instruct you to follow the path leading to hell. And if you ask this to the liar he would also point to the path leading to hell. So here is what you would do then, you would go down the path opposite to the path that has been pointed out. Regardless if it is the liar or the truth-teller pointing, the question asked leads them to point to the wrong path.
Riddles can be confusing. Jesus offers a riddle of sorts in Mark chapter 10 as he responds to a dilemma raised by his disciples. What a scenario they create. The time Jesus has left with his disciples is running out. He has already explained to them several times that soon he is going to be put to death. For example, right above in Mark 9:31 Jesus tells them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again. But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.” Indeed, the time the disciples have left with Jesus is limited so Jesus does everything he can to keep them focused on their mission and to continue telling people of God’s love even after he is gone. With the little time they have left together, now is the time for the disciples to ask Jesus any questions they may have, to clear up anything that will help them continue in the kingdom mission of spreading the good news of God’s love. So what question do the disciples think up to ask Jesus? Two heads must be better than one, because here is what James and John say to Jesus in Mark 10:35, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And in verse 37 they ask, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left in glory.”
We see here that James and John aren’t concerned about how to carry on the kingdom work once Jesus is gone. Their focus isn’t about how they can continue along the path of discipleship living the kind of life that Jesus lived of loving God and neighbor. That’s not their concern. No, the only concern that James and John have is about what’s waiting for them at the end of the path, what’s in it for them. Boldly, they tell Jesus what they want are the two places of highest honor and power, one at Jesus’ right hand and one at his left.
It’s not only two disciples James and John who ask Jesus wrong questions about following the path of discipleship. We also can ask the wrong kinds of questions when we find ourselves in a situation that demands we make a choice about our lives. Any time we are presented with an opportunity, we can be like the disciples, thinking of our own self interest and what’s in it for us, what’s best for us, or else we can ask, what is best for the kingdom of God?
Yogi Berra once said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” That may be true for baseball players, to take the best opportunity offered. But for Jesus’ disciples, what appears to be the best opportunity may actually not be so. So to ensure we continue following the path of discipleship, we must move beyond asking Jesus the “me” questions. Me questions like, “Jesus, if I take the job offer what’s in this for me? Will it make me richer and more powerful?” or “Jesus, if I enter into a relationship with that person will I have all my needs met, how will I benefit.” No, questions we ask as disciples aren’t “me” questions.
The other ten disciples don’t have much to offer either. It says in verse 41, “When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John.” They also get caught up in asking the “me” questions. Why should James and John get the two places of top honor and power, we’ve also been living as Jesus’ disciples. The ten also ask, what’s in it for me?
So Jesus offers James and John, the other then, and even us a riddle. The riddle is one that points out the right kinds of questions to ask when the path forks and we must make a choice in order to go forward in life. This is what Jesus says in verse 43, “Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.”
It’s not “me” questions we should be asking, no, it’s the “how can I be a servant of others?” I recall in Jr. High our family was going through a major crisis. My dad injured his hand at work. He had been working for fifteen years at the same factory as a maintenance worker and mangled his hand in a machine. For several months he was off work as his hand healed. After the bandages were taken off, the doctor diagnosed him and said he would never have the strength in his hand he once had and it would greatly affect his job performance.
I remember my dad went to work to tell his boss and came home to tell our family what was going to happen. My dad said, “They want to make me a maintenance supervisor. It would mean he would get a large raise in pay. He would no longer be an hourly employee but now on salary. It meant he would get financial bonuses. It turned out to be a blessing. But my dad also said to us that this wasn’t the first time he had been asked to be a maintenance supervisor, several times in past years he had been asked. But he told us that he had always turned down the offer because it meant he would have to work longer hours and it would take away from the time he had to spend with his kids as they were growing up.” My dad doesn’t talk about things like that much, but his answer revealed to me that day what kind of father, what kind of disciple he was. He didn’t ask the “me” questions. His goal in life wasn’t how he could have a more prestigious, higher paying job. Rather, he thought about the needs of others, he thought about his family and what was best for us. For all of us, what Jesus says is “whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.”
By Mark chapter 10, Jesus had already firmly decided the path he was going to take. . He knew the path he must take would ultimately lead to his death on the cross. His path would be one of suffering and dying for our sins. Jesus’ path was a dead end, leading only to his death and crucifixion and rejection. But Jesus chose his path so that we can live as servants of others, and that we can be assured that we are following the path that leads to heaven.
When faced with life’s opportunities and decisions, we no longer have to ask the “my” questions. We no longer have to seek earthly power and security. As Jesus’ disciples we are now free to do what is best for the kingdom of God, and what will benefit everyone. We can ask, “Jesus, how can I live as your servant, by being a servant of others?”
During this time of Lent, may we be attuned to the questions we ask Jesus. Let us be aware when we make decisions however small or large they are and that we are asking Jesus the right questions. And may Jesus give us the power to continue along the spiritual journey living as his servants.
