Sermon Tone Analysis

*THREADS

Introduction

This is our DNA as a church family:

Our mission is to glorify God by making disciples through gospel-centered worship, gospel-centered community, gospel-centered service, and gospel-centered multiplication.

This is not just a church strategy, it is the DNA for discipleship:

Worship is the fuel for discipleship.

Community is the context for discipleship.

Service is the overflow of discipleship.

Multiplication is the goal of discipleship.

Request (35-37)

Requirement (38-41)

Prerequisite (42-45)

Request (35-37)

Requirement (38-41)

Prerequisite (42-45)

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.”

Your kids ever come to you and ask you to sign a blank check like this?

If you say “NO” you look like a mean parent, if you say “YES” you may have just agreed to allow your son borrow the chainsaw to trim his brother’s nails.

James and John (Sons of Thunder) pretty bold guys.

You see it in their request.

Even their request underlines the issue Jesus will need to expose in their hearts.

They were asking to BE SERVED.

But in order to receive what they are asking they would need to be the servers.

But Jesus is smart:

But Jesus is smart:

36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”

In my mind Jesus is just shaking his

Remember, they are on their way into Jerusalem

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

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?”

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, 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.”

41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.

32 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, 33 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.

34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him.

And after three days he will rise.”

Curious - didn’t they just hear Jesus?

How could they have just heard Jesus and asked what they did?

38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking.

In my mind, Jesus is just shaking his head.

Before we shake our heads too, don’t we tend to do the same thing as James and John?

Here is the reason why so many Christians struggle in their walk with Jesus.

Selfish expectations

Isn’t it the case that we sometimes follow Jesus and the only time we “get close” to him is when we want something?

Test- your prayer life.

Three reasons we pray: 1) Guilt 2) Need 3) Love

What if James and John ONLY spoke to Jesus when they wanted something?

ILLUST - We all have THAT friend that only calls when they want something from you?

When they call you end up sending them to voicemail?

If you don’t know what I’m talking about - YOU are probably that friend!

Jesus can, does, and wants to meet our deepest need and longings,

Misguided assumptions

Misguided assumptions

James and John had this misguided assumption that Jesus was taking his merry band of men into Jerusalem so he can take on the Roman government and establish an earthly kingdom - EVEN THOUGH Jesus had just told them he was heading to Jerusalem to die.

Our assumption today is that following Jesus makes life easier.

no more relationship problems

work is easy

Kids are always good

Jesus was pretty clear - following him would likely mean following him into suffering.

The solution to both is to let Jesus root the YOU out of you and set the TRUTH in you.

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

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, 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.”

Here Jesus is asking James and John if they are willing to follow his example.

If they want the number two and three spots in the Kingdom, are they willing to follow the number One, Jesus into his suffering and death?

There are a few times throughout the Bible when “drinking the cup” referred to receiving blessing, joy, or happiness.

But most often the concept was used to describe God’s wrath.

Here Jesus is using baptism to describe an entrance into death (this is what baptism symbolizes).

James and John cannot do exactly what Jesus will do - he will drink the cup of Gods wrath for the salvation of sins, he will enter death once for all as a payment for sins, but they will followJesus (according to historians) into a similar suffering and death.

It doesn’t seem as though the boys really understand what Jesus means because they are willing to follow him.

41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.

no kidding!

Don’t think the disciples were upset because they were more holy than James and John or that they wanted James and John to foster a more compliant servant-like attitude.

They were most likely upset because they wanted the positions of honor themselves!

James and John were part of the the Inner Three

Peter was left out of this request

Mark most likely got the majority of his information for his gospel from Peter.

Obviously, all of the disciples have the same heart issue of wanting to be served rather than to serve.

Otherwise, they would not have been indignant at the brother’s request.

Jesus needs to call a huddle.

42 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.

“lord” = dominance

They were familiar with worldly rulers dominating them.

Roman oppression was everywhere.

Herod the Great tried to have Jesus killed, but instead killed every boy two years and younger in Bethlehem.

His son, Herod Antipas, had John the Baptist beheaded.

43 But it shall not be so among you.

You, as followers of Christ, must be MARKED

But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.

“it” - the thinking that the mark of greatness - the end goal is to be served.

D. L. Moody once said, “The measure of a man is not how many servants he has, but how many men he serves

The economy of God’s Kingdom is drastically different from the world’s.

The world around us expects to be served - byproduct of a consumer culture.

ILLUST - anyone ever work as a server, a waiter, or a waitress in a restaurant?

Or in the service industry?

The default in the world around us is the expectation to be served.

Because the world’s economy is based on self, the only time someone would serve is when they are forced to or paid to.