Glory and Suffering: The Path of Every Disciple

INTRO

I want to ask you this question. What is worth suffering for? In your life what have you sacrificed for or suffered for? Maybe it was a sport, a lifestyle change, a family commitment. Did you know that the statistics on how many people actually follow through and accomplish their New Year’s resolutions are rather grim. Studies have shown that less than 25% of people actually stay committed to their resolutions after just 30 days, and only 8% accomplish them! I wonder how many of us have set a goal about a life change and tried to commit to doing it but in the end failed. While all of us might want certain things in life, we often don’t want the lifestyle that comes with it. We want to be the kind of people who are in shape, but don’t want the discipline of that kind of life style. We want to be less distracted, but struggle with the lifestyle of turning our phones off, ect. We want to be a person who is more strong in the bible, but we struggle with the lifestyle of committing to daily being disciplined to read the word. In the story the afternoon this is exactly what the disciples were doing. All they saw was the glory of the kingdom. All they wanted were the results of power and glory now, not realizing that the path to glory was the path of suffering. Jesus is going to show us this afternoon that, if you are going to share with Christ in His glory, You will also share with Him in His suffering. Let’s stand for the reading of the text:

Mark 10:35–40 CSB

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached him and said, “Teacher, we want you to do whatever we ask you.” “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked them. They answered him, “Allow us to sit at your right and at your left in your glory.” Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup I drink or to be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” “We are able,” they told him. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with. But to sit at my right or left is not mine to give; instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

Mark 10:35–40 CNVT

西庇太的兒子雅各、約翰，來到耶穌跟前，對他說：「老師，我們無論向你求甚麼，願你為我們作成。」耶穌說：「要我為你們作甚麼？」他們說：「在你的榮耀裡，讓我們一個坐在你的右邊，一個坐在你的左邊。」耶穌說：「你們不知道你們求的是甚麼。我喝的杯，你們能喝嗎？我受的洗，你們能受嗎？」他們說：「能。」耶穌說：「我喝的杯，你們固然要喝；我受的洗，你們也要受。只是坐在我的左右，不是我可以賜的，而是　神預備賜給誰，就賜給誰。」

CONTEXT

As we look at the text it’s really important for us to remember that the context of this whole story is that the disciples and Jesus are on their way to Jerusalem. For the disciples this is like their homecoming and they are beginning to think that this is the time when Jesus is going to take His throne, gonna take the rightful place of King and begin ruling. So, James and John approached Jesus and said “TEACHER WE WANT YOU TO DO WHATEVER WE ASK YOU”. This is an incredible question! I’m trying to put myself in their shoes and consider what would make them think they could come to Jesus and just ask Him point blank this question. Here are a couple of things to consider: in Matthew we see that James and John’s mom come and try to make this request on their behalf, and she might possibly have been Jesus’ aunt, which means that James and John would have been Jesus’ cousins, and we also know that James and John were a part of Jesus’ inner circle. Here you have two brothers, sensing an opportunity is coming, seeing a moment to seize, and using their relational ties and family ties to get what they want from Jesus.

-Jesus is so patient. “What do you want me to do for you” Now this is going to be the same question HE asks Blind bartimaues next week, so pay attention to what Bartimaues asks for and what these two brothers ask for.

What did they ask for? “Allow us to sit at your right and at your left in glory.” What are they asking? The right and left were the positions of highest honor in a royal court. They are basically saying: Jesus, you are going to Jerusalem, we’re family, this is our homecoming, the time for glory and praise, and we want the best seats at the table! Notice, that the positions they are asking for, there is only room for 2 people. James and John. But usually James and John were always with who? Peter too! They are ruthless! They are cutting him out, he’s already had his chance, this is our time, our moment, to grab our glory.

“They are not satisfied with himself alone, but seek some other thing apart from him.”

Not only did they want glory now, but following Jesus was not enough for them, now it was the time for Jesus to give them what they wanted, riches and glory in His kingdom. For these two disciples in this moment, Jesus was merely the means, to their personal glory!

This is a question that all of us need to be asking ourselves right now: is Jesus enough? Not all the stuff He gives us, but is HE ENOUGH. If He didn’t allow you to have position or power, would relationship with Him be enough? The disciples right now are revealing a heart that says Jesus we want you PLUS all the glory and riches and power, the best seats of honor, we want to be recognized in front of people!

You might be asking the question, how in the world did these guys get to this place? Jesus has told them 3 times about His death and His suffering, but for some reason they completely missed the point.

STORY/Illustration: The path of being a disciple not only involves suffering as we will see, but it also often involves this aspect of being misunderstood. Notice that 3 times Jesus has told His disciples He must die. He will suffer, He is serving them and the world through His death, but they constantly misunderstand the words of Jesus. How many of us have been misunderstood when we seek to serve? The world often doesn’t understand the ways of Jesus. The world often doesn’t understand why some of you at your jobs seek to serve and have the lowest place while people at your job are fighting for the highest place! I remember before I came to Christ, I worked in a warehouse with a guy named Aaron Bailey, God bless Him! As he sought to serve me and be kind to me, I was completely skeptical and thought that he was just being manipulative and wanted something from me. But even though I misunderstood and judged Aaron, God used him to bring me to Christ. We need to get used to being misunderstood if we seek to follow the way of Jesus. We won’t be liked by everyone.

PATH OF SUFFERING vs 39-40

Jesus responds:

You don’t know what you are asking. What does Jesus mean? He is saying “all you two disciples see are the glory and prestige” all you see right now, is what will benefit yourselves. But you have no idea the road of suffering that will accompany those who share with me in my glory.

“Are you able to drink the cup I drink? Or to be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” Now this question should have been answered with a no! What is Jesus referring to here?

“Drink” and “baptized” both present tenses. Jesus is saying this is happening now. THIS IS A future fate that is already decided. Jesus is referring to His suffering and His death. The cup is a reference to receiving the will of God, which is His suffering, and baptism is a reference to His death, baptism means to be plunged, and Jesus is saying that through the will of God I am going to be plunged into suffering and death!

Are you saying that the fate of Jesus suffering and dying, was something that was already decided? Yes! Look at Is. 53:10

Isaiah 53:10 CSB

Yet the Lord was pleased to crush him severely. When you make him a guilt offering, he will see his seed, he will prolong his days, and by his hand, the Lord’s pleasure will be accomplished.

Acts 4:27–28 CSB

“For, in fact, in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your will had predestined to take place.

Isaiah 53:10 CNVT

耶和華卻喜悅把他壓傷，使他受痛苦； 耶和華若以他的性命作贖罪祭， 他必看見後裔， 並且得享長壽； 耶和華所喜悅的，必在他手中亨通。

Acts 4:27–28 CNVT

希律和本丟．彼拉多，外族人和以色列民，真的在這城裡聚集，反對你所膏立的聖僕耶穌，行了你手和你旨意所預定要成就的一切。

Both of these texts with many others reveal to us the sovereign plan of Jesus’ suffering and death. Jesus says that His path of suffering was prepared for Him. But not only His, ours as well. Look with me:

You will drink the cup

You will be baptized

sit at my right and left for those whom it is prepared

What’s HE saying? That the disciples will follow in the footsteps of our Lord and experience incredible amounts of suffering. So look at verse 40: the clearest application to Jesus’ right or left, is the cross! Who is on the right or left of Jesus? IT’s not two apostles, it’s two criminals, and one in particular has a moment in his suffering, where he puts faith in Jesus doesn’t he? While the disciples are referring to the glory of power, Jesus is talking about the glory of the cross.

3 times here, Jesus predicts and declares that there is a road of suffering that has been prepared for those of us who walk with Jesus. This should encourage us. Several years later we find James, this very apostle with Peter in a prison cell waiting to be executed by King Herod. And I can imagine as he sees Peter being released, but him having to stay and await his death, thinking back to these very words of Jesus, being encouraged that Jesus already knew, from that moment the path of suffering, the death that James was to die! Jesus is sovereign over our suffering. The bible says that every Christian will be persecuted for their faith at some point in our lives. And for those of us who have walked through intense amount of suffering, whether be the loss of children, the loss of jobs, persecution for our faith, spiritual attack, or any other type of suffering, we know, how important it is to believe that there is a sovereign Lord who is working in all THINGS, bringing them together for the good of those who love God who are called according to HIS purpose!

Ephesians 1:11 CSB

In him we have also received an inheritance, because we were predestined according to the plan of the one who works out everything in agreement with the purpose of his will,

Ephesians 1:11 CNVT

那憑著自己旨意所計劃而行萬事的，按著他預先所安排的，預定我們在基督裡得基業

“everything” your suffering, my suffering, the devil’s attacks, the fallenness of this world, in His goodness, in His righteousness, in His power He is working out everything in the agreement with the purpose of His will! That means that right now, the political mess in the world, the rumors of war, Covid-19, none of those things are outside or more powerful than the sovereign rule and reign of our God, and wherever these things touch us, wherever these thing weigh down on us, we take hope in the sovereignty of God, who takes what the enemy meant for evil, what the fallen world means for harm, and uses it for HIS GLORY AND our GOOD.

Paul says it this way:

Philippians 3:10 CSB

My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death,

Philippians 3:10 CNVT

使我認識基督和他復活的大能，並且在他所受的苦上有分，受他所受的死；

Knowing Jesus involves both glory of resurrection and suffering. Both at work right now in our lives, the power of the resurrection along with the suffering of being a disciple. This is what following Jesus means.

PATH OF SERVICE

Now Jesus is going to transition. Because the disciples do what? Indignant. Annoyance, anger, why?Not because these two disciples completely misunderstood the gospel, not because James and John are being pretty selfish, no they are angry because they didn’t think of doing this first! Remember last week how we talked about how our emotions CAN reveal what we worship? This is a revealing moment for the disciples.

Jesus calls them together and this is what He’s going to do: If the disciples are going to be people who suffer well on that day, then Jesus says the way you prepare for that is by dying everyday.

How do we become people who suffer well? How do we prepare ourselves to walk through suffering? Jesus says if we want to be people who suffer well, we must be people who die daily.

How do we die daily? Say no to the world ways and say yes to the way of Jesus.

He says here are the worlds ways: tyrants, lord over, use people to serve themselves, instead of serving others. BUT NOT SO AMONG YOU!

1.Slaves and servants: Basically a way of counting others more important than yourself. A way to daily make much of Jesus. A way to daily remind yourselves of the Gospel. Deflating the balloon moment. All of them pictured themselves in grandeur and glory but Jesus says actually if you want to be “great” be the least. Not just a servant, but a slave.

Why slave? devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interests. He is giving a very vivid picture of servanthood. This word servant comes from an old testament word for bondservant. The bondservant was someone who even though had freedom to leave, chose to willingly stay and serve the family and His master. They would do this by putting the servants ear to a doorpost and driving a nail through their ear to signify this is a lifelong decision. Jesus is saying as my disciples YOU WILLINGLY use your freedom to be slaves to Christ by serving others.

How many of us as parents, often act this way to our kids? Instead of seeking to serve them, we can easily LORD over them with commands or threats? I know I can do that.

Servant leadership is doing things that are most likely harder for you and not easier. Usually the world says we make other people do things that are harder for them that makes life easier for us, but that’s not the way of Jesus. (James)

The world says pursue what is expedient, which usually doesn’t involve serving others. But Jesus says don’t pursue expedient glory but eternal glory through becoming a servant, a slave of Christ, but serving others.

While these two brothers were seeking the highest place of honor, Jesus who has the highest place of honor becomes the lowest by giving His life.

Why should we do this, why should we live this way? HOW CAN we live this way! This is where I can’t wait to share with you some good news!

PATH OF EVERLASTING JOY

FOR....BECAUSE

Mark 10:45 CSB

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.”

“Jesus’ cross makes sense of ours(carrying), and our cross makes MUCH of His”. A crucified Christ is best represented through a crucified church.”

So lets breakdown this verse for the last few minutes and worship together as we read from Jesus’ own lips the declaration of the good news of the Gospel. If someone asked you what was the book of Mark about, you would show them this verse. This summarized the entire Gospel narrative into one sentence.

Because the Son of Man: We’ve talked about this before, this is a reference to Daniel 7:13 = people would hear this and think power majesty glory authority.

DID NOT COME: So now Jesus for the first time, plainly and clearly is going to share explicitly why He came. So if people says, Jesus came to teach us about God, Jesus came to do miracles, Jesus came to show us how to love. While all those things are aspects of Jesus’ ministry, it’s not the primary reason Jesus came. So why did Jesus come?

Not to be served but to serve: Not use my right and authority and power to Lord over people but to use my power and authority to SERVE

HOW? Give His life as a Ransom For many. Wow.

Ransom: “a payment given instead of the slave or prisoner” a substitution for the slave or prisoner. A ransom in the ancient world was money paid to rescue someone from captivity.

贖金：“代替奴隸或囚犯而支付的款項”替代奴隸或囚犯。 在古代世界中，贖金是用來解救被俘虜的錢。

Ransomed from who? Satan? Sin? The bible says God Himself. His wrath, His judgement. The ransom was paid to God. The bible declares that salvation is you and I being saved FROM God, BY God, TO GOD!

Here is what the bible says: you can not save yourself from your anger. I can not save myself from my lust. You can not set yourself free from over spending and materialism. But it’s not just that we can’t set ourselves from the FRUIT of sin, it’s worse than that. We can’t set ourselves free from the judgement FOR our sin, WHICH IS THE WRATH OF GOD. The bible declares that God is Holy, and in His holiness He will judge sin. SO Jesus here says that HE stands IN OUR PLACE.

“HE takes the place of the many. So what should have happened to the MANY happens to the Son of Man.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 CSB

He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21 CNVT

神使那無罪的替我們成為有罪的，使我們在他裡面成為　神的義。

Most kingdoms do anything they can to protect their king. The king must be protected at all costs. Right now President Trump needs to be protected at all costs. President Tsai protected at all costs. In military they often keep the highest ranking officials AWAY from the battle lines to preserve their life. In most kingdoms the king is protected against danger. But King Jesus does exactly the opposite. He surrendered his body to be crucified. On the cross he offered a king's ransom: his life for the life of his people. He would die for all the wrong things that we had ever done and would do, completely praying for all our sins. The wrath of God that was meant for us, was poured at on Him. Why does He do this? Why does He throw Himself into danger, and into death? For you! For me! For the glory of God. In Taiwanese culture, the idols will make YOU pay YOUR MONEY to offer YOU FREEDOM. BUT in the Gospel IT’S Jesus who is doing the paying, and not with money, but with HIS PRECIOUS BLOOD ON OUR BEHALF!

Jesus is baptized with the baptism that no one else could have been. Jesus drinks the cup that no one else could drink. Jesus pays the price that NO ONE ELSE COULD PAY! SO THAT there is now NO LONGER ANY CONDEMNATION FOR THOSE THAT BELIEVE ONLY EVERLASTING JOY!

Church, Jesus hung on the cross as a criminal INSTEAD of me, Jesus suffered the penalty for lust INSTEAD of you, Jesus hung on the cross and paid the price for anger INSTEAD of ME, INSTEAD OF INSTEAD OF. How beautiful are those 3 words :ransom for many!

The reason we can suffer well, the reason we can be servants and slaves to Christ, is because of the Gospel. This everlasting joy is ours in Christ.

APPLICATION

SUMMARY: Mark shares with us, that through the Gospel, if you and I will be people who share with Christ in His glory, WE WILL also share with Him in suffering.

Where have we lost hope in the midst of our suffering? Do we believe that Jesus is enough even in moments of pain and suffering?

Where have we embraced the worlds view of greatness and leadership, instead of the way of Jesus?

Where have we been making decisions that make our own lives easier and others more difficult instead of doing things that might be harder for us for the sake of others?

Are you still trying to the pay price for your sin, that Jesus has already paid? Most of us would say “no”, but are you trying to do good works, pay money, live good, to atone for your sin? Come and trust, repent of that, and believe in Jesus who paid sufficiently the ransom for your sin!