Suffering in Christ

Mark 10:35–45 ESV

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

Suffering in Christ

1. The request of James and John reveals their misunderstanding of Jesus’ mission. (vs. 35-37)

John 1:29 ESV

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

The previous passage (10:32-34) is Jesus’ fourth time foretelling his death and resurrection to the disciples.

Mark 10:32-34 “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.””

James and John respond to Jesus with a sense of boldness and self-centeredness: “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” The request? That one sit on his right and his left when he is in his glory. To be fair, these two have seen Jesus transfigured and are part of the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples. They were under the impression that Jerusalem would be the climax of Jesus’ ministry, and as some of Jesus’ closest associates, they were deserving of the honor to share in his glory. With that, they did not learn the lesson of what true greatness is that was taught by Jesus back in 9:33-37.

Part of their mistake was that they were equating eternal life with the present age. At the end of Jesus’ conversation with the rich young man, Jesus tells the disciples that there is no one who leaves everything behind for his sake and the gospel who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time. But all of it comes with persecutions. But there is also reward in the age to come in eternal life.

Like so many of us, they are running with the fact that Jesus said that if we just do certain things we are going to get houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and lands. There has to be some kind of formula that we can do that will allow us to have all these earthly possessions. There are some in the church who teach this kind of prosperity gospel. They will always have large worldly possessions and never be sick. This is just false. This is the kind of theology that can destroy faith not build it up because the very next thing Jesus says after this talk of great blessing is that there will be persecutions as well. There will be suffering and for Jesus that suffering leads to the cross. It leads to being delivered up to the chief priests and the scribes. It leads to being mocked and spit upon and flogged. The gospel does not lead us to great prosperity. It leads to death and suffering. But through that death and suffering we gain eternal life.

James and John along with the rest of disciples are still not able to truly understand what Jesus’ mission is. They are still stuck in this thought that when Jesus gets to Jerusalem that they will be able to go in, and he will establish his kingdom and sit on the throne of David. They just could not incorporate the concept of suffering and death into the mission of Jesus. They were thinking only on earthly things and not on the spiritual. Their misunderstandings of Jesus’ mission is no different from what we can get caught up in if we are not careful.

2. Through baptism, we are called into the suffering of Christ. (vs. 38-40)

Romans 6:3–4 ESV

3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Because of the disciples’ misguided notions about Jesus’ mission, Jesus responds to their question by saying, “You do not know what you are asking.” It is at this point that Jesus goes through to connect the two sacraments of the church with the work he is about to do: the Lord’s Supper and baptism. Although baptism is the primary metaphor that is used by Jesus, the mention of the cup does bring images of holy communion as well.

Jesus asks the disciples a question, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” The response of the disciples is an unqualified, “Yes, we are able.” The question brings to mind the old hymn, “Are ye able said the master to be crucified with me?” Although these words are not used by Jesus, the meaning is the same. He is asking the disciples if they are willing to follow him to the cross and endure the cross themselves. Again, they have no idea what they are asking. They still think that Jesus is talking about coming into an earthly kingdom where they can receive the same glory as Jesus because of their faithfulness to him.

Jesus’ cup and baptism have to do with suffering. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus’ throne is the cross not a chair in the palace in Jerusalem. What is very interesting is the language that is used of the two bandits that are crucified along with Jesus in Mark 15:27 “27 And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left.” It is the same phraseology that the disciples use.

All of this relates back to Jesus’ response, “You do not know what you are asking.” Jesus’ mission is to suffer and die and to be raised on the third day. The disciples want something glorious and triumphant in this life. Jesus is offering that which will triumph and bring glory for eternity. The idea of suffering in order to reach this glory is lost upon the disciples just as much as it is lost on us. When we come to the waters of baptism, Paul reminds us that we are dying to self so that we might be raised to new life. The very act of baptism is a type of suffering. We are dying to the old self that is shackled by sin yet is so comfortable and familiar to us that we want to hold on to it for dear life. We have this warped understanding that somehow the sinful life is the life that is the greatest. We can do what we want. We can rely on ourselves. We are the shaper and master of our own destiny.

So the words of the old hymn ring more true to us with the question, “Are ye able said the master to be crucified with me?” Are we able to go to the cross? Are we able to be on the right and left of Jesus as bandits? The cup of suffering that Jesus offers to us as we come to the table is the cup of salvation. Salvation does not happen without suffering.

That leads us to our final point.

3. Christ’s suffering brings redemption to those who believe. (vs. 41-45)

Isaiah 53:11 ESV

11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

The question has been asked and now jealousy has broken out among the disciples. We can hear them all now in our minds, “But Jesus, we are important, too. What about our position?” The very human response of the disciples is met by the holy response of Jesus. He goes back to an earlier teaching in 9:33-37 reminding the disciples again that they are not to seek after worldly recognition for following him. They are to be servants of all. They cannot look to what the Gentiles do in how they exercise authority. They are to be a different people. Those who are the greatest among them are to be servants, and not just servants but slaves. Jesus uses two different words here in the Greek. The word that is translated as servant is diakonos - the word we get diaconal from. In the UMC, a diaconal minister is a lay person who serves the church in various ways. It is what we also would call a deacon when we get into Acts 6-7. But then Jesus says that whoever is going to be first must be a slave (doulos) to all. Although there may be the same function between a servant and slave, the connotation and context suggests that the slave is controlled and owned by the master. That is, we are to act as a slave who receives no monetary or worldly benefit in our service to God. Whereas a servant may receive pay for services. The difference is subtle to us but is magnified when we get into what is actually being said.

This leads us to Jesus’ primary point. Jesus’ mission is not about him. He has come to serve us by giving up himself as a ransom for many. Isaiah 53:11 tells us, “11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.” The language used by Jesus reflects back on two persons mentioned in the Old Testament. The “Son of Man” reference is from Daniel 7:14, which is a call to true authority, where the Ancient of Days was given all “authority, glory, and sovereign power.” If anyone was rightfully due to be served, it was the Son of Man. But Jesus’ mission was not about himself; it was about giving his life as ransom for many. This reflects back on Isaiah 53 and the Suffering Servant. What Jesus is describing here is that he is not only the Son of Man who comes in authority, power, and glory, but he is also the Suffering Servant who is the one who dies for the deliverance of his people. Thus, the mission of Jesus is given to us. This notion is further solidified in the New Testament in 1 Timothy 2:5-6 “5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”

Jesus is giving us in this passage the outline of what it means to be saved through him. When we look at the sacraments, we see the story of salvation being played out. It should not be lost upon us the connection to the cup of suffering and the ransom that is given up in Jesus’ life. Remember what is said by Jesus when he offers the cup to the disciples in the upper room, Mark 14:24 “24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.” This passage unlocks for us the question, “Why did Jesus have to die?” The answer to that question is found in us when we accept Christ as Savior. He died for you and me.