Mark 10:35-45
At least they’re honest.
Those who look for illustrations of Luther’s concepts of a theologian of glory versus a theologian of the cross in the Heidelberg Disputation will find champions this week in James and John as they continue last week’s theological themes.
Last week, Mark (10:17) introduces a man who runs to Jesus and kneels before him. “What must I do?” was his sincere, well-meaning, somewhat confused question. But Mark 10:35 details two of Jesus’ own inner circle asking the same question in a different way: James and John “…came forward to Jesus and said to him, ‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.’”
Run. Kneel, Ask.
Came. Forward. Demand.
The difference in these two approaches is subtle on the page but carry immense theological weight. When I hear this line, I hear the voice of my strict Midwestern grandmother coming down hard on the disrespectful presumptions of grandchildren. I’m embarrassed for James and John, shocked that such words would come from their mouths to the incarnate God. What is more, they do not have nearly as good an excuse for misunderstanding as the man just a few verses before. These disciples have been with Jesus for a while now, and they should be “getting it" on some level.
This work will be done in the gritty and sweaty trenches of real life, and it will come with great cost and great sacrifice.
“Oh, yeah?” comes the response from Jesus. “What is it you want me to do for you?” It seems that Jesus has made the decision to let these presumptuous disciples dig a hole for themselves, one that they will not climb out of easily. “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand, and one at your left, in your glory.” Read that again. It is presumptuous, but at least they are honest.
The old Adam lives on in humanity, and these followers of Jesus exhibit it well. Jesus has been preaching the Good News of new and eternal life in himself to them. He has been healing, feeding, forgiving, and liberating, all the while giving his disciples on-the-job training as to how they should follow him and enact ministry in his name. Such a calling is difficult. It will involve dealing with people who may not be impressed with them. This work will be done in the gritty and sweaty trenches of real life, and it will come with great cost and great sacrifice.
In a sense, the disciples are fine with signing on to the principle of self-sacrifice for service. But ultimately, they want their payout. They want the glory seat. Jesus dresses them down with a harsh reality: “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” he asks. They reply in the affirmative, and Jesus confirms their reply, “Well, then that’s what you’re going to get.”
After learning that the remaining disciples are miffed about the request of James and John, Jesus drives the point further for the whole group. Following Jesus isn’t about the glory seat. It’s not about power. It’s not something showy and glamorous. It’s not about calling the shots. “Whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant… slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Fellow preachers, an important question that you may consider this week: How do we use Jesus? James and John and the other jealous ten wanted to use Jesus as a route to glory and greatness. In the eschaton, they want seats next to Jesus, looking out on a world looking back at them. The hubris of James and John feels almost shameful to us. But we should temper our self-righteousness for a moment because we (the church) are more similar to James and John than we would like to admit.
Sadly, this becomes especially evident in an election year when “Christian values” and Jesus himself get trotted out as a mascot for social and political self-righteousness. There is an important question before us: how do we use Jesus? Is he our (the church’s) route to the glory seat, a mascot for our team? Or is Jesus the one who sacrifices himself to pour abundant grace upon all of humanity so that the world can be free in him and his grace? This freedom is not for the purpose of taking up the glory seat. Its purpose is a life of service.
PASTOR JONATHON MOYERS is originally from the farm country of western Illinois, serves as pastor to the Chesapeake Country Area Ministry (nicknamed "Shore Lutherans"), a covenant partnership between Grace Lutheran Church of Easton, MD and Saint Paul's Lutheran Church of Cordova, MD. Before his time on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, he served as trauma chaplain for Charleston General Hospital in West Virginia, pastor at St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Ironton, OH, and St. John's Lutheran Church of Dayton, OH. He holds an MDiv from Lexington Theological Seminary, an STM with emphasis in Lutheran Confessions and Systematics from Trinity Lutheran Seminary at Capital University, and is currently studying in the DMin program (liturgics) at United Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia.
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