Today we get to find out yet again just how stupid Jesus’ disciples were, and still are to this day. Yes, stupid. Did I offend you? How bout dumber than a bag of rocks on the side of the road that fell off a pickup into the stupid tree and hit every branch of the stupid tree on the way down to an undramatic, anti-climatic finish with a whack from a halibut to the rock-bag-face?
Mark 10:35-45; Hebrews 5:1-10; Psalm 91:9-16; Isaiah 53:4-12
The disciples today really fit the description offered right after our reading from Hebrews: “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because your are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again.” This isn’t the first time our favorite collection of not-the-sharpest-tools-in-the-shed missed the ferry, but it won’t be the last either.
Remember back a few weeks ago when the disciples were arguing about who was the greatest along the road? And remember that Jesus’ response was, “if anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all?” Well, if you do, congratulations, you are better at remembering than the disciples. If you don’t, congratulations, you are just as bad at remembering as the disciples. The discussion comes up again today, only a lot more obvious.
James and John, the “sons of thunder”, come up to Jesus and say, “Hey Jesus, can you do us a favor?” Jesus, smartly, replies, “What’s the favor?” He didn’t commit to doing the favor, but wanted to know what it was first. The Thundering Ones reply, “One of us wants to sit at your right hand, and the other at your left hand, when you rule everything.” If Jesus were to grant this request, it’s kind of a big deal. Jesus, after all, sits now at God’s right hand, and he is kind of a big deal. So James and John are, basically, assuming themselves to be the best and coolest disciples.
Jesus, instead, says, “You really don’t know what it is you’re asking me. Can you do the things I’m going to do? Will you suffer what I’m going to suffer?” Of course, he doesn’t say it quite this obviously, especially since he just told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem… and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” Apparently James and John had already forgotten this, because they respond, “Oh, sure thing Jesus. We are all over that. We’d be glad to do it!”
We don’t really hear James and John’s reaction to Jesus’ response (“Oh you’ll suffer like I do, but I really can’t do anything about you sitting at my right or left hand; that isn’t up to me.”), because at this point the other ten disciples get cranky at them. So, realizing now that just about everyone is annoyed at just about everyone else for wanting to be the “best disciple”, sits them all down and says, “Here’s the deal: The rulers of the Gentiles like being in charge and want everyone to know it; that’s not how it should be with you. Instead, whoever wants to be great must be a servant, and whoever wants to be first should be the slave of all. The Son of Man didn’t come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.”
This is precisely the image that Isaiah gave of how the Messiah would act, something that the disciples should have known. Isaiah 53, and before it chapters 49-52, all describe the Messiah as a servant, one whose suffering and eventual death will bring forgiveness of sin. Jesus’ statement of coming like a servant shouldn’t have been a surprise, and he shouldn’t have had to repeat himself for the disciples to understand it.
Yet apparently this was a concept that people had a lot of trouble with, and still do today for that matter. The book of Hebrews describes Jesus as the great high priest, chosen by God to serve the people and bring about their forgiveness through sacrifices, in Jesus’ case his own sacrifice. Later, the writer of Hebrews reminds his readers that, as we draw near to God through Christ, that we follow his perfect example.
So what is Jesus’ example? In short, as he said in the gospel, “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve.” That’s really what Jesus is all about, and if we’re to follow his example, what we should be all about — serving others. Unfortunately, this idea goes against our human nature, which, because of sin, seeks to only serve ourselves. Luckily for us, there’s that third member of the Trinity that doesn’t get talked about near enough, the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to overcome our sinful nature and live a life which follows Jesus, serving others.