Mark 10.39-40 39 “We
can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be
baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or
left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have
been prepared.” – St. Mark
I think it was a normal guy-thing – you know, the
jockeying for position. It seems the disciples were just like everyone else:
infected with the natural human affliction of pecking order. So, it really was not a surprise that James and John
(who’d come to the conclusion that something really was going to happen to Jesus) came to Jesus and asked for preferential
treatment: Let us sit on Your left and
right when You are in Your glory…
Already in chapter 9, the disciples had been squabbling
over position and Jesus asked them: “What were you arguing about on the road?”
(v31) And now in chapter 10, James and John do the unthinkable: they go
straight to the Source to reserve their seats. And the other 10 are livid: Who do they think they are!?
To which Jesus said: “You
don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am
baptized with?” James and John say they can and Jesus replies: you will!
Preferential treatment is not what the Kingdom of God is
all about. I don’t know where James of John are sitting currently, but before
they got to glory, James was cut down with the sword and John was boiled in oil
and left for dead. (He didn’t die then, but you can be sure he was a sore sight
to those who saw him). They both suffered the baptism meant for them. They both
entered glory, and I’m betting they both heard the words: Well done good and
faithful servant!
The only position and preference meant for the child of
God is this: to act justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God (Micah
6.8). When we moderns think about our exit strategy, we will have to include
the cup we will all drink, and the baptism we will all endure. It’s that way
for everyone who follows Jesus.
Special seats were culturally important to James and John;
just getting into the party is important to me.
That’s not to put down James and John, they worked hard
and loved Jesus. But they, like many of the rest of us were caught up in
hierarchy and pecking order. With mankind, that’s just the way it goes. But it doesn’t
have to be that way. That’s why walking with Jesus is so important. When our
hearts are aligned with His then
proximity to Him is as close as our
heart. We don’t have to sit with Him, He sits within us by His Spirit. How much
closer do we need to be?
Father God, I too
am caught up in positon, possession, and pecking order. I pray for the grace to
simply accept who I am where I am and the cup I will ultimately have to drink
as I am baptized with the baptism meant for me. When I stand before You, I will
stand alone – no one else will give and account with me. Find me faithful Lord.
Let me hear the words meant for those invited to the celebration of Your glory:
Well done good and faithful servant! Amen
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