Mark 10:32-52
33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man
will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They
will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles,
We come to know who Jesus is and we have identified with him as
our Lord and Savior. Since then we are learning from him more to follow his
way. His way was quite different from the way Peter and the rest of the
disciples thought. Though they loved Jesus and believed in him, they doubted
his way and resisted his reasons for that way.
Against their reluctance to accept Jesus’ way, he announced three
times how he was going about his way to Jerusalem. It was the place where God’s
temple was; the house in the name of His father. There as His son, he wanted to
take back the father’s place to join with him in His glory. The journey he was
taking was the same journey he wanted all his followers to take. So, he told
his disciples three times what way he was taking. In order for us to walk with
him to His glory, we are to pay attention to what Jesus said as he was heading
to Jerusalem and then to the glory of His father.
A.
We are going up to Jerusalem (32-34)
1.
Jesus began this journey with his
disciples at Caesarea Philippi.
Jesus’ life can be divided into two part; in the first part
(1-8:31) Jesus introduced and himself as the Savior for the nation. He
demonstrated his power, his truth, and the ability to lead His people to the
blessing of God. Esp. he revealed his power from the LORD to his disciples. As
a result, Peter and 11 disciples were convinced that Jesus was Messiah, the King that God promised to send to rescue the nation Israel. This conviction was confessed at Caesarea
Philippi. Caesarea Philippi was the center of two forces; first, it had the shrine
of a pagan god, “pan”. Second, it was where the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, was
enshrined. Simply, these forces of the
world held the nation under their reign. Against these forces, the disciples
accepted Jesus as their King and Lord, decisively denouncing both pagan god
“pan” and Roman power’ Caesar. On
receiving their commitment, Jesus revealed his plan to go to Jerusalem. He must
suffer and must die there, Jesus said.
Jerusalem was the place where God’s temple was, for which God
said, he will put his name on it. But as we noted through the studies in the
past, the teachers of the Law, and Pharisee, high priests corrupted the temple.
At the early of his ministry, Jesus visited the temple and rebuked the money
changers and threw away the animals (John 2)
John 2:15 So he made a whip out
of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he
scattered the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.
16 To those who sold doves, he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning
my Father’s house into a market!”
The condition of the temple reflected fully the sinfulness of man.
Isaiah prophesied the coming of this:
8 Daughter Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a
cucumber field, like a city under siege. 9 Unless the LORD Almighty
had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been
like Gomorrah. 10 Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah! 11
"The multitude of your sacrifices-- what are they to me?" says the
LORD. "I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of
fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts? 13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations-- I
cannot bear your worthless assemblies. (Isa 1:8 NIV)
To restore the temple back to the Lord, Jesus
came and this journey was set to that goal. But it was not easy for men in sinfulness
took the authority over the house of the Lord. Men and their authority must be proven
guilty and be deposed from the house of the Lord. Jesus, as the Son of God, was
willing to pay for the cost to do so, to uphold the authority of His father
upon the house where the name of the Lord was. He taught his disciples three
times to help them to walk with him on this path.
First, he accepted the mandate from the father; he
must suffer and he must die, and then the father’s will raise him up. He made a decision to accept and obey his father’s will and
His purpose, and his compassion and love for His people. Simply accept the authority of the Father and His goodwill. At one point, we must accept His authority for our lives. We
are born to pursue our freedom; we want to do whatever we desire to do or
whatever we like to do. Desires of our hearts and needs of our being are the
first priority in all our being. But we are to crack that nature or habit in
order to accept or honor the father as our authority. His law or his mandates
are of the utmost importance in our lives. His will and his purpose are to be
our will and our purpose. Is there anything that deters us to do so? Then, we
are to rethink and reexamine and must pray that we are able to do so. He
acknowledged the authority of the Father in his life. This is the beginning of the journey.
This is the most difficult step to take for we are not accustomed
to submitting ourselves to authority, esp. when we are demanded of our absolute
obedience, esp. important matters of life. God knew this in the hearts of men;
called ‘stiff-neckedness’. We see only what we want to see; we reject anything
that does not go along with our reasoning. It must be beneficial and honorable
to me personally. I must be honored and respected. But the moment we accept God’s authority in
our lives, we are in God’s hand and we are freer than ever before. Now is
the time to accept God’s authority that was revealed in Christ.
He must suffer and must die. Actually, this was mandated by the LORD
at the fall of man. This is nothing new and yet we live a life as if we do not
die and would live forever. Or think that we might be exempt from suffering and
death. Not me, I won’t suffer and won’t die. But God forced all men to accept
this and Jesus reminded his followers to these two; no one can evade
this truth. When we accept this from the depth of our hearts, our eyes are open
and be able to see the LORD of all creation and the hope that God the creator
has preserved for us in eternity with him.
The second thing Jesus did was to yield
himself to do Father’s will or to follow His way. Yielding is the most
difficult thing to do for a man of freedom and integrity. This is not a simple
accent to God’s will. It is a following—a commitment in life with willingness.
That commitment is a walk along with Christ as he made a journey from Caesarea
Philippi to Jerusalem. Figuratively speaking, our journey starts at Caesarea
Philippi. It was the place where pagan god ‘pan’ and power of the world, Roman
emperor, joined together to make the center of the spirit that governed the
world. We all were born into it and we're living in it before we come to know
Christ. We set off from Caesarea Philippi and are walking toward Jerusalem,
where the house of God is. We are making this journey to uphold the God of
heaven and earth who put himself among men in Jerusalem. We began this by
denouncing all that belongs to Caesarea Philippi. We are walking toward
Jerusalem along with Christ. When we relinquish our needs, desires, and hope
that belongs to our immediate environments, we begin to see the joy and willing
heart to follow Jesus’ way. Here the keyword is willingness! Follow him with
willingness and joy.
The third thing
Jesus
showed his disciple was his resolution to suffer
and to give his life. He vividly described what would happen in
Jerusalem. The vividness of suffering and death was real. All these vivid
descriptions denote the characteristics of ‘sacrifice’. Sacrifice
entails two essential elements; condemnation and death worthy of the
condemnation. So, Jesus spoke of the condemnation by the religious leaders; Numerous
times, Jesus pointed out their wickedness and unrepentant hearts. But Jesus
would let their condemnation stand right and just, by giving his life over to
their hands so that their righteousness might be proven to be wrong to the
world or to the hearts of every human being who hold such righteousness in
their hearts. Next, Jesus spoke the vividness of the treachery of suffering and
death.
Condemnation, suffering, and death required a clear resolution with
the spirit of love and sacrifice. In addition, this resolution to yield to
God’s will must accompany by trusting His goodness in the promise of life. God
showed in His son Jesus that no matter how weak we might be if we follow him,
he would give us a crown of life. The proof is in the resurrection of Jesus and
His empowerment for our mortal body in sin through the Holy Spirit.
What do all these tell us? Jesus is the King of life. His way is
our way or my way. We must emulate Jesus’
decision to accept Father’s will as
a must for our lives; we are to yield to His
will with a willing heart, and then dare
to take sufferings in life as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1). The world will condemn us as we walk along
with Christ. It is heart-breaking to hear those condemnations. But we must bear
them by faith in Christ. Such accusations will come upon us with many kinds of
persecutions and harms. But we are to stand firm and dare to rejoice in the
midst of such suffering; for in us is faith and hope for the glory.
As Jesus did not relinquish his confidence in the father, so shall
we not relinquish our belief in Jesus, the way and the life and the truth.
2.
We are to accept Jesus’ way as our way.
How can we do take suffering with willingness and joy? I suggest
two things.
First, rejection/condemnation followed by suffering is an inevitable course to life in glory. We must not make an attempt to
evade this inevitable course of life; the more we try to escape sufferings, the
more we are entrapped by suffering and more pain and anguish.
Soon after the first announcement, Jesus taught his disciples, anyone
who wants to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for Jesus will
save it. Dare to lose! You will find the security that God preserved for us
along with peace that transcends all troubles of life. Mark 8:35 For whoever
wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and
for the gospel will save it. (Mar 8:35 NIV)
Second, believe and have a clear vision for the glory that comes
after suffering and death. Upon finishing Jesus’ third announcement
of his suffering and death, James and John came to Jesus and said this to him.
“Teacher,” they said, “we want you to
do for us whatever we ask.”(35b)
When Jesus asked what they wanted him to do for them, they
answered this:
37 They replied, “Let one of us
sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
It was very surprising for the rest of the disciples astonished
and many were afraid. This fear was not in their hearts. Through their request,
we come to know that these two disciples were so sure of the coming glory of Jesus
and the glory with Jesus far more bearing upon their hearts than the suffering
and death. When this vision is measured against what Jesus said just before
this, it is remarkable and even shocking. How could they see the glory while
sufferings and death were hanging over their head? To understand this, we can
look back at the history of these two disciples.
1)
Jesus took them to the Mt Hermon where he
showed them the glory of Jesus. On the
way down, Jesus told them not to tell anyone, even among themselves. While the
nine who remained behind, not seeing Jesus’ glory, James and John treasured the
vision of the glorified Jesus in their heart. Soon after Jesus’ second
announcement of his suffering and death, there was an argument on who was the
greatest among them (9:33). Most likely James or John or Peter was involved as
shown in this passage.
2)
John’s mind was filled with an elitism within
Jesus’ circle and forbade someone driving out demons (9:38)
3)
Even now at the hearing of such a vivid picture of
Jesus’ suffering, they were not much perturbed or not dissuaded of that
belief.
What does this tell us? All the rest were overwhelmed by the fear
and suffering, these two were unmoved of that hope. In other words, seeing the
glory of Jesus played so much importance in their will to go through the
rejection, suffering, and death. How can we handle such suffering and death? Even
by minor back pain, I was so much annoyed and aggravated in my mind because I
could not do what I want to do or intended to fulfill. I saw the last moments of several peoples.
They were in so much pain and anguish and were struggling to unload vanity or meaninglessness
or futility of life. We all at one point in our lives must do away with our
bodies or our life in sin. It is the case for the unbelieving as well as the
believing. For God ordained at the fall of men and reasserted this injunction
when he saw the wickedness of men (Gen 9). No one was exempt except few (Enoch,
Elijah), whom the LORD took away.
Simply none of here will be exempt from facing the power of death.
Whether we like it or not we are forced to go through suffering and death. How
and in what form, do each of us will go through suffering and death? Only God
knows and, in His discretion, some will be given peace and comfort, others will
go through great fear, anger, anxiety and uncertainty, and futility. In
comparison to these, James and John’s request was a remarkable one. We like to
have such conviction and such hope even in the midst of the overwhelming power of
death. I want all of you to have that hope of glory. We are to have that as we
believe Jesus’ resurrection. Then the suffering that we are to go through won’t
be so much of a hassle or causes of anguish. Instead, sufferings will be the
locus of joy in perseverance and endurance. While all people are under the
weather of dark and gloomy shadow of death, we will shine like a star in the midst
of darkness in the night.
B.
The glory will come only after the cup of suffering
(38-45)
Jesus told them three times about how he would get to the glory,
the resurrection. In all of these three, Jesus’ word was much more on his
suffering and death. Only then, he mentioned resurrection from the dead, i.e.,
His glory. Did James and John take into consideration of Jesus’ suffering when
they asked for the right and left side of Jesus in his glory? Jesus probed into
their heart on this matter:
38 “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?” 39 “We can,” they answered.
By simply observation, their request seemed to come out without careful thought on Jesus’ announcement of his suffering and death. As we noted,
immediately after the second mention of his suffering, John had argued on who
was the greatest among them. Here again the second time immediately after
Jesus’ third announcement, James and John brought up this. This tells us that
they said this not out of an untethered hope.
They went through what Jesus said about his death and gave full
consideration. But in their mind, these suffering could never undo their
conviction for the glory of Jesus. The suffering could not be compared
to the glory even if how hard and terrible they might be. For the suffering
shall over in time but the glory would be the ultimate outcome of life and would
last forever. No matter how hard and how
terrible or horrific they might be, they would not exchange it with the hope of
the glory. So were they thinking and their answer was so assertive and firm.
‘We can!!!’ But did they know what they were saying? That is the extent of
suffering.
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.”
In the OT, the phrase ‘drinking the cup’ was used on two
occasions. One, the cup of blessing from the LORD. The other the cup of
suffering that God would bring upon people. Here obviously the cup was the cup
of suffering. Since these two are from the LORD, this one was the suffering
that would come from the LORD. Though Jesus clearly noted that the religious
leaders and gentiles would condemn and kill Jesus, actually it was originated
from God the father.
Jeremiah 25:28 "And it will be if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you will say to
them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: "You shall surely drink!
God told to Jeremiah that all nations of the world shall drink the
cup that God gave them. They were to drink even if they were not willing. It
means that the cup that God gives cannot be refused no matter how bitter cup it
might be. Jesus took the cup, the worst one. Certainly, we all have a cup from
the LORD but it will be far less and some even might be soothing one for Jesus
took the cup and we will follow Him. It is the payment of sin. Can you take it?
Or will you take it? Or are you willing to take it?
When we are willing, then there will be joy and peace, and our
hearts are set for glory.
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross,
scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb
12:2 NIV)
Jesus said to them: you will drink the cup. You will get through
the cup of suffering! You will get to the glory, by joining with me! This was
very comforting and extremely encouraging!
As I am getting aged, there are many signs of breaking down of my
body; my memory is not as good as it was. My eyes were dim. My shoulder and my back cause me of much discomfort and pain. My
feet are getting numb and tingling. But the willingness to suffer
changes everything: these things are nothing but a little discomfort comparing
to the glory that is waiting for me. This energizes me to do many things as long
as I can in following Jesus, the way and the life, and the truth.
It all has to do with one thing; setting our perspective in the
way of Jesus by faith in Him. Then,
there will be a place in God’s kingdom. God the father prepares a place for
each one of us. Who is or would sit at the right and left side of Jesus is yet
to be known. But one thing we know is
that God has prepared a place for each of us in His kingdom.
Many want a position of glory without suffering. This is common
among all human beings. But those who are willing to suffer along with Christ
will surely find a place in His glory. I pray and hope that each of us here to
make a decision to suffer and find joy in all hardships for His glory is not
far from us.
But if we look for a glory and power in this world, what would
happen?
41 When the ten heard about this, they
became indignant with James and John.
James and John’s request made a great impact on the rest of the
disciples. There are two things; one is revealed in their anger against James
and John and the other is in Jesus’ teaching.
First, there was a great effect of John and
James’ unperturbed spirit to follow Jesus in His glory. The rest of the
disciples also became jealous of that hope. It lifted the spirit among the rest
that was overshadowed by the power of death toward the glories of resurrection.
Without the hope of the glory, unmitigated power of suffering and death
overwhelms our mind and spirit. So were the rest of the disciples. But as soon
as they heard what James and John requested, they became zealous for that hope.
We need someone like James and John among us who inspire us to that hope.
Second, James and John’s faith in the glory
of Jesus was excellent for overcoming the power of suffering and death. But
that hope was somewhat misplaced. The glory was not of the power to rule over
others but something else that they did not think of before.
42 Jesus called them together and
said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it
over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so
with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your
servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.
All want a position of authority because he can rule over others
at their will. But Jesus did not use his authority to rule over others.
Instead, he used it to serve others. What Jesus did was the norm of the kingdom
of God. It was the way of the Father God, the creator. To be great in the eyes
of the LORD is to be the servant of all. His will to suffer was tied together
with his will to serve others. These were not two independents of each other.
Actually, they were one. How? Jesus spoke the profound truth about his
suffering and how it is related to serving.
45 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.”
Here Jesus equated the serving others with giving his life as a
ransom. Ramson is what is needed to pay off a debt for someone so that
that person might be freed of debt. The outstanding debt we have is our debt to
the LORD of holiness because we are his creation and rejected His holiness. All
human beings are indebted to the LORD and the mark of our indebtedness is the
power of suffering and death overshadowing over all human beings. Without
paying off that debt, there will be no glory. For Jesus, simply giving his life
as a ransom for many was a direct path to his glory. All that is entailed in
ransom are what Jesus was about to go through; rejection, condemnation by the
lawyers of the day, and suffering from mocking, spitting, and flogging. Jesus would endure all these for one purpose;
to give his life for a ransom for many—all who put their trust in Jesus.
The disciples were to pay off that debt to the LORD. But Jesus
gave his life as a debt payment on behalf of them all. When they followed Jesus as he was going to
pay the ransom, the disciples were to watch and pray with thanksgiving and
hope. They must walk along with him in every step of paying that ransom to
understand his grace and mercy and appreciate fully the depth of his love and
hope for all the sinners, like us.
Now we owe our lives to Jesus’ grace. Jesus called us to follow
him in his effort to undo the burdens of sin in every man. In other words, to
serve is to serve others in their weaknesses and sins as Jesus did for us. To
many, to accept Jesus’ love is to enjoy things as much as they want. No! To
accept Jesus as the Messiah is to walk the path that he trod with him with
thankfulness. His servantship is well captured in the word ‘life-giving
sacrifice’ Simply willingness to suffer along with Christ is another facet of
willingness to serve. I pray that all of
our heart is quickened by this willingness to suffer and to serve.
C. A true man of faith, Bartimaeus (46-52)
In all odds, we are to believe
firmly in Jesus, the Savior, the Son of God. Jericho was a pretty
good size city that existed over a thousand years. It was located about 5 miles
from the Jordan River and 20 miles from Jerusalem. There was a blind man,
Bartimaeus. When he heard that Jesus was passing, he began to shout, “Jesus,
Son of David, have mercy on me!” Though many rebuked him, he shouted all the
more “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Clearly, he was so desperate that
he would not give up unless he got the attention of Jesus. Seeing this, Jesus
stopped and said, “Call him”
When he was called, he threw his cloak and jumped to his feet and
came to Jesus. The cloak was an important item for such man begging on the roadside for his protection from cold and heat. But he threw it away because it was
a hindrance to jump to his feet. When he got to Jesus, Jesus asked him, 51
“What do you want me to do for you?” This man answered.
“Rabbi, I want to see.”
Here the word Rabbi (ῥαββουνί) is different from the word Rabbi (ραββι:
teacher 9:5; 10:21). NAS translated it “Rabboni”
this word was almost never used for regular teachers of the time. The only
other place in NT is John 20:16. Rabbouni
is seldom used with reference to men, and practically never as a form of
address. Instead, it is frequently used as an address to God in prayer. This
tells that Bartimaeus had a high view of Jesus, almost as equal with God.
Here he called Jesus in two ways; the Son of David and rabbouni,
which was used in calling God in prayer.
In Jesus’ discussion with the teachers of the Law, he asked a question;
David called himself the Lord on the Messiah, then how can he be his son
(12:37)? The teachers of the Law could
not answer this. But amazingly this blind man knew that Jesus was the son of
David, i.e., Messiah with the authority of the Son of God. Truly this man knew
and believed Jesus better than his disciples. How did he come to know him or
believe him? Since he was blind, he did not see Jesus at all. The only thing
that he knew of Jesus was by hearing from others. Nevertheless, the faith of
this man that came only by hearing was far better than those who saw him
intimately in all that he did.
What did Jesus do?
52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has
healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the
road.
Jesus commended for his faith and healed the man’s blindness.
What do all these tell us? All the people around Jesus saw what Jesus was doing
and heard what Jesus taught. But they could not accept fully what Jesus was
about to do, i.e., his suffering, death, and resurrection. But this man was
fully persuaded that Jesus was the Son of David who had authority equal to God
himself, like the Son of God. he had no problem following Jesus. No matter what
lies ahead of the way of Messiah, the son of David, belief in him will surely
enable one to follow for coming of his glory is certain. So, the story ends with the man’s decision to
follow Jesus as he was heading to Jerusalem.
As he followed Jesus to Jerusalem, he saw the things that were
unthinkable. Jesus sufferings; condemnation, mocking, being whipped, being
nailed, and shedding all his blood. Could these things nullify the faith in his
heart? Unlikely! The healing by faith that he received was far greater and
stronger than his fear and doubt. Jesus was still the Son of David and the Son
of God. The grace and love that he received when Jesus opened his eyes spoke
powerfully of the grace in and of his suffering and death on behalf of a sinner
like him. He had better faith than
so many because his spirit was rich in His word and captured the richness of
his grace through what he did. Simply his understanding of Jesus could
not be anything other than the grace that he understood and that received.
We are to follow Jesus for Jesus himself is the truth; not just
his words and teaching but also his walk, the entire walk from Caesarea
Philippi to Jericho, and then to Jerusalem, and then to his crucifixion, and
resurrection in glory. His teaching cannot be separated from his way of life.
This is possible only when we believe his suffering, death, and resurrection as
the way of life and truth. This is possible for those who see through the grace
of God in and through Jesus.
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