March 17, 2024
We’re in our final message on the power of the cross. The first week we saw Jesus tempted by the devil to rule the world, but he chose to lose! It’s a powerful thing to see Christians choose to lose for God. The second week was about living for God’s approval, not caring what others think, and you find the best life. The third week talked about how we’re not tempted to be humble ourselves, but we do like humble people. Jesus encourages us to chase humility. The fourth week we talked about the blessing of being weak. The power of God is in your weakness! People can relate to you when you’re weak because you’re a real human being. Today we’re going to talk about an embarrassing moment for two of the disciples this week, who had hopes for God’s kingdom on earth.
Kevin and I served a church in the Mahantongo Valley many years ago. Many years before we came, it had burned down. Various church members mentioned that. It was a marker in time. Before the church burned down. After the church burned down. One day, Kevin and I were visiting with a church member known to everyone as Pappy Snyder. He said once he was removing the paint from the church to repaint it. He used a torch. The church caught on fire and burned down! Nobody else we talked with had said Pappy Snyder burned down the church. They were nice enough not to mention who did it. We asked Pappy, nobody else names you as the one who did it, just that the church burned down. Pappy said, “Well, it was a long time ago.” He was not embarrassed! At the time it happened, I imagine he felt pretty bad. Today we’re going to talk about an embarrassing moment for two of the disciples, who had hopes for God’s kingdom on earth.
The cross is the symbol of our faith. The first century Christians knew it was a symbol of suffering and shame. But they loved the cross anyway! The cross means denying self but experiencing something unexpected: God’s peace when you forgive, and joy when you give away what you want to keep. Others see in your life the power of the cross.
A lot of Christians don’t even know this invitation to the cross exists! They think of the cross as just art, a piece of jewelry or a logo. But it’s an invitation to a powerful life!
Jesus came to earth with two missions! In the Gospel today, Jesus just finished his first mission: to live his life in such a way that people understood what his father looked like. In John 17:6 Jesus prays to God, “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me.” I did it! Mission accomplished!
You might say, “Wait, Jesus, you haven’t completed your mission! You are still on earth. Your mission is to die for our salvation, to take away the sins of the world.” That’s mission #2. Jesus completed mission #1, through Him people could see God the father.
Now that Jesus finished mission #1, he is walking with the disciples on the long journey to Jerusalem. The disciples didn’t really understand mission #1 or mission #2. They thought God sent Jesus to take over Jerusalem. It might be something like the battle of Jericho! With Jesus’ power they could march around Jerusalem and take the city! Jesus would become king!
Jesus keeps trying to tell his disciples, he has to suffer and die. He told them in Mark 8:31, “I’m going to suffer, be rejected, die, and then rise again.” Peter says, Don’t talk like that!
In Mark 9:31, Jesus again says that he will be killed, then rise again. The disciples don’t understand what he means and are afraid to ask him. Instead, they start arguing about which of them is the greatest!
In Mark 10:32-34, while they walk, Jesus takes the disciples aside. He’ll try again to tell them what will happen. When we get to Jerusalem, I’ll be handed over to the religious leaders. I’ll be mocked, spit on, beaten and killed!
Do the disciples finally understand? No! Mark 10:35 says, “Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him.” Why does it say, the sons of Zebedee? Today we don’t mention who someone’s parents are whenever we talk about them. Well, there were a lot of James’s, and a lot of John’s at that time. And almost no one had a last name! Think of it, Jesus didn’t have a last name! You might say, Jesus Christ. Christ means anointed one or Messiah. It’s not a last name. Zebedee’s sons come to Jesus, quietly. “Teacher,” they say, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” They hope Jesus will say, “Of course anything!” Before they tell him what they want. But Jesus asks what it is they want.
They say, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” They want to be his number 1 and 2. They picture Jesus on the throne, with them right beside him! Jesus, you need good leaders. We’re brothers, we’ll have your back. Jesus tells them they don’t know what they’re asking. And as it turns out, they will run away when Jesus is arrested! They want glory for themselves, not the cross!
Then the rest of the disciples find out what James and John asked for, and they are angry! Hey, we all want high position, power and authority!
Jesus calls them all together. Huddle up! This is important! I’m going to die, and you guys are still scrambling for the things of this world! Jesus says, you know the rulers and the people of authority. They have all the power and authority, and they keep it and try to get more. There are just a few people at the top. And they make decisions based on what’s best for them. They don’t care about everyone else.
The disciples are like, Of course, we know how it works. That’s why we want to be at your side, your top disciples. That’s why we’re so mad at the other disciples for trying to get the top spot! Jesus reminds them of what the rulers do. But he says: “NOT SO WITH YOU!” If you follow me, you use your power, your resources, your connections, and success for the benefit of other people. It’s good to want to succeed and you need possessions. But if you follow me you must decide what to do with what comes to you.
If you want to be great, you need to be a servant, wait your turn, and let everyone else be served first. If you want to be first, you have to be a slave to all. Jesus says in Mark 10:45, “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.”
The disciples didn’t understand the way of the cross at the time. When Jesus was arrested, they ran away. We are Christians today, because that embarrassing moment where James and John got it wrong was not the end of the story! The other disciples also thought following Jesus was about glory and power, but that moment wasn’t the end. After Jesus’ went up to heaven, the disciples changed. It’s inspiring, they lived for others, teaching and healing, getting thrown in prison but never stopping.
They changed! Maybe they laughed at how wrong they had been and laughed at that embarrassing moment. They learned to deny themselves and take up their cross. Their lives gave witness to the power of God!
You and I are tempted all the time to live for ourselves, going after everything we want. It’s comforting to see that the disciples didn’t get the cross at first. It takes time to learn.
Why should you look for an opportunity to give, serve, and love? Because one day your opportunity will be gone. Our opportunity is running out. One day it ends. Today is the opportunity to live for the kingdom of God here on earth.
My challenge is for you to read the verse Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” What does that mean for your life?
The cross became the symbol of Christianity. It represents the pattern of our faith. The cross is the ultimate shame, the ultimate loss, going to the back of the line. When we think the cross is too much, remember, even our Savior served and gave his life. His disciples served and gave their lives as well. When we follow the way of the cross, we are part of the many Christians who use what they have and serve to build God’s kingdom here on earth. Amen.
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