Let the words of my mouth and the
meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Beginning in Mark 8:22
and continuing to the end of chapter 10, we find Jesus making his way to
Jerusalem, predicting his impending death and resurrection, or maybe, more
accurately, announcing his mission statement, three times. Let’s call it the
Messiah’s Servant Mission.
The narrative of the
Messiah’s Servant Mission is bracketed by the healing of two blind men: one in
Bethsaida, and the other, Bartimeus, outside the gates of Jericho. Both seem to
represent those, like many of the demons in Mark, who recognize who Jesus is
immediately, unlike the disciples, who almost never do.
First, way back in
chapter 8, Jesus cures a blind man at Bethsaida, but it doesn’t seem to take at
first; indeed, it takes a little time for the man to regain his full sight.
Then comes Peter’s declaration and Jesus’ first announcement of his impending death.
But Peter doesn’t get it and rebukes Jesus (who in turn rebukes him right
back.)
Then, in chapter 9,
Jesus repeats his declaration that he will die in Jerusalem, a pronouncement
that terrifies his disciples into silence. Until, that is, they begin arguing
with each other about who is the greatest because, again, they don’t get it.
Jesus’ words take time to sink in, so he puts before them a child and tells
them that leadership and greatness are about welcoming the vulnerable.
Now, in chapter 10,
Jesus says once more that he is going to Jerusalem to die. The lectionary has
decided we don’t need to hear these verses, 32-34, possibly because it’s
already been said twice. But I think these verses are important for today’s
lesson, so I’ll read them now:
“They were on the road,
going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed,
and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to
tell them what was to happen to him, saying, ‘Look, we are going up to
Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the
scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to
the gentiles; they will mock him and spit upon him and flog him and kill him,
and after three days he will rise again.’”
And, as with the other two
times, the disciples don’t get it. First, James and John ask for special places
of honor and then the rest of the disciples resent their self-interested
pushiness. Jesus’ words still haven’t sunk in and taken hold yet, so he says as
plainly and clearly as possible that to be great is to serve others and that to
be first is to be last. And then, if you read further into Mark, comes another
healing of a blind man, Bartimaeus.
Ok let’s do a quick round up of what
we have in these central chapters of Mark:
1.
Jesus Heals a Blind Man
in Bethsaida
2.
First Declaration of the
Messiah’s Servant Mission
3.
Peter puts his foot in
his mouth
4.
Second Declaration of
the Messiah’s Servant Mission
5.
The Disciples put their
feet in their mouths
6.
Third Declaration of the
Messiah’s Servant Mission
7.
James and John put their
feet in their mouths
8.
Jesus Heals the Blind
Man, Bartimeus, outside of Jericho
In three short
chapters in Mark, Jesus tells these guys 3 times about his mission to serve,
his destiny to suffer, and his pending resurrection. And all they can say is “what’s
in it for me?”
What an incredible and
heart-breaking quid pro quo statement. It’s the question of a consumer rather
than a servant. Way too often, we do things only to get something in return. We
look for the perks in the work we do instead of placing priority on the actual
work being done. We look for what we can get out of it rather than what we can
put in.
Now, if we’ve decided to
change “Jesus’ predictions” to “Jesus’ mission statement”, then we need to understand
what that mission statement is – one of servitude. Jesus has been sent to be
the ultimate servant, to be a ransom or liberator for many, to offer the
service of giving up his life for the sake of others. Jesus’ mission is to shatter
and rebuilding the hierarchies – the first will be last and the last will be
first. Jesus’ mission is to redefine the expectations of the Messiah – to focus
less on an earthly kingdom and more on a heavenly kingdom.
And despite what we
might think, James and John do in fact get this, they get who Jesus is and what
he’s up to. And now they’re trying to make it work for them. Instead of
considering him to be everyone’s servant, they treat him like their own personal
servant – “We want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” Has anyone said to
you, “If I ask you to do something, promise me you’ll do it?” James and John
are wanting Jesus to promise them he’ll “grant their wish”, so to speak, without
first hearing their request.
But Jesus doesn’t buy
it. He can tell that these guys are trying to get something out of him and
instead of giving in, Jesus turns the question around on them, “What is it you
want me to do for you?” So, the two J’s lay it out for him – they want to be
the first in glory with him. Ok maybe they don’t get it after all.
“What’s in it for me?” This
is the basis of James and John’s request. Instead of striving to serve more,
they are just trying to get ahead. And don’t go thinking the other 10 are any
better. Once they see what J-squared are doing, they get all pissed off and
probably jealous that they didn’t think of it first.
But let’s be honest,
following Jesus isn’t anything glorious. Following Jesus leads to persecution and
death. Following Jesus leads to the cross. Jesus doesn’t mince words with his response
to James and John. He says, “You don’t know what you’re asking.” Be careful
what you’re asking for…
Remember what the
request was? “Appoint us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left,
in your glory.” Jesus is trying to tell James and John that don’t really want
to be sitting on his left and his right. Because who is it at Jesus’ left and
right side at the time of his death? A pair of criminals on crosses. How ironic…
Jesus’ sacrifice on the
cross becomes the ultimate show of servant leadership and self-sacrificial
love, and we are called to follow his example. We need to turn away from looking
for the rewards and turn towards answering the higher call of Jesus to be a disciple
by serving others. We need to turn the question “what’s in it for me?” into “Who
will I serve?” For it is by following Jesus’ Mission Statement of Servanthood
that we will find wholeness and grace. And that is indeed good news.
Amen.
