The Message, October 20, 2024: "Jesus, Be OUR Servant" Mark 10:35-45

Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
October 22, 2024

 

“Jesus, Be OUR Servant!”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
Mark 10:35-45

            Are there any fans of the television program ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ here this morning? If not … are there any fans of improv comedy?

            For those of you who are unfamiliar, ‘Whose Line is it Anyway’ was a show based upon improvised comedy. Four comedians would act out various scenes for the audience. One of the favorite segments on the program was called “Scenes from a Hat.” The premise was that the members of the studio audience would write down suggestions of scenarios for the comedians to act out. Then the producers would take the “good” ones and put them in a hat. The host would then randomly select the suggestions, and the cast would do their best to amuse us.

            The suggestions would be things like:

            “Inappropriate times to give a high five.”
            “Delivering bad news in the style of Dr. Seuss.”
            “Things that you should NOT say during your wedding ceremony.”

            As we read our scripture passage for this morning, it almost seems as though James and John were contestants on ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway – First Century Edition.’ They were obviously playing ‘Scenes from a Hat’ and the suggestion was, “Things that you should NOT ask Jesus on your way to Jerusalem.”

            Of course, to truly comprehend the absurdity of the event, we really should back up and look at the verses of scripture immediately before our passage.

            “They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. ‘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, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.’”
(Mark 10:32-34)

            For those of you keeping track, that was the THIRD time that Jesus had foretold what was going to happen to him when they got to Jerusalem. The difference was that this was the most detailed account of what awaited Jesus. And it was on the heels of this statement that James and John decided that they would push their way forward and make their request.

            “Hey there, Teacher, we were wondering if you would be willing to do for us ANYTHING that we ask of you.”

            For us, nearly two thousand years later, the question is almost amusing. Their response to their ‘Scenes from a Hat’ suggestion was great! Except that this was not a comedy routine.

            Now, we know what they were about to ask. The reality is that Jesus likely knew too. But you notice that the brothers did not say, “Hey Teacher, we were wondering if we could sit in the places of honor in the new kingdom. Could we sit at your right hand and at your left?” No. They went big. They asked, “Will you do whatever it is that we ask of you?”

            This might give us an indication of why Jesus called James and John the “Sons of Thunder.” (Mark 3:17) They were clearly bold. They were clearly audacious … and they were ambitious. And it also appears that they were blessed with selective hearing.

            They were among the first four disciples called by Jesus. They had been with him the entire time. They had seen everything. They had heard everything. They had experienced everything. And yet, as they made their way to Jerusalem with Jesus, they clearly thought that they were on a march of glory … a march of triumph … and Jesus was going to enter the city and assume his place on the royal throne. They heard, “We are going to Jerusalem,” but they missed the whole part about being handed over, and mocked, and flogged, and spit upon, and killed.

            “Yay! We are going to Jerusalem, and Jesus is going to take the throne as the True King of Israel! Hey Jesus … can James and I sit on either side of you up on the dais?”

            And as we heard, Jesus was so patient. He said to them, “Why, James and John, what is it that you would like me to do for you?” Jesus did not rebuke them. Jesus did not condemn then. He continued to bring them in. He taught them.

            He said to them, “You really do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” (Mark 10:38)

            And as we heard, the Sons of Thunder replied, “Sure we can, Jesus.”

            We need to pause here for a moment and explore what it was that Jesus was asking of them. Our twenty-first century ears hear the words “cup” and “baptism” very differently than what Jesus was saying.

            The “cup” was a reference to ancient Hebrew scripture, Isaiah (51:17) and Jeremiah (25:15-16) in particular. The cup was a metaphor to refer to divine wrath or punishment. It referred to pain and suffering of the highest order. The word may make US think of the communion cup, the cup of the new covenant. But that was not the cup to which Jesus referred. He was saying to them, “James and John, are you able to endure the pain and suffering that awaits you? Are you able to endure the wrath and the punishment?”

            And the “baptism” of which Jesus spoke was NOT his own baptism by John the Baptist in the River Jordan. He used the Greek word for “dip” which meant “to be submerged.” Again, to our ears, we think that is what baptism is … being submerged in the water. However, in that era, the word was regularly used to mean being completely submerged in an experience.
            To be submerged in debt.
            To be submerged in work.
            To be submerged in grief.

            When we pair the two together, Jesus was asking them, “Can you bear being submerged in hatred and anger? Can you bear being submerged in pain and ultimately death?” He was saying to them that the Way before them was not easy. There will be pain and persecutions awaiting them. The march of glory leads to the cross.

            As we have said repeatedly in our exploration of Jesus’ teaching on discipleship, he was telling them … all of them … that they have got to stop thinking according to the world’s way of thinking. They have to stop thinking in terms of the world’s definition of success. “Look at the Gentiles. Look at their rulers. They will do anything to acquire power, and they will do anything to keep power. They wield their authority like a weapon. They subdue those whom they rule.” (Paraphrase is mine.)

            “But that is not our way. We are not like that. We are not about ambition. We are not about the acquisition of power or prestige.”

            The key to leadership in the Kingdom of God is service. It is about sacrificing all that you thought makes you “great.” It is about loving God and serving God by loving and serving our neighbors.

            And it is more than simply a willingness to serve. It is not about acquiescing to Jesus’ call to serve, “Okay, Jesus, I will serve if I have to.” It is not about service that is transactional. We do not serve because we hope that we will receive some benefit from serving. We do not serve so that we can say, “Look, God, I am serving! Look … my hands are dirty! Ain’t I great?! When you fir me for my crown, I wear a large.”

            It is about having a DESIRE to serve. It is about having a heart that is aligned toward service. It is about serving because that is who we are.

            Jesus concluded his lesson by saying, “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.” (Mark 10:45)

            Jesus did come to serve. Jesus did come to teach. Jesus did come to show us the Way of God, the Way of Love. Jesus did give us everything that we could possibly ever want. He gave us a path to a closer relationship with God and with one another.

            Jesus gave his life as a “ransom.” The word refers not to “the forgiveness of sin.” Although that is certainly part of it. But the word actually means to set the captive free, to release the prisoner from bondage.

            Jesus sets us free from captivity … he sets us free from the slavery of our human or earthly demands and desires. Jesus releases us from the bondage of our human pursuits and passions. Jesus removes the burden of trying to meet the expectations of what earthly success looks like.
Jesus sets us free to serve.

            He sets us free to live lives of love.
            He sets us free to live lives of service.
            He sets us free from the pressure of being perfect in the world’s eyes … and assures us that we are beloved in God’s.

            James and John, and the rest of the disciples were not perfect. Far from it. They were wonderfully imperfect, and Jesus called them to love and to serve.

            Jesus calls us too … just as we are … wonderfully made and wonderfully imperfect as well. We are called to love God with everything that we have, with all that we are … heart, soul, strength and mind. And we are called to serve.

            That is the Way that to which we are called. Are we able to answer? Amen.

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