Are We There Yet?
By Johnny Angel
Mark 10:[35] James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus
and asked, "Teacher, will you do us a favor?" [36] Jesus asked what
they wanted, [37] and they answered, "When you come into your glory,
please let one of us sit at your right side and the other at your left." [38]
Jesus told them, "You don't really know what you're asking! Are you
able to drink from the cup that I must soon drink from or be baptized as
I must be baptized?" [39] "Yes, we are!" James and John answered.
Then Jesus replied, "You certainly will drink from the cup from which I
must drink. And you will be baptized just as I must! [40] But it isn't for
me to say who will sit at my right side and at my left. This is for God to
decide." [41] When the ten other disciples heard this, they were angry
with James and John. [42] But Jesus called the disciples together and
said: "You know that those foreigners who call themselves kings like
to order their people around. And their great leaders have full power
over the people they rule. [43] but don't act like them. If you want to
be great, you must be the servant of all the others. [44] And if you
want to be first, you must be everyone's slave. [45] The Son of Man
did not come to be a slave master, but a slave who will give his life to
rescue many people. (CEV)
Think about some things you would like to have like a sports car, a
nice house on the beach, etc. Perhaps you would just like to get past
a certain level on a video game so you can brag to your friends that
you did it. Maybe you think if you could just get out of high school or
just finish college or just have a family of your own that you're life would
be complete.
But we can never find contentment in our earthly possessions. I find
myself infected with this horrible disease that makes me always want
something else. I get that new game or buy that new CD, but I always
want something else.
Fortunately, I can rejoice that I never want another Savior! Psalm 23:1
declares, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want." (NIV)
In the scripture above, we find James and John troubling Jesus about
who will sit where in Heaven. Clearly, this is not Jesus' concern. He is
more concerned about helping people while they are here on Earth.
Verse 38 contains the phrase "drink from the cup that I must soon drink
from". This is a Jewish symbolism that means sharing in the way
someone else dies. Jesus had to suffer a cruel death to pay for our
sins. This verse also contains the phrase, "be baptized as I must be
baptized". Romans 6 explains that baptism is a symbolic way of
suffering in the death of Christ. We bury our old self and rise again as a
new creature in Christ.
In verses 39 and 40, Jesus tells them they will suffer they way that He
will. But it is up to God to take care of who will sit where in heaven.
Jesus was correct in saying that James and John would suffer. John
was put in a caldron of boiling oil, but escaped death in a miraculaous
manner, and was afterward banished to Patmos. James, the Greater,
was beheaded at Jerusalem.
I think the disciples would fit in well in a church today. Verse 41 talks
about how they got angry at James and John for asking Jesus
questions like these. Basically, they got jealous.
In verse 42, Jesus had to call them together and get them calmed
down. That's kind of how He has to do with us today.
At this point, Jesus starts saying weird stuff. He says to be great, you
must be a servant. He says that being great like a king doesn't really
make you so great. And then He goes on to say that He, the Son of
God, did not come to be the master, but the servant. Of course, this
does not fit in well with the way that society says things must be.
During the 1940s, a well known minister, Clarence Jerdan (pronounced
Jordan), was taking a walk through a forest. He kept walking and
walking. He walked so far that he lost his way. He no longer knew
where he was. Fortunately, he came across an opening that gave way
to a farm. There was an old farmer working in the field. He went over
and asked him for directions. The farmer said, "I know who you are."
Clarence Jerdan assured the farmer that he was a stranger in the area
and that he did not know him. There was a pause. The farmer said, "I
know who you are. You're Jimmy Jerdan's boy." The minister said,
"Yes I am. How did you know?" The farmer responded, "You look
just like your father."
To look like Jesus, we must serve. We must always be willing to help.
When people look at us and see us helping or showing love, they will
see Jesus. That is why it is important to be about His business.
We could be like James and John and be worried about the future. Or
we could be worried about getting all the things that we want. But it is
better to keep our eyes open for ways that we can show Christ's love
to all those around us.
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You may have been wondering why I've not sent anything for a few
days. I've been gone to a conference with my Baptist Student Union.
It was really great! I couldn't have thought of a better way to spend fall
break! Today's message sort of sums up what we learned while we
were there.
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prayer requests:
- a lady who has not been saved and who also has cancer
- a friend of mine who needs guidance on dating
- a man who is on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic
- a girl who is very depressed
- a girl undergoing persecution at school
N Prayer,
Johnny <*}}}><