24.167 | An Audacious Request | Mark

Text: Mark 10:35-40 ESV
35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”
37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”
38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”
39 And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized,
40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
-Mark 10:35-40 ESV
AN AUDACIOUS REQUEST
The brothers James and John expressed to Jesus their ultimate desire. That is, each of them will sit at Jesus’ right and left sides, respectively. First, we admire them for their noble desire. They want to stay so close to Jesus. Certainly, this implies that they believe Jesus would reign in glory someday. And they are excited about it.
What made them audacious to express this to Jesus? Was it because they were two of Jesus' three closest friends. And, are they willing to face what will come to make Jesus king? (Mark 10:39). Were they influenced by their mother?[Mat 20:20-21]
Initially, it appeared that there was nothing wrong in their request. But, Jesus rebuked them, saying, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” James and John have no thought about the suffering they are to go through. Jesus expresses it in metaphors of ‘drinking the cup” and ‘baptism”. To "drink someone's cup" means to share in their fate. The tense used for the verb "drink" here may mean that Jesus is in the process of drinking, not that the "cup" is yet to come. On the other hand, baptism is a metaphor for being overwhelmed or immersed in something.
Both affirmatively say, “We are able.” Were they willing to sacrifice for Jesus? James and John did suffer. Although, they suffered not exactly like Jesus. James was the first of the Twelve to be martyred when King Herod killed him with a sword (Acts 12:1-2). The Bible does not record John's fate. John, on the other hand, according to tradition was placed in a cauldron of burning oil. He not only survived but he continued preaching while still in the pot. He was then exiled to the island of Patmos where he wrote the book of Revelation. Eventually, he was released and died of old age.
Yes, we are told to suffer for Jesus. But, there is nothing we humans can do to add to or fulfill Jesus' work on the cross. We are incapable of doing anything to earn salvation (Eph 2:8-9). Paul does speak of our necessary sacrifice, when he says, "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church" (Col 1:24) Our work as Christians do is not to complete the gospel, is it? It is to spread the gospel. That is, to "make the word of God fully known" in the world.(Col 1:25). Whenever we drink the cup or accept the baptism of suffering and sacrificial service, it is not to "do" the work of salvation from sin. Rather, it is to spread the news that Jesus has already completed.
Furthermore, Jesus highlighted that God the Father has prepared these places for whom He has chosen. In other words, there is no use of craving for honor when God the Father has foreordained it. There is no reason for self-seeking. We are saved by grace, kept by grace and be glorified by His grace. As Paul expressed, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”[1 Cor 15:10]
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