Text: Mark 10:35-45Revised Standard Version (RSV)
The Request of James and John
35 And James and John, the sons of Zeb′edee, came forward 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 But 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.” 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
In the Name of God, the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Amen.
Have you ever marched into your supervisor’s office, closed the door, and said, “Boss, I want you to do for me whatever I ask.”
No? Neither have I. That would take a trainload of what the Jews call “chutzpah.”
Yet that is exactly what James and John did. And you can imagine what the reaction of the other ten disciples must have been! They must have stood there, red-faced – but not just with anger, but also with embarrassment, because they knew that any one of them could have asked Jesus the same thing, and quite possibly would have – but James and John just beat them to it.
But here’s the odd thing about this – just before James and John make their demand, here’s what Mark tells us happened:
32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and deliver him to the Gentiles; 34 and they will mock him, and spit upon him, and scourge him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise.” (RSV)
You have to wonder how we can get from “they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid” to “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” Either James and John simply weren’t paying attention, or they just profoundly misunderstood everything Jesus had been telling them about what was going to happen in the immediate future. Maybe it was a combination of the two.
Picture the situation – Jesus and the Twelve, along with who knows how many hangers-on, are on their way to Jerusalem. Jesus calls them all together and for the third time tells them exactly what’s going to happen in the next few weeks. And it ain’t pretty. There’s going to be humiliation, torture, floggings, incredible suffering – and it all ends with a pretty gruesome death on a cross – his death. This is not something for the faint of heart!
That’s what Jesus intends. He makes it crystal clear, as he has already twice before. And yet, the disciples – particularly these two sons of Zebedee – just can’t get their heads around this. Each and every time Jesus tells them what’s about to happen, it’s almost like a circuit breaker gets tripped in their brains, and they go off on a tangent. They change the subject. They argue about which of them is the greatest – perhaps trying to decide who’s going to take Jesus’ place when he’s not around anymore. Imagine that! They don’t realize that what’s in store for Jesus is very likely what’s in store for them, too – the Romans were big on “guilt by association.” If some individual offended them, they had a habit of wiping out that person’s whole family or even his whole village. They didn’t mess around. These followers of Jesus were targets, too, but that didn’t really dawn on them until much later.
No, what James and John focused on was the idea that their friendship with Jesus, and all the hardships they have endured over the previous three years with him, meant they there was going to be a big payoff at the end. All this talk about being servants – well, that was maybe OK for these other guys, but not for them. They were clearly a cut above the rest, and they expected Jesus to recognize that and reward them accordingly.
Not exactly team players, these two. “Jesus, just say yes to our demand – even before you’ve heard what it is.” They sound like a couple kids around Christmas time talking to Santa Claus at the department store – “I want I want Iwant. Me, me, me.”
It’s clear what their intent is. They want to be the two top dogs in the Kingdom next to Jesus. To this day, at a banquet or a formal ceremony of any sort, the two people who are to be given the highest honor are the ones who are seated closest to the host. James and John wanted that high honor for themselves. They want to be the “go-to guys” for Jesus. If nobody can come to the Father except through Jesus, they want to swing it so that nobody can come to Jesus except through them. They want to be the gate-keepers, the palace guard. They want the premium seats at the table. They’re addicted to prestige and power.
It makes you wonder just how the very idea got into their heads to ask this outrageous question in the first place. But when we consider that, along with Peter, James and John had already begun to see the “real Jesus” being unveiled, we can start to understand how the gears had begun to grind in their heads. They had been with Jesus up on the mountain when he was transfigured, and they had seen just what was in store for God’s people. So now they’re looking ahead, and decide to hedge their bets. They realized that Jesus was more than he appeared. And they realized that the day was coming when the Jesus would be fully unveiled, fully revealed to the entire world. Since they had seen some of that unveiling, they want to make the most of it.
But they’re asking for something even Jesus can’t give them. Just like last week, when Jesus made clear that what he looks for is people who will gladly follow him, this week he makes clear that greatness in God’s Kingdom is not measured by whether or not you’re first, but by whether or not you are willing to serve. If your intent is to be the top dog, you’ve just automatically disqualified yourself.
Jesus, you see, had the heart of a servant. He did not come on the scene demanding worship. He didn’t build a palace for himself or sit on a royal throne. He did not enjoy all of the comforts and perqs that this world has to offer. He could have done that. But he didn’t. He didn’t because he came to serve.
Note that Jesus doesn’t take James and John to task for this request. He doesn’t say, like he says to Peter elsewhere, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” He doesn’t rebuke them like he rebukes the Pharisees on a regular basis. No; instead, he asks them a couple pertinent questions.
After he tells them that they really have no clue about what they’re asking, Jesus asks them, “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
They nod their heads eagerly, and say with glib confidence, “We can.” Sure, we can do whatever it takes! We’ll happily go the extra mile!
Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
And then Jesus once again calls all the disciples together and lays it on the line: “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 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.”
There is actually a term for what Jesus wants: He’s looking for “servant leadership.” And, no, this is not an oxymoron!
But just what is “servant leadership,” exactly? Maybe we should start with an example of what it isn’t.
“As you pull into work, the leader meets you at your car, opens your door, and welcomes you to the office. Maybe the leader gets you coffee mid-morning and drops by in the afternoon to see if you need anything. When you need assistance on a project, or maybe just someone to do the grunt work, there your leader is, waiting for you.
No, that isn’t servant leadership.”[1]
The leadership consultant Skip Prichard identifies 9 qualities of the servant leader. Among these qualities are developing trust, helping others with life issues, encouraging others, thinking in terms of “you,” and not “me” – but I think the most important quality on his list is this one: A servant leader acts with humility.
And that was the one quality James and John lacked the most.
Servant leadership is, to put it simply, the art of putting others before yourself, of respecting others, of valuing others – in short, it is living out the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Jesus’ entire life was one of servant leadership. The fact that James and John, and also the other disciples, had such a hard time grasping the concept shows just how ingrained in us our notion of “looking out for #1” is.
And yet – we can live like that. I see you all living that way all the time. I really do.
Just a few days ago, we laid to rest one of the greatest examples of servant leadership I have ever known – Elaine Huber’s whole life was one of devotion to Jesus and service to others. And I think it is very significant that we recall that she grew up in this church! St. John’s was not just the beneficiary in so many ways of Elaine’s servant leadership, but St. John’s also taught her from her earliest days how to be a servant leader in Christ’s service.
And the way all of you turned out again and ministered to Elaine’s family was in my opinion servant leadership writ large.
So servant leadership has happened here, it happens here now, and it will continue to happen here into the distant future.
When we go about living out our Christian life, the key thing to remember is what Jesus says: “Whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant.”
We need to be clear just what our intentions are – as they say, “Be careful what you wish for – you might get it!” If our hearts are in the right place, and we follow Jesus’ example, we cannot help but make the world we live in a better place!
And that really is what it’s all about!
In the Name of God, the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Amen.
[1] Prichard, Skip, “9 Qualities of the Servant Leader,” http://www.skipprichard.com/9-qualities-of-the-servant-leader/