Mark 10:35-45 Amplified Bible (AMP)
35 James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” 36 And He replied to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 37 They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit [with You], one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory [Your majesty and splendor in Your kingdom].” 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 [of suffering and death] with which I am baptized?” 39 And they replied to Him, “We are able.” Jesus told them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. 40 But to sit on My right or left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared [by My Father].”
41 Hearing this, the [other] ten became indignant with James and John. 42 Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their powerful men exercise authority over them [tyrannizing them]. 43 But this is not how it is among you; instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wishes to be first and most important among you 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 [a]ransom for many.”
35 James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” 36 And He replied to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 37 They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit [with You], one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory [Your majesty and splendor in Your kingdom].” 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 [of suffering and death] with which I am baptized?” 39 And they replied to Him, “We are able.” Jesus told them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. 40 But to sit on My right or left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared [by My Father].”
41 Hearing this, the [other] ten became indignant with James and John. 42 Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their powerful men exercise authority over them [tyrannizing them]. 43 But this is not how it is among you; instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wishes to be first and most important among you 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 [a]ransom for many.”
Personal Insights
This
passage of Scripture starts out with a request from Jesus' closest disciples,
James and John. They ask Jesus "We want you to do for us whatever we
ask". We might read this and our initial reaction might be "wow
the audacity of these two men" or "who do they think they
are?" However, have a bit of a think back to some of the requests we
have made of God recently in our conversations with Him. "Lord I
need you to fix this situation now" or "why does God not answer my
prayers regarding .........." or we have a meltdown in front of God
because we are not getting what we want.
James and John didn't understand what they were asking and often times we are no different. James and John hadn't fully grasped what Jesus was soon going to go through on the cross and the suffering He would experience. Soon they would understand not only Jesus suffering but also, in time, they would experience personal suffering. It is a good thing that God does not answer yes to every request we ask of Him. In His wisdom He knows it would not end well.
James, John and the rest of the disciples needed a lesson regarding pride and humility. It was pride that was the downfall of Satan and it's the downfall of many us since. Pride is described in the Biblical sense of giving ourselves credit for something that God has accomplished. Pride is essentially the worship of ourselves and that can get messy. I am sure all of us have tripped over our own pride and have the bruises to prove it.
Jesus has a different way for us to live and that is the path of humility. Jesus walked that path and has given us a perfect example. If any of us struggle with a bad attitude then we only need to turn to Philippians 2 to see how to counteract that. Pray for the same attitude as Christ.
As people of God we are called to a different way. We are called to a life of humility and not arrogance. Humility is a heart attitude. We are new creations if we are in Christ. (2 Cor 5:17 and Gal 2:20) We need to understand who we are in Christ and walk in that truth. When we walk in His ways we experience life with Him and that life is a life of abundance (John 10:10). Ephesians 3:20 is the verse that we are clinging to this year. I love the Amplified version of it.
James and John didn't understand what they were asking and often times we are no different. James and John hadn't fully grasped what Jesus was soon going to go through on the cross and the suffering He would experience. Soon they would understand not only Jesus suffering but also, in time, they would experience personal suffering. It is a good thing that God does not answer yes to every request we ask of Him. In His wisdom He knows it would not end well.
James, John and the rest of the disciples needed a lesson regarding pride and humility. It was pride that was the downfall of Satan and it's the downfall of many us since. Pride is described in the Biblical sense of giving ourselves credit for something that God has accomplished. Pride is essentially the worship of ourselves and that can get messy. I am sure all of us have tripped over our own pride and have the bruises to prove it.
Jesus has a different way for us to live and that is the path of humility. Jesus walked that path and has given us a perfect example. If any of us struggle with a bad attitude then we only need to turn to Philippians 2 to see how to counteract that. Pray for the same attitude as Christ.
As people of God we are called to a different way. We are called to a life of humility and not arrogance. Humility is a heart attitude. We are new creations if we are in Christ. (2 Cor 5:17 and Gal 2:20) We need to understand who we are in Christ and walk in that truth. When we walk in His ways we experience life with Him and that life is a life of abundance (John 10:10). Ephesians 3:20 is the verse that we are clinging to this year. I love the Amplified version of it.
„Now
to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than
all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes,
or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us…”
So
what requests are you and I making of God this year? What questions are we
asking of Him? Let us be wise in those moments and take stock of the
motives behind them.
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