A Mixed-Up people

Well, we can turn back to our reading in Mark's Gospel, chapter 10, and we'll look at these verses that we've read together from verse 32 down to verse 45.

! A few weeks ago, just before the October holidays on the Lord's Day morning, we were looking at the previous section to this from verse 13 down to verse 31.

And we saw there how in verse 13 there was the children that were being brought to Jesus, and the disciples were rebuking them and telling them not to bother the Master with them.

But Jesus says, let the children come to me, for to them belongs the kingdom of God.

And then we went on from there into verse 17 down to verse 31, where we see Jesus meeting with the rich young ruler, as he's known, the one who had great wealth, but yet lacked one thing.

One thing missing in his life.

He wasn't willing to give it all up and to come and follow Jesus.

And the people who heard this and saw this, the disciples and those who were with Jesus, they were astonished.

In verse 26, it says, they were exceedingly astonished and said to him, then who can be saved?

If this young man, who's seemingly kept all of the law in his own eyes, a good man in many ways, how, if he can't be saved, how can anyone be saved?

Well, Jesus reminded them that with man it's impossible, but with God, all things are possible, it says in verse 27.

And so that's where we're continuing from as we come into verse 32.

And who is Jesus speaking to in this passage?

As you read from verse 32 down to verse 45, when you see everything that's taking place,

when you see the kind of words that are used, you think of that word, verse 26, that people were exceedingly astonished.

There was this astonishment in their midst.

There was amazement.

There was fear.

There was demands being made.

There was dismay.

There was all kinds of thoughts going on among the people.

So you might think that Jesus here is speaking to people who are opposed to him or know nothing about him.

And he's teaching them his ways.

But who is he actually speaking to?

Well, he's speaking to the disciples and to his closest followers.

And we see in their experience so much of what our experience can be like as well.

We have all these times that we go through different experiences in life, different emotions,

that sense of astonishment, amazement, fear.

All can be our experience too in life when it comes to following Jesus.

And so what we see here as we look at this passage is all of these mixed up feelings,

mixed up questions that they have, mixed up reactions to the situation that they find themselves.

And it shows us the reality of the world in which we live, that we have so many challenges that we have to face up to.

Here are those who are closest to Jesus.

This is coming towards the end of his ministry.

He's been three years with them.

And still you could say they don't fully understand who they have before them.

And it's a great reminder to us as Christians or as those who are maybe seeking to know more about the Christian faith,

to know more about the Lord, that in our own understanding, our own emotions,

we can, as they would say, we can go through the ringer.

We can go through all of these different challenges.

And we feel one moment that we're close to the Lord, just like the disciples were,

and the followers on many occasions.

And at other times we can feel like we're so far away from the Lord

and almost going in the opposite direction to him.

But our faith is not dependent on our feelings.

Our faith is not dependent on what's going on around us.

And when we look at this situation and the way the people respond and the way the people act,

it's almost an encouragement to us.

It's an encouragement to us that, well, we're not alone.

When we feel like we're going through these experiences of astonishment, amazement, doubt, and fear,

and all of these things, we're not alone.

We're not the first.

We won't be the last.

And there are many others going through these experiences as well.

Even those who were the closest to Jesus, his own disciples,

found themselves almost again and again asking that question that they asked in Mark chapter 4

Mark 4 · chapter mention

with the storm that they were with Jesus in.

Who is this?

They were astonished again and again.

They react in different ways again and again throughout the Gospels as we see.

But where does it always come back to?

It needs to come back to the reality of the truth that Jesus speaks,

the word that Jesus speaks to them and to us as well.

They're brought back to see the teaching of Jesus.

And that's what Jesus is giving to them in the verses that we are looking at this evening.

And there is a wealth of teaching again.

Chapter 10 just seems to be full of teaching after teaching after teaching of who Jesus is

and how they need to trust him.

And you see it's in the situation, the setting again of Jesus foretelling his death,

reminding them this is the purpose that he has come,

that he has a mission to fulfill,

and that his mission is for the salvation of souls.

And so he's telling them for the third time that he is going to die for them,

and yet they don't understand.

And don't we too have so much to learn?

You don't know everything.

I don't know everything.

We don't have all the answers.

Being a minister doesn't mean all the answers are contained in my mind.

It's impossible.

Being a church member doesn't mean you've made it.

You've arrived and that's it.

Coming to church doesn't make you better than others around us.

And so it's important for us that we see that we are all a work in progress.

That's what this passage reminds us about.

We are all a work in progress.

And in the midst of all the mixed up emotions that we can have in life,

that we can depend on the word of God.

And so the first thing we see with the people here is their mixed up feelings.

Jesus here is continuing, as it says in verse 32,

they were on the road going up to Jerusalem.

So he's been on this journey.

You see it in verse 17 as well.

Just before he met the rich young man,

he says he was setting out on his journey.

What was his journey?

Well, it was his journey that he was on going up to Jerusalem.

And he outlines for them in verse 32 to verse 34

the purpose for which he was going up to Jerusalem.

And perhaps this is what leaves the disciples and the followers

with so many mixed up feelings of amazement and fear

all mixed up together.

Because when you look at what this journey entails,

he says to them in verse 33,

See, we are going up to Jerusalem.

And he outlines the purpose.

The Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes

and they will condemn him to death

and deliver him over to the Gentiles.

And so it goes on.

This is the purpose for which Jesus has come.

And since Jesus began his earthly ministry,

he has been teaching the disciples who he called to follow

and all who are in his hearing,

he was teaching them of the purpose of his coming.

He was revealing it to them again and again.

He has called them to follow him.

And he has been telling them who he is.

And they believed so much about Jesus.

They believed he was a great teacher.

They believed he was a great prophet.

But yet they were still missing out on so much.

Again, you go back to that event in chapter 4

when he was with them in the boat

and they were astonished and they said,

Who is this?

When they had seen Jesus by his word,

calm the wind and the waves to be a peaceful, calm sea.

They were amazed.

Who is this?

And it's almost like they still have this question

in the back of their mind,

even at this point as they're just about arriving in Jerusalem.

Who is this?

They believed that the rabbi,

their teacher as he was, Jesus,

that he was going to deliver his people

from the domination of Rome.

They believed that Jesus was going to restore God's people.

They believed that he would be the king of Israel.

And all of these things they were right with.

But where they were going wrong

was just how this was going to happen

and when this was going to happen.

They expected it to be done in a way

that they could understand.

And because it wasn't going the way they expected,

their feelings were all over the place.

And so as Jesus tells them

for the third time here

that they are going up to Jerusalem

for this very purpose,

they're still not understanding.

The disciples believed that everything

was going to be right in their own lifetime.

They believed that Jesus was on the verge

of his kingdom coming in power

and that he was going to rule.

But they didn't see that what God was doing

was beyond anything that they could imagine.

that it went beyond their situation,

that it went beyond their setting

and their time.

It went down to generation after generation

that God was building his kingdom

and his kingdom was going to come

in an even greater way

than they could ever imagine.

That God was restoring his people

through Jesus giving himself,

as we see in this passage,

as a ransom for many.

When Jesus predicted his death

three times in the Gospel of Mark,

you find that each time

that he tells his people

what is to take place,

there is a sense of confusion.

There is a sense of misunderstanding.

If he has really come to put the world in order,

how is his death going to accomplish this?

It just seemed absurd.

But Jesus has his purpose.

He is going to Jerusalem

and they are afraid and astonished.

But Jesus is here reminding them

of the question that he had

in chapter 8, verse 29,

where he says,

Who do you say that I am?

It keeps coming back to this.

It's not about your feelings.

It's not about what you think should happen

or how it should happen,

but who do you say that I am?

And that's the same for ourselves today as well.

When life isn't going maybe the way that we expected

or the church isn't going the way that we would want it,

all of these things,

we come back to see,

well, what is the foundation of our church?

What is the foundation of our faith?

It is the one who asks of us,

Who do you say that I am?

Do we see that it is the Christ

and that his word is our security?

Not our feelings,

but our faith in him.

Martin Luther once famously said,

Feelings come and feelings go

and feelings are deceiving.

My warrant is the word of God.

Not else is worth believing.

I'll trust in God's unchanging word

till soul and body sever.

For though all things shall pass away,

his word shall stand forever.

Feelings come and feelings go

and feelings are deceiving.

But we can say the same.

My warrant is the word of God.

Not else is worth believing.

And that's what Jesus is teaching them here.

In their mixed up feelings,

it is to see that the word that he is speaking,

it will stand forever.

And that is our hope today as well.

Faith is not on feelings.

Faith is on the word of God

and the promises given through Jesus in that word.

And the question comes to us,

do we believe?

Who do we say that this man is?

Is he the Christ who has come into the world?

Well, we have these mixed up feelings,

but we also see, secondly here,

mixed up questions.

You can almost ask yourself,

have the disciples learned anything

in all their experience with Jesus,

given that this is the third time

that he's told them that his death

is going to come

as they make their way up to Jerusalem?

Have they learned anything

from their experience with him?

And when you look at chapter 8, 9, and 10,

in each of these chapters,

Jesus tells them his purpose

in coming into the world

is that he is going to give his life.

In chapter 8, verse 31,

he began to teach them

that the Son of Man must suffer many things

and be rejected by the elders

and the chief priests and the scribes

and be killed, and after three days,

rise again.

In chapter 9, verse 31,

for he was teaching his disciples,

saying to them,

the Son of Man is going to be delivered

into the hands of men,

and they will kill him,

and when he is killed,

after three days, he will rise.

And then we have it again

in chapter 10 here,

in verse 33, as we've read,

to verse 34.

See, we are going up to Jerusalem,

and so on.

Three times he has told them.

And you would think by now

they're going to understand,

they're going to get it,

that this is why Jesus has come.

Surely, at least by this third time.

The first time you see Jesus telling them,

well, he has to tell Peter

to get behind me, Satan.

If we do not know what you are talking about,

the things of God,

your mind is not on the things of God,

but on the things of man,

in verse 33 of chapter 8.

So there was a misunderstanding.

They didn't get it.

The same is true in chapter 9,

after he's told them.

What do they start speaking about?

They start speaking about,

in verse 33,

who is the greatest?

Who is the greatest?

Their minds go to something

completely different.

So surely this time

they're going to get it.

But no.

What do they have?

After they've been told this,

you'd think they'd have questions.

But even their questions are mixed up.

They almost don't know what to ask.

So as in verse 35 it says,

James and John,

the sons of Sebedee,

came to him and said to him,

Teacher,

you would maybe expect,

help us understand.

Teach us what this actually means.

Teach us what it will mean for us.

But what do they say in verse 35?

Teacher,

we want you to do for us

whatever we ask of you.

And you might think,

well okay,

what do they want?

And that's exactly what Jesus says to them.

What do you want me to do for you?

And look at the reply.

Grant us to sit one at your right hand

and one at your left

in your glory.

Grant us to sit one at your right,

one at your left

in your glory.

There's almost no thought

of what Jesus is going to do for them.

How glory is going to come to them.

They think it's going to be easy.

They want all this glory.

They want the crown.

But they don't want the cross.

They don't want that suffering.

They don't want any of that.

And there's the problem.

And perhaps in the back of their mind

is the account of the rich young ruler

and the cost of following Jesus.

That's at the end of that section

in verse 29 of this chapter

to verse 31.

You know, there's the cost.

Truly I say to you,

there is no one who has left house

or brothers or sisters or mother,

so on.

There's a cost.

And it's almost like

as we come into verse 35,

that's maybe in the back of their minds.

They're wanting something out of this.

They're wanting glory.

But they don't grasp

what the cost is

that Jesus is going to pay.

If only they truly knew

who was before them.

If only they could truly understand

what he was about to do.

What his death actually meant.

The price that was being paid.

Why did he have to tell them so often

what had to happen?

Why did he leave a remembrance

before the crucifixion,

that he gave this remembrance,

the Lord's Supper,

to do this in remembrance of me?

Because we forget.

Because we are a forgetful people

where we want all the glory,

glory,

but none of the dirty work.

Jesus came

to give his life.

But the problem with the disciples

is just like us,

pride so often takes over.

We want glory.

When you think about

what they're asking for here,

grant us to sit

one at your right hand

and one at your left

in your glory.

You wonder what they thought

as Jesus was crucified

with a thief,

one on the right

and one on the left.

And one of these thieves

actually crying out,

remember me

when you're in paradise.

The humility that was seen

there on the cross

of Jesus giving himself.

They would understand

eventually.

And that's what Jesus

makes clear here.

You don't understand

at this point,

are you able to drink

the cup that I drink

or be baptized

with a baptism

which I am baptized?

He's saying at this point,

you don't understand.

But then he says

in the end of verse 39,

the cup that I drink,

you will drink.

And the baptism

with which I am baptized,

you will be baptized.

So they will receive this.

And as you see

with the disciples

as they go on,

after the crucifixion,

many of them suffered

greatly.

But at this point,

they just don't understand.

And that's the danger

for us

to allow pride

to come in.

The Bible teaches us

again and again

about pride.

Proverbs 16,

Proverbs 16:18

verse 18,

pride goes before destruction

and a haughty spirit

before a fall.

1 Corinthians 10,

1 Corinthians 10:12

verse 12,

therefore let anyone

who thinks he stands

take heed lest he fall.

Pride is so dangerous.

And so as Jesus

is teaching them here

in their mixed up questions,

again he is pointing them back

towards himself

and taking their minds

off their pride

and their glory

and all of these things

and to come and see

as we see thirdly

a need for a servant's heart.

The disciples here

asked that question.

We want you to do

whatever we ask.

And Jesus says,

what do you want me

to do for you?

They wanted glory.

But if you read on

to the end of the chapter,

you see another man,

Bartimaeus,

with the same opportunity

where Jesus says,

what do you want me

to do for you?

In verse 51.

And look at the difference

in the response.

The blind man,

Bartimaeus,

came to him and said,

little rabbi,

let me recover my sight.

What would you ask

of Jesus tonight?

For glory

or for gain

in the sense

of seeing Jesus?

We can have mixed up questions,

but what we need to do

is humble ourselves

before God.

It's so easy for us

to forget

what the Lord has done

and why.

And so again,

we don't go on feelings.

We come

to the word of God

and stand

on what the word

of God says.

That he has come

to give his life.

That we might be called

the children

of God.

So we see

mixed up questions.

Thirdly,

we see here

mixed up reactions.

There's a mixture

of reactions here.

The reaction

of the James

and John

to hearing

for a third time

that Jesus will die.

The reaction

is to say

this question,

we want one

to sit

on the right

and one

to sit on the left

in your glory.

And Jesus

rebukes

James and John.

But the ten

are also there

as well.

And you notice

that

excuse me,

you notice that

when he begins

to help them

to understand.

When he talks

about the cup

and all of these

things,

you know that

all of these

things are to come.

But then he goes

on to teach them

about what it is

to serve,

to be a servant.

The other ten

were indignant,

it says.

When they heard

in verse 41,

when the ten

heard it,

they began

to be indignant

at James

and John.

You wonder

if that was

their first reaction.

You wonder

if when they heard

James and John

ask this question,

that would come

into our heart

as well

and say,

wish I'd

asked that first.

Wouldn't it be great

if I could sit

on the right

or on the left

of Jesus

in glory?

You can almost

imagine the other ten

thinking these thoughts

because it's most

naturally what we

might think ourselves

if we heard somebody

asking Jesus that.

But the reply

after Jesus

has rebuked them,

when he says to them,

you don't know

what you are asking,

the response

of the ten

is then this

indignant response

towards James

and John.

They're almost

tut-tutting

James and John

now,

forever daring

to think of

asking that question.

But the thing is

that as you see

Jesus teaching

here,

you see that

Jesus sees

into the hearts

of all.

Not just

James and John

who had asked

the question,

but the other ten

as well.

But when you see

in verse 42,

it says,

Jesus called

them to him

and said

to them,

this is them

all together,

you know

that those

who are considered

rulers of the

Gentiles

lorded over

them,

and their

great ones

exercise

authority over

them,

but it shall

not be so

among you.

He is saying

this is not

to be you.

Instead,

you are to

have a

servant's

heart,

but whoever

would be

great among

you must

be your

servant,

and whoever

would be

first among

you must

be slave,

which is the

same word,

servant of

all.

So they are

told this is

what our

hearts are

to be like,

not looking

for glory,

but for giving

service to

the Lord.

the Lord.

Why?

Well,

Jesus gives

them the

reason why.

In verse

45,

for even

the Son of

Man came

not to be

served,

but to

serve and

to give

his life

as a

ransom for

many.

There is

the reason.

Not just

why the

disciples should

have that

servant heart,

but every

one of

Jesus'

followers

should have

the servant

heart.

Servant,

as the

word has

here.

When you

look at

its meaning

in the

Greek,

it has

that

servant,

slave

mindset.

It also

has and

is used

for

deacon

or minister.

It's used

in the

same way.

And behind

it all

is the

same thing,

that we

are not

our own.

As one

person put

it,

both words

denote a

man who

is not

at his

own

disposal,

but is

his

master's

purchased

property,

bought to

serve his

master's

needs,

to be at

his

beg and

call every

moment the

slave's

sole business

is to do

as he

is told.

That goes

for all

who are

servants

of Christ.

We are

not our

own.

We are

purchased

with a

price to

serve

our

master.

And so

we are

to live

for our

saviour

because we

see what

he has

done for

us.

For even

the son

of man

came not

to be

served,

but to

serve.

And so

if Jesus

himself came

with his

mindset

not to

be served,

the one

who if

anyone

deserved it

was him,

but no,

he came

to serve

and to

give his

life as

a ransom

for many.

And so

that's what

he asks

of his

people today.

Not to

seek glory,

but to

seek service.

To see

that he

has bought

us with

a price.

To see

what he

has done

for us

and that

we are

fellow

servants

together.

Willing

to do

whatever

he

commands.

That's

what the

love of

Christ

has done

for us.

And when

you see

the example

of Jesus

that even

as he

sat around

the table

with his

disciples,

he washed

his

disciples'

feet.

All that

he did

for his

people,

all that

he gave,

we are

to be

servants,

not

seekers

of glory

for

ourselves.

David

Livingston,

famous

missionary to

Africa in

the 1800s,

many people

praised him

for the

sacrifice that

he made in

leaving his

home and

going to

serve the

Lord in

a foreign

land.

But I

want to

read how

David

Livingston

himself put

it.

He said

this,

people talk

of the

sacrifice I

have made

in spending

so much

of my

life in

Africa.

Can that

be called

a sacrifice

which is

simply

acknowledging

a great

debt we

owe to

our God

which we

can never

repay?

Is that

a sacrifice

which brings

its own

reward in

healthful

activity,

the

consciousness

of doing

good,

peace of

mind,

and a

bright hope

of our

glorious

destiny?

It is

emphatically

no sacrifice,

rather it

is a

privilege.

Anxiety,

sickness,

suffering,

danger,

foregoing

the common

convenience of

this life,

these may

make us

pause and

cause the

spirit to

waver and

the soul

to sink,

but let

this only

be for a

moment.

All these

are nothing

compared with

the glory

which shall

later be

revealed in

and through

us.

I never

made a

sacrifice.

Of this

we ought

not to

talk when

we remember

the great

sacrifice

which he

made who

left his

father's

throne on

high to

give himself

for us.

Isn't

that a

great

response?

Where he

didn't see

his life

as a

sacrifice

but as

a privilege

to serve

the one

who left

the father's

throne

to give

himself

for us.

The

disciples as

we see

them here,

they had

their mixed

up feelings.

They had

all these

mixed up

emotions,

the mixed

up questions,

the mixed

up reactions,

but all

the time

they were

learning.

And so

are we.

We are

learning what

Jesus Christ

has done

for us.

And the

more that

we see

and the

more that

we believe

in him,

the more

we understand

that it's

not about

our glory

but our

humbling

ourselves

before him,

the one

who came

not to be

served but

to serve

and to

give his

life as

a ransom

for many.

In a

day of

remembrance,

may we

remember the

one who

gave his

life as

a ransom

for many

and remember

him by

humbly

serving him

and following

him,

leaning on

his word.

Let us

pray.

Lord,

our

gracious

God,

we do

thank you

for the

humble

service

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ,

the one

who did

not consider

equality

with God

a thing

to be

grasped

but made

himself

nothing.

We thank

you that

in Jesus

we see

the one

who came

and could

and perhaps

we would

say should

have been

served

and yet

we see

him

despised

and rejected.

We see

him even

here reminding

of the

very purpose

that he

came as

he made

his way

to Jerusalem

to give

his life

but that

the hope

was as

the hope

still is

of the

resurrection

and we

thank you

for all

the promises

that we

find to

that end

in your

word of

the one

who came

not to

be

served

but to

serve

and to

give his

life as

a ransom

for many.

May it

encourage

us

may it

humble

us

and may

it

make

ourselves

cast

ourselves

upon

him

who

came

from

the

father's

throne

to

give

himself

for us

that we

might see

the privilege

that there

is in

following

him

and believing

in him

and praising

him

with all

our hearts

so hear

our prayers

and pardon

our sin

in Jesus

name

Amen

we're going

to conclude

by singing

to God's

praise

in Psalm

138

in the

Sing

Psalms

version

page

179

Psalm

138

page

179

we'll sing

from

verse

1

to

3

we'll

sing

from

verse

1

to

3

to

God's

praise

we

stand

to

sing

!

I'll

praise

you

Lord

with

all

my

heart

before

the

God's

and

Savior

praise

I'll

learn

to

worship

holy

praise

and

bless

your

holy

name

always

I'll

praise

you

for

your

faithfulness

and

for

your

calm

and

love

O

Lord

God

over

all

things

you

have

raised

your

holy

name

and

faithful

words

the

very

day

I

called

to

you

you

gave

an

answer

to

my

plea

you

made

me

hold

within

myself

with

pure

soul

!

strengthened

me

after the

benediction

I'll go to

the door

to my

left

we'll

close

with

the

benediction

now may

grace

mercy

and

peace

from

God

Father

Son

and

Holy

Spirit

rest

upon

and

abide

with

you

all

now

and

forever

more

Amen