I was thinking of this today when in prayer for our church:
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.” 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 considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones 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 even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:35-45
The disciples didn’t always get it. In fact, they misunderstood Jesus most of the time in his earthly ministry. They want prestige. They want to be somebody, that’s the motivation of James and John. And Jesus calls them to suffer. He prophesies that they would be martyred due to their faith, and James would be the first (Acts 12). Jesus also tells us something about what baptism symbolizes – it would represent his death, down into the earth. And if we are united to him in faith, then we will not only suffer with him, but gloriously, we will rise to new life with him, and that’s the awesome news of the gospel. When the other ten disciples heard this from James and John, bitterness arose. And it’s a teaching moment for Jesus. He gathers them together and points to worldly leadership and how that arrogance and pride destroys people – the church of Christ must never be that way. We instead are servants of the living God, servants to our neighbors, and servants of one another. That is our posture. When Jesus uses the word “slave” here in v. 44, that’s just what he means, servant, not that you are somehow bound to someone else. And Jesus sets the example in these famous words of v. 45, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”