Mark 10:35  And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.
36  And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?
37  They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.
38  But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
39  And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:
40  But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.
41  And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.
42  But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.
43  But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:
44  And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.
45  For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

The disciples give us a picture of ourselves. We are generally slow learners. It is not that we cannot grasp things. It is just that we do not grasp things. A lack of true faith in a true child of God will hinder spiritual growth.
Jesus had already taught several times on the importance of servanthood. He had shown the example of servanthood as well. Yet here, James and John come with an absurd question of privilege. To a degree, they understand Jesus’ authority and they address Him as Master. They do not come out right away with their main request. They come out with subtlety. They want Jesus to promise to do for them whatever they want. They are asking for a blank check and they expect Jesus to agree with them.
That was a strange request for someone who claims to believe they are talking to their superior. This was not unique to these two men. We know that Adonijah came to Bathsheba in a similar manner when he wanted Abishag as his wife. He was looking for a way to undermine Solomon’s power as the God-appointed king. We know that Bathsheba used a similar method when she approached king Solomon on the same matter. It is too common among us as people to come to God with our minds made up and demanding that He answer according to our will, rather than we wanting His will to be done.
We often use a similar method because we want to try to trap people into our plans. Jesus did not commit Himself to giving them the answer they wanted. He asked them to clarify what it was they wanted. He gave them the opportunity to verbalize to Him what they had been discussing between themselves.
Their request was quite selfish. They wanted to get the jump on the other disciples. They wanted Jesus’ promise that they would have the places of prominence in His kingdom. They had some difficulty yet, in accepting Jesus’ teaching on His trial, crucifixion, etc. However, they wanted to be sure they had the superior places when they would enter into His glory.
Jesus reminded them they were not thinking clearly. They really did not have a good grasp on what was involved in reigning with Christ. Any person that is given a place of leadership, is also given great responsibility. In the Old Testament, God called Moses to lead the nation of Israel. Moses was very reluctant to take that position. God did not take no for an answer. Moses learned there was great responsibility that came with that call. At times he knew it was more than he could handle. God never intended for him to handle it on his own. He expected him to trust in the Lord for the wisdom and ability to lead the nation of Israel.
James and John assumed they had the capacity to rule on either side of Jesus Christ. They would discover that they were not ready for such a task. When Jesus was arrested, they fled along with the other disciples. They could not handle the pressure at that time.
Jesus told them they would drink of the cup that Jesus needed to drink from. They would be baptized with the same baptism. They would enter into some of the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ. They would be threatened and they would be beaten for speaking in Jesus’ name. They would be imprisoned and told not to speak anymore in Jesus’ name. They became bold due to the fact that they were indwelt with the Holy Ghost in Acts 2. They were empowered for the work that Jesus had chosen them for. Thus they were “baptized”, immersed, in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The place of leadership should not be a concern to those who are truly born again. Every true child of God starts out as a babe in Christ. There is a need to be properly trained for service. During that training time, and part of that training time is to exercise the gift that God has given you. Humility is important all through the Christian life. James and John assumed they were ready for a task they knew very little about at this time.
In verse 41 we read that the ten were displeased with James and John over this request. None of them needed to concern themselves with this matter. It was out of their hands. It was even out of Jesus’ hands. While Jesus was on this earth, this important work was in the hands of His Father.
Jesus then went on to point out the philosophy of the world. We have mentioned it before that the world is overly concerned with rankings. Unions are concerned about seniority. They wrongly assume that years equals qualifications and work ethic has nothing to do with it. Some unions discourage good work ethics. They are more concerned about what the owners have and how they need to get more of that away from the owners. Unions have no place in the Christian’s life. They were never needed and have grown in their worthlessness over the years.
Even in non-union environments, there is a striving for lordship. Oftentimes those who strive for lordship, are not well equipped to handle the responsibility. If you cannot pick up a mop and do a good job of mopping the floor, you really are not fit to be in a place of authority. There are people who think they are too good to pick up the garbage, but they want to be in the limelight.
Jesus pointed out that the apostles, and by extension, any true Christian, cannot look at life that way. God saves people to help them to see the importance of being servants. Those who really want to be acknowledged by God, need to humble themselves and have a true servant attitude. Servants of God still can think. They have discernment. However, they are willing to give of their time and energy to make Christ known. There is no room for kings who demand their pampering.
In the local church, the office of the pastor is important. Respect and honour should be given to the pastor and others in places of leadership. However, the pastor should be willing to pick up a hammer or a wrench or cut the grass, or meet with a family member even when it might not be part of his plan. There needs to be time for helping others. The same is true for any person in a place of leadership.
Those who are called to be leaders by God, have eyes to see needs before others see them. They are willing to get involved even when others do not ask for help.
Joseph was thrown into prison for no fault of his own. He noticed the butler and the baker were troubled. He did not have a sign on his door, detailing his credentials. He saw they had a need and he approached them about what he observed. He did not know the details, but he made himself available to them. They took the opportunity given to them, and they made their dreams known to him. He was able to interpret their dreams because he was a humble servant of the Lord.
We are not given visions and dreams today. We are given discernment to be able to take God’s Word and apply it to different situations as needed. As we grow in the Lord, we will learn how to do this more effectively.
Christians need to forget about promotions, and concern themselves with service. Jesus pointed out that He had shown the way. He did not come to be ministered to. He did not demand that people serve Him. In John 13 it was Jesus who took the bowl of water and the towel and then began to wash the disciples’ feet. They were not going to stoop to such a lowly task. He taught them an important lesson in that passage. Serving others is not just for the poor and the less important. Serving others is the duty of every true child of God.
We, those who are saved, have been given a task as Christians. We have been shown that Jesus Christ, the Creator of heaven and earth, was willing to come to this earth as a man and lay down His life for undeserving and uncaring humanity. He did that so that we could be forgiven and saved. It was a task that needed doing and He alone could fulfil it. He knew that and He came to fulfil that task on our behalf. He did so willingly. We, who at best are sinners saved by grace, need to see that anything we have of value is a gift from God. Rather than assuming greatness, we need to humbly submit to the Father’s will and serve Him for His glory, not our own.
Pastor Bartel