B, Pentecost 21 Proper 24 - Mark 10:42-45 "Victoriously Conquered"

 

Mark 10:42–45 (ESV) 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.  But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,  and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The sons of Zebedee ask the Son of Man to give them seats of power in heaven.  But Jesus doesn’t have the authority to grant James and John their wish.  Yet he promises they will drink the cup the cup Jesus drinks and be baptised with the baptism Jesus will endure at the cross; namely suffering and death.

All believers endure suffering and the death of self during this life which ends in physical death.  Imagine how James and John would have been corrupted if Jesus had granted them their wish before his work was done on the cross.  If Jesus gave them eternal life and position in heaven through their request, why would they need Jesus’ death on the cross?

And although not asking first, what about the other ten disciples?  What about us too?  Jesus takes the wish of James and John as well as the resentfulness the other ten disciples, along with their displeasure they hadn’t asked first, and turns their perception of power upside down. 

Jesus doesn’t give victory to James and John through their request, nor does he fuel the indignation of the other ten by giving James and John the positions which they want.  Instead, he repeats what he told the twelve when they were arguing about who would be the greatest.  This is recorded back in Mark chapter nine.

“And they (Jesus and the disciples) came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”  But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.  And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:33–35 ESV)

Now, Jesus teaches the same thing yet again. Once more, he puts servanthood before James and John, and the rest of the twelve, but now takes the picture of servanthood and adds the language of slavery and being unbound from bondage.

He says, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant,  and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.  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 10:44-45 ESV)

Jesus says those who would be first must be bound or tied up for everyone, and the Son of man came to die on the cross to untie or unbind many.  There was no way Jesus had authority to give the sons of Zebedee the positions for which they asked. His sole duty was to be the first to serve them, untie and save them, so they might later drink the same cup as Jesus and be baptised with the same baptism as the Son of Man.

This is the victory Jesus sought to give James and John, together with the other ten disciples.  Jesus pursued freeing and saving all people through his death and resurrection, not just James and John or the twelve disciples. 

Through the cross, Jesus is victorious.  He conquered the sting of sin and death at the cross when it appeared as though he was conquered. He unbound humanity from sin, when through our sin he appeared to be bound and finished at the cross. 

But he was not finished!  Rather, the curse of sin was finished! For those who trust Jesus, we welcome him unbinding us through the giving of his life as a ransom for ours. Believing forgiven sinners are truly thankful for this.

Many years after James and John asked Jesus to sit beside him in his glory.  Long after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension.  And years after Herod killed James, the brother of John, (Acts 12:2) Jesus speaks to John and he records what he says to the seventh church in Asia Minor.

He says to the church in Laodicea, “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne”. (Revelation 3:21ESV)

Now that Jesus has conquered through the cross, he invites John and the hearers of Jesus’ revelation to John, to sit with him on his throne. You and I are also the hearers of Jesus’ revelation to John. Therefore, we are invited to sit with Jesus on his throne!

How can this be that we are invited to sit with Jesus?

Just as Jesus did for James and John and the other disciples, he has done for us and all who trust in him.   He has served and saves us through the cross by giving us his life as a ransom.  Jesus has become the slave of all and has freed us from the bondage of slavery.

So, if we too have conquered because we have been conquered in Jesus’ death and resurrection, what does Jesus teach us about our victory, today?  What does being conquered look like for you and me?

Just as Jesus conquered in his death, we conquer too because we have been conquered for eternal life with Jesus.  And we continue to be conquered!  In his revelation to John, he tells us what remaining in this victory does for us. 

“To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:7b ESV)

“The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.” (Revelation 2:11b ESV)

“To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.” (Revelation 2:17b ESV)

Jesus says, “I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations… And I will give him the morning star.” (Revelation 2:16,26,28 ESV)

“The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.” (Revelation 3:5 ESV)

“The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.” (Revelation 3:12 ESV)

Jesus said to John and he promises you and me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.  The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” (Revelation 21:6–7 ESV)

Because you and I have conquered and have such a wonderful gift waiting to be revealed for us in eternity, let us hold fast to Jesus Christ our first love.

Let us endure suffering for Jesus’ sake, with our eyes fixed firmly on the prise he has in store for us. 

Let us cast off the idols that promise a false salvation, enslave us, and bind us.  But rather, let us use God’s gift of wealth to shrewdly serve others to the glory of Jesus our true wealth. 

May we allow the Holy Spirit to subdue our human spirit, so our faith is strengthened in these days. And because we have such a wonderful gift in store for us, let us seek every opportunity to share the wealth of this eternal gift with others. 

Let us pray that, as we come to a deeper knowledge of our salvation in Jesus, we don’t become apathetic to the  growing familiarity of Jesus’ servanthood amongst us.

And may the Holy Spirit kindle the fires of Jesus’ love in our hearts, hindering us from becoming lukewarm in our willingness to serve others as Jesus served and continues to serve us. Amen.