Sunday Sermon

"And What Do You Want?"
[Mark 10:32-52]
July 9, 2006 Second Reformed Church

Why are you here this morning? Why did you come for? What did you want? We all come to worship with expectations. Why did you come?

This morning, we have three vignettes in our Scripture. Three events are recorded, and in each one, someone wanted something. In the first part of our text, Jesus wanted the twelve to understand that He is going to die and then rise from the dead. In the second, the twelve wanted power and glory. And in the third, the blind man wanted mercy.

Jesus and His disciples were walking along the road, and He separated the twelve from the rest of the crowd, so He could teach them without the rest of the disciples hearing Him. And He told them for a third time that they were going to Jerusalem and that He, the Son of Man, was going to be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they would condemn Him to death. And then Jesus gave them some new information, because Israel was an occupied country, they did not have the authority to carry out the death penalty, but the Romans did. So Jesus told them that the religious leaders, who should have known who He is, they would turn Him over to the Gentiles, to Rome, and He would be mocked and spit on and flogged and killed. But, after three days, He would rise from the dead.

Jesus told the twelve this so they wouldn't be surprised when it happened. He wanted them to understand that if they followed Him, they were opening themselves up to the same sort of treatment -- the same sort of rejection. And He wanted them to understand that this was the fulfillment of the prophecies about the Savior, the Messiah.

Jesus said, "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of this world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.... [And] the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: 'They hated me without cause'" (John 15:18-19, 25). Jesus was their Teacher, as well as Savior, and He wanted them to be prepared, to understand what would happen in Jerusalem. And to come to understand what it all meant in the fulfillment of prophecy.

Immediately, James and John stepped forward and command Jesus, "Teacher, we want you to grant whatever request we make." And we might immediately respond, "You've got a lot of chutzpah." But remember, we are told, as the children of God, brothers and sisters and co-heirs with Jesus, that we are to come confidently, boldly, before the throne.(Hebrews 4:16). So, that it not a problem, per se.

What did they want? "Grant that one of us sit on your right and one on your left in glory." "We want power and authority and recognition in Your Kingdom." The good part of this request is that it shows that they understood that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior, and He will bring His Kingdom to earth. But James and John, and we're told in Matthew 22:29, their mother, as well, said James and John deserve honor and power and glory for the work they had done on Jesus' behalf. James and John, with their mother, told Jesus that He owed them something for what they had done.

And Jesus told them that they didn't understand what they were saying; they didn't understand what was involved. They were sinfully ignorant of that part of the prophecy (Matthew 22:29). And Jesus asked them if they were really able to drink the cup that He was about to drink and be baptized with the baptism that He was about to receive, and without hesitation, they asserted, "We are able."

They did not understand that His Cup and Baptism were of His Passion and Death. "Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering" (Isaiah 51:17). Even Jesus, in His Humanity, agonized about His fulfilling these words: "'Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will'" (Matthew 26:17).

"We are able." Arrogance, pride, self-love, and sinful ignorance. Yet, Jesus put that aside and told them that He would grant it to them, that they would drink of the cup and be baptized in His Baptism, but He could not grant them the places they asked for in glory, because those places belonged to the persons for whom they were prepared, by the Father, from the beginning.

Jesus does not have the authority to grant the place where the elect will sit, but He does have the authority to provide their salvation. "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12). And now, even we share in the benefits of the cup and the baptism. "Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you who were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross" (Colossians 2:12-14).

Do we understand that Jesus, God Incarnate, drank the cup of God's Wrath against all of our sins? "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:4-5). "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us -- for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree' -- " (Galatians 3:13). Do we understand the heinousness of sin and the greatness of the Love of Christ? Are we fit to receive the gift of being hated by the world for His Sake? Are we fit to suffer for Christ?

James and John said, "We are able." And Jesus granted them the cup and the baptism. James was hunted down and decapitated by King Herod (Acts 12:3). And John was captured by the Jews and brutally scourged (Acts 5:40), and the Emperor Domitian, exiled him to the Isle of Patmos, where he died. John wrote, "I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus" (Revelation 1:9).

Paul said that this is what he wanted, "that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death" (Philippians 3:10). "Now, I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake" (Colossians 1:24a). "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, and if children, then heirs -- heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him" (Romans 8:16-17). Paul was not a masochist, but he was fit to be a servant of Christ and suffer for His Sake.

Now, the other ten heard James and John and their mother, and they became indignant -- they were angry. Not because of their sin in desiring power and glory and position, but because each of the other ten also wanted the power and the glory and the position -- they all wanted to sit on the left or the right when Jesus came in glory. They all thought they deserved that honor.

Jesus responded with a dehortation and an exhortation. He told them first that they ought not to be desiring power and position; they should not be puffed up and prideful about themselves. And secondly, He told them that they ought to be humble, and take no regard for their status amongst the things of the world.

Jesus gave them an example: Jesus said, "You understand that politicians tend to be power hungry -- they tend to be people who lord their power over others -- they tend to be media hounds -- they want everyone to know who they are and how great they are and that it is the underlings that make the mistakes in the administration." [Maybe God's Word is for today!] Jesus said, "You are not to be like that. If you are mine, you will be humble, self-sacrificing, ready and willing to receive whatever comes for My Sake and the sake of the Gospel." Just as Jesus did not incarnate to be served but to serve and to pay the debt for our sin to God -- to pay the debt for the sin of the Church, the elect, to God, you are to seek to serve, not to be lifted up on a pedestal.

And they arrived at Jericho -- about eighteen miles from Jerusalem, and as they passed out of the town, followed by a large crowd, they passed the son of Timeaus, Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, who was begging beside the road. And when he heard that it was Jesus, he began to cry out to Him, "Son of David, Jesus, take pity on me!" "Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!" Let us understand that, by calling Jesus, "the Son of David," he was confessing that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior. How did he know? How did this blind man, who sat by the side of the road, know that Jesus is the Savior? Paul tells us, "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17). There is one and only one means by which a person believes in the Scripture -- there is only one way that God tells us to use -- and that is the reading and preaching of His Word. Bartimaeus had heard the Word of God preached and God had given him the faith to believe and regenerated him -- brought him back to spiritual life.

But the crowd told him to be quiet. Maybe Jesus was teaching, maybe they just thought Bartimaeus was below Jesus to bother with. But Bartimaeus' faith only grew as it was suppressed, and he cried out more, "Son of David, take pity on me!"

And Jesus stopped and had them call to him, and Bartimaeus jumped up and threw off his garment and immediately went to Jesus. That is how every Christian should act: when we hear the call of Jesus, we ought to jump up, throw off any impediment -- anything that would slow us down -- and rush to His Feet -- to hear what word He has for us. There should be no sitting around, "Well, did Jesus really say that? And I'm not sure we can say what the meaning of 'is' is for the first century Jew, so we can't understand..." If Jesus says, "Come," we are to come. Period. If the Word of God says it, that's it. We should read the Bible critically, like intelligent people, interpreting it wisely, and ask questions, but if this is the Word of God, our Creator, we will find a call to immediate obedience, even if we don't fully understand.

And Jesus asked Bartimaeus, "And what do you want?" And Bartimaeus, cried out, believing in Jesus already, "Rabboni, to see again." And immediately he could see. Not because he merited sight, but because Jesus chose to be merciful to him. "Go, your faith has saved you." He received his healing through faith -- not because of it. Just like we receive mail through the postal system -- the postal system has given us mail -- but the postal system in no way created the mail -- it is the conduit by which the mail is delivered. So, Bartimaeus received his healing by faith in the mercy of Christ. But rather than go home, he followed Jesus.

And what do you want?

Do you want power, glory, recognition, honor, etc.?

Paul wrote of "our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works" (Titus 2:14). And the writer of Hebrews wrote, "Since therefore the children share flesh and blood, [Jesus] himself likewise partook in the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery" (Hebrews 2:14-15).

I want that deliverance, that salvation, that mercy from Jesus. "Son of David, Jesus, take pity on me!" Don't you?

I spoke with a woman this week who said, "You hope Jesus had the truth. I don't believe it. The Bible was written by humans. I believe that God, if there is a God, will judge me by His Justice, and there's nothing more we can say or do."

I pray God will have mercy upon her and enlighten her to salvation, because the last thing anyone should ever want, who understands the heinousness of sin, is God's Justice.

Jesus promised that all those who believe in Him and confess their salvation in Him are saved eternally in Him, by His Mercy Alone. Let our proper response be one of humility, thankfulness, and praise.

Let us pray:
Almighty and Holy God, keep us from being distracted by the things the world values. Make us a people who humbly serve after Your Example and in Your Mercy. Forgive us for treating sin lightly and create in us clean hearts by Your Mercy. We thank You and Praise You, for You Alone are Worthy, now and forever, Most Mighty God and Savior. For it is in Jesus' Name we pray, Amen.