What's it all about?

 

Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  --John 18:2

There are seven basic elements to a good story.  The first is character.  For the reader to stay in the story, the characters must be memorable, credible, realistic, and interesting.  The second is plot, or what actually happens.  The third is setting, or where and when the events take place.  The fourth is point of view.  Whose story is being told?  The fifth element to a good story is style, or manner of expression.  The sixth is theme--what is the story about?  The seventh and final element is literary devices, such as irony or personification.  It can also include figures of speech, such as metaphor, hyperbole, and simile.  Another literary device is tone, or how the reader should feel about the story.

In our Bible passage today, a story is being told.  The characters involved are Jesus and His disciples, who most people equate with "going about doing good."  The plot of our little story involves Jesus seemingly going out of character, cursing a fig tree and disrupting activity at the Temple, which is our setting.  The point of view is that of the Gospel writer Mark, who was not a disciple but probably got much of his information from Peter.  It is told in narrative style, and the theme is biographical with hints of a morality play.  Literary devices used are metaphor and hyperbole, to name a few.  

Perhaps when you read the passage with these things in mind, the words may come alive for you.  Let's get started.

Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.  And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it.  When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.  In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again."  And His disciples heard it.

So they came to Jerusalem.  Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and  the seats of those who sold doves.  And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple.  Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it a den of thieves."  And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching.  When evening had come, He went out of the city.

Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.  And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look!  The fig tree which You cursed has withered away."  So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.  For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.  Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

And whenever you stand praying, if you h ave anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.  But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."  --Mark 11:12-26

 Okay, a lot is going on in this passage, but let's look at what it all means.  Obviously there is quite a bit of backstory missing, but if you have followed this blog for any time at all you know that we started an expository study of the gospel of Mark many months ago, so we have some idea of who Jesus is and what He is doing.  He has made His way to Bethphage and Bethany, two villages outside of Jerusalem situated on the Mount of Olives.  "Bethphage" means House of Green (Unripe) Figs, and we saw last week, "Bethany" means House of Misery (Depression).

Just as there are seven elements to a good story, there are at least seven things I want to pull out of this narrative for us to think about.  What does it all mean?

It's about time

In the Greek language of the New Testament, there are two different words for "time".  There is chronos, or chronological time, sequenced by minutes, hours, days and years.  In this passage, however, it speaks of kairos, or the opportune time or season.  Often the Bible speaks about "when the time was right."  At this particular moment, Jesus knew that it was time for something big to happen, the culmination of His ministry.

Earlier, Jesus had told this parable found in Luke 13:6-9.  "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.  Then he said to the keeper of the vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none.  Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?'  But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.  And if it bears fruit, well.  But if not, after than you can cut it down'."

For three years Jesus had preached the gospel message of repentance and faith.  Some had believed, and had chosen to follow Him.  Others, however, were still not bearing fruit indicative of repentance.  It was time for them to go.

It's about fruit

I'm not a botanist, but I am told that if a fig tree is showing leaves, it will also start growing buds of green, unripe figs.  These buds could be picked and eaten, so when Jesus saw a leafy fig tree in the distance, He had a reasonable expectation that there would be fruit there, no matter how immature.  Seeing none was a huge disappointment, because the leaves were supposed to indicate the presence of some young fruit.  Although fig season was not yet in full bloom (so to speak), the presence of leaves showed that this tree was in the early stages of fruit bearing.

Many people have the appearance of being fruitful, but upon further inspection they are not.  The fig leaves only serve to cover their barrenness, much like the fig leaves used by Adam and Eve to cover their nakedness.  At the time of judgement, these people will be cut down and cast into the fire.  "And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." (Matthew 3:10)

It's about judgement

When the disciples followed Jesus back out of the city, they came upon the fig tree that He had cursed the day before.  The tree stood withered, unable to produce even the leaves that had covered it before.  This was symbolic of the judgement that the entire nation of Israel had come under.  No longer could they profess their faith without evidence.  No longer could they remain fruitless.

"Beware of false prophets," Jesus said in Matthew 7, "who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Therefore by their fruits you will know them." (Matthew 7:15-20) 

It's about action

Jesus went into the temple and saw more concern about profit than prayer.  He saw more commerce than confession.  He was still recognized by the people as a Rabbi, a teacher who had performed miracles.  In fact, many who were there bore witness that He had raised Lazarus from the dead.  So when He drove out the merchants and overthrew the tables of the money changers, it was as if the wrath of God had been met full force.  The chief priests and scribes were under indictment for turning God's house of prayer into a den of thieves.

James 1:22-25 says, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.  But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does."

It's about prayer

Jesus stood on the Temple Mount and proclaimed Isaiah 56:7, "Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer.  Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations."  The Hebrew word for prayer used here is tefillah, meaning "to think, entreat, judge and intercede."  The reflexive form of the verb means "to judge oneself and to pray."

Thoughtful, meaningful, purposeful prayer will bring about real change in a person's heart, and in their actions.  Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."  When the Word of God becomes our words, when we pray His will in His name, we are better for it.

It's about faith

When the disciples saw Jesus exercise authority over the merchants and money changers in the temple, they were encouraged.  They, too, could stand against evil men and stand up for what was right and good.  But when they went back and saw that Jesus had exercised authority over nature, they asked Him about it.  Sure, they had already seen Him calm the storm on the Sea of Galilee.  They had seen Him heal the sick and raise the dead.  They had even seen him multiply a little fish and a few loaves into a feast for thousands.  But to see him exercise authority over a tree, a symbol of strength and vitality (if not fruitfulness) was amazing to them.  

Jesus told them that by faith they could exercise authority over more than just a single tree.  They could, in fact, move mountains.  We think of that as hyperbole, as a metaphor for the greatest obstacles we face in our lives.  Nevertheless, by faith we can see the power of God over all things big or small.

It's about forgiveness

Lest the disciples be tempted to use this newly discovered power of prayer and faith for evil, Jesus reminds them to forgive.  We are not to ask God to zap our enemies, to pronounce a plague of locusts on their crops or a pox on their houses.  Instead, we are to forgive those who have wronged us so that we may also be forgiven.  Remember the Lord's Prayer, that part where Jesus taught us to pray, "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."  Matthew 6:14 says, "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you."

In this world, all judgment is restorative.  Jesus drove out the temple merchants to restore the temple to its rightful purpose, as a house of prayer for all people.  He did not do it to judge or condemn the merchants, but the word He used for prayer implied that they should judge themselves and repent.  "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." (John 3:17-19)

Bertrand Russell, the philosopher who wrote an essay called, "Why I Am Not A Christian," used the scripture about the cursing of the fig tree and the cleansing of the temple as one reason he did not believe.  He said it shows Jesus as a furious man unable to control his anger, not worthy of the supposed "Son of God."  I think this shows more about Russell than it does about Jesus.  When we try to put God in a box or consider Him to be made in our image instead of the other way around, we would distort His character, His motive, His point of view and His theme; therefore we would miss the point of His story.

His Ways Are NOT Our Ways

 

For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.  --Isaiah 55:12

 Behold, your King is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  --Zechariah 9:9

 In the Charles Dickens classic A Tale of Two Cities, a contrast is made between the peaceful, idyllic town of London and war-torn, revolutionary Paris.  The scene is set in the first line, "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times."  Charles Darnay, an innocent man, is sentenced to die.  Sydney Canton, a ne'er do well, arranges to die in Charles's place for love of Darnay's wife Lucie.  The book ends with the line, "Tis a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done; tis a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."

Dickens had to have taken scripture as his inspiration.  Jerusalem was a contrast--a thriving Roman outpost living under pax Romana; but also a religious center whose leaders were at war with a revolutionary upstart called Jesus of Nazareth.  In the days leading up to His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus had been warned by His disciples not to go, as He would face certain death.  On the way, Jesus stops in Bethany, where he raised Lazarus from the dead (a foreshadowing of His resurrection) before resuming his fateful trip into Jerusalem, where He lay down his own life for the love of His followers.  That includes you and me.

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, Jesus sent two of His disciples and said to them, "Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.  Untie it and bring it.  If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.'"  And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it.  And some of those standing there said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?"  And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go.  And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and He sat on it.  Any many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.  And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, "Hosanna!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!  Hosanna in the highest!"  And He entered Jerusalem and went into the temple.  And when He had looked around at everything, as it was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.  --Mark 11:1-11

Bethany is a village about two miles from Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives.  The name literally means "House of Misery (or Depression)."  Jesus' friends Mary and Martha certainly were miserable when their brother Lazarus died, but Jesus turned their sorrow into joy.  In fact, the village of Bethany still stands outside of Jerusalem, but it is known by it's Arab name el-Aziriyeh, the Arabic name for Lazarus.

In John's account of this event, there is this interesting detail:  "The crowd that had been with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness.  The reason why the crowd went to meet Him was that they heard He had done this sign.  So the Pharisees said to one another, 'You see that we are gaining nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him.'" (John 12: 17-19).  Luke adds another detail: "And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, 'Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.'  He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.'" (Luke 19: 39-40).

 There was foreshadowing of this event in the prophecy of Isaiah.

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.  For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My Word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.  For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.  --Isaiah 55:6-12

The people could not be silent, for if they were, the very rocks would cry out to the glory of God.  The disciples saw it, and were amazed.  The Pharisees sought to silence it, their hearts turning to stone.  Little did they know that they were in the presence of God almighty, of the Word spoken by God at creation.  John 1:1-5 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

Granted, the people may have wanted to re-establish the throne of David, and set Jesus as their earthly king.  His ways are higher than our ways.  Jesus did not want to be a temporal king that would overthrow Roman rule and set Israel again as God's chosen people.  He wanted to be their Savior, their sinless sacrifice to a holy God.  The Pharisees could not comprehend it, so they set out to silence Him.  They started plotting how to kill Him, to silence Him forever.  "His ways are not our ways."

I am so glad that God's plans are accomplished despite man's desire to go counter to His will.  The people in this passage of Scripture heard what Jesus had done in Bethany for Lazarus.  They heard that He had fed thousands with a few loaves and fish.  They heard that He had made the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, and the blind to see.  They wanted to make Him as comfortable as possible, throwing their cloaks on the road to soften the steps, and when the cloaks were all gone they cut palm branches to lay out in His path.  Some may have preferred Him to be riding a white stallion to overthrow Roman oppression and occupation.  Others may have preferred Him to stay silent, and to silence the crowds shouting His Name.  Even today, people may have their own agenda and wish to manipulate the Word of God to further their own purposes.  Thankfully, Jesus will not be manipulated.  He did not conform then and He will not be manipulated now.

We say Hosanna along with those people, meaning "God save us."  It is an exclamation of adoration, an admission that we cannot save ourselves.  Our best efforts to perform our best acts for our best outcome cannot come close to what God can do through us.  His ways are not our ways.  "O God, behold our shield, and look upon the face of Your anointed.  For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.  I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.  For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly." (Psalm 84:9-11).

Grace is out of our reach.  Glory? forget about it.  Mercy is God's to give, not mine to claim.  I am grateful His ways are not my ways.

Be of good cheer

 

So that we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"  --Hebrews 13:6

If you grew up in Sunday School, like I did, you know that one of the earliest Bible stories children are taught about the healing ministry of Jesus is the story of Blind Bartimaeus.  We know that Jesus healed hundreds, maybe even thousands of people, and among those, dozens of them involved giving sight to the blind.  The Gospels record a few, and John 21:25 says, "Now there are also many other things that Jesus did.  Were every one of them written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written."

So why is this one story told so often as representative of all the blind people that Jesus must have healed?  I think it is taught to children in English speaking countries especially because of the alliteration surrounding the man's name and the need that he had: Blind Bartimaeus.  Very few of the folks that Jesus helped and healed had their names recorded in Scripture.  Technically, we don't know this fellow's name, either.  We only know that he was the son of Timaeus, because in Jewish culture there were no surnames, and people were known by their father's name.  The disciple that Jesus called Peter was known as Simon bar Jonah, or son of Jonah.  You may be familiar with the Jewish tradition of the bar mitzvah, where a boy of 13 celebrates becoming a man; the words literally mean "son of the commandments" or "son of blessing".

The name Timaeus means "highly prized."  So in this story, the son of one highly prized was told to be of good cheer,  because Jesus called for him.

And they came to Jericho.  And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  --Mark 10:46-47

I don't want to gloss over the fact that Jesus entered Jericho on His steadfast journey to Jerusalem.  You will recall that when God led His people Israel out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land of Canaan, Jericho was the first city they came to when they crossed the Jordan.  God gave Israel victory over Jericho by knocking down the walls of the city, yet there was one woman, Rahab, who was saved because she recognized the God of Israel and His power over the city.  He heard Rahab's cry for help, and she was saved.  Similarly Jesus, the Son of God, heard the cries of Bartimaeus, and he was saved.  The walls that separated him from God's light were torn down, and Jesus literally called out to him in response to his calls for help from Jesus.  That's how God works: you cry out to Him, and He reaches out to you.

And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.  But he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  And Jesus stopped and said, "Call him."  And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart.  Get up; He is calling you."  And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.  --Mark 10:47-50.

People can often be a barrier between you and Jesus.  Crowds are not encouraging.  They can be a wall, separating you from the Truth.  Singer/songwriter and blogger Alice Kovska said, "The world wants peace, but rejects the Prince of Peace.  The world wants love, but rejects the author of love.  The world wants life, but rejects the One Who gave His to save theirs.  The world desperately wants Jesus, but they're too busy rejecting Him to realize He's the answer."

This man, the blind beggar known to us only as the son of Timaeus, knew Jesus.  Notice how he called Him, "Son of David".  This was a messianic title, meaning that Bartimaeus knew Jesus was the long-awaited Deliverer, the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies.  He knew that Jesus was his only hope of regaining his sight, of regaining his worth as a man, of being "highly prized" in this world and the next.  So he did not stop calling out to Jesus, despite the discouragement of the crowd.  When Jesus stopped and called for him to be brought near, the people told him to take heart; be of good cheer, because Jesus called him.  He wasted no time, jumping up and throwing off his cloak.  I think this is what the writer of Hebrews meant when he said, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

Let us not forget that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem to be crucified.  Three times He had carefully explained to His disciples what would happen, and each time the disciples were blinded to His meaning.  The sons of Zebedee, as I mentioned in my last post, started an argument among the disciples because they had asked Jesus for special positions of power in His kingdom.  They did not see, yet Jesus reached out to them and eventually their eyes were opened to the good news of His glory.  That Jesus took time on His journey to heal a blind beggar should remind us that He wants to give everyone an opportunity to call upon Him before He comes in His righteous judgment.

And Jesus said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  And the blind man said to Him, "Rabbi, let me recover my sight."  And Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he recovered his sight and followed Him on the way.  --Mark 10:51-52

It always strikes me that Jesus sees an obvious need, but does nothing until asked specifically to meet that need.  Not just in this story, but many times throughout the Gospels, Jesus asks this very question.  This underscores our need to pray.  People often say that Jesus knows what we need, so why should we have to verbalize it?  First, Jesus will not come where He is not welcomed.  We must invite Him to be a part of our lives, and we must ask Him specifically to meet each individual need as we grow in our faith and submit each successive are of our lives.  Second, Jesus will not intervene or engage where He is not recognized.  If He performed miracles without people asking or recognizing that He is the One who meets those needs, then people may give credit to themselves or to another.  Human nature being what it is, they may attribute their divine healing to their own good works, or to a false god.  Third, we need to put our petitions into words so that we can recognize our own need for Him.  Philippians 4:6 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

He wants us to ask, but be of good cheer, because He will answer.

 

We're all backseat drivers

 

Woe to him who strives with Him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots!  Does the clay say to him who forms it, "What are you making?" or "Your work has no handles"?  --Isaiah 45:9

Deep down, we're all really just a bunch of back seat drivers.  We say we don't want to be in control, but who among us hasn't been tempted to say, "Hey, God, did we miss our exit?  Didn't we want to take a right turn back there?  Can we turn around now?"  The problem with trying to steer from the rear is that you have limited vision, and can't see what the driver sees.  You don't know what the driver knows.  You have to put your complete trust in the one behind the steering wheel.

A recent joke going around the internet says, "When I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I am reminded that you can't always trust Google Maps."  Thankfully, we do know we can always trust Jesus, because He has walked down this road many times.

This is the quandary for James and John in our passage today.  You'll remember from our study last week that the disciples were desperately trying to make Jesus turn back from His final trip to Jerusalem.  Some of them looked at the courage of Jesus, and resigned themselves to "also die with him." (John 11:16).  The sons of Zebedee, however, remembered how Jesus always spoke of "the Kingdom of Heaven."  Maybe they heard Him says in Mark 10:34 that He would "rise after three days" and thought that He would set himself up as King at that time.

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."  And He said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?"  And they said to Him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one on your left, in your glory."  Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking."--Mark 10: 35-38a

 When I was growing up, every sermon I ever heard on this topic was preached with the assumption that James and John meant they wanted to be elevated to positions of power in heaven.  After all, when folks today are asked to trust in Jesus, we know it means they want to go to heaven and avoid hell.  In context, however, it is not so clear that this is what they meant.  Taken to its extreme, it would make Jesus like a cult leader such as Jim Jones, and make Thomas the Twin's exclamation in John 11:16 a desire to "drink the Kool-Aid" like happened at the People's Temple in Jonestown, Guyana in 1978.

We see in the companion passage in Matthew 20:21 that it was their mother, the wife of Zebedee who actually made this request to Jesus on behalf of her sons James and John.  If this woman was a follower of Jesus but not one of the disciples, perhaps she foresaw Jesus as a political leader, One who would throw off the yoke of oppression that the Romans had held over them for so long.  As such, she knew that He would need trusted lieutenants, either advisers or vice-consuls that Jesus might put in charge of hundreds or of thousands when He set up His kingdom on earth.  She may have thought them particularly qualified, not just because they were her sons, but because they were loud, blustery men who could get people's attention--after all, Jesus called them "the sons of Thunder" (Mark 3:17).

Jesus tried to gently correct them by re-directing their thoughts.  He noted their error in their thinking by saying, "You don't know what you are asking."  He continues:

Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"  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, but to sit at my right hand or at my left hand is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared."  --Mark 10: 38b-40

 Jesus may have been trying to focus them on the near term rather than have them wishing it was over already.  Jesus would have to drink the cup of martyrdom, to be baptized with fire, so to speak.  That's what Jesus was facing: the imminent and present danger of death at the hands of the Pharisees on a Roman cross.  James and John responded again in the future tense.  Yes, they would eventually also die a martyr's death.  Eventually, they would also go through a baptism of fire.

Yes, eventually there would be a time for looking at the long-term.  In time they would look at the world through the lens of the cross, and it would come into clearer focus for them.  For now, however, before the cross, they needed to focus on the near-term.

With whiplash speed, their attention was drawn back to the present.

And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.  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 first among you must be slave to 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 10:41-45

The focus came back to the present, but for the wrong reason.  How dare these two brothers set themselves up as leaders or try to promote themselves over them in the hierarchy of Jesus's followers?  Jesus used it as a teaching opportunity.  He pointed to the occupying force at the present, the Romans.  Everyone knew about centurions (rulers over a hundred men) and prefect or proconsul (ruler over a centurion) and Caesar (ruler over all).  Using this framework, Jesus mentioned it to show what didn't work for His kingdom.  In order to be the first in God's kingdom, you must be willing to be last.  You must be a servant.  You must be like Jesus, who was willing to give up His own life, not for Himself, and certainly not for political gain or personal promotion.  He was willing to give Himself up for the sins of the world.  He was willing to go all in for me, and for you.

Jesus was trying to tell James and John and the other disciples not to try to control things so much.  Give up trying to influence things.  Tear up the back-seat driver's license.  Be the servant of all, for the glory of the Lord of all. 

Following Jesus takes courage

I've always prayed for light enough for the next step and the courage to take it.  --David Crowder

There is a television commercial for Dick's Sporting Goods that is airing in the United States in advance of Mother's Day.  As it fades in, a little boy, not older than five or six, is holding onto his mother's hand.  Mom, who as it turns out is Aimee Waters, Executive Director of Dick's Sporting Goods Foundation, engages her son in conversation.  "Hey, Bud, how are you doing?" she asks.  Somewhat timidly, the boy answers, "Good."  She gets down to his eye level, and asks a probing question: "What's up?"  The shot widens, and it is apparent that they are going to soccer practice, and also that Ms. Waters is the soccer coach.  After a pause, the boy admits, "I'm kinda scared."  Mom nods, knowingly.  "Yeah," she says, urging him on.  "How come you're scared?"  In childlike honesty, the boy says, "Because...I never tried before."  Affirming the boy's words, she says, "Yeah," then asks him, "What do you think is gonna happen?"  He shrugs: "I don't know."  Mom gets to the heart of the matter.  "Do those other kids look like they're playing really well?."  The boy nods.  "Mm-hmm"  Mom encourages him.  "But do you think you could play pretty well, too?"  You can almost hear the boy smiling.  "Yeah," he says.  "I think so," the mother says, encouragingly.  Then she continues, "I get scared, too, but I gotta also make sure you play, because if you play, you also might try something new.  And maybe if you try it, I think it could be a lot of fun."  The boy expresses his dream, "Maybe I could score a goal!"  Her eyes widen in amazement: "You thing you could score a goal?  Yeah?  I promise you, if you keep trying, you'll do a good job, and it'll be FUN."  As the boy agrees with a muffled "mm-hmm", Mom gathers him up in her arms and says, "I'm so proud of you, Buddy.  I love you." (see it  here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6N6SSMPCwI )

In this 60 second spot, there is a lot of emotion: fear, honesty, love, encouragement.

I think that when the disciples followed Jesus around, living with Him and eating, sleeping, breathing with Him, there were some honest conversations that occurred, much like the conversation in the sporting goods commercial.  No, they weren't playing soccer.  No, the goal was not to just have fun.  I do think, however, that sometimes the disciples, though they were grown men, were as clueless as a five year old about what was happening around them.  For His part, Jesus did His best to encourage them with love and honesty, but sometimes His words made them fearful.  Let me tell you what I mean.  

Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him: "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  --Mark 10: 32-34

There are two emotions mentioned here that are not explained in the passage.  They were amazed, and they were afraid.  To get some context, we should look at John 11, the story of Lazarus.  Jesus was very good friends with Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha.  These three siblings lived in Bethany, near Jerusalem.  John chapter 10 implies that Jesus had fled Jerusalem because the Jewish leaders took up stones again to kill Him (John 10:31--this was the second time Jesus' life had been threatened by the Jewish leaders, the first in John 8:59).  When Jesus got word that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was, "beyond the Jordan where John was baptizing at first" (John 10:40).  The disciples probably thought the reason Jesus did not go heal His friend was that He was afraid to go near Jerusalem.  After Lazarus died, however, Jesus said they were to go to Judea again.

"The disciples said to Him, 'Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and you are going there again?' " (John 11:8).  Jesus explained why He was going, and the disciples were amazed at His courage.  "Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, 'Let us also go, that we may die with Him.' " (John 11:16).  So when Mark 10:32 says they were both amazed and afraid, we can understand why.

Jesus sensed their fear, and took them aside and explained what would happen to Him.  This was the third time He had explained it to them.  The first time He explained it, Peter rebuked Him: "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!" (Matthew 16:22; also ref Mark 8:32).  The second time Jesus explained these things to them, they were confused but afraid to ask for clarification.  "And they were all amazed at the majesty of God.  But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, 'Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.'  But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying." (Luke 9:43-45; also ref Mark 9:32).  This third time, they were amazed at His resolute attitude--Jesus was leading them down the road, and they were lagging behind because they thought they would die with Him, too. (See John 11:8, 16).

Each time He told them in detail what would happen, He always ended with the hopeful message of His resurrection.  "His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him." (John 12:16).  The Resurrection is our hope, but it would not have been possible without His sacrificial death.  Jesus courageously went to Jerusalem where He knew He would be put to death, but He was always honest and open with the Disciples about it.  He sensed their fear, but spoke words of encouragement to them.  They did not understand the full story, much like a five year old has no idea of the world around him, but as their experience level increased, so did their confidence.  Some might even call it faith.