JESUS: OUR RANSOM
George Butterfield
October 19, 1997
A. Mark 10:35-45.
B. This section comes on the heels of the third passion prediction in Mark. Read vv. 32-34.
1. After the first prediction, Peter rebukes Jesus and Jesus spoke to the disciples about denying themselves and taking up their cross and following him.
2. After the second prediction, John talks to Jesus about a man who was casting out demons in the name of Jesus but who wasn't following the disciples. Jesus told them not to stop him. He talked to them about how whoever wants to be first must become last of all and must be like a little child.
3. And now we have James and John vying for the best seats when Jesus comes "in his glory."
C. Take a close look at these disciples. Are we not looking in a mirror here?
1. They're walking on the same road as Jesus but they walk aimlessly, anxiously and fearfully. They stumble. They're shaky. And they are not excused. But they're also not rejected by Jesus.
2. Think now of the church to which Mark writes in Rome. They have the advantage of hindsight. But, like those earlier disciples, they appear to be a church that has also not embraced the cross as the definition of the messiah or discipleship.
3. And now we come to this text. And we too are challenged by it. Frankly, we're a lot like these disciples. We sometimes walk aimlessly, anxiously and fearfully. We stumble. We're shaky. And, like them, we need to hear the words of Jesus.
D. Let us spend some time with this text and hear the word of God this morning.
I. The Disciples Go For The Glory (vv. 35-40).
A. Just when it appears that the message of Jesus' coming passion might be getting through a little, you have this power play by James and John.
B. V. 35-
1. It appears that this story circulated in more than one form. Matthew says that the two boys' mother made the request of Jesus.
2. James and John are part of that inner circle of 3 which, including Peter, experienced many of the high points of Jesus' ministry. But they are not content with that. They want more.
C. V. 37-
1. "seated/left & right"- The principal place of honor was the right hand and next in honor was the left hand.
2. "in your glory"- Matthew has "in your kingdom."
a. James and John were with Jesus during his transfiguration. They caught a glimpse of his glory. Yet, they've also seen his sacrificial life and heard his teaching, including the predictions of his coming passion. And, frankly, they prefer the glory!
b. We look back at these disciples and think, "How clueless they were." But aren't we the same way? Do we come to Jesus looking for suffering and death? More than likely, we are attracted to the glory ourselves. Frequently it is not until we've been on the path with Jesus for awhile that we begin to understand the meaning of a cross-shaped life. Sure, we can hear the words and accept them, just like those first disciples. But do we know fully what we're getting into when we become Christians? I doubt it.
D. V. 38-
1. Frankly, they don't know what they're asking. Glory to them means triumph, position, and power. It's ironic that when we finally get to Jerusalem there will be men on his left and his right but they'll also be on crosses with Jesus in the middle. When Jesus is enthroned it is a crown of thorns he wears on his head!
2. So Jesus asks them some questions, v. 38.
a. "cup"-
(1) In the OT the cup is a symbol of both joy and of retribution and suffering. From Psalm 75:8, "For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed; he will pour a draught from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs."
(2) This is also the language on Jesus' lips in the garden of Gethsemane.
b. "I drink"- literally, "I am drinking." Jesus' suffering has already begun.
c. "baptism"- the idea is of being flooded or overwhelmed with calamities. The words of the Lord to Israel through Isaiah were: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you…." (Isa. 43:2).
E. V. 39- "We are able."
1. Jesus says that they will indeed drink the cup and experience this baptism. But it won't be what they think it will be. They're going for the glory. They're going to get suffering and death. And in suffering and death they will see the glory of God.
2. How many of us, in coming to Christ, were going for the glory? Many of us, like them, have misunderstood Jesus' call.
3. But let us be clear about our own discipleship. By the grace of God we are indeed able to drink his cup and experience his baptism. We are able to live lives of sacrifice, suffering and death. We can deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. We can humble ourselves and become like a child. We, too, are able. But it doesn't happen overnight. It took these first disciples many years before they understood. And we are no different.
F. V. 40- Jesus can promise suffering but not preeminence. That is not his to give.
G. The disciples have come along for the glory. Jesus has come to serve.
II. Jesus Came to Serve (vv. 41-45).
A. Verses 41-44 are recorded in all four Gospels. This testifies to the widespread and persistent condition of the first century church. It was enamored with power and position. And today we are not unlike them. Jesus' words continue to be difficult to hear and to obey.
B. V. 41- they're all in this for the glory. They all want the seats of preeminence.
C. Vv. 42-44
1. In the world, greatness is defined by being able to control and have power and position over others. To "lord it over" means to exercise total control over.
2. Jesus says, Not so among you. Greatness or being first is true of the one who is the servant, the slave of all.
D. V. 45- this is to be true of Jesus' disciples. Because this was true of Jesus himself.
1. "Son of Man"- this is a Messianic title for Jesus. This verse expounds the Messianic work of Jesus.
2. "came"- the purpose of his ministry, his life.
3. "to give his life"-
a. The service Jesus offers is the giving of his life.
b. And that's what Christian ministry is: it is the giving of one's life.
4. "for many"- a Jewish way of saying, "the multitude in contrast to the individual."
5. "ransom"-
a. This word comes from a world in which it was possible to buy the freedom of prisoners of war, slaves, or condemned criminals. The sum paid was called a "ransom," the act of setting the person free was called "redemption," and the person accomplishing the liberation was called a "redeemer."
b. In this case, Jesus is the ransom and the redeemer. He is the one who accomplishes the redemption of the many.
c. Later medieval theories of the atonement speculated as to whom Jesus paid the ransom.
(1) Some suggested that he paid it to Satan. But you do not find this idea anywhere in Scripture. In fact, isn't it interesting that after Jesus' first prediction of his passion it is Peter who says, No, Lord, you won't suffer, you won't die. And Jesus says, "Get behind me Satan." Getting Jesus on a path other than the path of suffering and death seems to be Satan's idea.
(2) Jesus offers his life to God.
III. The Power of a Redemptive Life.
A. There is irony here.
1. Jesus gave up his rightful position. The apostle Paul says that, "though he was in the form of God," he "emptied himself" (Phil. 2:6-7).
2. And Jesus rejected a position of being over his disciples and controlling them.
3. Yet, through his service of giving up his life to God, he pays a debt we could never pay and now has a name that is above every name. We bow before the one who bowed his knee in service. We bow at the name of Jesus. And we believe that the day will come when all will bow before him.
B. But there's even more irony here. We want to walk the road with Jesus but so often we are enamored with the glory. We are James. We are John. We are the 10 who become indignant with them. We want the best seats in the kingdom. And Jesus says, You don't understand what it means to get those seats.
1. It means
a. Drinking the cup of God's wrath.
b. It means being totally engulfed, baptized, in suffering.
c. It means being the servant, the slave, of all.
d. It means giving up your own life to God, living sacrificially, for others.
2. I think that when the early church read this Gospel and heard Jesus talking about the cup and baptism, that this must have reminded them of the Lord's Supper and baptism.
a. How many of us came to baptism for the glory when baptism is a symbol for death?
(1) We came to receive the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit, etc. And all this is totally legitimate.
(2) But did we come to die? Juan Carlos Ortiz tells of emphasizing this point by using the following baptismal formula before immersing someone in water: "I kill you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."
b. And think of the Lord's Supper that we eat each week.
(1) No doubt we need to think of our Lord's glorious resurrection in this feast.
(2) But surely, if this meal points to anything, it proclaims the Lord's death. And what irony it would be if those of us who drink this cup don't drink the cup that Jesus spoke of in Mark 10, the cup of humiliation, suffering and death.
(3) Each week the call is "Come to the feast, come for the table now is spread." But that call is a call to come and die.
C. What does a sacrificial life look like?
1. Thursday I saw it right here in our Reception Room. I saw George Dulaney helping to get that room ready for Jo Carpenter and her family so that they could eat a meal together before the funeral for her husband, Leonard. I saw the women who were preparing the food, putting it out and helping to serve the family.
2. I regularly see a group of elders who have not in the whole time I've been here shown any interest in position, power, and lording it over the congregation.
3. I see deacons and ministry leaders who will give up a Saturday morning and many hours during the week so that people might be encouraged and served.
4. I see men and women who lovingly take care of aging or dying parents.
5. I see mothers and fathers who sacrifice themselves so that their children might know a Jesus who takes up a towel and washes feet.
6. I see it in young people who go on mission trips and scrape and paint the house of a widow in our community.
7. I saw it last year in the bags of groceries that lined this platform on Harvest Sunday.
D. We, like those first disciples, are often confused. And we need to be reminded of our mission. And our trust has to be wholly in God. For we often fail miserably.
E. But God is moving among us. Jesus is at work in this church. The Spirit of the living God is guiding our steps. Are we able to drink the cup? Are we able to experience the baptism of Jesus? Is it possible for us to be servants and live a redemptive life to the glory of God? Jesus said, "You are able." May our eyes remain focused on him.
Conclusion
A. Jesus is our ransom. He paid the debt. He has redeemed us from sin and death.
B. Today, if you would hear his call to drink his cup and receive his baptism, believe on the Lord, turn to him and through baptism in water be united with him in a death like his. The invitation this morning is, Come and die. Give your life to the one who gave his life for you.