Below is the Bible Study written by Jim Rudiger for his Sunday School Class which meets at Third Presbyterian Church, Norfolk, Virginia. It's based on Mark 10:35-45.
What does it mean to be the “right-hand man?” Number one guy. The guy you know you can go to for help. There is a “right-hand man” out there all of the time in our life. The President is our “right- hand man.” The guy hitting clean up for the Tides is our “right-hand man.” Are you somebody’s “right hand-man”? Sure you are. You’re your wife’s or husband’s “right-hand man” - most of the time. Nobody knows for sure how the term “right-hand man” got started. Most historians believe that it was associated with ancient warriors. Warriors used their right hand to hold a sword and fight with it. So, taking care of the sword and making sure that it was sharp and ready for battle was an important job. That meant that the guy who got the sword ready and gave it to the warrior was his “right-hand man.”
Being the “right-hand man” carries with it a lot of responsibility. If you let down on the job, it can mean that the job might not be done right with some possibly bad consequences. To be honest, most of us spend our life avoiding being the “right-hand man” because it’s just too much trouble and responsibility. Besides, it’s a lot easier to criticize the “right-hand man” than to be the “right-hand man.”
In today’s study, two men petition Jesus for the job of being his “right-hand man.” Let’s see how that worked out for them.
Jesus and the three men went back down the mountain and joined the rest of the disciples. Don’t you think the rest were anxious to know what had happened up on that mountain? They might have seen the radiance up on the mountain caused by Christ’s robe. They might have seen the cloud settle over the mountain. I would think that Peter, James and John may have been acting a little odd, too. After all, what they had seen didn’t happen to a disciple every day. Can’t you see the disciples circling around Peter, James and John and pelting them with questions? Wouldn’t you? Questions like: What caused that glow up on the mountain? What did you do when that cloud filled the mountain? The three disciples kept mum and brushed off the questions.
The disciples pick up their belongings and follow Jesus as he sets out for Jerusalem. This would be his final trip to Jerusalem. I would imagine he was weighing what he knew awaited for him there. Mark in verse 32 tells us that the group was going UP to Jerusalem. How do you picture Jerusalem? Kind of flat? Maybe gentle rolling hills? Actually, Jerusalem was situated on a mountain top. To get up to the city gates required you to go up a steep incline no matter from which side you approached Jerusalem. That’s one reason why David chose this city for his capital and why it had been so hard to conquer.
Remember, Jesus had taught his disciples in Chapter 8 that he was going to suffer at the hands of the religious authorities and be put to death. And this would take place in Jerusalem. Do you think that maybe some of his disciples might have wondered that if this was true, why not skip Jerusalem and go somewhere else? Why go right into the lion’s den, to the very people you know are going to kill you? Let’s look at it this way. Suppose you were planing on going to a meeting and then you heard that there would be people there ready to ambush you and physically harm you. If you asked your “right-hand man” what to do, he would probably advise you to stay away. Would you think that was good advice? Some of the disciples might, also, remember that when Peter gave Jesus the same advice, what did Jesus do? He fussed with Peter. So, the disciples had a lot on their minds as they trudged along the road back to Jerusalem. But, two of the disciples had other things on their mind. Our study takes up what the other things were.
Mark 10:35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." 36 And he said to them, "What is it you want me to do for you?" 37 And they said to him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory."
At a rest stop, two of the disciples approach Jesus. Who were they? James and John. We know that they were brothers, James being the oldest. We know that they along with their Dad, Zebedee were in a fishing business with Peter and his brother Andrew. That meant that, financially, they were pretty well off. In fact the business was going so well that they had a fleet of boats manned with servants. They were the third and fourth men to join Jesus. Some scholars believe they were cousins of Jesus and had known him since he was a child. Leaving the business and following Jesus meant no more Galilee Surf Rider fish house. One thing we need to clear up. This James is not the James who wrote the letter. This James was martyred by Herod Agrippa long before the letter was written.
What was their first question for Jesus? Will you do anything we ask you to do? They aren’t telling him what they are going to ask. Not even hinting at what they really want. They just want Jesus to promise to grant them anything they want. Ever had your child try to get you to promise to do something without tying down what they want you to do? It’s the old bait and switch game. If they get you to promise to do whatever they ask, then they tell you what they really want, and when you tell them “No way, Jose”, they can accuse you of being an Indian giver. That is exactly what these two disciples are doing - acting like spoiled children.
Jesus doesn’t take the bait. What does he let them know? “That depends on what you want me to do.” A reasonable response, right? Jesus isn’t giving out any blank checks today. Then the disciples get around to what they are really after. What do they want Jesus to do? Let one sit on his right hand and the other on the left. While the “right-hand man” was the most important guy to a warrior, the left-hand man was no slouch. He was responsible for the warrior’s shield. So, he was a pretty important guy, too, but we don’t hear much about being somebody’s “left-hand man.” In Jesus’ day, at banquets and special affairs, your most favorite guy sat at your right and the next favorite guy at your left hand.
What in the world were these two guys thinking? We don’t know for sure. Maybe they felt like they deserved being important when Jesus came into power. After all, they gave up a pretty soft life in the fish business to follow Jesus. Probably, they hadn’t really understood what Jesus had told them about suffering and dying. Maybe, they were still locked into their thinking that the Messiah would re-establish David’s kingdom and they would be Jesus’ top guns in this new kingdom. Look at it this way, all these two brothers wanted were the two top places in the government right under King Jesus. Joint vice kings I’d be willing to bet that if Jesus had granted what they wanted, the next thing they would have wanted was Jesus to designate which brother would be the “right-hand man.” What do you think of these two guys and their request? More importantly, what does Jesus think of the request?
Mark 10:38 But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"
This may be a little confusing for us. Generally when we hear about the cup what do we associate the cup with? Communion. The “cup” Jesus is talking about has nothing to do with communion. In those days at a banquet, the king handed cups to his guests. Symbolically, the king was telling the guest who took the cup that they were acknowledging that whatever they had or got, it was due to the king. In other words, they belonged to the king and he could dish out goodies or sorrow and they had to accept it. It was strictly up to the king. When Jesus said they had to take and drink from his cup, he was saying that everything that they receive after that - their experiences, their very life - belongs to the one who offers Jesus and them the cup. And who is that? God. To boil it down, the cup represents the experience allotted to men by God. Now, God had already handed Jesus his cup with the experiences he will endure. What experience does God’s cup hold for Jesus? Suffering and death. Jesus wants to know if James and John are ready to accept that same experience - suffering and death.
Jesus then speaks of the baptism. This isn’t the baptism by John in the Jordan. The Greek word for baptism actually means “to dip” or “submerge.” You would use it if you talked about a ship that sank. It was baptized or submerged below the waves. What Jesus is getting at - the point he is making - is,”Are you ready to be submerged in the hatred and pain and death that I am going to go through? Or to put it another way, I am drowning in hatred and pain and in death.” Jesus is trying to get them to understand that in order for him to be crowned king, he must be crowned with the thorns of hatred and be crucified. You see, there is no crown without the cross. Are James and John ready for the cup and baptism?
Mark 10:39 They replied, "We are able." Then 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; 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared."
There is a little side light to this story. Matthew records the same event, but, with a little twist. It wasn’t James and John who made the request. It was their Mom. Remember, the disciples had traveled all the way to Caesarea Phillipi and now were on their way back. A long way there and back. It could be that James and John’s Mom might have made the trip with them, but, that’s not very likely. So why did Matthew change the facts and make Mom the bad guy? By the time Matthew wrote his book, James and John had risen in respect among Christians and Matthew probably felt that he needed to protect their reputation. So, poor old Mom got blamed. You see, even then parents were blamed for their kid’s dopey stuff.
If this was a learning moment, what did they and we learn? We learned something about Mark. Mark is going to tell it like it is even if it might embarrass an important guy. He isn’t going to sugar coat what happened. There is a story that when Oliver Cromwell was prime minister of England, he sat for his portrait. Now, Cromwell had a bad physical problem - warts covered his face. I mean it looked like his face had been bombarded by raisins. The painter thought that he would make Cromwell more appreciative of the portrait if he didn’t paint the warts that were on his face. When Cromwell saw the portrait, he hit the ceiling. He called the painter back in and told him to add the warts to the picture, because without the warts it wasn’t him. That is where we get the saying, “show me, warts and all.”
We learned something about James and John. They were ambitious and wanted to be big in Jesus’ government. It may be that since their dad was wealthy, they felt that they were more deserving than a bunch of poor fishermen. It also tells us that they completely misunderstood what Jesus had taught them back in Caesarea Phillipi. On the positive side, even though they were a little off in their understanding of Jesus, James and John believed in Jesus.
We learned something about Jesus. He recognized that greatness didn’t have anything to do with wealth or how big an army you could put on the field. Greatness was about kneeling to God and not standing above men. Jesus knew his place, too. While he could have used his Father’s position and power, he was about following His Father’s plan for the world. That meant being a servant to God’s creatures, not, being served by God’s creatures.
Mark 10:41 When the ten beard this, they began to be angry with James and John. 42 So Jesus called them and said to them, "You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them.
Obviously, when James and John made their request of Jesus, they didn’t speak softly. The other apostles heard them. How did they react? They were as angry as a cat with his tail caught in the door. And this angry group included Peter who had been up on that mountain with them. Not only that, but back there in Caesarea Phillipi, when Peter had blurted out that Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus had told him and all the rest of the disciples that on this rock, I will build my church. Wouldn’t you think that gave Peter a leg up over all of the rest? You know, it only takes some little incidence like this to split up the disciple team. We have a glowing view of the apostles and we should. But we have to remember they were human and this tells us that there were some petty jealousies making the rounds among them. Do you think that just maybe, some of the others had the same idea about getting a high position in Jesus’ kingdom, but, James and John beat them to it?
Jesus could see that this wasn’t going anywhere healthy for the group. The fellowship of the apostolic band might be wrecked if he didn’t take immediate action. He tells the apostles to huddle up. He needed to clear up this thing about his kingdom right here and now. Greatness had a different standard in the kingdoms of the world than in his kingdom. In the kingdoms of the world, what was the standard for greatness? Power. How big an army you had; how many nuclear bombs you had. How many people will bow to your will. Does that sum up how we see the greatness of a world power?
What about the standard of greatness in Jesus’ kingdom? While the standard of greatness in the world is power, Jesus’ standard for greatness is service. Jesus argues that righteous greatness isn’t about reducing other men to serving you, but, in reducing yourself to serving other men. The bottom line is similar to what JFK said. The test is not what service I can extract from others, but, what service I can do for others. The world was the place where the apostles lived. They knew from first hand experience who the great country was, Rome, and how Rome used it’s greatness. Jesus gave them hope for a better world led by a better leader.
Mark 10:43 But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.
Jesus has told them about kingdoms and now he brings the lesson down to home. Down to their own sphere of influence. Jesus is going to turn the world on it’s head. Power, ruthlessness and demands for serving the state will be replaced by compassion and loving service to those around you. This new world will not happen unless each believer is willing to give of himself for the sake of others. It is daring and scary. It will take courage and tenacity. You can’t go half way. It is an all or nothing deal. Are you ready for that kind of sacrifice, James and Paul? Are we ready for that kind of sacrifice?
Mark 10:45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."
I got a paper up here and I’m taking applications for Christ’s “right-hand men and women.” The hours are long and the pay nonexistent. There probably won’t be much thanks from the world. In fact, the world will hate you and try to destroy you. I’m going to be honest with you. There isn’t much to endorse this job. Well, maybe, one thing. You’ll be the “right-hand man or woman” to the Son of God and after all the pain and suffering, your reward will be greater than anything the world can offer. You’ll get to spend eternity in paradise.
Prayer: Father, James and John got a challenge in today’s lesson that is offered to each of us today. Shield us from too much pain and suffering and give us the vision to see past this world and glimpse the new world of your kingdom. Amen.
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