"Contrasts" - Thinking through the Message of Mark 10:32-52

(A) What Lies Ahead (v.32-34)

All of what had happened through Jesus’ ministry of teaching and healing was remarkable … it was unprecedented … it was great, but where was it going to lead? The disciples had repeatedly not been prepared to consider that it was going to lead to Jesus’ death. Peter especially had objected to this, and in so doing had been compared to Satan by Jesus, because Peter had had his mind on human things rather than on the divine agenda. And so as they walked along behind Jesus, heading for Jerusalem and the ultimate events of Easter, they were at the same time “amazed” and “afraid”.

How so? One can be absolutely amazed at the good things that are happening about them, but because these things are happening without having any sense of control over them, one can also experience a sense of fear about the unknown. This might be like gaining the dream job you were really hoping for, and experiencing a sense of joy; but at the same time not quite knowing what lay ahead, and what the people might be like, and feeling a sense of dread, concern, even fear.

The disciples’ fear here was debilitating. It was going to lead to the sort of inappropriate requests we read that James and John made; it was going to lead to them trying to stop a noisy blind beggar from seeing Jesus; and it was going to expose them when compared to the humble faith of one truly seeking God. Would these disciples ever get past their fear, which would not allow them to accept the implications of Jesus being a suffering servant of humankind! Can we also work through our fear concerning where Jesus is leading us, so that we can fully embrace faith?

Jesus sensed that the disciples were on an emotional knife-edge, and were experiencing such uncertainty and apprehension; so he took them quietly aside, and explained it all to them in greater detail than ever before:

"See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again."

How shocking this sounds, and we might understand their feelings; yet the disciples had heard this at least twice before, and had been unable to adjust to it. [And we might think that there is sufficient good news attached to the end here – yet if you couldn’t get your head around the first part, you mightn’t even hear the last part!] Most of us have heard the grim details of Jesus’ journey to the cross many times, yet we will need to keep hearing it so that it might really take a grip on us. The Gospel text just drops this grave news on us and seeks our response. How should we respond to this news?

Six o’clock arrives and we turn on the television news. The major lead story is phrased in a way to catch our attention and elicit some sort of emotional response:

"… the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again."

What will be our response … what will we do with this? The text of Mark then goes on to give us a couple of options (together with a little bit of further elaboration on what Jesus was on about). Can we appreciate the contrasts in the two responses here to the suffering servant ministry of Jesus?

(B) First Response (v.35-40)

What do you make of the request of James and John?

In the face of the startling news of Jesus’ torture and death, James and John vie for positions of honour and power on Jesus’ team into all eternity.

Are they seeking to get in before it’s too late … surely they couldn’t be that crass! Is it more that they have illusions of grandeur that have never abated despite following Jesus around for three years! This does beg the question as to whether we can theoretically follow Jesus without really coming to know what Jesus is about. This seems, on the basis of the explanation that follows, to have been the case for the sons of Zebedee.

Somehow, James and John had got it into their head that this Jesus movement was about position and privilege. What they hadn’t realised was that the type of followers Jesus sought were those who would adopt the same sort of ministry style as he had. And that this ministry style (as we have seen) would not be popular with certain powers and authorities because it tended to upset the status quo and turn normally accepted practices on their heads.

So when James and John said (in verse 39) that they were “able” to drink the ‘cup’ that Jesus would drink, and be baptised with the ‘baptism’ that Jesus would – they proved (as Jesus had already said to them) that they had no idea what they were asking! “Cup” and “baptism” are here used as metaphors for suffering and death. What Jesus was getting at, was whether James and John would be prepared to follow Jesus in totally the opposition direction of privilege … and actually toward suffering on a cross or a similar fate. They were clearly not ready for this yet! Their heads were not yet in the right place.

Later on, following the understanding and faith that developed after Jesus’ resurrection, James and John were actually able to take up Jesus’ “cup” and “baptism”, becoming true servants of the gospel; but they would have to learn first to accept that God would allocate the various gifts and call people to particular roles according to God’s own purposes (and not human agendas); and that all this would not be for personal aggrandisement, but rather for the common good.

If we have a sense of fear, we should not allow this to cause us to walk away, but rather seek with everything we’ve got to learn about and understand Jesus in such a way as to build our faith! Jesus never abandoned his failing disciples. Here the disciples indeed provide the model … they were human and so they experienced fear, but eleven of the twelve were able to overcome their fear through the wonder and power of the resurrection of Jesus (as we can). The same humans who were plagued by fear became magnificent examples of faith. [We are here today because of this great transformation.]

(C) Elaboration on Serving Others (v.41-45)

Such a response as we have just read would just build up anger and resentment in others (as we indeed see that it did in the other ten disciples). This is what individualistic competition for advantageous position breeds. And this is not the way of the Kingdom of God.

Whereas it is the way of the world for people to try to get on top of one another – to be promoted ahead of them, or to be seen as superior to – to be preferred over, or to be more popular than – to be in charge of, or in control over – this is not how the spiritual kingdom of God works. If one wants to be a true follower of Jesus, then they will be just as interested and concerned for the needs and well-being of others as they are for themselves. If one wants to be a true follower of Jesus, then one will have to begin from a position, not of authority, but of service. A follower of Jesus will actively look for opportunities to serve others.

This is all based on the nature of Jesus’ own incarnation and ministry … that the very Son of God did not seek to dominate or control, but to serve, and to do so at great risk. It was not from a throne, but rather through the cross that Jesus provided his ministry. It was not from the seats of power on high that Jesus ministered, but rather in the streets with the poor, alienated, lame and demon-possessed.

Where we were separated from God, lacking hope and purpose, suffering under the weight of great burden – Jesus took upon himself our brokenness and sinfulness in an attempt to lead us back to God. This is the pattern for our discipleship journey, where we seek to model the path of service to those who are likewise struggling in their need of God.

(D) Second Response (v.46-52)

What do you think of this second response to Jesus … the response of the blind beggar Bartimaeus?

Not … ‘do for me whatever I want you to’ …
but rather … “have mercy on me”!

Here was someone with a realistic view of himself and his need of God. A real ‘faith moment’ was experienced through the humility and sincere approach of one in need. This is a beautiful picture of someone throwing themselves onto the mercy of God, trusting that there will be love and blessing there.

Bartimaeus had heard that Jesus was the one who could help him. The hopeful news of the miracles Jesus had performed had reached his ears. And so when he heard that Jesus was close-by (right there in Jericho), he excitedly shouted out to Jesus. Then when certain people (possibly even some of the disciples) tried to shut him up (because he was causing an inconvenient disruption and he was only a blind beggar on the margin of society after all), he called out even louder, for he was not so easily going to miss this unprecedented opportunity – maybe the only opportunity he had left to have his circumstances changed.

Jesus heard this man, sensed a real faith in him, stopped what he was doing, and said that he wanted to see him. Now there’s a quick change of attitude in the crowd – a bit like thinking someone will have a certain opinion and then finding out abruptly they have the opposite view – those who had previously sought to block the path of Bartimaeus ironically now said “Take heart; get up, Jesus is calling you”.

Now blind Bartimaeus would no doubt have needed assistance to get to Jesus, but here we have a picture of a man excitedly and expectantly gravitating to the source of his new hope. And he did so with a level of abandon, for we read Bartimaeus ‘threw off his cloak’. This either meant that he dispensed with his only possession of value and his only protection from the ‘elements’ (contrast the ‘rich man’ of 10:21-2); or that he was giving up the whole business of begging because he knew he wouldn’t need to any more (this is where his “cloak” would have been what he placed on the ground for money to be thrown into). So in the drama of verse 50, Bartimaeus was abandoning all of his current life and placing his total trust in the person of Jesus!

Even though Jesus would have already known the answer, he conversed with Bartimaeus, asking what he needed. It was his lack of eyesight that meant that he was powerlessness and forced to beg on the streets. If only he could see again, he might have a chance to establish a normal family and community life. And he knew, he just knew, that Jesus could grant this eyesight to him. It was the faith of Bartimaeus that gave him his sight and no doubt a whole lot more besides. Bartimeaus now followed Jesus; and probably was known to Mark’s church community by name (as opposed to the ‘rich young ruler’ who was sadly never heard of again).

It is the one who had more reason to fear than anyone else, Bartimaeus, who exemplifies the possibilities of faith!