daily java

Daily Java:

Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons. She knelt respectfully to ask a favor. “What is your request?” he asked. She replied, “In your Kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.” But Jesus answered by saying to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?” “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!” Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup. But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. My Father has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.” When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  (Matthew 20:20-28)

People were always asking Jesus for things. And many times, what they wanted was an inside tip, or a favor that benefited themselves. The apostles were no different.

The apostles were also jealous of each other in this new relationship and were afraid that they might miss out on some kind of power in the new kingdom.

Jesus had just gotten through telling the apostles that he was going to Jerusalem soon to be put to a rather brutal death. They heard it as it went in one ear and out the other. That wasn’t because they were stupid, but rather, it was more on the order of denial.

They had already decided how the kingdom would probably be laid out. Jesus would be the warrior king and they would all be his generals. They would have command over large armies themselves and would have a lot of power. People would respect and love them.

Now the problem was, which of them was going to be in charge of the others. After all, Jesus needed at least one five star general. James and john decided to strike while the iron was hot. Since Jesus is talking about all this maybe ending and (at least in their minds) the kingdom being established, they needed to get the authority thing settled right now.

This passage has James and John’s mother asking Jesus for the positions of leader for her sons. Mark 10:35 has James and John themselves. More than likely, they took their mother along because they knew Jesus liked her or something. It is also hard for a guy to turn down a sweet old woman.

So she asked: would you a do me a real big favor? Jesus said, what is it? She said, let my sons be in charge of all the other apostles in your kingdom.

What a coup for her sons. They had sneaked around all the other apostles and now would be the undisputed leaders of the group. Surely Jesus couldn’t turn down their mother.

Instead Jesus asked: are you sure you know what you are asking? Are you ready to drink from the cup of suffering I am about to drink from?

James and John assured him that they were able. They would be the noble apostle leaders that everybody knew were strong and courageous, standing beside their leader in whatever happened next. Of course, they had no idea what would happen next, and quite frankly, neither did their mother. If she had known, she would have grabbed then and run.

Jesus answer was: well, stick around and you will drink from it alright. But he also said he didn’t have the power to appoint leaders like that. That belonged to God. The Father had prepared these things.

Then it kind of turned on the two apostles. The rest got mad when they found out that James and John had tried an end run around them to get control. There was always within the apostles a tension. Jesus had already kind of singled Peter out, but there was no clear cut leader of the twelve, except for Jesus.

Jesus then tells them that their attitude is that of the world. People in the world fight over control and people in the world that are in control abuse it.

But this new kingdom will have a different paradigm. The leaders will be servants, and the servants will lead. When it comes down to it, Jesus came to serve and to sacrifice even his own life. He had already sacrificed his deity and his place in heaven until the end, as 1 Corinthians 15 says.

And if he did it this way, and he is the undisputed Leader, then how could his followers do any different?

The sad thing is, they did this one more time, on the day before his death. And not only that, but people have tried for two thousand years to be “in charge” to the point of even tearing up the church to get control.
How it probably hurt then and how it probably does today.