Behold, we go up to Jerusalem

As the Lord Jesus approached Jerusalem His disciples sensed looming catastrophe, for ‘they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid’, v. 32. He answered their concerns with another prediction of His passion, vv. 32-34. He foretold Judas’ betrayal, the sentence of the Sanhedrin, and His deliverance unto Gentiles who would mock, scourge, and spit upon Him. With a note of triumph He concluded that ‘the third day He shall rise again’, v. 34.

Sensing the nearness of the kingdom, James and John requested ‘that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory’, v. 37. However, their ambition was misguided. It betrayed an ignorance of God’s electing purposes, v. 40, as well as a misconception of the character of Christ’s kingdom, and how greatness is measured in it, vv. 43, 44. The Lord Jesus replied, ‘Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’ v. 38. These two figures represented Christ’s expiatory sufferings at Calvary: the drinking of a cup indicated their voluntary nature, while baptism - picturing His immersion in God’s judgement - suggested their intensity. Even though James and John confidently affirmed,‘Wecan’, v. 39, they could never participate in Christ’s atoning work. What they could do was, in measure, taste Christ’s sufferings in a similar vein to that of the apostle Paul who saw his own suffering as filling ‘up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body’s sake, which is the church’, Col. 1. 24. James was eventually martyred, Acts 12. 2, and John exiled, Rev. 1. 9.

The remaining disciples revealed their own selfish ambitions when ‘they began to be much displeased with James and John’, Mark 10. 41. The Saviour reacted quickly to this self-seeking spirit amongst His disciples by explaining the huge difference between present worldly greatness and future greatness in the kingdom. Great saints stoop low in self-sacrificing service for others, vv. 43, 44. By taking this humble approach to the Lord’s service many divisions sparked by pride can be averted.