Day Five Mark 10:32-45
32 They were now on the way up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were filled with awe, and the people following behind were overwhelmed with fear. Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus once more began to describe everything that was about to happen to him. 33 “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die and hand him over to the Romans. 34 They will mock him, spit on him, flog him with a whip, and kill him, but after three days he will rise again.”
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do us a favor.”
36 “What is your request?” he asked.
37 They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.”
38 But Jesus said 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? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?”
39 “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”
Then Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with my baptism of suffering. 40 But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. God has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.”
41 When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. 42 So 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. 43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 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.”
Discover
1. What emotions are all the followers of Jesus experiencing as they head up to Jerusalem? Why?
2. What do James and John still think is going to happen (verse 37)?
3. What words does Jesus use to squelch the disagreement between His disciples in verses 41-45?
Respond
Jesus is heading courageously to His death, and the disciples are still concerned with which one of them will be the greatest. Instead of rebuking James and John for their self-serving question, though, Jesus takes the opportunity to teach His disciples about true greatness. We all want to be great in something. How do you aspire to greatness? Is it for the sake of others or for your own name? Ask God to help you be great in His eyes alone. Today, pray to have eyes to see the people around you that He is asking you to serve.
For Further Reading: What Will Make You Great
*TPCC does not necessarily endorse all For Further Reading/Learning sources. They are simply meant to be a helpful tool.