Session 8
Mark 10:32-45
Memory Verse: Mark 10:45
Military personnel dedicate themselves to defending our nation, so it’s good and right to thank them. First responders, doctors and nurses, and educators all deserve appreciation for the way they serve and invest in others. When we turn our attention to people in our churches who give of themselves to serve others, our list grows longer. We are grateful for the leaders—and for the countless laypeople who serve, often far away from the spotlight.
Mark 10:32-45 reveals something absolutely remarkable about Jesus. While many individuals devote themselves to serving others, Jesus stands alone as the suffering Servant who gave His life for us. As you study this session, reflect on His selfless act of service and His call for us to serve others as well. Thank Him for His gift, and ask Him to help you strengthen your service to others.
Most people are served by someone in a typical day. A waiter brings a glass of water. A driver allows you into the flow of traffic though you didn’t have the right of way. How often are we grateful for those acts of service? Do we rudely get upset when the waiter doesn’t meet our standards? Do we cut someone off in traffic even when we’ve just been allowed ahead of our turn? Gratefulness for the sacrifices of others should change the way we live. (PSG, p. 73)
As Jesus drew nearer to Jerusalem and the cross, He continued teaching. At the end of chapter 9, Mark recorded Jesus’s teaching on the afterlife and the consequences for those who rejected the kingdom of God. Jesus emphasized righteousness and the terrible judgment that awaited anyone who refused to humble themselves before the Father (9:42-50).
In the first few verses of chapter 10, religious leaders questioned Jesus and tried to trap Him with a complex riddle. Primarily, the issue was divorce, and Jesus responded by upholding the sanctity of marriage. Again, He provided a new interpretation of their legalistic traditions and helped people see God’s heart behind the rules and traditions.
Jesus also taught about the importance of humility, especially in the way He welcomed children to come to Him for a blessing (10:13-16). Children, He said, represented the kind of trust one needs to enter the kingdom of God. We aren’t called to be childish, but we are called to be childlike when it comes to our absolute trust in Him.
In contrast, Jesus later came across a young man who believed he had it all together. He was a wealthy man, and Jesus recognized that His material resources were a stumbling block in his life. Faced with the challenge of surrendering his earthly possessions for the sake of the gospel, the man walked away.
This experience became a teachable moment as Jesus reminded His followers that earthly treasure holds no comparison to the value of loyalty to Him (10:17-31). He wasn’t condemning wealth, and He wasn’t commanding His followers to give away everything they owned. But He was emphasizing the importance of maintaining a healthy perspective on the material gifts we have been given. We need to see our stuff through God’s eyes and use it for His glory.
After predicting His betrayal and sacrificial death in Jerusalem, Jesus taught His disciples about humility (10:35-45). James and John boldly asked for places of honor in the kingdom. Understandably, their request created discord within the group. But Jesus reminded them that His ways are not like our ways. Honor is not a result of position, but the byproduct of humility.
In addition, humility means suffering. Jesus would be exalted, but only after voluntarily sacrificing His life for the sins of the world. This passage ends with a mission statement of sorts, as Jesus focused on serving rather than being served.
Mark closed chapter 10 with another miracle story—one of the last mentioned in his Gospel. In this case, a blind man asked for healing even though the crowds tried to silence his cries. Jesus responded in power once again and gained a loyal follower (10:46-52).
Read Mark 10:32-45. What are the words and phrases that demonstrate an attitude of servanthood?
EXPLORE THE TEXT
32 They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were astonished, but those who followed him were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them the things that would happen to him. 33 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. 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, 34 and they will mock him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him, and he will rise after three days.”
(v. 32) Up to Jerusalem: The disciples and Jesus were making their way up the road toward Jerusalem from the Jordan Valley. The term “up” is literal since the city was on high ground and required an ascent of more than 3,000 feet to approach it.
Each year, every Jewish male was required to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the three major festivals: Passover/Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and Tabernacles/Booths. This trip would have been for the Passover and taken place in the spring. But Jesus had more than the festival on His mind. He had already shared what was awaiting Him in the city (Mark 8:31; 9:30-32), but He was determined to fulfill God’s assignment for Him.
(v. 32) Walking ahead: Mark recorded that Jesus was walking in front of His followers as they traveled. Most likely, the disciples would have walked in a line, which was customary, while the Rabbi led the way. In this way, they were literally following their Master.
Some commentators see a symbolism here, with Jesus’s presence leading His people through times of suffering and times of victory. As noted, Jesus’s position at the front of the line also pointed to the fact that He wasn’t afraid of what was awaiting him in Jerusalem. This may have been what astonished those closest to Him.
(v. 32) Afraid: While the disciples were astonished, others in the crowd of followers were fearful. Mark did not share the specifics behind this fear. However, it is reasonable to believe that some in the crowd understood the danger Jesus faced as the religious leaders plotted against Him.
(v. 32) Tell them: Jesus took the disciples aside, away from the crowds, to explain for the third time the persecution He would face once they got to Jerusalem. Of the three times, this was His most graphic description. In addition to suffering and betrayal at the hands of the religious leaders, Jesus mentioned the involvement of the Gentiles, mocking, spitting, and flogging.
(v. 33) Condemn him: Jesus held nothing back when it came to implicating the religious elite. However, the Sanhedrin, the leading Jewish council made up of chief priests and scribes, did not have the authority to carry out capital punishment. As a result, they would hand Jesus over to the Gentiles.
Hanging on a Tree
Jesus knew that while the Jewish leaders would arrest Him and accuse Him, the Romans would be the ones who would actually sentence Him and carry out the execution. In God’s plan, Jesus needed to hang on a tree because that was considered a curse under Jewish law (Deut. 21:22-23; Gal. 3:13). It would symbolize the curse of sin Jesus was accepting for humanity. In the first century, hanging on a tree meant crucifixion, which was a uniquely Roman form of execution.
(v. 34) Flog him: Flogging someone meant beating or whipping them with a rod or stick. Romans used an instrument known as “a cat of nine tails.” It included a set of leather straps bound together. At the end of each strap, sharp objects such as metal or glass, were woven into the strands. This would rip flesh and inflict even more pain. Roman tradition stated that a prisoner who was condemned to die could be flogged up to thirty-nine times, which would also hasten death.
(v. 34) Will rise: As He described the horrible details, Jesus finished with a statement of hope. The suffering and death were not the end of the story. He would rise again after three days. As noted, this was not the first time the disciples had heard Jesus tell them this. Between all four Gospels, Jesus spoke about His resurrection after three days on twenty-one occasions.
35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached him and said, “Teacher, we want you to do whatever we ask you.” 36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked them. 37 They answered him, “Allow us to sit at your right and at your left in your glory.” 38 Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup I drink or to be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” 39 “We are able,” they told him. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with. 40 But to sit at my right or left is not mine to give; instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
(v. 35) Sons of Zebedee: Apparently, James and John failed to fully grasp what Jesus was telling His followers because their request was incredibly inappropriate. First, their desire for Jesus to grant whatever we ask reveals a lack of discernment related to Jesus’s ministry and purpose. His mission was not to grant their wishes.
In addition, their attempts to claim prime seats in the kingdom (v. 37) demonstrated an unhealthy ambition bordering on arrogance. As one might expect, Jesus’s response to them was sharp and to the point. Matthew’s Gospel records that their mother initiated the petition. Regardless, it was a request that was made from selfish motives and spiritual ignorance.
At your right and at your left
James and John had just heard Jesus explain the humiliating abuse and death He would be facing in Jerusalem. However, they ignored what He had said about His impending suffering and death altogether. Instead, they focused on the potential glory that awaited them in the messianic kingdom Jesus would establish. In the first century, the seats on the right and the left of a leader were privileged positions, and the ones who occupied these seats were seen as receiving the greatest honor. James and John, along with Peter, had seen many things the other disciples had not seen, including Jesus’s transfiguration (Mark 9:2-9). But Jesus plainly told them that they had stepped over a line by seeking power and authority rather than service and sacrifice.
(v. 38) The cup: This term was a Jewish metaphor that described either joy or a divine judgment, depending on the context. Jesus would drink from the cup to pay the cost for humanity’s sin (Mark 14:36). He had already told the disciples what this cup would entail: insults, torture, cursing, and death. It is a cup that would cost Him everything, and He drank from it so others would not have to. James and John, along with the other disciples, would drink from their own cups of suffering as well, but their suffering would be very different from what Jesus would endure.
(v. 38) The baptism: In Old Testament imagery, baptism was a picture of being overcome by tragedy, an apt description of what Jesus was about to face on the cross. The only innocent man who ever lived was preparing to accept the wrath of God on behalf of every sinner in history. Yet, Jesus transformed such tragedy into victory.
James and John believed they were ready to follow His example, but Jesus knew better. In time, though, they would share in His suffering. James was the first disciple to die as a martyr, and John would be persecuted consistently throughout his life. While his brother was the first of the Twelve to die, John would be the last.
(v. 40) Not mine to give: The sons of Zebedee got an answer, though it was not the one they wanted. Jesus never indicated who would hold the positions of honor requested by James and John. As He spoke with them, He made it clear that He didn’t have the authority to give those positions away. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus said that the Father was responsible for granting those seats (Matt. 20:23).
In examining Jesus’s response, it might be asked how Jesus’s lack of authority or knowledge here correlate to His position as God’s Son. While He retained complete deity, Jesus also imposed voluntary limitations on Himself as a human. Jesus’s inability to give the places of honor to anyone was due to what Paul referred to as Jesus’s emptying (Phil. 2:5-8).
41 When the ten disciples heard this, they began to be indignant with James and John.
42 Jesus called them over and said to them, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. 43 But it is not so among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you will be a slave to all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
(v. 41) Indignant: The other disciples did not take James and John’s request lying down. To be indignant indicates a strong sense of annoyance or anger toward someone else. The word used here (aganakteo) even suggests that the ten disciples were angry over a perceived wrong done to them or an insult toward them. Their general attitude reflected jealousy toward the two brothers.
Two things are clear about the disciples’ indignation. First, they shared the same spiritual blindness as James and John. At that moment, they were no more concerned about Jesus’s sufferings than the two brothers were. Second, their indignation was likely rooted in the fact that each of them longed for those same positions of greatness. They just hadn’t come out and asked Jesus to give it to them.
Rulers of the Gentiles
The Romans dominated the first-century world. In that culture, positions of authority could be earned by personal achievement, but they could also be gained by bribery, personal favors, and political schemes. At best, power was often passed down within families from one generation to the next.
The Jews viewed the Romans and all other non-Jews as Gentiles. In their thinking, to be a Gentile was to be a pagan. However, the pagan world’s view of greatness and power had apparently infected the minds of the Twelve.
(v. 42) Lord it over: To restore a sense of unity, Jesus pulled the Twelve together and began to compare and contrast greatness from the world’s perspective and from a kingdom perspective. As noted, the disciples were thinking of power like the Romans did. They were equating leadership with privilege, domination, and oppression. They saw power as a way to control those who served them. In all likelihood, they were hoping for a chance to repay the Romans and other Gentiles for centuries of bondage and oppression.
In contrast, God defines authority and greatness through a much different lens. In His economy, greatness means being a servant. This does not mean that we get to heaven by doing good works. Rather, we get to heaven through a personal relationship with Jesus that moves us to embrace and imitate His humility. Jesus set the standard for serving others, and those who follow Him are held to the same standard.
(v. 44) Slave: Mark used the term servant (diakonos) in verse 43. This term referred to household workers who waited tables. Our English word “deacon” derives from this word. The word translated slave in verse 44 is doulos, which referred to a person who was owned by someone else and had no rights unless granted by the master. Both images would have flown in the face of the disciples’ ideas about greatness and affirmed the self-sacrifice Jesus promoted.
(v. 45) Ransom: This common Greek term often referred to the price paid to free a slave. New Testament writers gave the word an additional meaning that suggested redemption or release. For believers, ransom is all about the substitution provided by Jesus. Jesus voluntarily paid our ransom price by giving His life in our place. In doing so, He freed us from slavery to sin so we could become slaves of God.
God the Son
Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. (See Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 4:14-15.)
Use other Scripture to help understand a Bible passage.
Read the three passages in which Jesus announced His death and resurrection: Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34. Note the verses that come after each (8:34-38; 9:33-37; 10:35-45). What is the common theme and how does it relate to Jesus’s prediction of His death?