Then Jesus and His disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way, He questioned His disciples: “Who do people say I am?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”
“But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”
And Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about Him. […]
As they were going up the road to Jerusalem, Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were amazed, but those who followed were afraid. Again Jesus took the Twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him: “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn Him to death and will deliver Him over to the Gentiles, who will mock Him and spit on Him and flog Him and kill Him. And after three days He will rise again.”
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and declared, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.”
“What do you want Me to do for you?” He inquired.
They answered, “Grant that one of us may sit at Your right hand and the other at Your left in Your glory.”
“You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I will drink, or be baptized with the baptism I will undergo?”
“We can,” the brothers answered.
“You will drink the cup that I drink,” Jesus said, “and you will be baptized with the baptism that I undergo. But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant. These seats belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them. But it shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. 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.”
Mark 8:27—30; 10:32—45
At this point Jesus had served with his disciples for about three years. They were eye-witnesses of his supreme authority: He taught with unmatched authority, he cast out unclean spirits by the power of his word, he healed all who came to him, and commanded the winds and the sea. He even raised a young girl from the dead solely by the power of his word: “Talitha, kumi!” But only now did his awesome acts of authority bring his disciples to a recognition of his true identity — he is the promised Messiah, the King of Israel. This recognition was a major turning point. However, their understanding of Jesus as Messiah was partial and greatly flawed.
Jesus is indeed a king, but his kingdom does not function like the kingdoms of this world. He taught his disciples about his kingdom in various ways and demonstrated the principles of servanthood to them. However, their ability to comprehend Jesus’ messiahship was extremely limited due to preconceived notions and their personal ambitions. The disciples expected Jesus to establish his kingdom upon the earth at this time. They wanted to reign with him in glory — immediately! The prophets of Israel did indeed prophesy concerning the glory of the Messiah and his Kingdom, but they also prophesied his rejection, sufferings and death. Jesus will certainly rule over the world from Jerusalem, but the time has not yet been fulfilled for the establishment of his earthly kingdom.
Jesus went up to Jerusalem for the Passover knowing that the time for his sufferings was at hand, and therefore explained to his disciples in detail what was about to happen to him. But the request of James and John shows that they had not heard Jesus at all: “Grant that one of us may sit at Your right hand and the other at Your left in Your glory.”
Instead of serving one another, they wanted to elevate themselves above the other disciples. Jesus responded to their request with a rebuke: “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I will drink, or be baptized with the baptism I will undergo?”
To share someone’s cup is a metaphor for sharing their fate. On the one hand the disciples would also suffer like Jesus, but on the other hand they would suffer in a totally different sense. The cup, in relation to Jesus alone, symbolizes the outpouring of God’s wrath on the sinless lamb of God. The imagery of Jesus drinking the cup anticipates Jesus knowingly taking upon himself the wrath of God which we deserve for our sins. Jesus drank the cup in his death in order to appease the wrath of God against our sins.
Jesus’ sufferings on the cross were completely different than human suffering. God made Jesus, who never sinned, to become the very embodiment of sin itself:
“God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
2 Corinthians 5:21
At the moment in which Jesus became sin, the eternal relationship between him and God his Father was severed for a moment in time. This separation, and the spiritual suffering which accompanied it, is beyond our ability to comprehend. Jesus suffered in our place so that we can be forgiven and reconciled to God.
James and John were not deterred by the rebuke of Jesus and still wanted to secure for themselves a place of honor in his kingdom. They replied to him: “We can.” They were incapable of even vaguely comprehending the horrendous sufferings which Jesus was about to endure in his atoning death. Jesus agreed that they would suffer, although in a completely different sense. Indeed a few years later James would be killed by Herod Agrippa. James was the first disciple to be murdered.
Consider this: The selfish request of James and John illustrates the importance of paying close attention to Jesus’ words. We must not twist Jesus’ words to fit our worldview. The desire to invent a different Jesus — one who conforms to social standards and denies the necessity of repentance, sacrifice and service to others — stands in total opposition to the Gospel. Despite the fact that Jesus’ authority was far greater than that of the kings of the world, he refused earthly power. He chose to suffer in order to bring about a revolutionary change in the lives of his disciples.
We are called to live our lives in gratitude to God for Jesus’ precious sacrifice:
“Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”
Romans 12:1—2
The call to follow Jesus and to enter the Kingdom of God requires us to adopt values which are fundamentally different from the values of this world. Jesus is calling us to live according to his teachings and to obey his words:
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Mark 4:9
Jesus taught his disciples that in his death he would give his life as a ransom for others: “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.” In his death on the cross Jesus gave his life as a ransom for many; that is, he gave his life to free all those who trust in him from slavery to sin. Jesus did not die for the sins of his generation alone, but for the sins of every generation.
All men, without exception, are in need of forgiveness of sins before God. God is indeed a righteous judge, and therefore must judge our sins. The penalty which we deserve because of our sins is death. There is no way we can redeem ourselves. Jesus is the redeemer; he took the punishment which was ours. He gave his life as a ransom for us. In doing so he freed us from bondage to sin and death:
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Messiah Jesus. For in Messiah Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
Romans 8:1—4
