“And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.” Mark 10:35
Read Mark 10:35-45; Matthew 20:20-28.
Sons of a successful fisherman, James and John tended toward arrogance, in my mind at least. When fishing, they partnered with Peter, and their friendship made them an easy trio as disciples. Peter, James, and John beheld the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1; Mark 9:2) and the raising of Jarius’s daughter (Mark 5:37-43). In other words, one could easily see how they might consider themselves a step above the rest in the ‘kingdom of heaven’.
In Mark 10, these brothers approached Jesus, desiring to have positions of honor. A curious request given that Jesus had recently addressed the question of who was greater in the kingdom of heaven. But the request wasn’t just made by the brothers. Their mother (Matthew 20:20-24) also requested this place of privilege.
However, Jesus taught the disciples humility, service, and putting yourself last. He chose 12 men to be His disciples. He taught them, sent them out, and they experienced power not only to preach, but to heal and to cast out demons. No doubt that was a heady experience.
Likely, the disciples began to gain confidence in their ‘religiosity.’ And yet, they were not able to cast out the devil in a young boy. Jesus told them they lacked faith.
Humility, service, and putting yourself last. These attributes Jesus wanted the disciples to learn before they would be instrumental in sharing the Gospel to the world. The men needed to understand that faith, plain and simple, must dominate their interactions with each other. Without faith, people fall back on works, on the ways of the Pharisees, in order to feel they were saved.
Jesus chose James and John to be their disciples, because He had positioned them to serve and had given them bold personalities. But their strengths had also become their weaknesses. Their reach for honor created a rift between them and the other ten disciples (Mark 10:41). And Jesus needed to step in again:
“Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:42-45.
James and John had specific roles, and would suffer for those roles. James was martyred (Acts 12:1,2), and John would be held prisoner on the isle of Patmos (Revelations 1:9) and outlived all his fellow apostles.
They were leaders. Jesus schooled them to be humble, servants, and to put others ahead of themselves. And I believe John gained a deeper understanding of the equality of believers in his later years, when he wrote his third epistle. In this epistle, he pointed out that Diotrephes loved preeminence among the other believers. Perhaps the reason for the lesson Jesus taught him and his brother James at the beginning became evident. If the church John was writing to was to stand strong, no one should hold themselves above another.
I am grateful for the example Jesus showed in dealing with these two men. Yes, they had a sense of greatness. But instead of humiliating them in front of the other disciples, Jesus taught the need to be a servant. Instead of exposing prideful hearts, He taught what He wanted to see amongst His believers. He gave the example of servant leadership.
How do you view yourself within your church? Do you humbly serve, or do you seek recognition?
“I receive not honour from men.” John 5:41
