Mark 10:35-45
Find a way to separate yourself from whatever’s going on around you so you can fully enter into today’s passage. if you haven’t read the introduction to Mark’s Gospel, read it here.
Read Mark 10:35-45 focusing on the request of James and John and their answers to Jesus’ response.
It is a natural human desire to want to be singled out as someone special, and if we are special it means that others, by default, are not quite as special. But that’s not how it is in the Kingdom of God. In God’s kingdom, everyone is deeply loved and deeply special. Justice and equality reign for all, and the desire of kingdom citizens is to serve others.
Imagine for a moment that the desire of everyone in the world is to serve their fellow human beings. How would society be different? How would government be different?
Reading this passage we can become impatient with James and John, because in spite of Jesus’ repeated messages about the upside-down nature of the kingdom where the first is last and the last first, they just don’t get it. But to be fair, how well do each of us get it?
Jesus asks James and John if they realize the implications of what they are asking. If he were able to grant their request it would mean pain and suffering, but the brothers insist that they are ready for whatever comes. They are ready to lay down their lives for the cause, but what cause is that? They are fanatic in their passion, but they are missing the essence of Jesus’ mission.
Read Mark 10:35-45 again focusing on Jesus’ teaching to all of the disciples at the end of the passage.
Have you ever observed people caught up in fanatical emotion who don’t seem to fully understand what they hope to accomplish? Have you ever felt passionate about something you don’t fully understand?
Is Jesus instructing us to be doormats for other people or something else?
Do you believe that you are loved completely by God and are deeply valued by God? If you were able to confidently answer “yes” to this, how might it make serving others seem more natural?
End your time today in silence listening for God’s affirmation of you. If negative thoughts come to mind, notice them and label them as untruths. Then let them pass and return to listening. Stay focused on the presence of Jesus until you are able to sense God’s love and favor washing over you.
If there is an action you need to take in response to this time of reflection, write it down and make a plan for taking a first step.
Are you finding these meditations to be helpful? If so, please forward them to a couple of friends. Interested in going deeper? Check out The Everyday Jesus Follower’s Guide and blog.
