This morning's gospel reading gives the distinct impression that the disciples did not fully understand what was to happen to Our Lord when they arrived in Jerusalem. The three verses prior to this morning's reading goes like this:
"And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking
ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.
And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and deliver him to the Gentiles; and they will mock him, and spit upon him, and scourge him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise." [Mark 10: 32-34]
This was the third time that Jesus told them what would happen to himself in Jerusalem. The first time, in chapter 8, Peter pulled him aside and began to rebuke him for saying such things. Then in chapter 9 he tells them what will happen, and they began to discuss who among them who was the greatest. Now in chapter 10 Jesus is walking resolutely ahead making a beeline for Jerusalem that is why some of the disciples were afraid and hanging in the rear, while others were amazed at his attitude. He seemed to be eager to get to Jerusalem. This time he took the twelve to the side and spelled out in very clear and no uncertain terms just what they could expect when they got to Jerusalem. But what happened after that? We find the Zebedee brothers came up to Jesus and asked for special privileged seats in the kingdom. They were obviously very confused or they did not really understand what he said to them. It seems to me that the disciples did not want to face up to impending doom that Jesus was predicting. During the journey to Jerusalem Jesus takes the opportunity, three times, to inform his disciples if what they can expect when they get to their destination. Father Larry Brett points out in his "Share the Word" that in each episode we find four things that happen:
1- There is a prediction.
2- There is a misunderstanding.
3- There is a teaching.
4- There is an insight given.
This morning I would like to look at the THIRD prediction, misunderstanding, teaching and insight.
Now we can see why it was necessary for Jesus to spell out in detail for his disciples the suffering he would undergo. They had misunderstood twice, and they would do it again. The result of his third prediction was James and John requested seats of honor in his kingdom. So, he had to carefully teach them about discipleship and servant hood;
"You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. BUT IT SHALL NOT BE SO AMONG YOU; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all." [Mark 10:42-44]
The insight into this third prediction comes in the 45th verse of this chapter. The whole point of all the predictions is wrapped up in this verse, his mission statement, if you will:
"For the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." [Mark 10:45]
The Christian community would look back into the writings of the prophets and see the predictions that Jesus told them about. The Prophet Isaiah was clear in his message of the Suffering Servant. The servant who was stricken, smitten and afflicted by God to bear the transgressions and sins of many and was made an intercessor for the transgressors. These are hard words indeed to hear and bear. The servants who must suffer to bear the sins of those who do not deserve to have someone else suffer in their place. The suffering of Jesus as he predicted and as Isaiah prophesied was the painfully excruciating manner of death to be suffered. I think we have no appreciation for the gruesomeness of crucifixion. A study I read in the Journal of the American Medical Association describes crucifixion in great detail. That combined with the gospel accounts and details from the Shroud of Turin tells us that Jesus endured a night of interrogation, where he was repeatedly punched in the face. A cap or crown of thorns was pressed on his head to cause many punctures of his scalp; he was severely beaten with a whip, that was tipped with twin lead balls, with over 200 strokes, by at least two men standing on either side of him; this scourging was designed to tear away bits of flesh with each stroke; his shoulders were rubbed raw and bloody from carrying some heavy object; and it looks like he must have fallen because of the abrasions on his knees. He was nailed to the cross through his wrists and feet in such a manner that the only way he could breathe, and talk was to raise himself up on nails in the feet and gasp out his words. Jesus died of asphyxiation on that cross, choking on his own innocent blood for us. I do not think we really comprehend the suffering that our Lord took upon himself for us. Traveling the dusty back roads, being out in the open, subjected to the elements, being harassed by the authorities, being misunderstood by those the closest to him and finally to be deserted by them and subjected to a farce of a trial and the agony of the crucifixion. As Isaiah said;
"The Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth."
The heart and soul of the atonement is in these verses from Isaiah;
"Because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered among the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."
We are those transgressors!!
We have transgressed the commandment of the Lord by our disobedience and rebellion to do it our way. We want what we want, and when we want it and how we want it and we don't care how we get it and who we hurt in the process. What is it you might ask. It is whatever your heart desires, when you and I place our own desires over what our Father in heaven has told us is good for us, that is disobedience and rebellion. We have "misunderstood" the commandment of the Lord and so he teaches us through the paradox of suffering and servant hood to achieve glory in order for us to gain insight into what true discipleship is and how we attain to salvation. In the 5th chapter of the letter to the Hebrews, the writer points out that Jesus,
"Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he Suffered; and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him . . ." [Hebrews 5: 8-9]
Even though Jesus was the Eternal Son of the Father in Heaven yet even he learned through his sufferings. From the time he took up his ministry the sufferings began with the fasting and temptations in the desert. The authorities and spiritual leaders rejected him and so for three years he trudged the country side being dogged by those who were in opposition to the message he was proclaiming. Despite this he kept forging ahead for as he told his disciples in John's Gospel,
"My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and accomplish his work."
[John 4:34]
He would be obedient to the will of him who sent him no matter what. Through the obedience of Jesus, who is our example, of the obedience we should all attain to, we are made righteous before God. Saint Paul in his blindness rebelled against God and the church and as a result of that blindness became physically blind. The disciple Ananias was sent to Paul to lay hands on him so that would regain his sight. Ananias protested but the Lord told him;
"Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." (Acts 9: 15-16)
Suffering for the sake of the Name of Jesus is not new to the Christian faith. It was the lot and portion of Him whose name we bear and of those who called on his Name. As it says in our collect this morning "That your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name” It will also mean that we will in all likelihood suffer for the sake of the Name we bear, the Name of Christ. If we are truly Christian, then there can be no other way than to pick up our cross and follow Jesus in walking the way the cross.
The difference between offering and sacrifice is like comparing what the chicken and the pig offer us for our breakfast. The chicken’s eggs are a token offering while for the pig the bacon is a total commitment or sacrifice. Jesus made a total commitment for our salvation and to provide a way for us.
As the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews says, "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Let us then draw near to him who suffered so much for us, when we receive the Sacrament of his Body and Blood, let us pledge our obedience to him and confess his Name before the world and proclaim his resurrection.
SERMON NOTES
October 17, 2021
TITLE: GREATNESS: Service and Sacrifice
SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 5:1-10; and Mark 10: 35-45.
A. BACKGROUND NOTES: Messiah and Sacrifice
1. MESSI'AH (Heb. mashiah, "anointed"; rendered in the LXX by the Gk. equivalent Christos). The word Christ is therefore almost invariably used instead of Messiah in the NT as the official designation of our Lord. In the OT priests are referred to as the "anointed" (e.g., [Lev. 4:3; 8:12; Ps. 105:15]), as are kings (e.g., [1 Sam. 24:7-11; 2 Sam 23:1; 1 Kin. 19:16]). We also read in 1 Kings 19:16 of anointing to the office of prophet. But along with these subordinate uses of the term, which undoubtedly foreshadowed the three great offices of Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King, its highest use was employed to designate the One promised of God as the great Deliverer, and who was to be in a preeminent and altogether unique sense the Anointed, or the Messiah, of God. That various designations were given to the Messiah was only natural, and to have been expected. Among them are the "seed" of Abraham, "son of David," "Son of Man," "My Son," "My Servant," "My chosen one," "the Branch," "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace" (see [Gen. 22:18; 2 Sam. 23:5; Ps. 2:7; Isa. 9:6-7; 42:1; Zech. 3:8; 6:12; Dan. 7:13-14; 10:16-18]). (from New Unger's Bible Dictionary)
2. SACRIFICE: The fundamental idea of sacrifices may be gathered partly from their designation, partly from their nature. Sacrifices do not appear to have been instituted at first by divine command; though they must not, on that account, be looked upon as human inventions. They are spontaneous expressions of reverence and gratitude that man feels toward God. But we must not fail to note that with gratitude and reverence there was also the thought of securing a continuance of God's favor and mercy. Neither must we lose sight of their expressing the idea of propitiation and substitution. Nor can we afford to forget that in all ages blood has been the symbol of life and its shedding the symbol of the offering of one's life. Abundant testimony is given of this in The Blood Covenant, by H. C. Trumbull. He says that in the earliest recorded sacrifice "the narrative shows Abel lovingly and trustfully reaching out toward God with substitute blood, in order to be in covenant oneness with God; while Cain merely proffers a gift from his earthly possessions. Abel so trusts God that he gives himself to him. Cain defers to God sufficiently to make a present to him. The one shows unbounded faith; the other shows a measure of affectionate reverence"
B. DOCTRINAL POINTS
1. BLINDNESS TO THE ROLE OF SUFFERING IN GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION.
For the third and final time Mark has followed Jesus’ prediction of his passion with a misunderstanding on the part of the disciples and further teaching on discipleship by Jesus. Immediately after the most explicit statement of what Jesus is about to undergo in Jerusalem, the to sons of Zebedee are having visions of glory. They are still blind to the role of Jesus’ suffering for humankind.
2. JESUS CAN PROMISE THEM NOTHING EXCEPT THE CERTAINTY OF SUFFERING.
The other disciples are upset with the brothers, not because they saw things more clearly, but rather because James and John had jumped the gun and gotten their bid in first for the top positions in Jesus’ kingdom. All he can promise is suffering. He will be enthroned in Jerusalem but his throne will be a cross and his crown a band of thorns. Although rank and power may characterize the glorious of this world, in the community of Jesus’ followers glory belongs to those who serve the needs
of others.
3. SERVANTS MUST BE AT THE DISPOSAL OF OTHERS.
A contemporary image of the Church is the servant church, but there are few who are willing to be treated like servants. They have to be willing to set aside their own needs in order to respond to the needs of others. According to the example of Jesus, indeed they are not even to spare their lives in their service to the community.
4. COSTLY OUTPOURING OF ONE’S LIFE FOR OTHERS.
Participation in this kind of life-style is sharing the cup of suffering which Jesus drank and the baptism with which he was baptized. Christian ministry in Jesus’ name has a variety of forms but the same essence everywhere.
C. APPLICATION/DISCUSSION:
1. THE DISCIPLES ASKED FOR PRE-EMINENCE:
They want to sit on those thrones and the honor and the exaltation that a throne represents. This is what they had been promised.
2. THE DISCIPLES WANTED PROXIMITY:
Once they knew that twelve thrones were waiting for them, they wanted the closest possible thrones to Jesus. After all they had been discussing, twice already, who was the greatest among them.
3. THE DISCIPLES WANTED POWER:
A throne represents power in any kingdom. IN some sense they had already experience the gift of power from Jesus. They had been sent out with the power to raise the dead, heal the sick and cast out demons. So, they were only asking for what they had been promised.
4. JESUS SHOWED THEM SACRIFICE:
Jesus asked them if they were able to drink the cup I will drink and be baptized with the baptism I will be baptized. They responded that they were able. Many times, we also respond that we are able and willing to do the things God wants us to do without counting the entire cost. Many times, we do not know the entire cost.
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