Mark 10:35-45
I notice some dueling ambitions in this week's gospel reading.
The Ambition of the Brothers
First, there
is the ambition of James and John: "Teacher, we want you to do whatever we
ask of you," and then the request to sit at the right and left of Jesus in
his kingdom. In the Matthean parallel to Mark 10:23-31, Jesus actually talks
about the disciples joining him on thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.
(This is pericope #255 if you have an Aland Synopsis of the Four Gospels
and you want to compare Matt and Mark.)
Jesus says, "Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of
Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also
sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who
has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields,
for my name’s
sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life. But many
who are first will be last, and the last will be first" (Matt 19:28-30).
In that context, the request of James and John makes more sense (not that Matthew takes this 21st century editor's advice and puts the request right after Jesus' throne speech—he doesn't). The ambition of the brothers is not just to have thrones, but to be seated close to the center of things, "one at your right and one at your left...."
Now the only other reference in Mark to anyone on the right and left of Jesus happens in the passion narrative: "And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left" (Mark 15:27). Asking for places at the right and left of Jesus in his glory is a dangerous prospect, especially here, on the way to Jerusalem, after Jesus has—with plain speech and repeated announcements—identified his destiny with the cross. Jesus tries to tell James and John of the danger when he says, "Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?" They don't get it. They don't understand.
The Ambition of the Ten
Second, there is the ambition of the ten. At least
it seems to be ambition that Jesus responds to. The ten are indignant at James
and John when they hear that the two brothers have already put in their bid
for the best seats in the new rule of God. From the teaching that Jesus gives
the twelve (about the gentiles "lording it over" one another), we can infer
that the ten were just as interested in rank and place as the two who had
just asked Jesus for the best cabinet posts.
The ten, like James and John seem eager for place, status, seats on thrones. How "established" that sounds. I once heard Will Willimon point out that in Acts, verbs for staying put (histēmi and related words) do not often occur in a favorable light. People with "place" are contrasted with people "on the way." The contrast here in Mark is the same. Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem. The disciples want to sit down—in high places of honor.
The Ambition of Jesus
Jesus has a different ambition, for himself and for the twelve. Jesus' ambition
for himself is this, "The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and
to give his life a ransom for many." Years ago, Michael W. Smith had a hit
song and video called, "Secret Ambition." (The video, by the way, has just been
re-released on a bonus DVD in Smith's recent album, The Second Decade). Here's
the chorus:
“ ” |
Nobody knew His secret ambition Michael W. Smith, "Secret Ambition" on I 2 Eye © 1989. |
Jesus' ambition was "to give his life away."
Secret Ambition
And truly, this ambition does seem
to remain a secret to the disciples. People speculate in all directions about
the so-called messianic secret in Mark: why
does Jesus tell people to be quiet after he heals them? Here I see a different
kind of messianic secret: Jesus' messianic ambition seems to be a secret
from the very ones who are following him and who are taken aside for private
teaching at every turn. Why do the disciples fail so spectacularly to see what
Jesus is telling them so plainly? How is it that the nature of his messianic
work is a secret from them, even though he's been speaking of almost nothing
else for three chapters?
To ask this question is to notice that we are not really in the position of the disciples in this story. We are in the position of people who can see the disciples getting it wrong. As you read this text, you know something the disciples could not comprehend: Jesus aimed to give his life away in order to reconcile the whole world to God. He was ransoming the disciples who remained so in the dark about his mission, ransoming those crucified at his right and left, ransoming the ones who had manipulated systems of justice to bring about his unjust death.
What does that ransom free you from? What does it free you for?
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