Favored Positions Within the Kingdom

Kongsvinger Lutheran Church

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:10

Welcome to the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church. Kungsvinger is a beacon for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of northwestern

00:18

Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone.

00:25

And now, here's a message from Pastor Chris Roseberg. The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, chapter 10, verses 32 -45.

00:34

They were on their way up to Jerusalem with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished while those who followed were afraid.

00:43

Again, He took the twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to Him. We are going up to Jerusalem, He said, and the

00:49

Son of Man will be betrayed by the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn

00:54

Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles who will mock Him, spit on Him, flog

01:01

Him, and kill Him. Three days later, He will rise. Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him.

01:09

Teacher, they said, we want you to do for us whatever we ask. What do you want me to do for you,

01:14

He asked. They replied, let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.

01:22

You don't know what you're asking, Jesus said. Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism

01:28

I am baptized with? We can, they answered. Jesus said to them, well, you will drink the cup that I drink and be baptized with the baptism

01:37

I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant.

01:43

These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared. When the ten heard about this, they became very indignant with James and John because Jesus called them together and said, you know that those who are regarded as rulers of the

01:59

Gentiles lord it over them and their high officials exercise authority over them.

02:06

Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.

02:12

Whoever wants to be the first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give

02:20

His life as a ransom for many. In the name of Jesus. So our text this morning is quite an interesting text.

02:29

Let me recap for you. We'll begin back at the beginning of it in the Gospel of Mark.

02:35

It says this, they were on their way up to Jerusalem. With Jesus leading the way, the disciples were astonished while those who followed were afraid.

02:44

Interesting little dichotomy there. Again, he took the twelve aside, so he pulls the twelve aside.

02:49

So think of it this way, is that when people are going to be executed in prison, you know, they make that long death march.

02:57

It's called the dead man walking. This is what Jesus is doing right now. He's on the long march, the dead man walking to Jerusalem.

03:06

He knows exactly what's going to happen to Him. So He pulls the disciples aside and decides He's going to let them in.

03:12

Make it very clear. This is what's going to happen, boys. Pay attention. And He said,

03:17

The Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests, teachers of the law. They will condemn Him to death and will hand

03:24

Him over to the Gentiles, who will mock Him, spit on Him, flog Him and kill

03:29

Him. Three days later, He will rise. Seems pretty straightforward, right?

03:36

Well, here's their response. So then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him.

03:43

Teacher, they said, we want you to do for us whatever we ask. What do you want me to do for you? He asked.

03:48

They replied, Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory. Now, let's kind of pause for a second right here.

03:57

Men, again, I do things from the pulpit that from time to time I understand. Require me to turn in my man card.

04:04

This is another one of those moments. Now, I've noticed that there's a tendency in marriages.

04:11

And the tendency is that the wife has a lot that she needs to say. Guys have a tendency to get focused on what they're doing.

04:20

And sometimes when those two things are happening simultaneously, guys have a tendency to not hear the words of their wife.

04:28

And you can tell you're in trouble when you hear these words, because these are the ones that come ringing through and pierce the veil, if you would.

04:37

Are you even listening to me? Now, I'm sure this has never happened in your marriage.

04:43

This is just clearly mine. But this is kind of one of those moments.

04:50

Jesus kind of lays this out. I'm going to Jerusalem. They're going to betray me, kill me, mock me, spit on me.

04:56

And I'm going to die and rise again. That's great, Jesus. Hey, can we have the right and left hand seats of power when you come into your glory?

05:07

Are you listening to me? Now, if it was me, I would actually kind of freak.

05:13

It's like, what's going on here? So notice

05:19

Jesus' response. First of all, he knows what's coming. And so they ask him the question,

05:26

Teacher, we want you to do whatever we ask. What do you want me to do for you? You can almost kind of hear it. They replied, let one of us sit at your right hand, the other in your left, in your glory.

05:37

And Jesus, rather than become frustrated with them, says, You don't know what you're asking.

05:44

Clearly, none of the words he just said sunk in. It's like a bullet ricocheting off of a brick wall.

05:53

Never penetrated, right? You don't know what you're asking, Jesus said. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism

06:03

I am baptized with? Now, notice the dichotomy here. Jesus is the suffering servant.

06:11

He has not come to be served, but to serve. This is the way of the cross.

06:18

This is the way of the kingdom of God. Humble, service, love for neighbor.

06:23

Ultimately expressed in what Christ has done for us. While our old Adam, under the influence of sin, death, and the devil, thinks about power, thinks about authority.

06:33

I want that cushy position. I want that promotion at work.

06:39

I can't wait until I'm in middle management or even a senior vice president and I have that corner office. Know what

06:44

I'm talking about? Because then people are going to be listening to me. I'll have that personal assistant who is there for my every beck and call.

06:54

And if I'm really good at this, man, I can think about making a run for Congress. Because then

07:00

I can write laws that everybody has to obey. Because if they don't, they're going to be arrested and thrown in prison.

07:08

That's how powerful I am. This is how we operate, is it not? I hate to say this, but we have all had similar thoughts.

07:16

We kind of look at the way the world operates and look at those people in power and authority and we're thinking, hmm.

07:22

And so this is what James and John are doing. Because they're not questioning whether or not

07:28

Jesus is king. Of course, Jesus, you're the dude. You're the man. But since none of the other guys have been shrewd enough to kind of come in and ask for those cushy appointments,

07:36

I mean, the guy on the right and the left, those are the most influential power positions in a kingdom after the king.

07:44

All right? Oftentimes the guy on the right and the left, they have a little bit of control over who has access to the king.

07:51

So they want these cabinet positions. Yeah. But see,

07:57

Jesus has not come to establish the kingdom of God on Earth. His kingdom is not of this world.

08:05

In fact, Jesus' power is made perfect in weakness.

08:11

This is not how we operate. So then they talk. So Jesus asks that question. Can you drink the cup

08:20

I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? These are little confusing words.

08:27

I like to quote a pastor friend of mine, Pastor Swirla. He was my pastor for many years long ago.

08:34

In his preaching on this text, I think he nails it. Here's what he said. He said, Jesus' cup and his baptism, they are his death where he drinks the poison cup of sin and death, the cup of God's wrath poured out against sinful humanity.

08:49

It is where he is baptized into death for us, washed with our sin, drowned in the flood of God's wrath, poured out on the world, rescued to this one man from heaven.

09:01

His death on a cross is a cup, and it's a baptism, his alone to drink and to be baptized with.

09:06

Only he can drink this cup. Only he can endure this baptism with which he immerses himself in the depths of our sin and suffering and misery.

09:16

But then Jesus says, but you will be baptized with my baptism.

09:21

You will drink my drink. They will have a share in Jesus' suffering and death. They will drink from his cup at his table when he gives it to them and says, take, drink, this is my blood of the covenant shed for you.

09:34

Jesus drinks the cup of wrath so that they and you and I may drink his cup of forgiveness.

09:41

He drinks, Jesus drinks the accursed cup of God's wrath down to the dregs so that you might drink the cup of blessing.

09:49

And with the cup and the bread of his supper, Jesus gives you a share in his death and his life and in his suffering and sacrifice and his glory.

09:58

So you kind of get the idea of what's going on there. Jesus is going to be baptized into suffering and death so that we can be baptized also into God's forgiveness and blessing.

10:08

But as Christians, we do partake and share in Christ's sufferings. And it's notable to note this, that James and John, they suffered greatly, suffered greatly.

10:20

In fact, John, they tried to execute him and failed. James was beheaded.

10:27

So they did share in Jesus' sufferings. So we come back to our text. James and John say, well, we can.

10:35

And Jesus says, you will drink the cup I drink. You will be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with.

10:40

But to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. Now remember, the question was, grant us one to sit at your right and the other at your left when you come into your glory, which kind of begs the question, when did

10:54

Jesus come into his glory? What was the most glorious moment for Jesus?

11:01

And you have to think the way Jesus thinks in order to get this right. You can't think the way the world thinks.

11:07

Where was Jesus crowned? Where was his coronation ceremony as king? Where was

11:13

Jesus declared to be the king of the Jews, truly as he is? It was on the cross.

11:19

Beaten, scourged, spit on, mocked, crucified.

11:25

There's Jesus on the cross, suffering for your sins and for mine, and stark naked as a blue jay, too, with a crown of thorns pressed into his head.

11:36

And that is his greatest moment of glory. The placard above him read,

11:43

This is Jesus, the king of the Jews. And there he is suffering and dying. And who was it that the

11:49

Father had chosen to be on his right and his left when he came into his glory? Two thieves.

11:56

Two thieves. One of them confesses Christ and is forgiven. The other mocks and scorns

12:04

Jesus and is not forgiven. In a sense, kind of representing the sheep and the goat.

12:09

The sheep on Jesus' right, the goats on Jesus' left. And yet Jesus is king, even of those who do not believe in him.

12:17

That's the sad part about it. Because the one thief is going to be in paradise with Jesus that very day.

12:24

The other thief, he's going to spend eternity in hell. Foolishly, too, because there's Jesus dying on the cross for his sins.

12:31

And so, who did God pick? Not stately politicians, kings or princes to be at Jesus' right or left.

12:42

But two common thieves. Bleeding and dying for their sins while Jesus was suffering.

12:49

The innocent one for theirs. So this is why Jesus says, It's not for me to grant these spots.

12:57

Only the Father can do that. And then Jesus, the text says this.

13:03

Then the 10, the other 12 disciples, they heard what James and John did. And they became indignant with them.

13:11

It's like, why didn't we think about this? Here we are, we're going to Jerusalem.

13:18

Great things are going to happen. Of course, they're not hearing any of Jesus' words about his suffering and death. And these guys got to Jesus first.

13:27

And so they're going to have the great positions of power. And Jesus just puts an end to all of it.

13:33

Here's what he says. You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles, they lord it over them.

13:40

Their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you.

13:48

Not so. God's kingdom is not about building kingdoms.

13:54

At least in the human sense. You know, I'm going to build a kingdom to myself.

14:01

Pastors fall into this too. I describe some of the churches out there as kingdoms that are not kingdoms of Christ, but kingdoms of the pastors who built them.

14:11

Huge multi -site campuses with smoke and light shows. And tens and hundreds of thousands of people watching and listening and sending in millions.

14:21

Right? Yeah. I think of Creflo Dollar this last week. He put out a plea to the people in his congregation to pony up 300 bucks apiece so that he can buy a $65 million jet.

14:38

Of course, his justification was he needs to fly around the globe to preach the gospel. Why can't you go coach?

14:46

Right? So the Gentiles, they lord it over them.

14:52

Their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you.

14:58

Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. Whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.

15:06

By way of kind of a little digression on this point, if you've never read C .S. Lewis' book, The Great Divorce, it's a fascinating little book.

15:13

And it's the story of people in hell who take a bus ride to heaven.

15:19

And they're met by the people in heaven who love them. Now, it's kind of a fascinating idea. And the way

15:24

C .S. Lewis puts it is that anybody in hell is welcome to come take the bus trip to heaven any time they want.

15:31

It leaves on a regular basis. And sure enough, as the story opens up, there's a line, a queue to get onto the bus.

15:37

And people get on the bus, and they take the trip from hell to heaven. And you would think that that would convince them,

15:45

I really want to be in heaven. But the kind of sad punchline in all of this is that all but one of them go back to hell.

15:54

Because that's where they would prefer to be. Fascinating thing. But while they're there, you get this little vignette within the story itself.

16:02

And there's a conversation taking place between one of the residents of hell and a loved one who is in heaven who comes to plead with this person to stay.

16:11

And while they're talking, all of a sudden, there's this ginormous procession. There's horses and trumpeters, and this is a big commotion going on.

16:21

Somebody important is coming through, right? And so the guy from hell says, well, that person must have been an amazing, important, powerful person while they were on earth.

16:34

And the response was, no, she was a wash lady from the south of London. I mean, her big contribution was that she loved and cared for the orphans and the street urchins in her neighborhood and fed them from her own food.

16:52

Wow. Think about that. I think that's what Jesus is getting at here. What we consider great,

17:00

Jesus considers worthy of judgment. What we in this world consider to be scornful and shameful and, well, lowly and beneath us, those are the things that Christ considers to be the most precious.

17:17

We're not here to rule people but to serve. And that means go and find the lowliest, the most needy, the person who's down and out, cast to this curb that society overlooks.

17:31

That's where Jesus is. Loving and serving them, and he wants to do that through you.

17:37

These words challenge us in the way we think. It's completely backwards from everything intuitively that we're taught in this country, in this society, and yet this is how our

17:48

Jesus is. So much so that, like he said, he went to Jerusalem and he suffered the shame of dying on a cross for our sins.

17:59

Rather than flexing his political muscle as king of kings and lord of lords and being able to call a legion of angels to his assistance if he had wanted to, to come rescue him, instead he stays on the cross to the very last.

18:17

So that what was said by the prophet Jeremiah, that a time is coming, declares the

18:22

Lord, when I will forgive their wickedness and I will remember their sins no more.

18:29

And the reason why God does not remember your wickedness in mine is because our wickedness and our sins were accounted for and punished.

18:39

They were punished by God and they were taken upon Christ. He suffers the punishment in your place.

18:48

So the kingdom of God is nothing like the kingdoms of earth. It's not about power, flexing muscle and authority.

18:55

It's about love and service that begins with the king of kings himself loving and serving you and being found in the form of a servant, being born of the

19:05

Virgin Mary, suffering under Pontius Pilate for your sins and mine. And now he calls us, because of what he has done for us, to take up our crosses and follow him and love and serve our neighbors and not flex our authority and try to vie for the greatest positions in the world.

19:26

It's all about service for neighbor. Something to think about. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

19:37

If you would like to support the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church, you can do so by sending a tax -free donation to Kungsvinger Lutheran Church, 15950 470th

19:50

Avenue NW, Oslo, MN 56744 And again that address is

19:58

Kungsvinger Lutheran Church, 15950 470th

20:04

Avenue NW, Oslo, MN 56744 We thank you for your support.

20:11

All of our teaching messages may be freely distributed as long as you do not edit or change the content of the message.