But Jesus Said… August 13
Mark 10:38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
39 They said to Him, “We are able.”
The concept of self has great resilience. Even those repeatedly humbled (as are we all whether we accept it or not) have a remarkable capacity to restore a high sense of self in some area of life, even if the image is as a victim or sufferer.
In spite of the lessons that Jesus has been giving to the disciples on humility and service, James and John still have a vision of greatness based on the mirage of a position of external power rather than on the inner qualities of character.
Jesus challenges their request to sit on either side of Him when He comes into His kingdom. He has told them what He must suffer in the previous verses. He now refers to what He must endure as “the cup that I drink.” He asks if they are prepared to drink of that cup. He adds that they must also endure the baptism that he must endure: death and rebirth.
Jesus has stood between them and the adversaries to His ministry. They have been shielded by Him who has borne the brunt of the attacks.
When He is gone, they will have to endure what He will endure. They believe themselves “able” without any real conception that they must go through trials very much like those of Jesus, trials that are literally beyond their imagination at this time.
He Gives What He Can August 14
Mark 10:39 They said to Him, “We are able.”
So Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; 40 but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared.”
Jesus hears the brothers’ response, “We are able,” and He may have shown a slight smile at this naïve response. He declines the request graciously but firmly.
(Just another perspective: Pilate’s soldiers crowned Jesus as King of the Jews. They disrobed Him and crucified Him. Jesus on the cross with the label of “King of the Jews” is flanked by two thieves, each on their own cross on His right and on His left. This is not the image in the minds of James and John. Jesus did not choose those to be crucified, but their crosses had been prepared for them by others than He.)
Verse 40 must be understood to say that “to sit on My right hand and on My left hand is not Mine to give EXCEPT TO those for whom it is prepared.”
Jesus has a responsibility in filling those positions. Although He might give the positions to whomever He chooses, to give the positions to those who are ill-prepared would do a disservice to them as well as to those under their care. This Jesus will not do.
Only a short time before this, Jesus has reminded the disciples that greatness is in serving and that the first will be last and the last will be first.
The request is itself a sign that they are not yet ready (Luke 14:7-11).
To Become Great August 15
Mark 10:41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. 42 But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. 44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.”
The other ten disciples are upset with the sons of Zebedee for asking for elevated positions. They clearly resent that the brothers aspire to be promoted above them. Perhaps they also secretly covet such a position for themselves.
Jesus makes an object lesson of the controversy.
He reminds them that the way of the world is to “lord it over” other people. Such a leader is a slave to the work of remaining dominant. This is not to be the way among His followers.
Jesus has been their leader. He has guided them. And He has done so as a shepherd caring for the flock under His charge. He has worked to care for them, to serve them that they might be safe and grow strong in character. Their leader also has been their Servant, a subtle reminder here of Isaiah 53.
The issue of relative positions has frequently been an issue inside the denominations that have come into being under His name. Humility is difficult when there is a hierarchy.
Even the Son of Man August 16
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
In conclusion, Jesus reminds them of His impending death as a ransom for many. He seeks not the worldly glory of a kingdom, but the enlargement of the King’s realm to include every man, woman, and child. His goal is for all to live in the kingdom of God here and now.
This is a good place for us and the disciples to realize the strong force that holds us back from service.
Jesus does not confer on His disciples either riches or temporal power. These are gifts that could make the disciples more comfortable, but they would not give the disciples joy or peace. In fact, Jesus cannot confer joy and peace on anyone. These states of being can come only from within.
We often desire to make someone happy – a parent, a spouse, a child, a friend, or authority figure. We may give momentary happiness, but not peace and joy. These rest upon their own conception of themselves, others, and God.
If the foundation for our state of being is not stable, our attitude is a house of cards that no one can continually prop up from the outside.
Jesus shows us a new image. He is a self that is selfless. He is a power that serves. He has all that He needs with very little in His possession. He has peace because He does not attach Himself to the things that destroy peace.
Jesus loves all people as He loves the disciples, but His peace is not dependent on their decisions on how to live their lives.
To what do we attach ourselves that destroys our peace?
Blind Bartimaeus August 17
Mark 10:46 Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus and the disciples travel to Jericho, a city in Judea a few miles west of the Jordan River and roughly 20 miles from Jerusalem.
There is a blind man on the side of the road. He has lost one of his 5 physical senses. He must depend on the other 4. And depend on other people. And have faith in these other senses and in people.
Blind Bartimaeus is the blind son of a blind people, but he knows his need of sight. He hears that Jesus is passing by him and calls out for mercy from the Son of David.
Some come to Jesus because they want to see the miracles or to hear the words. Those who know they have need of what Jesus can give come with humility to ask for a new life.
The first Beatitude says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3). The first step toward the kingdom of heaven is a self-examination and seeing our spiritual poverty. The recognition of our limitations is humbling.
The “least of these,” a blind beggar on the side of the road, is meek and humble enough to see the light before him. His spirit sees, but his eyes do not. He asks for mercy that the spiritual light may shine on him and that his eyes might see, also.
Seeing…or Not August 18
Mark 10:27 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Our limitations either increase our faith or destroy the joy of life.
With each step, blind Bartimaeus must have faith that the ground will meet his feet. He must have faith that what others say of the world around him that he cannot perceive is true.
He memorizes how many steps to each destination he frequents. He learns to depend on his other senses to help orient his present place and direction. What he cannot learn by visual observation must be learned in other ways because he lives in a physical world he is unable to see.
We may choose to be spiritually blind in the belief that our spiritual location, destination, and needs are non-existent. Or we can choose to place our spiritual needs in the hands of others.
We choose spiritual blindness in the same way we choose blindness regarding health, finances, education, government, and many other areas of life. We close our eyes to the subject and rely on specialists and media for advice and direction. We trust that their perspectives are true and unbiased.
If the experiences of early 2020 through early 2022 have not given us reason to doubt where these trusts have been placed in the past, we have chosen blindness in these areas to our detriment.
Chances are that we need our spiritual eyes examined as well.
Persistence August 19
Mark 10:48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”
50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.
“Then many warned him to be quiet….” The disciples are Jesus’ unofficial bodyguards. They keep the press of the crowds from becoming too great on Him so that He can teach and heal.
The protection they provide is also a barrier to those to whom Jesus would minister. For Him to intercede and let someone break the barrier is not unusual, as with the children: “But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God’” (Mark 10:14).
The blind man persists in calling until Jesus hears his cry and says for the blind man to be allowed to come to Him. The blind man throws off the outer garment used for warmth, rises, and comes toward the sound of Jesus’ voice.
Even though the blind man has the spiritual sight to see Jesus, there is a physical barrier of human beings. This imagery represents the fall of many, a human barrier to divine relationship.
There are barriers to Jesus’ healing powers over all diseases, whether spiritual, physical, mental, or emotional. Perhaps the greatest barrier is the power we give to others to stand between the divine and the human, the spiritual and the physical.
To whom do you and I give that power?
Next day
Mark 10:38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
39 They said to Him, “We are able.”
The concept of self has great resilience. Even those repeatedly humbled (as are we all whether we accept it or not) have a remarkable capacity to restore a high sense of self in some area of life, even if the image is as a victim or sufferer.
In spite of the lessons that Jesus has been giving to the disciples on humility and service, James and John still have a vision of greatness based on the mirage of a position of external power rather than on the inner qualities of character.
Jesus challenges their request to sit on either side of Him when He comes into His kingdom. He has told them what He must suffer in the previous verses. He now refers to what He must endure as “the cup that I drink.” He asks if they are prepared to drink of that cup. He adds that they must also endure the baptism that he must endure: death and rebirth.
Jesus has stood between them and the adversaries to His ministry. They have been shielded by Him who has borne the brunt of the attacks.
When He is gone, they will have to endure what He will endure. They believe themselves “able” without any real conception that they must go through trials very much like those of Jesus, trials that are literally beyond their imagination at this time.
He Gives What He Can August 14
Mark 10:39 They said to Him, “We are able.”
So Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; 40 but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared.”
Jesus hears the brothers’ response, “We are able,” and He may have shown a slight smile at this naïve response. He declines the request graciously but firmly.
(Just another perspective: Pilate’s soldiers crowned Jesus as King of the Jews. They disrobed Him and crucified Him. Jesus on the cross with the label of “King of the Jews” is flanked by two thieves, each on their own cross on His right and on His left. This is not the image in the minds of James and John. Jesus did not choose those to be crucified, but their crosses had been prepared for them by others than He.)
Verse 40 must be understood to say that “to sit on My right hand and on My left hand is not Mine to give EXCEPT TO those for whom it is prepared.”
Jesus has a responsibility in filling those positions. Although He might give the positions to whomever He chooses, to give the positions to those who are ill-prepared would do a disservice to them as well as to those under their care. This Jesus will not do.
Only a short time before this, Jesus has reminded the disciples that greatness is in serving and that the first will be last and the last will be first.
The request is itself a sign that they are not yet ready (Luke 14:7-11).
To Become Great August 15
Mark 10:41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. 42 But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. 44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.”
The other ten disciples are upset with the sons of Zebedee for asking for elevated positions. They clearly resent that the brothers aspire to be promoted above them. Perhaps they also secretly covet such a position for themselves.
Jesus makes an object lesson of the controversy.
He reminds them that the way of the world is to “lord it over” other people. Such a leader is a slave to the work of remaining dominant. This is not to be the way among His followers.
Jesus has been their leader. He has guided them. And He has done so as a shepherd caring for the flock under His charge. He has worked to care for them, to serve them that they might be safe and grow strong in character. Their leader also has been their Servant, a subtle reminder here of Isaiah 53.
The issue of relative positions has frequently been an issue inside the denominations that have come into being under His name. Humility is difficult when there is a hierarchy.
Even the Son of Man August 16
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
In conclusion, Jesus reminds them of His impending death as a ransom for many. He seeks not the worldly glory of a kingdom, but the enlargement of the King’s realm to include every man, woman, and child. His goal is for all to live in the kingdom of God here and now.
This is a good place for us and the disciples to realize the strong force that holds us back from service.
Jesus does not confer on His disciples either riches or temporal power. These are gifts that could make the disciples more comfortable, but they would not give the disciples joy or peace. In fact, Jesus cannot confer joy and peace on anyone. These states of being can come only from within.
We often desire to make someone happy – a parent, a spouse, a child, a friend, or authority figure. We may give momentary happiness, but not peace and joy. These rest upon their own conception of themselves, others, and God.
If the foundation for our state of being is not stable, our attitude is a house of cards that no one can continually prop up from the outside.
Jesus shows us a new image. He is a self that is selfless. He is a power that serves. He has all that He needs with very little in His possession. He has peace because He does not attach Himself to the things that destroy peace.
Jesus loves all people as He loves the disciples, but His peace is not dependent on their decisions on how to live their lives.
To what do we attach ourselves that destroys our peace?
Blind Bartimaeus August 17
Mark 10:46 Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus and the disciples travel to Jericho, a city in Judea a few miles west of the Jordan River and roughly 20 miles from Jerusalem.
There is a blind man on the side of the road. He has lost one of his 5 physical senses. He must depend on the other 4. And depend on other people. And have faith in these other senses and in people.
Blind Bartimaeus is the blind son of a blind people, but he knows his need of sight. He hears that Jesus is passing by him and calls out for mercy from the Son of David.
Some come to Jesus because they want to see the miracles or to hear the words. Those who know they have need of what Jesus can give come with humility to ask for a new life.
The first Beatitude says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3). The first step toward the kingdom of heaven is a self-examination and seeing our spiritual poverty. The recognition of our limitations is humbling.
The “least of these,” a blind beggar on the side of the road, is meek and humble enough to see the light before him. His spirit sees, but his eyes do not. He asks for mercy that the spiritual light may shine on him and that his eyes might see, also.
Seeing…or Not August 18
Mark 10:27 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Our limitations either increase our faith or destroy the joy of life.
With each step, blind Bartimaeus must have faith that the ground will meet his feet. He must have faith that what others say of the world around him that he cannot perceive is true.
He memorizes how many steps to each destination he frequents. He learns to depend on his other senses to help orient his present place and direction. What he cannot learn by visual observation must be learned in other ways because he lives in a physical world he is unable to see.
We may choose to be spiritually blind in the belief that our spiritual location, destination, and needs are non-existent. Or we can choose to place our spiritual needs in the hands of others.
We choose spiritual blindness in the same way we choose blindness regarding health, finances, education, government, and many other areas of life. We close our eyes to the subject and rely on specialists and media for advice and direction. We trust that their perspectives are true and unbiased.
If the experiences of early 2020 through early 2022 have not given us reason to doubt where these trusts have been placed in the past, we have chosen blindness in these areas to our detriment.
Chances are that we need our spiritual eyes examined as well.
Persistence August 19
Mark 10:48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”
50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.
“Then many warned him to be quiet….” The disciples are Jesus’ unofficial bodyguards. They keep the press of the crowds from becoming too great on Him so that He can teach and heal.
The protection they provide is also a barrier to those to whom Jesus would minister. For Him to intercede and let someone break the barrier is not unusual, as with the children: “But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God’” (Mark 10:14).
The blind man persists in calling until Jesus hears his cry and says for the blind man to be allowed to come to Him. The blind man throws off the outer garment used for warmth, rises, and comes toward the sound of Jesus’ voice.
Even though the blind man has the spiritual sight to see Jesus, there is a physical barrier of human beings. This imagery represents the fall of many, a human barrier to divine relationship.
There are barriers to Jesus’ healing powers over all diseases, whether spiritual, physical, mental, or emotional. Perhaps the greatest barrier is the power we give to others to stand between the divine and the human, the spiritual and the physical.
To whom do you and I give that power?
Next day