Do what we want Jesus

"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again." Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask." – Mark 10.33-35

We saw yesterday that the disciples did not know how to handle the news that Jesus was going to have to die and they were afraid to ask about. So what did they do? They changed the subject to something that they could understand. Instead of dealing with Jesus’ death they turned their focus to who would be doing what in Jesus’ kingdom.

Jesus had just said ‘I am going to be betrayed. I am going to be condemned and turned over to the Gentiles. I am going to be mocked and scourged and spat on and killed. And the third day I am going to rise from the dead..

And how did the disciples respond? ‘Teacher, we want You to do whatever we ask.’

Huh? Did they really just say that after what Jesus said?

Jesus was talking about His crucifixion and all James and John could think about was how important they would be in His kingdom. Did they totally ignore what He just said?

It probably shouldn’t, but it gives me comfort when I see how much like us these guys were. All they could think about was their own status in the here and now. They didn’t have a clue and were not to upset about what Jesus said about His own death.

Isn’t it sad how we can get our own minds on the earthly and temporal things around us and forget about the eternal? James and John’s example it pretty dramatic, but aren’t we in essence doing that same thing anytime we put our own interests above eternal matters?

It’s kind of like knowing that our family and friends and neighbours and co-workers are lost and bound for a Christ-less eternity and us saying ‘What can I do to better my lot in life? What can I do to get more stuff?’

It’s time we wake up to what is really important folks a quit seeing what we can do to make things better for us.