Redeemer Lutheran Church

I. “You Do Not Know What You are Asking.”
The disciples are following Jesus. That is what disciples do. They follow their Master because they want to learn from Him. They want to be with Him. After the many months of being disciples, they believe that Jesus is the Messiah—the Savior promised again from Genesis throughout the Old Testament. Wherever Jesus is, there are wonders and miracles. There’s grace and life. That’s why they want to follow Jesus.

But they’re following at a bit of a distance today. They are on their way to Jerusalem, and those who follow are afraid. Things have changed recently, for Jesus’ teaching has taken a somber turn. It grows more serious in our text as Jesus takes the twelve aside from the rest and tells them what He’s told them twice before: “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock Him and spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him. And after three days He will rise.”

Jesus tells them again that He’s going to die, and Palm Sunday is just half a chapter away: He’s going to die soon. So they are afraid.

James and John come with a request. The text really doesn’t give their motivation. Whatever it is, they say to Jesus, “Grant us to sit, one at Your right hand and one at Your left, in Your glory.”

Listen to Jesus’ response carefully, because the message here is profound. His first reply is this: “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” Jesus speaks of a cup and a baptism. They’re both references to the cross. As Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion, He will pray to His Father, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Remove this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will" (Mark 14:36). Elsewhere, He will say of the cross, “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is My distress until it is accomplished!” (Luke 12:50).

So Jesus tells James and John that His glory is by way of the cross, and says, “Are you up for this?” They answer, “We are able.” But they don’t know what they are asking. Now, look at Jesus’ next words. He says, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, but to sit at My right hand or at My left is not Mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” James and John will get the cup and the baptism, says Jesus, but they won’t get it when Jesus does. The seats to Jesus’ left and right have not been prepared for them.

Does this mean that James and John are missing out? I don’t think they’ll be sorry—remember, they don’t know what they are asking. Back to that in a second, but we need to add one more piece to the puzzle. When the ten hear the request of James and John, they’re indignant: who are these two to grab the glory seats? What makes them more worthy than the rest? So Jesus calls them to Him and says, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones 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. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

The rulers of the world lord it over their people. The glory of the rulers of the world is to sit on a throne and have other people do their bidding. The glory of those at their left and right is to enjoy that power and direct others to do their bidding on behalf of the king. When the twelve think of glory, that’s the sort of glory they think of. But it’s not the glory that Jesus has in mind: the glory of God is found in selfless love, in service to others. Hold these words dear: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

That’s astonishing. If anyone deserves to sit on a throne and be served, it’s Jesus. If he had been born of Mary, grown up and plopped Himself down on a throne and said, “World, serve Me, because I deserve all worship, honor and glory,” He wouldn’t be arrogant—He’d be telling the truth. But Jesus didn’t become flesh to be served. He came to serve, for the glory of God is found in service. And how exactly is Jesus to serve? He tells them: He comes to give His life as a ransom for many.

The Son of God has become flesh to die in the place of sinful man, to pay the ransom for man’s redemption.

This is what none of the disciples understand yet: the glory of Jesus in this world isn’t by way of the cross. The glory of Jesus in this world is the cross. To be at Jesus’ side in His glory doesn’t mean to endure some suffering and then get on to the glorious part. To be at Jesus’ side in His glory is to be crucified with Him.

Look back at Jesus’ words to James and John one more time: “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, but to sit at My right hand or at My left is not Mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” Who sits at the right and left of Jesus in His glory? You find out in Mark 15: “And with Him they crucified two robbers, one on His right and one on His left” (Mark 15:27).

In this world, the throne of Jesus is the cross and His crown is made of thorns. At His left and right in His glory are the two robbers. One reviles Him, the other believes in Him. And even as He is dying for the sins of the world, Jesus says to the one who repents and believes, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” He’s speaking forgiveness even while in agony for the sins of the world, because His glory is in service. He’s giving His life as a ransom for both robbers, and the one who trusts in Him lives forever in Paradise.

So the glory of Jesus is His cross because it is His ultimate act of sacrifice. But back to His words to James and John one more time: what did He mean when He said, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized”? He said, “You’ll die My death.” But neither James nor John are crucified: James will be beheaded by Herod and John will die of old age. So what did Jesus mean? How do they die His death?

Here’s the Gospel: Jesus joins them to His death. His death is a ransom for them, after all. He dies for their sin. Then He joins them to it so they don’t have to die for their sin.

So when James and John ask to be at Jesus’ right and left in His glory, they’re not asking to be crucified. They don’t know what they are asking—they would be horrified if they did. They also don’t know what they’re getting—not yet. But when they do, there will be joy. In Christ, they die to sin and rise again without suffering that cross for themselves.

It’s not just true for James and John. This is the Gospel for you, too.

2. The Glory of Jesus for You
You’re a follower of Jesus, too. He has made it so. The more you study His Word and the more you experience life and examine yourself, the more acutely aware you become of the wages of sin; and the longer you’re alive, the more you feel in your body that the wages are coming due in your body. The grave is patient, but it eventually collects.

Your days are numbered in this world and it takes some work to keep yourself alive and well; and if you take your instincts for survival and pair them with your sinful nature, it’s pretty evident that you’re going to be fighting the sin of selfishness a lot of the time. I sometimes think, in fact, that selfishness is the primary manifestation of original sin: instead of desiring to serve, you desire to be served.

It comes so naturally, and it doesn’t feel wrong at all. You want the best piece of cake and deserve all the hot water for your shower. It’s okay if you leave your stuff laying around on the floor, but it’s wrong for others. Personally, I’m always amazed at how poorly people drive on my road. It infects every relationship you have, as you’re quite willing for others to do the work and finish the chores. You’re able to justify your mistakes and blame others. And when you do serve others, it’s usually for a selfish reason: perhaps to earn points for later, perhaps just so you have a good feeling about yourself. Face it: selfless service doesn’t come naturally. That means love doesn’t come naturally. Naturally, you’d much prefer to be served than to serve. Before you know it, you’re serving you in a way that isn’t serving others and certainly isn’t serving God. Many will dress this up in terms of self-esteem or self-preservation, but call it what it is: it’s sinful selfishness, and it will kill you.

If you need to examine yourself for sin quickly, just look back at the last day or two and ask, “Have I been selfish?” If the answer is “no,” then ask you’d better examine your honesty and your powers to remember.

For such selfish sinfulness, the wages of sin is death. Eternal death. That’s the Law of the Lord.

So, as He said to James and John, so Jesus says to you: His cup and baptism are yours. His cross is yours. He gives it to you. He tells you that He came to serve you, and He gave His life as a ransom for you, as a payment for your sin. He joins you to Himself so that you can say, “I have already died to sin, and I already have eternal life.”

His baptism of suffering is given to you in your baptism: He got the cross so that you could get grace by water and the Word. At the font, Jesus joined you to Himself, His death and resurrection. So, St. Paul says in Romans 6:4, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). So you already died to sin: your sinful flesh was put to death with water and the words, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” In Christ, you are a new creation. You’re still troubled by your old sinful flesh that wants you dead again, but you’ve already died to sin because Jesus joined you to His cross, His death. So when the devil says, “You have to die for your sin!”, you can say, “You’re right, and I already have! I am baptized! And even though my body still has to die and rise, I already have eternal life for the sake of Jesus!”

So Jesus’ baptism of suffering is given to you in your baptism. Likewise, His cup of suffering is given to you in His Supper. As Holy Baptism joins you to Jesus’ death and resurrection, so the Holy Communion joins you to His body and blood—His crucified and risen body and blood. That’s what He gives you in the Supper. As you drink from that cup, you receive the forgiveness that Jesus won by His cup of suffering, by dying your death for you. He gets the cross: you get His body and blood in, with and under bread and wine.

So when you hear of the cross, the Lord announces to you that you are baptized with the baptism with which He was baptized; and when He says, “drink the cup of the suffering that I drank at the cross,” you say “Amen” and you make your way to the altar. When the Lord joins you to His cross, He doesn’t say that now you must suffer for your sin to follow Him. No, He says that you need not suffer the wages for your sin, because He has paid that ransom in your place. He’s already joined you to the glory of the cross. All that’s left for you now is the glory of heaven.

The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. And because of His selfless service to you, you are forgiven for all of your sins. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.