By Pastor Matt Parra

Mark 10:35-40

James and John had a problem. They thought that they knew what it meant to be with Jesus in His glory, but they were wrong.

Much to the chagrin of the other disciples they approached the Lord and said, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You? Notice their words, “whatever we ask of you”. Their question communicates an over confidence in their opinion of themselves and an overestimation of their view of things. They seem to think that they know exactly what they need from Jesus.

Now I don’t think this story is in the Bible to teach us about James and John, I think it’s there to teach us about ourselves. We can be so overconfident in our views that we approach the Lord of eternity as if we know what He should do. Shouldn’t we be more inclined to ask Him what He wants from us rather than what we want to get for ourselves?

His ways are not our ways nor are His thoughts our thoughts, for as high as the heavens are above the earth are His thoughts than our thoughts and His ways than our ways. Isaiah 55:8,9.

Jesus goes along with James and John and asks them what it is they want Him to do for them. Their request is to sit next to Him when He comes into His glory, one of them on His right hand and the other on His left. To this, He responds, “You do not know what you are asking”.

And oh boy isn’t that the truth!?

They had no real comprehension of what it would mean to sit with Him in His glory because they were only thinking about the glory of His power. What they wanted was to be near the man of the hour while He took power and control over the nation. They had an ignorant childlike view that, praise God, Jesus didn’t hold against them.

His patience is astonishing and revealing. Love truly  is patient and I pray for that patience and that every member of our church could manifest the same patience towards one another.

What Jesus understood, that John and James did not, is that God’s glory is more than His might, power, and strength. His glory is His character which leads to humble service and self-sacrifice for others with absolutely no desire for power over them.

They wanted to be powerful and important and that showed in their words and actions. They had that satan like desire to have God’s power while rejecting His character.  Their sincere desire to follow Christ was mingled with and tainted by selfishness and egotism but they didn’t know it.

One day Jesus would be crowned the King of the Jews. He would be glorified in the crowning act of His sacrifice for sin. The glory that He shared with the Father before the world began would be revealed for all the universe to see.

Surely being with Jesus in the manifestation of that glory was not what James and John were asking for. Surely, they did not know what they were asking.

One of God’s greatest gifts is not giving us what we ask Him because the basic fact is that we don’t know what we are asking for. But we eventually will.

In the story Jesus promises that one day they would understand. They would follow Him into His glory. Let us only pray that He promises us the same thing.

Do you want to be with Jesus when He comes into His glory?

Before the crown of power comes the cross of sacrifice and humiliation for mercy’s sake. And nothing more.

Let us choose today to hear Him. To accept Him. And to learn from Him rather than trying to use Him to get what our carnal hearts desire.  

May God bless you as you purpose in your heart to be with Him in the glory of His character and then, I believe He will allow us to enjoy the glory of His power.