Gospel of Mark/Chapter 10:35-52/Commentary

The Gospel of Mark Chapter 10:35-52 “In the self-sacrificing predicted for Jesus in His prophecy, note how totally absent is the spirit that always calculates its own advantages: ‘What is there going to be in it for me?’ This uncalculating altruism must condemn the ambition of the Apostles who not only ask, ‘We have sacrificed everything—what shall we have?’ but also demand to be exalted to positions of highest honors’” (Fowler pp. 909910). “However, the very precision of these details must have been a crushing load for Jesus to bear, since, although He is furnished with the infallibly of prophetic foresight, He is also forced thereby to anticipate mentally all that to which He must then voluntarily submit Himself. No escapist, our Lord faced His own future squarely and courageously” (p. 911).

The Request of James and John 10:35 “And James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Him, saying to Him, ‘Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You’” Sounds like a blank check request. Many feel that the sons were embarrassed to ask outright for positions in the kingdom and first attempt to get Jesus to extend to them a blanket promise. Peter says nothing this time, there is no attempt to rebuke Jesus. Yet is appears that the lesson had been lost on James and John.

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Here is one more passage that obviously the church did not invent years later for these men were two of the most prominent apostles.

10:36 “And He said to them, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’”

Jesus demands that they specify what they want. “He is not deceived either by His own love (affection) for them or by their fawning for His favors. He correctly requires that they commit themselves before He will commit Himself to sign any blank checks” (Fowler p. 916).

10:37 “And they said to Him, ‘Grant that we may sit in Your glory, one on Your right, and one on Your left’” Although James and John had heard lessons on the need for humility (Matthew 18:1-35), they apparently thought that Jesus’ statement about them sitting on twelve thrones (Matthew 19:28) meant literal thrones. James and John perhaps envisioned a throne room with Jesus at the center and with the twelve seated on lesser thrones. If so, those enthroned next to Him would be presumed as worthy of greater honor than those seated to His far left and right. Fowler notes that they are asking to be the Messiah’s most exalted, most influential counselors.

Observe the word “command”. Do we make the same mistake—do we demand things of God? “Not only do the Evangelists bare the disciples’ sordid presumption, but, in that act, convince the reader of the genuineness of its history. We are not in the presence of mythology created to glorify Christian heroes, but in the presence of an ugly fact too true to human nature to be denied” (Fowler p. 918). Seeing that it is clear that Jesus is going to Jerusalem, these disciples assumed that this trip with result in the Messianic Kingdom being established and positions of power being handled out. Thus, they strike first, and try to get in their request before such decisions are finalized.

10:38 “But Jesus said to them, ‘You do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink of the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?’”

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To drink a cup is to experience its contents. The cup under consideration is the suffering that Jesus would endure (Matthew 26:39,41; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42).

At this point Mark adds, ”and to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” (10:38). To be baptized with suffering means to be overwhelmed by it.

A deluge of troubles. “Because they steadily refused to see Him as a suffering King, they cannot see that a prayer for glory beside Him must be a request for suffering” (Fowler p. 919).

They did not have a clue! Jesus had been trying to tell them that He was going to be crucified! Did they want the positions on His right and left during the crucifixion?

10:39 “And they said to Him, ‘We are able’”: They still do not know what they are saying; they do not grasp what Jesus is telling them. In addition, this “we are able” sounds a lot like the boast that Peter made before Jesus’ arrest (Matthew 26:33). McGarvey notes that the apostles may have thought that Jesus referred to some battle or conflict which would attend the ushering in of the kingdom, and as they were not wanting in physical courage, they were ready enough to pledge themselves to endure it.

“Honesty compels us to confess the same zeal for the Lord and the same selfish ambition; the same high courage and the same cruel disregard for brethren; the same readiness to suffer and the same readiness to make others suffer; the same concern for the Lord’s honor and the same disregard for the disaster that must come to the Lord’s work if our own ambitions were to be realized” (Fowler p.

921).

10:39 “And Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I drink you shall drink and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized’”: James and John as well as the other apostles would suffer for the cause of Christ (Phil. 3:20; Romans 8:17; 1 Corinthians 4:9). In fact, James would taste of this cup first in Acts 12.

10:40 “But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those whom it has been prepared’”: “Future rewards are indeed meted out by the hand of Christ (2 Timothy 4:8; Revelation 2:10,17,26,28; 3:12,21), but they are 3

not distributed according to caprice or favoritism” (McGarvey p. 557). It appears in the verses that follow, Jesus lays down the principles upon which greatness in the kingdom will be pronounced.

10:41 “And hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John”: “The ten, sharing the same ambition as the two, jealousy resented their efforts to take an unfair advantage of the Lord’s known affection for them. To restore peace among them, and to correct their false views, He draws the distinction between the worldly greatness to which they aspired, and the spiritual greatness which they ought to have sought…Jesus added power to His rebuke by showing them that their spirit was not even Jewish, but altogether heathenish” (McGarvey p.

558).

10:42-44 “And calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, ‘You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them’. But it is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all’” The attitude that James and John displayed was the attitude of the great ones in the world, that is, striving for the top positions and wanted to be served. The kingdom that Jesus will establish is unlike the kingdoms of this world. The kingdom of God is not to be structured along the lines of the secular state. This is the Lord’s final word on the question of hierarchy and power structures in the Church. “In short, there are no ring-side seats for honored spectators in God’s Kingdom, just places of service down beside the King Himself who is busy washing feet, mediating for others, and dying for sinners (John 13:12-17; Romans 8:29; 1 Peter 2:21)” (Fowler p. 929). These verses certainly rebuke any attempt to pattern the Church after the state or some other human power structure. Greatness in the kingdom is found in serving others, that is, to make someone a voluntary servant of others. The number of people you are able to serve measures greatness in the Kingdom.

10:43 “Whoever wishes to become great”: Like James and John just demonstrated. Whoever wants to be on Jesus’ right and left hand. Even though

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Jesus had previously rebuked the spirit of worldly ambition among the disciples, it was still very much alive.

10:44 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served”: Jesus sets the example. He did not come to be served. “He did not come as a potentate whose every personal whim was to be catered to by groveling servants” (Gaebelein p.

720). Jesus’ self-sacrifice is the standard of service that God expects (John 13:3435; Philippians 2:3-6). “Jesus could ever refer to Himself as the best example of the virtues which He taught. Since honor consists in being like the King, the highest honor consists in being most like Him. The closing words state the vicarious nature of Christ’s suffering as plainly as language can express it. The ransom is offered for all (1 Timothy 2:6), and will be efficacious for as many as accept it” (McGarvey p. 558). “But to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many”: “Many” is the opposite of the concept of the privileged few. Jesus potentially died for everyone, but people must obey Him in order to receive the benefits of His sacrifice (Hebrews 5:9). If Jesus died for “many” then the disciples need to get busy and try to reach the “many”. No predestination is taught here nor Jesus only dying for the chosen.

The Healing of Blind Bartimaeus 10:46 “And they came to Jericho. And as He was going out from Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road” “Because several eastern routes converged at the Jordan River just east of Jericho, this city had long been a natural stopping place for festival-bound pilgrims arriving from various directions on their way to Jerusalem” (Fowler p. 937). Jericho was located about five miles west of the Jordan River and about 15 miles NE of Jerusalem.

At this point Luke says that all this happened “as He was approaching Jericho” (Luke 18:35). Mark says “And they came to Jericho. And as He was going out from Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road” (10:46). In the First Century an old Jericho which was largely abandoned and a new Jericho, built by 5

Herod the Great existed. It is possible that this healing actually took place between the old city and the new city. Thus Jesus would be leaving one and entering the other at the same time.

10:46 “A blind beggar”: Matthew mentions two beggars (20:30). Neither Mark or Luke mention this second beggar, and rather concentrate upon the more vocal of the two. It could be that as Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was in town that he quickly found a friend of his who was also a beggar. In like manner, Matthew is the only writer who notes that Jesus healed two demoniacs in the territory of Gadara (Matthew 8:28), while Mark and Luke speak only of one demoniac possessed by the Legion demons.

10:47 “And when he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene”: He was blind, yet he was not deaf. He had been listening to what people were saying about Jesus. He knew that Jesus had healed others. “He began to cry out and say, ‘Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!’”: It appears he had no one to help him, no one to take him to Jesus—as others had. This man had never seen Jesus, never seen Jesus heal anyone, yet he believes. Faith does not need perfect circumstances in which to develop and grow. “Son of David”: Was a popular Jewish title for the Messiah.

10:48 “And many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’”: We wonder why the multitude sternly rebukes these two blind men: 1. Some might have been uncomfortable with Jesus being called the “son of David”. 2. “Others still, believing that Jesus was about to be crowned king, thought that it was high time that He should cease paying so much attention to beggars” (McGarvey p. 560). 3. Were they angry because such shouting interrupted their own conversations, or their own attempts to get near to Jesus? “Were there disciples crowding around Jesus, even now straining to pick up His every word, who resented this vigorously noisy interruption of their concentration?” (Fowler p. 945). “But he kept crying out all the more”: “This frustrating hindrance only increased the intensity of their determination to receive help. Unlike the rich young ruler, these undiscourageable believers would not be rebuffed by setbacks and baffling handicaps. Their persistence evidences their conviction that the Son of David is 6

their only hope and help…They feared that the opportunity of a lifetime was slipping through their fingers” (Fowler pp. 945-946).

Do we have this much persistence when it comes to our own salvation? Like Bartimaeus are we absolutely convinced that Jesus is the only answer for our problems? Do we view our salvation as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? What sort of things do we allow to discourage us from seeking God’s blessings and favor? Do we give up too easily? What do we do when the world tell us to remain silent?

10:49 “Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him here. And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take courage, arise! He is calling for you’”: I am struck by the hypocrisy of the crowd. One moment many are sternly telling this man to remain quiet and the next moment they are telling him to get up, take courage for Jesus wants to talk to them.

10:50 “And casting aside his cloak, he jumped up, and came to Jesus”: No one had to tell this man to take courage. He jumped up!

10:51 “And answering him, Jesus said, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’”

And the blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!’”: Jesus does not immediately heal the man. He wants to know what the man wants. If someone says, “Duh, everyone can tell he wants to be healed”. Yet, Jesus could do many things for a person—including forgiving their sins.

10:52 “Jesus said to him, ‘Go your way; your faith has made you well’. And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road”: I am impressed that the blind man followed Jesus. He did not wander off and say, “Now I can see, I am going to go and do stuff that I could not do when blind”. He does not use his new freedom to go out and serve himself.

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