For the past three weeks we have been looking at some of the over 300 questions Jesus asked during His public ministry…why so many questions?
Probably most of all…to hear what people had to say…the only real way to know what people are thinking…or to know their thoughts is to ask them…but more importantly…it is through His questions that He invites people into a relationship with Him.
I’ll say it for the fourth time…one of the biggest mistakes people make is that they read the Bible as a spectator…as a novel…or like a fictional story…not realizing the application it has for us today.
Scripture becomes nothing more than a collection of stories and events that took place thousands of years ago…with no seemingly relevance for us today.
This morning we’ll look at a question from Jesus that He asks twice in the span of 15 verses…as we read these stories…it’s important to imagine yourself in the stories…this is a question Jesus is asking to all of us.
MARK 10:35-37, 46, 49-51
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
46 Then they came to Jericho…Jesus…his disciples…together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus was sitting by the roadside begging.
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
Need some clarification…need to set this up…Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem for the last time…He’s going to the Cross…but the disciples see something different awaiting them…they’re looking at a pathway to glory…they see something in this for them.
Earlier the disciples had been discussing among themselves which of them was the greatest [33] …Jesus, perceiving what they were discussing, asks them… what were you discussing on the way?[33] …crickets…silence.
How do you tell God…Jesus…that after He’s gone you’re planning on racking in on the left overs…maybe set up your own personal ministry.
Essentially James and John are wanting to be the chief administrators in the forthcoming Kingdom of God…like the Secretary of State and the other the Secretary of the Treasury.
Mark did not have firsthand knowledge of this request…he was not one of the 12 apostles…SO…here’s the issue for all the skeptics…since Mark was not an eyewitness to these events:
…can I trust the information we have about Jesus as being accurate…YEP.
…do I still believe the Bible was inspired…YEP.
…do I still believe the Bible is without error…YEP.
…do I still believe the sayings of Jesus that were handed down from memory before finally being written down decades later are still accurate…YEP.
If you’re familiar with the Apostles then you know there was a pecking order within the 12…Peter…James…and John were Jesus’ inner circle…on several occasions…at the transfigurations [9:2-8] and in the Garden of Gethsemane [14:32-42] Jesus has these three accompany Him…excluding the other disciples.
Mark’s desire to know firsthand what Jesus preached is why any knowledge of this incident is even known…it came from the person who was present…that’s why you can be confident this occurred exactly as Mark wrote it…Mark was Peter’s secretary.
The answers given by these three men reveals how differently people approach God for favors.
The first question of 36 “What do you want me to do for you? is in response to the two disciples who are requesting to have top positions in the Kingdom.
Just looking at this request on the surface…we find it hard to imagine how James and John could be so dense…so self-centered…and so insensitive to Jesus’ pain as He prepares for the Cross.
They are asking Jesus to fit them into His plans rather than trying to see how they might fit into Jesus’ plans.
Part of the problem was the disciples were clueless regarding Jesus’ crucifixion …not understanding the significance of the Cross…three times in Mark Jesus tells them that He would be jailed… beaten… condemned and executed as a criminal…[Mark 8:27-32 / 9:30-32 / 10:32-34] …but…clearly the disciples are focused on their own personal desires.
Reading on in Scripture Mark records the other 10 disciples weren’t too happy with James and John either…being rather selfish and bold in their request [10:41].
BUT…notice Jesus’ response…He doesn’t rebuke them…He doesn’t say… ‘what’s up with you guys’ … ‘How can you be so arrogant’ …He doesn’t rebuff their ambition to be near Him.
In these few verses we find two different attitudes in regards to the question What do you want me to do for you?
In the first response to James and John Jesus says…you’re going about it entirely the wrong way.
The trouble was that they weren’t asking for the wrong thing…but asking for something with no understanding of what was involved.
The initial request by James and John reflects their misguided ideas about how God works…and how He answers prayer…unfortunately…our misunderstanding of Scripture doesn’t help.
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. [Matt. 7:7-8]
The problem comes from the people who never go to church…or who do but don’t follow Jesus…but when issues arise…they are not hesitant to pray to God…seeing that verse as a ‘blank check’ for answered prayer.
That God will give you everything you ask for… when you ask for it…how you want it…regardless of who you are or what you believe.
First error is that we can make the text say more than it does…if you’ve been around any length of time at all…you know that’s not the way it works…if you could make God do something at your command…then you’d be God and He wouldn’t.
So what does the text mean?…here’s an interesting fact about the Bible…you can’t just open it up…pick out a verse and claim it as a promise from God …you have to take the Bible in its entirety.
That’s the whole problem with salvation…said it before…John 3:16 is the starting point of salvation…if you love me keep My commandments is the narrow road that leads to eternal life.
The fallacy with James and John’s request…something we all can identify with…is essentially…they were ignorant of what they were asking for…Jesus even tells them…You do not know what you are asking.
Jesus goes on to tell them what it is they are ignorant of…they are ignorant of the cost of their request…we do the same thing…we do not understand at times the price involved if God were to grant our prayer request.
In the case of James and John…they tell Jesus…we can drink of the cup and be baptized with the baptism you received…not realizing the significance in making that agreement…SO…Jesus tells them OK…you will indeed drink of the cup that I drink from and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with.
Both did drink the cup and experience the baptism Jesus did…though in different ways.
James became an early martyr in the Church…he was beheaded by Herod.
John…on one occasion was put into a vat of boiling oil…then…forced to drink poison on another…eventually exiled to the island of Patmos for the rest of his life.
Goes back to the old saying…be careful what you ask for…wish for…pray for …or agree to…all the rest of the apostles all shared in Jesus’ death.
So many times we are so distraught about something in our lives…or we want something to happen so bad that we throw caution to the wind…we make a commitment to God that can have lifelong implications.
The example is the solider in combat who tells God ‘You get me out of here and I’ll become a preacher’ …be careful about how you approach God in your requests.
Then there’s the blind man Bartimaeus…both Mark and Luke [Luke 18:35-43] write about Bartimaeus. Scripture indicates that later on that day:
46 they came to Jericho… a blind man, Bartimaeus, was sitting by the roadside begging.
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
It’s an extraordinary moment …the entire crowd waiting breathlessly to hear Bartimaeus’ response…their attention focused on someone who just minutes before they were trying to shut up.
The healing of Bartimaeus is the last recorded healing miracle in Mark…so what can we learn from this poor, blind beggar?
Notice that when Jesus asked him what he wanted, the man didn’t say…
“Well, Lord…you know my heart…you know what I need…or…I have an unspoken request…Bartimaeus answers Jesus…I want to receive my sight… direct and to the point.
I’m not against unspoken requests…sometimes, it’s the most appropriate way to ask for prayer in public when wanting to conceal what it is you’re praying for…sometimes it’s not for common knowledge…it’s not everybody’s business.
That’s why I don’t share our prayer requests with anyone but those who come to Tuesday night prayer service because some of those requests are personal.
Let me share with you the danger when we don’t ask God specifically what it is we desire…because God deals in specifics…praying for world hunger or world peace…or that all Covid-19 people are healed doesn’t get the attention of God.
If you are asking God for something in prayer…two things you need to do: –Tell God exactly what the problem is
–Tell God exactly what you need done about it.
This is exactly the format Jesus used when addressing the issue of how to pray: [Luke 11:1] “one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray…” Jesus then tells them… pray this way…here’s where the confusion comes in.
When you look at the Lord’s Prayer it is unique among all the prayers of the Bible but it’s a bit confusing…even though it’s called the Lord’s prayer:
…it never mentions the Lord.
…it’s prayed in all churches, but it never mentions the church.
…it doesn’t mention the virgin birth…atoning death, or the bodily resurrection
…it never mentions the Holy Spirit
…it’s prayed by all denominations…but never mentions…priest, bishop or pope
…it’s prayed by Christians who split over doctrinal issues but it never mentions a single word about any doctrines.
…it’s prayed by Christians whose concern is heaven…but it never mentions heaven
or hell.
I have people tell me ‘I pray the Lord’s prayer everyday’ …and that does what?
Jesus didn’t say…regarding the Lord’s prayer…pray this prayer…or repeat after me…or…as most translations of [Matthew 6:9] begin with: “this is how (Οὕτως) you (ὑμεῖς) (should) pray (προσεύχεσθε).
The word ‘pray’ is in the imperative voice making it a command…translators insert the word ‘should’ which is not in the original Greek text… adding the word ‘should’ implies that you should pray this specific prayer just like it is written…using these exact words…but that is not the intent.
Jesus wasn’t giving us a prayer to repeat…He was giving us an example of how to pray…the confusion is not to pray these exact words…the command is to use this prayer as a pattern…a more suitable translation could be “pray in this way”.
Not wanting to get into a deep discussion on the Lord’s Prayer…and I’m not…I want you to see what Jesus’ intent was when He gave us what is known as the model prayer.
The Prayer falls into seven petitions…the first three are addressed to God:
thy name…thy kingdom…thy will!
The last four concern us and our needs that the Father fulfills:
give us…forgive us…lead us not…deliver us.
Our English translations fail to convey the imperative tenses found in the words of this prayer…an imperative word in both Greek and English convey the same thing…it is a word spoken as an order or a command, such as, “You do this!” or “Do that now!” …the imperative words in the Lord’s Prayer are:
PRAY this way
HALLOWED be your name means treat as holy…set apart as holy.
Your kingdom COME.
Your will of you be DONE
GIVE us this day
FORGIVE our debts
DELIVER us from evil.
When you pray those words you are telling God to make that happen…prayer springs from a sense of need…it must express a sincere desire.
We are all just like Bartimaeus…God is asking every person in this sanctuary this morning that same question…What do you want me to do for you?”
How would you answer that…would you be selfish and ask for something for yourself…hopefully for those who don’t know Jesus as their Savior they would ask Jesus to come into their lives and save them…or maybe ask Jesus to be in charge of your life…for most of us we’ve done a pretty good job of messing it up on our own.
Bartimaeus not only had his physical eyes opened…but his spiritual eyes of understanding were also opened…and he acknowledged Christ as the Lord of His life.
Here’s what’s important…Jesus is asking that very question of you every day of your life…know that? …how we respond to that question will have eternal implications…we can blow it off with the ‘there’s nothing you can do for me’ …or …we can trust Jesus to show us His purpose for our life.