Mar 10:39 | KingComments | STEP | After the Lord’s frank words about what will happen to Him, the brothers James and John come to Him with a request. We may always come to Him with our wishes. He invites them to say what they want Him to do for them. He already knows what they want to ask. In the same way He knows what we need or want before we make our wishes known to Him. However, he wants us to come forward with them, to speak out about them. That does not mean that we always get what we ask for, nor does it mean that we always ask for the right things or even that we do it in the right way. The Lord wants us to gain insight into our questions and motives, and therefore invites us to speak out. The brothers ask if they may have a place next to Him when He is in His glory, when He has established His kingdom. It is a kind of reservation of the best place next to Him. They think they are ahead of the others with this. They believe in His glory, which they appreciate. However, they are blind to the fact that He must first suffer and die and that this will also be their part in following Him. They do not think about His suffering, of which He has just spoken. It seems as if they have not heard that. All they can think about is His reign and their own place in His kingdom. They don’t think about the place of the Lord and how He will get it. They’re too preoccupied with themselves for that. The Lord answers them that they do not know what they are asking for. Sharing in His glory is preceded by sharing in His suffering ( ; ) and they don’t understand that. That is why He asks them if they can drink His cup. That means if they can endure the suffering He will endure. The cup indicates more the inner suffering, the suffering of the soul, because of all injustice and defamation. He also asks if they can be baptized with the baptism with which He is baptized. This also means suffering, even to the point of death. Baptism connects us in the picture with the rejected Christ and points more to the outer suffering, the bodily suffering. The cup and the baptism as presented by the Lord here are about putting ourselves on the side of the rejected Christ with all its consequences. In addition to their ambitious desire for the best places in the kingdom, they also appear to have an excess of self-confidence. Ambition and self-confidence belong together. It should come as no surprise to us that these two disciples also flee when the Lord is captured. Yet He does not blame them for saying they can do it. He even says they will. They will die for Him. That is why He makes the carnal desire of the two of them an opportunity to teach His disciples. If they want to be with Him, it is necessary that they go the same path as He. Then they will experience something of bitter suffering, both inwardly and outwardly. But whatever suffering they will experience in imitation of the Lord Jesus, all that suffering, of course, has nothing to do with His unique suffering for the sake of sin to work reconciliation with God for others. He has experienced this suffering alone and no one can imitate Him in this. They will be able to share in the suffering that people will cause to Him. They won’t be able to share in the suffering that God will cause Him because He alone will endure it and because of the sins of all who believe in Him. As for their request, He does not decide as the Servant. The division of tasks in His kingdom is prepared by His Father. The Father gives everyone his place in the kingdom according to His wisdom.

‏ Mark 10:39

A Place in the Kingdom

After the Lord’s frank words about what will happen to Him, the brothers James and John come to Him with a request. We may always come to Him with our wishes. He invites them to say what they want Him to do for them. He already knows what they want to ask. In the same way He knows what we need or want before we make our wishes known to Him. However, he wants us to come forward with them, to speak out about them. That does not mean that we always get what we ask for, nor does it mean that we always ask for the right things or even that we do it in the right way. The Lord wants us to gain insight into our questions and motives, and therefore invites us to speak out.

The brothers ask if they may have a place next to Him when He is in His glory, when He has established His kingdom. It is a kind of reservation of the best place next to Him. They think they are ahead of the others with this. They believe in His glory, which they appreciate. However, they are blind to the fact that He must first suffer and die and that this will also be their part in following Him. They do not think about His suffering, of which He has just spoken. It seems as if they have not heard that. All they can think about is His reign and their own place in His kingdom. They don’t think about the place of the Lord and how He will get it. They’re too preoccupied with themselves for that.

The Lord answers them that they do not know what they are asking for. Sharing in His glory is preceded by sharing in His suffering (Lk 24:26; Rom 8:17) and they don’t understand that. That is why He asks them if they can drink His cup. That means if they can endure the suffering He will endure. The cup indicates more the inner suffering, the suffering of the soul, because of all injustice and defamation. He also asks if they can be baptized with the baptism with which He is baptized. This also means suffering, even to the point of death. Baptism connects us in the picture with the rejected Christ and points more to the outer suffering, the bodily suffering. The cup and the baptism as presented by the Lord here are about putting ourselves on the side of the rejected Christ with all its consequences.

In addition to their ambitious desire for the best places in the kingdom, they also appear to have an excess of self-confidence. Ambition and self-confidence belong together. It should come as no surprise to us that these two disciples also flee when the Lord is captured. Yet He does not blame them for saying they can do it. He even says they will. They will die for Him. That is why He makes the carnal desire of the two of them an opportunity to teach His disciples. If they want to be with Him, it is necessary that they go the same path as He. Then they will experience something of bitter suffering, both inwardly and outwardly.

But whatever suffering they will experience in imitation of the Lord Jesus, all that suffering, of course, has nothing to do with His unique suffering for the sake of sin to work reconciliation with God for others. He has experienced this suffering alone and no one can imitate Him in this. They will be able to share in the suffering that people will cause to Him. They won’t be able to share in the suffering that God will cause Him because He alone will endure it and because of the sins of all who believe in Him.

As for their request, He does not decide as the Servant. The division of tasks in His kingdom is prepared by His Father. The Father gives everyone his place in the kingdom according to His wisdom.