WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.900 --> 00:00:04.400 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord and 2 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:05.200 Savior Jesus Christ. 3 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:07.100 Amen. 4 00:00:09.800 --> 00:00:13.300 Well growing up there was a old proverb 5 00:00:13.300 --> 00:00:15.000 my dad used to share with us kids. 6 00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:17.800 The proverb went something like this. 7 00:00:17.800 --> 00:00:19.800 He say kids 8 00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:21.500 be careful what you wish for 9 00:00:21.500 --> 00:00:23.500 you just might get it. 10 00:00:25.100 --> 00:00:28.100 Now there are variations of that proverb. It could be be careful 11 00:00:28.100 --> 00:00:29.100 what you ask for. 12 00:00:29.100 --> 00:00:33.900 Be careful what you pray for and then sometimes what it was be careful 13 00:00:33.900 --> 00:00:37.600 what you pray for my dad would sometimes advise as to say whenever you 14 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:43.200 pray always pray that God loves you enough not to give you about 75% 15 00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:44.500 of what you're asking him for. 16 00:00:45.900 --> 00:00:50.500 And the context for this would usually be there would be some toy 17 00:00:50.500 --> 00:00:55.800 something that we just had to have or some occasion some event 18 00:00:55.800 --> 00:00:59.500 we just had to participate in. But this would be an occasion or event that 19 00:00:59.500 --> 00:01:03.400 would require my dad to shell out some extra money and we were in a 20 00:01:03.400 --> 00:01:06.900 growing family that eventually with six kids money was tight. And so 21 00:01:06.900 --> 00:01:10.500 very often when we came to our dad said can I have this I got to have 22 00:01:10.500 --> 00:01:12.000 this or can I go on this or 23 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:13.600 can I go on this event? 24 00:01:13.600 --> 00:01:17.500 I just have to he would often say no and often his no meant no 25 00:01:17.500 --> 00:01:20.600 but often we would push him we would be the ones who would start 26 00:01:20.600 --> 00:01:24.100 begging and insisting. And eventually my dad would get frustrated and 27 00:01:24.100 --> 00:01:29.200 said okay, you can have it you can go but be careful what you wish 28 00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:29.400 for 29 00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:33.900 you just might get it. And my dad had a clever way of making that point 30 00:01:33.900 --> 00:01:35.600 putting some teeth in that proverb. 31 00:01:35.600 --> 00:01:41.300 Usually if if this if this occasion came where we insisted that we get 32 00:01:41.300 --> 00:01:43.500 what we wanted he would say, okay. 33 00:01:43.500 --> 00:01:45.700 I'm going to pay the cash, but you have to agree 34 00:01:46.200 --> 00:01:52.000 to take on an extra chore permanently. And I remember my occasion 35 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:53.600 I had to have this magic set. 36 00:01:53.600 --> 00:01:55.500 This was the summer between third and fourth grade. 37 00:01:55.500 --> 00:01:56.400 It was on TV. 38 00:01:56.400 --> 00:02:00.700 I just had to have it was 1999 which was a lot more money back in 39 00:02:00.700 --> 00:02:04.400 those days. And I asked my dad and he said no and I just kept at him and 40 00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:07.300 he said, okay, I'll buy that magic set. 41 00:02:07.300 --> 00:02:11.700 But for now on you wash the windows every Saturday and I could tell 42 00:02:11.700 --> 00:02:14.600 you I got what I wanted and I live to regret it. 43 00:02:15.700 --> 00:02:17.700 So be careful what you wish for 44 00:02:17.700 --> 00:02:23.600 You just might get it. And my dad's a reason he would explain that 45 00:02:23.600 --> 00:02:26.500 proverb to us in a way that what we didn't like at the time, but he 46 00:02:26.500 --> 00:02:27.400 would say your kids. 47 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:31.300 Your all very intelligent and yet you're all very dumb. 48 00:02:31.300 --> 00:02:34.400 You don't know what you need. 49 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:35.700 You don't know what's best. 50 00:02:35.700 --> 00:02:36.500 You have no experience. 51 00:02:36.500 --> 00:02:41.600 I your father know better than you and that he would it say and God 52 00:02:41.600 --> 00:02:46.800 our Father knows better than I do and therefore be careful what you 53 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:50.400 ask for. And then he would always remind us maybe you should just trust 54 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:53.100 God of the end as you pray to him. 55 00:02:53.100 --> 00:02:54.700 He will give you those things 56 00:02:54.700 --> 00:02:59.800 you truly need but even those things you truly desire and not give you 57 00:02:59.800 --> 00:03:04.900 those other things. But who knows God has a sense of humor, maybe every 58 00:03:04.900 --> 00:03:05.300 once in awhile 59 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:09.800 he will give you what you want and you'll live to regret it. 60 00:03:09.800 --> 00:03:14.500 Well this is a proverb that the brothers James and John the sons of 61 00:03:14.500 --> 00:03:18.000 Zebedee up here to not have known. When all the way to Jerusalem 62 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:20.000 they come to Jesus 63 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:24.100 and they say or do you want you to give us whatever we ask. And anybody 64 00:03:24.100 --> 00:03:27.300 who's been a parent's knows right away if that's how your kids begin. 65 00:03:27.300 --> 00:03:32.600 You're likely going to be saying no to them and Jesus response is 66 00:03:32.600 --> 00:03:33.200 what do you want? 67 00:03:33.200 --> 00:03:37.000 And they say Lord grant that we would each set one on your right one 68 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:37.400 on your left 69 00:03:37.400 --> 00:03:41.400 when you come into your glory. Kind of an interesting word 70 00:03:41.400 --> 00:03:43.900 Mark uses their, dóxa, glory. 71 00:03:43.900 --> 00:03:48.800 They are thinking that Jesus was about to enter his glory. That Jesus 72 00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:49.400 is indeed 73 00:03:49.400 --> 00:03:50.300 the number one. 74 00:03:50.300 --> 00:03:54.700 He's going to be the ruler of Israel and likely the judge of the 75 00:03:54.700 --> 00:03:57.000 nation's. They imagined 76 00:03:57.000 --> 00:04:00.300 I think your way up here is Jesus and you might think there's sort of 77 00:04:00.300 --> 00:04:02.700 a pyramid coming down under Jesus. 78 00:04:02.700 --> 00:04:06.200 He alone is singularly at the top and they want to be right 79 00:04:06.300 --> 00:04:09.000 under him when he comes into his glory. There 80 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:13.300 he is in full glory, full authority and the next to him are James and 81 00:04:13.300 --> 00:04:17.300 John and then the idea of course is under them are Peter and Andrew 82 00:04:17.300 --> 00:04:20.500 and the others and then under them the other disciples and then under 83 00:04:20.500 --> 00:04:24.400 them others and others and finally at the base of the pyramid all of 84 00:04:24.400 --> 00:04:29.100 the unimportant people. You know, like those children that they try to 85 00:04:29.100 --> 00:04:33.800 keep from coming to Jesus earlier in this chapter. The very children 86 00:04:33.800 --> 00:04:38.400 that Jesus said if you receive them you receive me. No, you receive 87 00:04:38.400 --> 00:04:43.600 him who sent me. Obviously James and John aren't paying attention to 88 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:47.900 what's going on or anything that Jesus has said because they've just 89 00:04:47.900 --> 00:04:52.700 asked a boneheaded question request to sit at Jesus right and 90 00:04:52.700 --> 00:04:55.800 left when he comes in his glory because this is what they see. 91 00:04:55.800 --> 00:05:00.400 Jesus way up here ruling Israel judging the nation's and them sharing 92 00:05:00.400 --> 00:05:03.000 and His glory and his power. 93 00:05:03.900 --> 00:05:08.700 They're not listening because Jesus just said before this when he goes 94 00:05:08.700 --> 00:05:11.600 to Jerusalem, he's going to be rejected by Israel. 95 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:15.000 He's going to be delivered over to the Gentiles. 96 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:18.300 He's going to be killed and on the third day 97 00:05:18.300 --> 00:05:24.900 he will rise. And he said this now three times and these two guys they 98 00:05:24.900 --> 00:05:26.200 were at the Mount of transfiguration. 99 00:05:26.200 --> 00:05:30.800 They heard the voice of God from the cloud saying this is my beloved 100 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:38.300 Son listen to him and they're not listening. Little do they know that 101 00:05:38.300 --> 00:05:42.400 they both asked Jesus that they would be scourged in front of the 102 00:05:42.400 --> 00:05:46.500 Sanhedrin for preaching the gospel. Little does James know that he's 103 00:05:46.500 --> 00:05:50.700 just asked Jesus that he would be executed by Herod Agrippa for 104 00:05:50.700 --> 00:05:54.700 preaching Jesus and the Gospel. Little does John know but he just asked 105 00:05:54.700 --> 00:05:58.100 that he would be exiled on the island of Patmos for preaching Jesus 106 00:05:58.100 --> 00:05:59.600 and the gospel. 107 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:07.300 They said they were counted worthy to suffer but on the road to 108 00:06:07.300 --> 00:06:09.200 Jerusalem, that's not what they're thinking. 109 00:06:09.200 --> 00:06:13.000 They're not thinking this request is going to lead us to suffering and 110 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:13.200 death. 111 00:06:13.200 --> 00:06:17.400 They have this false view even know Jesus has told them clearly. 112 00:06:17.400 --> 00:06:20.700 That's not what happening is that he's going to rule Israel judge the 113 00:06:20.700 --> 00:06:21.300 Nations 114 00:06:21.300 --> 00:06:24.600 and they're going to be right under him. And what Jesus has done 115 00:06:24.600 --> 00:06:31.400 in fact is he is flipping the script literally taking that pyramid and 116 00:06:31.400 --> 00:06:37.300 flipping it down so that the point is at the bottom and then the 117 00:06:37.300 --> 00:06:39.200 pyramid is not going this way 118 00:06:39.200 --> 00:06:45.600 but this way. With the number one guy at the bottom of the pyramid and 119 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:49.700 if you want to be next to him, then you need to go down not up. 120 00:06:50.700 --> 00:06:52.700 Yeah, the other disciples don't get it either. 121 00:06:52.700 --> 00:06:55.500 They're indignant at James and John they should have all been thinking 122 00:06:55.500 --> 00:06:55.600 boy 123 00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:59.500 they just asked a boneheaded request. But no their indignant because 124 00:06:59.500 --> 00:07:02.000 they're probably thinking why didn't we think of asking Jesus this 125 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:06.800 before them. And then Jesus straightens them all out with these words. 126 00:07:07.900 --> 00:07:11.400 You know that those were considered rulers of the Gentiles Lord it 127 00:07:11.400 --> 00:07:15.000 over them and they're great ones exercise authority over them. 128 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:19.900 There's that pyramid with the top dogs at the top and everybody else 129 00:07:19.900 --> 00:07:22.000 down below supporting them. 130 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:28.700 This is how it is among the godless nations, but he says it's a lot be 131 00:07:28.700 --> 00:07:29.400 so among you. 132 00:07:30.400 --> 00:07:34.900 But whoever shall be great among you must be your servant and whoever 133 00:07:34.900 --> 00:07:35.600 would be first among 134 00:07:35.600 --> 00:07:38.000 you must be last slave of all. 135 00:07:38.900 --> 00:07:44.300 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give 136 00:07:44.300 --> 00:07:50.500 his life as a ransom for many. For even the son of man did not come to 137 00:07:50.500 --> 00:07:57.500 be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. If 138 00:07:57.500 --> 00:08:00.300 James and John and the other Apostles had been paying attention. 139 00:08:00.300 --> 00:08:03.700 They would have seen that this is what has been happening ever since 140 00:08:03.700 --> 00:08:09.000 his baptism ever since he's called them to be his disciples and to be 141 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:10.000 his Apostles. 142 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:13.100 Jesus is all been all about serving. 143 00:08:14.100 --> 00:08:18.400 Healing the sick, calling and forgiving the sinners feeding the hungry 144 00:08:18.400 --> 00:08:24.300 the bearing with them and this very Ministry is fulfilled when Jesus 145 00:08:24.300 --> 00:08:31.700 goes to cross and gives his life as a ransom for many. And so when 146 00:08:31.700 --> 00:08:33.799 Jesus came that first time the son of man, 147 00:08:33.799 --> 00:08:39.100 yes who will rule Israel, nevertheless came to save Israel. 148 00:08:39.100 --> 00:08:45.500 The son of man who came to judge the nation's first redeems the 149 00:08:45.500 --> 00:08:53.300 nation's. He gives his life as that atoning sacrifice to redeem us from 150 00:08:53.300 --> 00:08:53.500 sin, 151 00:08:53.500 --> 00:08:58.300 death, Satan's power and God's Wrath. 152 00:08:59.500 --> 00:09:04.400 And in Mark's gospel is very important that we see that this cross is 153 00:09:04.400 --> 00:09:09.400 actually what Jesus means when he says his glory, his dóxa, and 154 00:09:09.400 --> 00:09:12.500 yeah, it was appointed that he would have two guys that is right and 155 00:09:12.500 --> 00:09:12.800 left. 156 00:09:12.800 --> 00:09:16.900 Not James and John but those two criminals who were crucified with 157 00:09:16.900 --> 00:09:22.100 him. But this is Jesus Glory because this is the point in Mark's 158 00:09:22.100 --> 00:09:26.600 gospel that we truly know Jesus is the son of God because he has been 159 00:09:26.600 --> 00:09:33.300 faithful to his father. Faithful unto death even death on a cross to 160 00:09:33.300 --> 00:09:33.800 accomplish 161 00:09:33.800 --> 00:09:39.400 his father's will for us that Israel will be saved and the Gentiles 162 00:09:39.400 --> 00:09:40.600 would be redeemed. 163 00:09:41.400 --> 00:09:46.000 That you would be saved and redeemed. And if you count yourself a 164 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:50.300 disciple of Jesus, if you are in the reign of God that I hope you 165 00:09:50.300 --> 00:09:54.800 understand how that reign looks it's an inverted pyramid. And your Lord 166 00:09:54.800 --> 00:09:57.900 whom you are called to serve. Nevertheless 167 00:09:57.900 --> 00:10:04.300 is first your servant and your slave. Maybe a bit of humble pie 168 00:10:04.300 --> 00:10:05.900 that we have to accept that 169 00:10:05.900 --> 00:10:13.600 the number one guy came to serve us and to redeem us. And you can't be 170 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:19.000 in that ecclesia, that church, unless you are served by Jesus. 171 00:10:20.100 --> 00:10:25.400 And then of course you were called to serve. I guess I might I don't 172 00:10:25.400 --> 00:10:28.100 want to call my dad's proverb to those of you who are here studying to 173 00:10:28.100 --> 00:10:29.700 be pastors and deaconesses. 174 00:10:29.700 --> 00:10:30.700 Be careful 175 00:10:30.700 --> 00:10:32.700 what you wish for. 176 00:10:32.700 --> 00:10:39.100 Be careful what you pray for. It's a noble task to seek to 177 00:10:39.100 --> 00:10:44.200 serve God's people in his church, but understand then that's where you 178 00:10:44.200 --> 00:10:44.300 are in 179 00:10:44.300 --> 00:10:49.400 this pyramid is. Here's your lord serving everybody and you're going to 180 00:10:49.400 --> 00:10:53.900 be lower in that pyramid serving the people this world says are not 181 00:10:53.900 --> 00:11:00.100 very important the children those who don't know the lost the sinners. 182 00:11:00.100 --> 00:11:02.500 They suddenly become number one. 183 00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:09.000 Even as in Jesus mind, we were number one when we were lost and he 184 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:13.600 came to save and redeem us. And so it's a great calling to be a 185 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:18.500 Christian to be called to suffer for the sake of the Gospel but also 186 00:11:18.500 --> 00:11:23.600 to serve our brothers and sisters to serve our neighbor even as Jesus 187 00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:28.100 has served us. But remember where the whole pyramid begins and where it 188 00:11:28.100 --> 00:11:31.100 is built up the number one our Lord Jesus Christ 189 00:11:31.100 --> 00:11:33.600 he is at the base alone. 190 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:39.200 He is the one who holds you up who serves you who continues to serve 191 00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:45.100 you as he sends his Spirit to you and empowers you. Remember Jesus who 192 00:11:45.100 --> 00:11:47.800 gave his life as a sacrifice for you. 193 00:11:49.400 --> 00:11:52.000 The son of man did not come to be served 194 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:58.000 but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for you. 195 00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:01.400 May the Lord God our heavenly Father 196 00:12:01.400 --> 00:12:06.800 keep you steadfast in this faith and new life both now and then to 197 00:12:06.800 --> 00:12:07.300 life everlasting. Amen. 198 00:12:10.900 --> 00:12:13.900 May the peace that passes all understanding keep your hearts and 199 00:12:13.900 --> 00:12:16.000 minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.