Pentecost 23
Tapiwa Gusha

Isaiah 53:4-12/Mark 10:35-45   But to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant

The Prophet Isaiah gives a background summary of why Christ came to this world, to suffer for our iniquities and Isaiah says it all in a very short powerful phrase, “By his wounds we are healed/served”. This prophetic background is critical in understanding the Gospel of Mark because the writer of Mark was intrigued by the suffering messiah to the extent that many New Testament scholars concur that the Gospel of Mark is in fact a Passion Narrative with an extended introduction. Out of the 16 chapters, the writer of Mark spent almost 8 of those chapters talking about the suffering of Christ. The first prediction of suffering is in chapter 8 and today we have read the third prediction.

Regardless of Jesus’ efforts to educate his disciples about the suffering that was awaiting him in Jerusalem, the disciples seem not to understand the concept of Jesus’ messiahship. In the previous weeks, it was Peter who proved not to understand the mission of Christ and Jesus was not lenient with him, “get behind me Satan”. Today it's James and John, the sons of Zebedee, but Jesus is not being too harsh with them, “You don’t know what you are asking for”. But what I liked about Mark is that he did not try to bring women into this mess as Matthew did, Matthew 20:20, “Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him”

I don’t know why Matthew chose to cover the disciples' ignorance by exposing women, but Mark tells us well that this dialogue took place when Jesus and the disciples were travelling to Jerusalem and this mother was not part of the team. Now something is interesting here; all the three, Peter, James and John belonged to Jesus’ inner circle but, regardless that they were the closest to Jesus, their misunderstanding of the mission of Christ is so disturbing.

• Mark 5:37, this is the story of Jesus’ healing of Jairus’ daughter, and we are told that Jesus did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James, and John.
• Mark 9:2, this is the transfiguration story, again we are told that after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him and led them up a high mountain…
• Mark 14:32 & 33 tells us that “They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, sit here while I pray. He took Peter, James and John along with him…”

For me there are two possible things that might have affected the disciples' conceptualization of Jesus’ messiahship: Historically wrong messianic expectations - the majority were expecting a political liberator/Messiah, and the transfiguration experiences - they were overwhelmed seeing Moses and Elijah in the realm of the spirit occupying special seats in eternity and since they were Jesus’ close buddies, they already saw themselves replacing Moses and Elijah in eternity.

In his response, Jesus further confused them, “But to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. Those places belong to those for whom they have been prepared”. This kind of humility in Jesus was consistence with Philippians 2:6, “Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant…”

Members of the inner circles missed the point, eternity was not necessarily guaranteed by being physically close to Christ but by understanding the secret of eternity, humble servanthood. Inner circles are everywhere; in families, in workplaces and even in the church. But what’s important is to know the goal because you might comfortably relax as a member of the inner circle but at the end be frustrated after missing the goal. God bless you all, Amen.