“What do you want Me to do for you?”

Mark 10:32-52 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, ³³ saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. ³⁴ They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.”

³⁵ James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” ³⁶ And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³⁷ They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.” ³⁸ But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” ³⁹ They said to Him, “We are able.” 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. ⁴⁰ But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

⁴¹ Hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John. ⁴² 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. ⁴³ But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; ⁴⁴ and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

⁴⁶ Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. ⁴⁷ When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸ Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹ And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.” ⁵⁰ Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. 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!” ⁵² And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.

Yesterday’s meditation ended saying:  Jesus says:  “Many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”   Much of the kingdom of heaven seems to be the opposite of what the world says. If we want to be first, we must be last. If we want to be the greatest, we must become the least. If we want to have more, we must give all that we have. If we want to truly live the abundant life that Jesus came to give, we need to die to the things of this life. Jesus taught us to pray saying: Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  We are to align ourselves and our lives with the ways of heaven, not expect that heaven will align itself with the ways of the world.  Today’s text reinforces this principle saying:  James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” They said to Him, “We are able.” 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. But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” Hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John. 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 this way 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. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”   We still though often see that even among those who walk with the Lord, as James and John did, that there is a focus and desire for position. Many people vie for position, but how many are willing, as Jesus asked, to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?  More than being a servant, how many, like Jesus, would be willing to give their life?

Remember that the context of this account; the beginning of today’s text says:  They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him,  saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.”  Many people try to model their lives after the way Jesus lived. Jesus though lived His life knowing that He came to die. In Matthew 16:24-26 Jesus says: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”   True followers of Christ will not be focused on position in this life. True followers of Christ will consider themselves dead to the things of this world, that they might live the abundant kingdom life of Christ.

Today’s text ends saying:  Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road.  When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.” Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. 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!”  And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.   Jesus asked the same question of Bartimaeus as he asked of James and John. He asks each one of us the same question:  “What do you want Me to do for you?”   We should consider our request carefully. Would we ask to regain something that we have lost in the world or would we ask that we could better follow Him? Consider this, in Matthew 11:11 Jesus says:  "Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”   

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit may I never concern myself with position in the world. May I instead consider myself dead to this world that I might live with You. Nothing in this world compares to being fully reconciled and restored to You. When You ask: “What do you want Me to do for you?”   May I answer: Lord allow me to follow You.    Amen.