Psalm 62: 1, 4										Rev. S. de Marie
Psalm 112: 1, 2							Reading:	 Mark	  8: 31-38
Psalm 49: 1, 2, 4 										  9: 30-37
Psalm 122: 1, 3										10: 32-34
Hymn 24: 5, 6, 7							Text:		Mark	10: 35-45

Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ!
In our corona crisis you hear encouragement to humanity. If we think about each other more about the contagiousness of the virus, and if we care more about single elderly people, we can make it together. The king spoke of a sense of togetherness and pride that will continue to connect during this time. We do it together.
There are definitely positive elements in these calls: how good and important it is to look after each other in society! But is this humanity the same as the Christian charity that the LORD asks of us?
To what extent does the ground for Christian charity differ from that of humanity?
and how far does this charity go in comparison with humanity. Now congregation, we will see that the difference is made by Jesus Christ Himself.
 I may proclaim God's Word to you with the theme:

The suffering of Jesus on the cross determines our place in His Kingdom:
1. The disciples' selfish misunderstanding of this place
2. Jesus’ innovative teaching about this place
3. The Self-surrender of Jesus as an example for this place

1. The Lord Jesus, immediately after his appearance in the ministry, selected 12 disciples. These 12 follow Him everywhere, they were also sent out by Jesus into the land. He confides in them and they trust Jesus. Jesus makes known to them things that other people cannot understand, such as parables. They hear his word and see his wonders. They hear his warnings against the practices of the Pharisees. They hear of need for repentance and forgiveness of sins. They also see miracles that point to a glorious future. In this way they get to know Him better and better as the Messiah, yes as the Son of God. That is what Peter confesses outright.
These twelve disciples are destined to be apostles, except Judas. Through them Jesus will gather and build his church. He is going to lay down His life for them and for all who believe in Him. That means suffering and death for Jesus. Now that Jesus is facing that, He is going to tell them that several times. We read the words of Jesus in Mark 8 and 9:
The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men and they shall kill him, and after he is slain he shall rise on the third day.
Now the curious thing is that the disciples who are otherwise so open to the gospel do not understand this. At the first occasion Peter even reacts very fiercely that this will not happen.
But Jesus rebuked him with the penetrating words: Get behind me Satan.
And at the second announcement, in Mark 9: 32, we read:
But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Hm! 
How aggravating that would have be to the Lord in his suffering! Take note: His own disciples cannot understand that He must die as their Savior to redeem them.
Now in chapter 10 they are on their way to Jerusalem. That is where it will happen.
There Jesus will die. He precedes them. The disciples follow him in amazement and fear. What will happen now? And again, now for the third time, Jesus makes it known to them. Now with even more information. Verse 33 and 34:
... the chief priests and the scribes will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles;
 and they will mock Him and scourge Him and spit on Him and kill Him. And on the third day He will rise again. 
Surely they will understand now, or else carry on about it? But that does not happen now either. Something else happens.
Two disciples, James and John, two brothers, sons of Zebedee, come to Jesus and say:
Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.
That is quite an odd request. Expecting the Lord Jesus to simply grant and do whatever they ask Him. This is not an innocent wish, as is apparent from their answer to Jesus' question:
What do you want Me to do for you? 
Then they say to Him:
Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right and the other on Your left, in Your glory.
Congregation, what is being asked here is quite a lot! That goes far, very far! But let us yet establish at what point they ask this question. Thus precisely after the Lord tells them for the third time about His suffering and death and the subsequent resurrection. So the glory of His kingdom to which Jesus refers, first demands His terrible suffering and death. But these two disciples do not say a word about that! They want to know nothing of that. They cannot place it.    It does not fit in their understanding of the Messiah.
Yes, they believe in Him as the Messiah, Him Who will deliver them from sin and bring them into His kingdom. He will deliver them from His adversaries and from the rulers, the Romans. Then the kingdom of peace will begin.
But, that Jesus says His kingdom of peace will only come after undergoing ridicule, scourging and bitter death at the hands of the heathen, no they cannot accept that. In their view, Jesus will soon be transferred directly to the glory of his Kingdom. They do not even want to think about His suffering, to them it is about the glory afterwards. In this way these disciples, as it were, reach directly over the redeeming suffering of Christ to the promised glory of His kingdom.
Yes, the Lord Jesus had previously specifically told his disciples that they would sit on twelve thrones in His Kingdom. But now John and James claim that they may have the best seats, right next to Him: on His right hand and His left. They may feel that they are entitled to this because together with Peter they belong to the three most intimate disciples of the Lord.
Congregation, we encounter here what is human in these disciples. The human being who wants to elevate himself and be placed above others. But had not the Lord promised them a beautiful place in his kingdom? Yes, but that place must not be claimed, it is grace. It should certainly not be at the expense of the other disciples, who also received this same promise!
What is the reaction of the other disciples? Well, although Jesus has reproved the two brothers, the other disciples react with much the same attitude. They are not grieved about the sinful request of the two brothers, they do not admonish them about it in meekness. No, they get mad. They sorely think ill of them. Why? Well, because they also wanted those best places. They became angry because John and James wanted to deprive them of the best places.
That this was an issue with them is evident from the fact that they were already arguing among themselves about the most important place in the Kingdom. This is repeated now, and later, even at the Passover meal on the evening when the Lord Jesus was to be taken captive, Luke 22:24.
Congregation, from these reactions of misunderstanding about the suffering and death of Christ and of selfishness to the highest place, it becomes clear that the disciples mind-set is still very warped. It is the selfish human thinking of benefit and gain, of the getting better of and of dominating. They certainly desire glory and exaltation, but they do not desire suffering and humiliation. This human attitude proves to be very persistent among the disciples. There is faith in the Lord Jesus, and yet their haughty minds have not yet been renewed. There is confidence in Him as the Christ, and yet His words about the impending suffering are not accepted. The disciples want to follow Jesus, but they have not yet denied themselves enough. They want to come after Him, but they can not bear to carry a cross yet.
Congregation, in fact this is stuck on original sin. The sin of pride, as it was already at the fall of Adam, to want to become equal to God. The sin of not wanting to deny you something, but of wanting to follow your desire.
But congregation, how is that with you? If you believe in the Lord Jesus, is it because of the desire to enter heaven? That is certainly not wrong, on the contrary! But it is if this is the only desire, and you are not willing to suffer, as the Lord Jesus gives you if you follow Him.
If you believe in Jesus Christ is it to be forgiven of your sins? Then that is certainly not wrong, on the contrary! But it is if you do not live out of that forgiveness.
If you believe in Jesus Christ, is it with the prospect of being exalted into eternal glory? Then that is certainly not wrong, on the contrary! But is if you do not want to humiliate yourself. We will now hear in the second point what the Lord Jesus said to the disciples about this. 

2. The suffering of Jesus on the cross determines our place in His Kingdom We saw. The selfish misunderstanding of the disciples about this place We now see as 2nd.  Jesus’ innovative teaching about this place
The Lord Jesus rejects the question of the two brothers as a nonsensical question. He says in verse 38:
You do not know what you ask. 
'Disciples, realize that you are not allowed to ask such a thing. First, you are simply ignoring the suffering I have to undergo. The bitter cup of suffering and death that I must drink.
Can you so easily avoid that in your talking?' 
Jesus asks, Can you drink that cup? And the baptism with which I am baptized, that is, being overwhelmed with the wrath and misery that I have to undergo, can you take that upon yourself? Can you face the flood of destructive punishment and murderous hatred that I am about to face?
By these questions the Lord shows how superficial and thoughtless the proposal of the two brothers is. They do not appreciate the suffering of Jesus! Yes, they will want to fight with him for that Kingdom, but see nothing of the suffering that awaits Christ in the coming days. This is also apparent from their answer: 
We can.
Then the Lord points out what indeed they themselves as apostles will later have to undergo as suffering because of Him: He answers:
You indeed will drink the cup I drink and with the baptism with which I am baptized you shall be baptized.
They have no idea of it now. But James will later become the first martyr because of his faith in Christ and John will also share in the tribulation and share in the sufferings of Christ as an exile on the island Patmos.
The two brothers think they can arrange their position in eternal glory. But Jesus then says that they forget that this lies alone is in the hand of the Father. It is elective grace, whatever position you receive there, that lies in God's eternal decree. This cannot be adjusted by Jesus either.
But the Lord does not stop at this answer. When the other disciples reacted angrily, He calls them all together. He now wants to push through to the core, the deep cause of what keeps the disciples busy. Why they have so much difficulty and understanding regarding His suffering and why they are so preoccupied with their own position in His kingdom.
It is not the first time that Jesus wants to change their thinking about this. When He has to rebuke Peter after the first announcement in Mark 8, He says:
Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me.
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?
At the second announcement in Mark 9, the disciples again respond to the suffering with incomprehension. They are afraid to ask, but they argue about who is the most important of them. But then the Lord Jesus says:
If anyone desires to be the first, he shall be last of all and servant of all. 
As an example for their place, Jesus then takes a child and takes it in His arms. As a child is humble so should they be, and so also should they receive simple people.
Now, after the third announcement, the disciples have reacted selfishly again. Not just the two brothers, but all of them! The teaching of Jesus is not embedded in them. But the Lord goes further now and does not reject his disciples. He is seeking them right now!
How the Lord shows himself here as a meek, patient teacher to obstinate and selfish disciples. Like a shepherd who lovingly calls unruly sheep to order and continues to show them the right way.
The teaching of Jesus now goes even deeper than before. Jesus uses two examples. First the example of the world we live in. In it you see in leaders of nations, kings and presidents, that rule, that they exercise power so that the people are kept under the thumb. You also see that the great ones among these leaders are again in charge of the other leaders. Jesus says those leaders are supposed to be leaders. By this He means: in fact they are not the real leaders either, but the Lord Himself is king over all. But the people regard them as leaders. Leaders who often abuse their power.
Congregation, this is how we see it in our world. Look at the president of America or the president of Russia. Powerful people using their power. The Lord now says, It should not be like that in my kingdom. It should not be like that in the church. There is only One who has power, and that is God.
The Lord Jesus here addresses the twelve apostles. They are not leaders like the leaders in the world. They should not be seen that way. No, they must be servants. Servants of God and of Jesus Christ, servants on behalf of His people. This also applies to the office bearers who have a governing office. The elders and the ministers. They should not rule over the church. Nor should they rule over each other. Not now, but not in the eternal glory either! Christ does not want it that way.
He is the only Head and He remains the only Head.
If you want to be important, that is: if you want to serve the interests of Christ, then you must be a servant. Not only a servant of Christ but also a servant of the others. Jesus even says:
And whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of all. Slave, not in the sense of an oppressed slave, but slave as a servant, always ready to serve. Not serving a few whom you choose to put in their favour. Nay, the Lord says, slave, servant of all.
For office-bearers that goes a long way, that concerns the entire congregation, yes, that covers their entire office work. The Lord Jesus is not against ministers or against government of the church, on the contrary! But He points to the style, the attitude, the interpretation of that leading, of that governing. It should not ruling, but serving. Seeking and helping the other. Then you only know the authority of Christ because of your office, you will also want to serve this in His style. So also, as office bearer, consider the other more excellent than yourself.

3. The theme is: The suffering of Jesus on the cross determines our place in His Kingdom. We saw the disciples' selfish incomprehension of this place and Jesus ' innovative teaching about this place. Our third point is: The Self-surrender of Jesus as an example for this place.
Congregation, Jesus now goes one step further in his teaching to lay a foundation on this issue. A foundation that shows what the difference is between humanity where you ultimately want to see your advantage and self-effacing charity. Jesus then sets the great example, He now points to Himself, to His office, to His ministry. Yes. He points to His deep humiliation and servitude.
Verse 45 is then one of the deepest texts in the Bible. A verse that brings everything together:
For even the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Yes, congregation, the Son of man also came as a servant, a suffering servant. A servant in the service of the triune God, who humbled himself deeply. Not to rule over Israel as Messiah-King, who demands submission with the exercise of power, like an earthly king who commands submission. He came to humble Himself deeply, by becoming a weak man. Philippians 2:8 says about Christ Jesus, that he was:
....being in the form of God... made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, yea, to death on the cross.
No, Jesus did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. He, Son of God, came as a child of man to save us from sin and death. He did so in His deep humiliation unto death, and was forsaken by God.
But congregation, how can we, as proud people of ourselves, understand and fathom this miracle of humility and self-surrender? How can we gauge its depth? Yet it is important to ponder it, for the Lord speaks of it to change us into his image too.
He wants us to renounce the worldly view, the worldly view of power struggles, competition for the best place, the worldly view of wanting to be honoured and praised, of pride in achievement and looking down on others. No, Jesus, He who gave His blood as a ransom, He wants us to become like Him. Yes, even when it comes to His humiliation.
But you might say the Mediator-ship of Jesus was unique, was it not? You can not imitate that, can you? Was not that a one time situation, not to be repeated and not to imitate? That is true. Our reconciliation with God has only been accomplished by Jesus Christ through His vicarious sacrifice by which He bore the wrath of God for us.
But the attitude, the form Jesus Christ took for this, namely His deep humiliation as a sacrifice for many, that attitude, that form of a servant, Jesus now also asks of you and of me!
The place of servant involves not only sacrifice, self-effacement, self-denial, but also trouble and suffering. But only in this way we will be able to follow the Lord.
Congregation, that is a core assignment, a life mission, for office bearers to give themselves to each other in their service. Do not desire to impose your own opinion. Do not consider yourself more important. Do not get bitter when things do not go the way you want to see them go.
But it is also a life's task for you as members of the Church. The Lord wants to see us all as servants within His communion of saints. Even in our environment.
For this attitude, Christ is our example. He bought us with His blood, He gave the ransom of his life to redeem us from the bondage of sin and death. And He also gave us His Spirit. The Spirit who renews our hearts. Who makes us from proud people to humble people. From selfish disciples to servant disciples. But congregation, see how difficult this message then proved to be for the disciples. As we said, even just before the last supper, they were still arguing over first place. Then Jesus went to wash their feet. What a disappointment and aggravation it must have been to the Christ, that his disciples remained so obstinate and selfish, despite His teaching.
But what about us now, who have been given the gift of the Holy Ghost!?
It appears from the letters of the apostles that they themselves did understand it fully later on.
Yes, they are so captivated by the example of the Christ, Who gave Himself up for all His own, that they point it out to the congregations time and again.
Paul, Peter, John and James. They are full of it and proclaim the gospel to follow Jesus in his love, to follow in his steps, to love one another because God so loved us in Christ, Let each serve one another with the gift as he has received. In Galatians, Paul says about living after the example of Christ:
...Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Congregation, that is now the secret of Christian charity. 
Peter repeats the teaching of Jesus to the ministers in 1 Peter5: 3:
Shepherd the flock of God... not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly, nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but examples to the flock.
Congregation, all of God's Word exhorts you: serve one another, as officer bearers and as members of the congregation. Christ gave his life for you for that. He redeemed you for that from the sin of pride and selfishness and its punishment. To live from now on after His example in His Kingdom.
Not ruling, but serving. Where you do not want to take from each other, but rather give to each other. Yes, you want to give yourself. This requires a sacrifice of honour, time and money. That requires attention for each other and effort. That also requires sincere love for those who do not belong to your immediate circle of friends. That requires that you consider the other person as more important than yourself!!
In our time we see love grow cold, yes, humanity is now being raised to endure the time of the corona crisis together. But that is not yet a Christian charity whereby you follow Christ by selflessly sacrificing yourself for the other, without wanting to get anything in return. Charity is a lifelong affair. In and outside the corona crisis.
That unselfish sacrificial love is hard for us as humans to muster. But not for the Spirit of Christ, Who wants to work that out in us. Let us surrender to Him and thus show Christ in our lives.
Being a servant is the place, with self-surrender as an attitude, that Jesus points out to His disciples and each of us in His Kingdom on earth. A place and attitude that He wants to work out in us on earth. So that we may soon share in His glory In the place that the Father has destined for us.

Amen