TEXT [Commentary]

13. Jesus teaches about service (10:35-45)

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do us a favor.”

36 “What is your request?” he asked.

37 They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.”

38 But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?”

39 “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”

Then Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with my baptism of suffering. 40 But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. God has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.”

41 When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. 42 So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

NOTES

10:35 do us a favor. The NLT renders the Gr., “do for us whatever we ask,” into idiomatic English.

10:36 What is your request? The NLT renders the Gr., “what do you want me to do?” idiomatically.

10:37 we want to sit in places of honor. The Gr. reads, “we want to sit in your glory,” which the NLT renders concretely by mentioning places of honor.

10:38 Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering . . . to be baptized with the baptism of suffering? The cup refers to the judgment Jesus would experience for others and the rejection it would entail (Ps 23:5; 116:13; 75:8; Isa 51:17-22; Jer 25:15-28; 49:12; 51:7; Ezek 23:31-34; Taylor 1966:440-41). The NLT refers to the cup and baptism of suffering to make the implied point explicit.

10:40 But I have no right to say. Jesus said that he was not in a position to decide who would sit where in his Kingdom. God has chosen certain people to have these roles, and he knows “those for whom it is prepared.” The NLT renders this as God has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.

10:41 indignant. This verb is used only two other times in Mark. One is in 10:14, where Jesus was angered by the disciples’ refusal to let the children see him. The other is in 14:4, where the disciples were angry with the woman who anointed Jesus with the expensive perfume.

10:42 Jesus called them together. Jesus called the disciples over to hear the instructions in these verses, thus underscoring the importance of his pronouncement (3:23; 7:14; 8:34; 12:43; France 2002:418).

10:43 among you it will be different. Jesus made it clear that it would not be so among his disciples. They must lead in a different way.

servant. Jesus used this term to describe a leader that is different from the world. It is an everyday term (diakonos [TG1249, ZG1356]) describing one who serves others (TDNT 2:82-85, 88). It referred to various types of attendants, such as those who serve a king (Matt 22:13; John 2:5).

10:44 the slave of everyone else. Jesus intensifies the imagery by referring to a slave or bondservant, a position most would wish to avoid. To be great or to be first means being a servant or a slave of all. There is a sense of obligation about a slave’s work that is important to the description (BDAG 260; TDNT 2:261; Rom 6:17-20).

10:45 the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. This verse is one of the most important in Mark (for a detailed but succinct treatment, see Evans 2001:119-125). It is Jesus’ mission statement that the one with authority, the Son of Man, came to serve (on such mission statements by Jesus, see 2:17; Matt 5:17; 10:34-35; Luke 5:31-32; 12:49; 19:10; John 9:39; 10:10). diakonēsai [TG1247, ZG1354] is the verb form of the noun “servant.” That service extended to Jesus giving his life (his soul, psuchē [TG5590, ZG6034]) for (anti [TG473, ZG505], “on behalf of, in the place of”) many (NIDNTT 3:1179-1180). The expression has roots in Isa 53:10, 12 and expresses the way that Jesus would serve by paying the debt of sin (see the linking of giving, ransom, and life in Exod 21:30, LXX; Sir 29:15; 1 Macc 2:50; note also Isa 43:3-4; Mark 14:24). The idea of ransom also appears in 1 Tim 2:6 (NIDNTT 3:189-200; TDNT 4:340). It looks to the release of prisoners and other captives (Josephus Antiquities 14.107). Roots for such atoning ideas already existed in Judaism (2 Macc 7:37-38; 4 Macc 1:11; 11QtgJob 38:2-3; Prayer of Azariah 3:15-17 [English]; Life of Adam and Eve 3:1; Evans 2001:122).

COMMENTARY [Text]

The sons of Zebedee looked forward to the day when Jesus would rule with power and authority from his throne. They wanted a major share in his power, with seats that would rank them right next to Jesus in importance (being seated on the right and the left meant having the seats of greatest power; cf. 1 Kgs 2:19; Ps 45:9; 110:1; Mark 12:36; 14:62). Once again, the disciples missed a major aspect of Jesus’ teaching, so Jesus corrected them. This repeats a similar kind of failure, seen in 9:32-33.

Jesus reminded them of the one thing they had been slow to accept—that he would suffer greatly. Jesus had told them repeatedly that associating with him was not about power. To sit with him in glory required them to undergo what he would go through. After the sons of Zebedee said that they could drink this cup, Jesus promised that they would share in it. Indeed, James was martyred for his faith (Acts 12:2).

When the other disciples heard the request of James and John, they were indignant (see note on 10:41). Probably their indignation was not righteous, but fueled by the same ambition that led the sons of Zebedee to ask their question. Evans (2001:118) notes the suggestion that James and John were related to Jesus as cousins. If so, their request had a touch of nepotism in it. The other disciples did not appreciate their request, and Jesus rejected it.

Jesus corrected their error by pointing out how the nations equated leadership with giving orders and authority with lording it over others. The significance of this instruction is seen in the exhortation to elders in 1 Peter 5:3. Unlike the world, leadership in the Kingdom is not defined by power or the way in which leaders direct others. Rather, leadership means service and caring to the point of being a slave of those served.

Jesus said, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” As such, he provided the ultimate example of servanthood and drew many to himself (see extensive note on 10:45). To rank before God, one should forget about rank. Leadership is not about having a high position but about how one cares for others.