And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. Mark 10:35-37

The “sons of Thunder” asked Jesus if they could sit at his right and left hand, obviously these guys had no idea what they were asking for! The first issue we see is the Apostles were starting to feed their egos rather than feed the sheep. With all the fame Jesus experienced with his miracles and teachings, the Apostles were using this to build their own egos, doesn’t this sound familiar in today’s Church?

Secondly it shows the Apostles at this moment, didn’t understand what Jesus came to accomplish on the Earth. They didnt understand that Jesus came to die for the sins of the world, they also didn’t understand that nobody else is worthy to be in this position except for Jesus Christ alone! To believe you could sit at the right or left hand of God, is blasphemy!

But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. Mark 10:38-41

Jesus told the brothers, “You have no idea what you’re talking about” Jesus asks them “Can they drink from the cup that he drinks from”? And the brothers answered “Yes”, this clearly indicates they had no idea what Jesus was talking about. The cup Jesus was referring to was the Cup of Wrath, that God poured down upon Christ on the cross

Nobody else could pay the debt for our sins except Jesus Christ, nobody else could drink from the cup, why? Because as Jesus said earlier “Nobody is good but God alone” we are all sinners, nobody else is sinless except for the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ

But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. Mark 10:42-44

Jesus explains how the Kingdom of God works, it’s the opposite of this world. Those who want to be great in the Kingdom of God must be a servant of all, God wants us to humble ourselves! This is a concept difficult for us to understand, because this world is all about glorifying the flesh, God’s Kingdom is about followingThe Spirit

If you want to be a disciple of Christ, humble yourself, be a servant of all, deny yourself, carry your cross, and follow Jesus , Amen!