You don't know what you're asking

When we get to heaven where should I come looking for you? Have you got an address? What does your place look like?

One of the loveliest, most comforting statements made by Jesus is in John 14:1-2.

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you

Other translations call them rooms or dwelling places and in the old King James Version it says, “in my Father’s house are many mansions.”.

How do you envisage your place? A dwelling place? A room? A mansion?

How about this option?

Build me a cabin in the corner of glory land. Video song. (1:15 min)

The gospel reading today comes from Mark 10:35-45 and tells us about what James and John, two of Jesus disciples and apostles wanted.

Here is how their request was portrayed in the video series called “The Chosen”

James and John request video.

Do you see how the other disciples reacted to this request? Anger!

How would you have reacted?  How do you react to this request?  By the way, Mathew’s record of the event tells us their mother was involved in making the request also.  Ambitious mothers aren’t unusual.

It occurred to me that there was something wrong with the way James and John approached Jesus in this event. They came to him with the request, ‘you promised to answer our prayers so we want you to do for us whatever we ask’. There’s something manipulative about this request and I think I would want to back off and answer, “well maybe. What’s the catch?”.

Jesus was kinder than me as usual and replied, “what do you want me to do for you?”

But, should they have asked this?

Surely there’s no favourites in the kingdom of heaven! How could they make such a request? How could they think such a thing? Who do they think they are?

After being with their teacher, Jesus, full time for the last couple of years haven’t they yet understood that the kingdom of heaven is so very different to the world we live in?

Jesus told them,

‘You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.

He’s right, isn’t he? Isn’t that the way it is in our world? So Jesus told them,

 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.

The other 10 disciples were angry that James and John should make such a request but how do you think Jesus felt?

I can imagine how frustrated, how disappointed he must have felt. After all this time, after all his teaching, after all his examples they still didn’t understand. 

On the one hand they still didn’t understand, but should have understood, the nature of the kingdom of heaven and of the servant attitude that should be obvious in Jesus followers.

On the other hand they couldn’t have known what lay ahead, so Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking.”

Then he asked, ‘Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptised with the baptism I am baptised with?’ ‘We can,’ they answered.

After the event we know what Jesus faced, what James and John would face, and we know that they answered, “we can” in ignorance of what lay ahead.

As it happened James and John’s mother was one of the women who witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus and saw for herself that on that day there was one man on his left and another on his right and she watched both of them die as they, too, hung on their crosses.

Stephen was the first of Jesus followers to be killed, martyred. Tradition has it that James was beheaded by King Herod I in 44 AD, the first apostle to be martyred. John lived as an exile into his 90s and died after writing his Gospel, some other letters and the book of Revelation. 

But Jesus knew what was to happen and I think it was with great sorrow that he told them, ‘You will drink the cup I drink and be baptised with the baptism I am baptised with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.’

Jesus commitment was to do the will of his father who alone would make decisions about their place in heaven, about your place and about my place in heaven. Only the almighty Father God would make decisions as to who has a place in heaven at all before considering who sits where.

Then Jesus made a pivotal, key statement that summarises the whole point of the Bible and of God’s plan for humans, all of us.

He said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

For whom do you pay ransoms? You pay a ransom to free someone held in captivity. 

For example, there are still over 100 Israelis kept as hostages in Gaza.  Under what conditions would they be freed? Has a price been named? Has a ransom been demanded? I don’t know; the situation is too complicated for me to understand how that situation could be resolved.

What ransom did Jesus pay and for whom? Who is held captive and in need of being freed? It is many people. Whoever it is, Jesus gave his life as a ransom for many.

Jesus’ mention of a “ransom” indicates that his death was more than just an inspiring example or a martyr’s tragic protest against an unjust system. Jesus use of the word ransom indicates that his death does something; it secures a release.

Over and over people come up with ideas, plans, ideologies they hope will bring about peace in the world.  Do any of them work? Have any of them worked? Or are things only getting worse?

The truth is that For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools (Romans 1:20-22)

How can you live in Bellingen and not look around you and see that the amazing diversity, beauty, delicacy and drama makes the creator God’s eternal power and divine nature clearly seen? Yet so many people ignore him, do not give him the thanks, submission and worship he clearly deserves.

Someone set up a street library in a Sydney suburb, a public cupboard you can put books into and borrow books from. But there is a condition: no religious books. I suspect that whoever made that rule would be the first to complain of censorship at the same time they were being censors. 

 It’s worse.  It’s foolishness. Their thinking is futile. Their foolish hearts are darkened. They are fools in the eyes of God. The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ 

Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin”. You cannot serve two masters - you are a slave to sin or a servant of righteousness, of Jesus.

Sadly, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)

This denial of the truth, denial of the reality of God’s authority is an absolute offence against the one true God.

If we claim we have not sinned we blasphemously call God a liar.

 Before God we will all stand to be judged and it was for us Jesus came to serve and to give his life as a ransom, to rescue us from the slavery of sin into the freedom of forgiveness.

 The situation is so dire for unbelievers but so different for us. “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you ave been saved.” (Ephesians 2:1, 6-5)

Jesus came to pay the ransom of many who are slaves to denial, rebellion, to sin.

Today’s Old Testament reading comes from Isaiah 53:

Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

James and John did not know what lay ahead of them. In time they followed Jesus while he was beaten, mocked, crucified and buried. In time they experienced suffering themselves.

Actually, the same thing applies to us.  We don’t know what lies ahead of us when we commit to follow Jesus and whatever it is we know it will include both good and bad.

In time we too will follow Jesus who was raised back to life from the dead, never to die again.

James, John, the other disciples learned the lesson Jesus gave of being servants.

Of course, being servants is what we are called to be as well

Jesus’ disciples served those they met. Eventually they served us, too. They went about making plain the wonderful good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, including by their writings from which we are learning today.

And now we follow the example and serve others best by telling them of the ransom Jesus paid for them, telling how repentance leads to forgiveness, peace and eternal life.

James and John should have been ashamed of themselves. Learn from them to be careful about what you pray for.

But also we should feel ashamed when we consider the dreadful fate of our friends, neighbours and family, indeed the whole world but we do so poorly at giving them the good news Jesus offers.

We don’t share the gospel to ensure we get a better mansion in heaven or even a cabin in the corner of glory land. Allocations like that are up to God our Father and judge.

We share the gospel because as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ we love all those around us who are so lost and without hope in the world, who do not know that God reigns and Jesus lives.