Commentary - Mark 10:35-45

Bird's-eye view

In this crucial passage, we are confronted with the stark contrast between two kinds of ambition, two kinds of glory, and two kinds of kingdoms. James and John, part of Jesus' inner circle, come with a bold but tragically misguided request for the chief seats of honor in Christ's coming glory. Their ambition is not entirely corrupt, they do believe Jesus is a king, but it is carnal, worldly, and blind to the economy of the cross. Jesus uses their request as a teaching moment, not to extinguish their desire for greatness, but to redirect it. He reveals that the path to glory in His kingdom is not through self-promotion and power-grabbing, as it is among the Gentiles, but through suffering and service. The "cup" and the "baptism" He speaks of are metaphors for the wrath and judgment He is about to absorb on the cross. True greatness is defined by a willingness to drink that same cup of suffering in fellowship with Him. The climax of the passage is one of the most potent summaries of the gospel in all of Scripture: "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." This is the constitution of the Kingdom of God, where the way up is down, the first are last, and the king is a slave.

The indignation of the other ten disciples reveals that they were infected with the same worldly ambition; they were not upset at the impropriety of the request, but jealous that they didn't get to make it first. Jesus' response to all twelve of them is a radical redefinition of power and authority. Unlike the Gentile rulers who "lord it over" their subjects, Christian leadership is to be characterized by servanthood. The one who would be great must become a servant (diakonos), and the one who would be first must become a slave (doulos). This is not a suggestion for pious sentiment but the fundamental law of the kingdom, modeled perfectly by the King Himself, whose ultimate act of service was His substitutionary death on the cross.

Outline

Context In Mark

This episode occurs on the road to Jerusalem, immediately after Jesus has given His third and most detailed prophecy of His passion (Mark 10:32-34). The juxtaposition is jarring and intentional on Mark's part. Jesus has just finished explaining that He will be handed over, condemned, mocked, flogged, and killed. The response of two of His closest disciples is not somber reflection or concern, but a self-serving jockeying for position in the glorious kingdom they still imagine is about to be established by political force. This demonstrates the profound and persistent blindness of the disciples to the nature of Jesus' messiahship. This theme of misunderstanding runs throughout Mark's Gospel. The disciples repeatedly fail to grasp that Jesus is a suffering Messiah, not a conquering political hero in the worldly sense. This passage is the culmination of a series of teachings on true greatness (cf. Mark 9:33-37) and serves as the final, definitive lesson on the subject before the events of the Passion Week begin to unfold in Jerusalem.

Key Issues

The Way Up is Down

The central blunder of James and John is a common one, and we should not be too quick to look down on them. They wanted to be great. The desire for glory, honor, and influence is not, in itself, a sin. In fact, Paul tells us to seek for glory, honor, and immortality (Rom. 2:7). God made us to desire glory because He made us in His image. The problem is not the desire for greatness, but the definition of greatness and the proposed path to get there. James and John were operating under the world's definition: greatness is having a high position, a fancy title, and the power to make others do your bidding. They wanted the glory of the crown without the shame of the cross.

Jesus' response is a complete inversion of this worldly logic. He does not tell them to stop wanting to be great. He tells them how to actually become great. The way up is down. The path to the throne runs through the basin and the towel, and ultimately, through the cross. This is not just a moralistic platitude; it is the fundamental structure of reality in God's kingdom. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. He who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Jesus is about to demonstrate this principle in the most extreme way possible, by descending into the ultimate humiliation of the cross in order to be exalted to the highest place and given the name that is above every name. The ambition of a Christian, therefore, must be sanctified ambition, an ambition to be the greatest servant, the most dedicated slave, for the glory of God and the good of others.

Verse by Verse Commentary

35 Then James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying to Him, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.”

Here come the "sons of thunder," as Jesus nicknamed them, and they live up to their name. There is a raw, audacious quality to their request. They begin with a blank check: "Do whatever we ask." This reveals both their high view of Jesus' power and their low view of their own presumption. They know He is the one who can grant such things, but they approach Him like one might approach a pagan genie who grants wishes. It is a bold move, but it is a blind one, coming as it does right on the heels of Jesus' prediction of His own suffering and death.

36-37 And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And they said to Him, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.”

Jesus patiently draws out their request. He doesn't rebuke them for the blank check, but asks them to fill in the amount. Their request is for the prime positions of honor and authority in the messianic kingdom. The seats at the right and left hand of a king were reserved for his most trusted and powerful advisors. They are asking to be co-regents. They see the coming "glory," but they see it in purely earthly terms: power, prestige, and position. They have completely missed, or ignored, what Jesus has just said about the path to that glory running through mockery, spitting, and a cross.

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?”

Jesus' response is a gentle but firm correction: "You are out of your depth." They are like children asking to play with a loaded gun. He then reframes the issue of glory in terms of suffering. The "cup" in the Old Testament is frequently a metaphor for divine wrath and judgment (Ps. 75:8; Isa. 51:17). This is the cup of God's fury against sin that Jesus will drink to the dregs in Gethsemane and on the cross. "Baptism" here is not a reference to the water rite, but uses the imagery of being overwhelmed and submerged, in this case, by suffering and death. Jesus is asking them, "Are you really prepared to share in my suffering? Can you endure the trial by fire that is the prerequisite for the glory you seek?"

39 And 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.

Their answer, "We are able," is born of ignorance and bravado. They have no idea what they are agreeing to. Soon enough, they will all forsake Him and flee. And yet, Jesus accepts their answer and turns it into a prophecy. In His grace, He affirms that they will indeed share in His sufferings. They will not atone for sin as He did, but they will participate in the afflictions of the gospel. And they did. James would become the first apostle to be martyred, beheaded by Herod (Acts 12:2). John would endure a long life of persecution and exile on the island of Patmos. They would indeed drink the cup and undergo the baptism of suffering for the sake of the one they so rashly pledged to follow.

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.”

Here Jesus asserts the sovereignty of the Father. He is not saying He lacks the authority to grant these positions, but that these honors are not handed out as political favors based on ambitious requests. They are part of God's eternal plan, prepared and assigned by the Father from before the foundation of the world. This is a check on all human presumption. The honors of the kingdom are not for us to grasp; they are for God to give, according to His own good pleasure. Our job is not to campaign for a position, but to faithfully drink the cup He assigns to us.

41 And hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John.

The reaction of the other ten disciples is telling. They are not indignant because the request was worldly or inappropriate. They are indignant because James and John tried to get a leg up on them. Their anger springs from the same well of carnal ambition. They were all having the same argument about who was the greatest (Mark 9:34), and the sons of Zebedee just broke ranks and tried to steal the prize. This reveals that the lesson Jesus is about to teach is for all of them, and for all of us.

42-43 And 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;

Jesus gathers all twelve for a foundational lesson in kingdom politics. He starts by describing the world's system of power, the Gentile model. It is a top-down, hierarchical structure based on domination. Rulers "lord it over" their subjects. The great ones "exercise authority" and make sure everyone knows who is in charge. Then He draws a sharp, absolute line: "But it is not this way among you." The kingdom of God operates on a completely different principle. The desire to be great is assumed, but the path is inverted. If you want to be great (megas), you must become a servant (diakonos), a table-waiter, one who attends to the needs of others.

44 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.

Jesus intensifies the statement. If you want to be first (protos), the one in the chief position, you must take the lowest position. You must become the "slave of all" (panton doulos). A servant might have some choice in his work, but a slave has no rights, no agenda of his own. His entire existence is for the benefit of his master. In the Christian community, the one who aspires to leadership must aspire to this radical, self-abnegating service to everyone else. This is the death of all pride, all self-promotion, all lording it over the flock.

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.”

This is the theological bedrock for the entire principle. The ethics of the kingdom are grounded in the actions of the King. Jesus uses His favorite self-designation, "the Son of Man," a title of divine authority from Daniel 7, and says that even He, the glorious King, did not come to be waited on, but to wait on others. And His service reached its ultimate expression in His death. He came "to give His life a ransom for many." A ransom (lutron) is a price paid to redeem someone from slavery or captivity. Here, Jesus defines His death in substitutionary terms. He gives His life in our place, to purchase our freedom from slavery to sin and death. The "many" for whom He dies are His elect people, from every tribe and tongue and nation. This is the gospel in miniature. The King becomes a slave and dies a slave's death in order to free slaves. Therefore, no one who follows Him can ever claim that the path of service is beneath them.

Application

This passage should be a bucket of ice water for the church in every generation. The temptation to adopt the world's methods of power, influence, and self-promotion is constant and insidious. We build our little empires, we jockey for position on the committee, we measure our success by the size of our budget or building, and we call it "ministry." Jesus calls it being like the Gentiles.

The constitution of the kingdom is service. True leadership is not found in the corner office but on your knees with a towel and a basin. It is found in the patient, often thankless, work of meeting the needs of others. It is found in spending yourself for the good of the flock, not fleecing the flock for your own good. This applies to pastors and elders, certainly, but it applies to every Christian. Do you want to be great in the kingdom of God? Then find someone to serve. Visit the sick. Help the poor. Disciple a younger believer. Change the diapers in the nursery. Your ambition is not the problem; your definition of greatness is. Let Christ redefine it for you.

And at the heart of it all is the ransom. We are free to become slaves to all because our King became a slave for us. We were the ones in bondage, and He paid the price. We were the ones who deserved the cup of wrath, and He drank it for us. Our service to others is not a way to earn God's favor, but a grateful response to the one who gave His life for us. Because we have been served so lavishly by the King, we are now liberated to joyfully serve everyone else. This is the upside-down logic of the gospel, and it is the only path to true and lasting glory.