Jesus - Leading His Disciples Up a Hard Road - Mark 10:32-52

Sermon Series - Spare Me the Details - Just Give Me Jesus

Many of you may be familiar with the reality television show Survivor.  Participants of the show are taken to incredibly remote wilderness environments without any supplies where they compete against one another to see who the best ‘survivor’ is.  I’ll admit that I had no idea how demanding this competition was until I saw some of the program.  The participants often suffer physically, experiencing dehydration, mal-nutrition, and having to endure the elements of nature like extreme temperatures and rain storms.  The participants often suffer mentally and emotionally as well from being away from their families, not really knowing who is for them and who is against them, and being in a constant mind-set of strategizing and competing.  Seeing a few minutes of one particular show really made me realize how difficult and demanding the show is on its participants.  As I considered that I also thought to myself that the producers of the show have to explain the difficulties and challenges that the participants will endure.  They have to sit down with the participants and explain some of the things that they will experience both physically and mentally/emotionally.  It would be incredibly unfair to the prospective participants and incredibly unwise from a legal stand-point for the producers of the show not to explain these things.  But while these participants might be told what to expect, they still begin the competition with only hope.  Why?  Because only one person can win, and while the producers may tell them what to expect, they do not provide them with a full-proof strategy of how to compete and behave while in the competition, nor do they provide them with a model to follow.  Each individual participant must determine that on his/her own and then hope that they have chosen well.  Consider this – I don’t think ‘hope’ is enough when it comes to how we live our lives on a day-to-day basis.  Each of us has an eternity waiting for us after we die and the decisions and choices we make here and now will determine if we spend it in heaven or in hell.  We need more than just hope that the way we live our lives will cause us to obtain eternity in heaven – we need confidence.  So in this post I want us to consider the question, “Does Jesus provide what we need to have confidence that we will spend eternity with Him in heaven?”  And I would answer, “Yes” as in our text we will see three things that Jesus does as He leads His disciples up a hard road.

You text begins this week in verse 32 of chapter 10 as Mark says that, “they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them.”  It appears that Jesus and His disciples have drawn close to Jerusalem.  Verse 46 will tell us that Jesus and His disciples are in Jericho.  Jericho was positioned approximately 20 miles northeast of Jerusalem, but those last 20 miles were not an easy twenty miles.  Jericho sits approximately 840 feet below sea level.  Jerusalem sits approximately 2600 feet above sea level.  So Jesus and His disciples still had a hard, physically demanding road ahead of them.  And this hard physical road only seems appropriate, for we are going to find that the road Jesus will lead the disciples on is an incredibly hard spiritual road as well. 

What stands out in verse 32 is that Jesus is leading the way.  Mark makes it a point to reveal to his readers where Jesus is positioned in this journey.  Jesus was not behind the disciples, driving them toward Jerusalem.  Instead Mark tells us that Jesus was proceeding before them, leading the way.  It’s still whether or not the disciples understood what would happen to Jesus in Jerusalem in terms of His arrest and crucifixion.  But the disciples knew that the scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem had opposed Jesus at every turn, and so they must have known that some form of persecution was before them.  And Mark says that as Jesus lead the way with such great resolve that “they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.”  Being a follower of and a disciple of Jesus can often be difficult and scary.  But you can be certain that when fear and uncertainty set in, Jesus is aware of it.  Jesus recognized the fear of those who were following Him and saw this as another teaching opportunity.  So Jesus took another opportunity to explain where this road they were on was leading.  In verse 33 Jesus began by stating the obvious fact, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. . .”  But the road that they were on was leading to something more than just a city.  The road that both Jesus and His followers were on was leading to difficulty and persecutions.  He made this clear by stating that, “the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him over to the Gentiles.  And they will mock Him and spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him.  And after three days He will rise.”  The road they were on wasn’t leading to a great Passover celebration.  The road they were on was leading to a great Passover sacrifice – only this time the Lamb of God’s blood would be shed to cover over all those who had put their faith in Him.  Jesus said that the road they were on would lead to Him being mocked and spit on.  In addition to those things, Jesus also said that the road they were on would lead to Him being flogged (which means to be beaten with a rod) and killed.  This is what lay ahead for Jesus and this is what He was resolutely leading His followers to.  The road on which the disciples must follow Jesus was a road that leads to total sacrifice, and Jesus wanted them to understand that.  That road would eventually lead as well to Jesus’ resurrection, which is a good and extraordinary thing, but Jesus made it a point to focus on the trials and sacrifice that must be endured.

Jesus calls us to follow after Him – that’s what being a true disciple is.  But too often many of us have misconceptions about what being a follower of Jesus means.  Many people believe that following Jesus will result in great personal blessings.  They believe that God will honor our choice to follow His Son by ridding us of sickness, padding our bank accounts, and filling our lives with happiness.  If we aren’t experiencing those things, then something is wrong with our discipleship and we aren’t really following after Christ.  Jesus paints a much different picture.  He explains to His disciples that the road He came to walk would lead to his persecution and death.  And if we are following Him on that road, we have to be prepared for and expecting the same thing.  To be a follower of Christ on the road that He walked and on the mission that He was on, and to expect anything different would be foolishness.  So we have to have to be disciples of Christ who are resolved to follow Him well, even if that means it may lead to great difficulties, trials, or even our own death.

One of the most amazing things to me in Mark’s gospel is that immediately following each of Jesus’ final two predictions about His coming death we find the disciples concerned not about His death, but rather their own greatness.  After Jesus’ prediction in 9:30-32 we find the disciples arguing about who is the greatest among them.  Now, following Jesus’ third and final prediction of His coming death, we find James and John again jockeying for position and looking to secure their place of prominence.  In verse 35 James and John approach Jesus and essentially ask Jesus for a blank check.  “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”  We can be sure that Jesus knew what they were going to ask for, but still in verse 36 He responds by asking, “What do you want me to do for you?”  We can’t be certain about why He asked this question, but I would guess that He wanted these two to hear from their own mouths how self-centered and prideful their request was.  So we see in verse 37 the brothers’ request, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”  Let’s make sure that we are all clear on what the brothers were asking for when they made this request.  In Jewish culture being positioned in the center of a group was the place of highest honor.  The next highest place of prominence was the position immediately to the right of the person in the center, followed by the position immediately to the left of the person in the center.  James and John were not asking for the greatest place of prominence – they understood that that place was reserved for Jesus, Himself.  But they were asking for the greatest remaining positions of prominence.  It was a request that was entirely self-serving and one that had only their own honor in mind.  Jesus responds to their request by telling them that they didn’t understand what they were asking – and they didn’t.  His position of prominence is a result of who He is and what He was going to accomplish.  James and John apparently did not understand that.  So He asks them, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”  Jesus is to be set apart as the greatest because He is God’s Son.  But in addition to that, Jesus is going to accomplish what no other person was able to do.  You’ll remember from the text last week that Jesus made clear to the disciples that it was impossible for men, in and of their own efforts, to obtain salvation.  But then He told them that what was impossible with men was possible for God.  God was able to make salvation available to men and He was the means by which that was made possible.  When Jesus asks James and John about being able to drink the same cup that He is going to drink and be baptized with the same baptism He was making a reference to enduring the wrath of God.  Cups and bowls in both the OT and the NT are occasionally used as symbols of God’s wrath which is to be poured out.  Baptism in this context takes on a similar sense.  When Jesus asks James and John if they can drink from that cup and be baptized with that baptism it requires a negative response.  From our understanding of the text last week, in which it was made clear that no one can obtain salvation on our own, we have to come to the conclusion that no one is able to endure the wrath of God and satisfy God’s requirement for the penalty of all sins to be paid.  Jesus alone was able to do that.  James and John clearly did not understand that.  And so they misunderstood that not only is Jesus’ identity as God’s Son what causes Him to have the greatest place of prominence, but also what Jesus was going to accomplish in enduring the wrath of God and satisfying God’s need for a payment for the sins of all humanity which caused Him to hold the highest place of honor.  James and John were not sons of God, but rather sons of Zebedee as Mark points out in verse 35, and neither James nor John was able to endure the wrath of God and satisfy God’s requirement for the payment of sins, so these other places of prominence weren’t something that they should have felt entitled to.  In verse 39 the brothers wrongly answer Jesus’ question saying that they are in fact able to drink the cup of Christ and be baptized with His baptism.  And while Mark’s readers are certain that they cannot, Jesus does assure them that they will in fact suffer persecution for following after Him.  Then He addresses their request and tells the brothers that He isn’t able to determine who will sit to His right and to His left, but that the Father will reserve those positions for those whom He has chosen to receive them. 

James and John were following Jesus on a hard road, but they didn’t know how to walk along it.  It seems that the other ten didn’t know how to walk along it either.  James and John were concerned about their own honor and glory.  When the other 10 disciples discovered this they became indignant because they felt like they were being left out of the picture, which meant that their own honor and glory might not be recognized as they would have liked it to been.  Jesus perceives that those following Him might be behind Him on this hard road, but it became clear that they didn’t know how to walk along it.  So Jesus explains to His disciples how to walk along the road.  In verse 42 Jesus calls the disciples to Himself and first provides a picture of how worldly leaders walk and lead.  “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.”  Jesus says the worldly model for leadership and greatness is to demonstrate one’s power by dominating those who are under them.  If one was truly great there had to be visible evidence of that in the way that they lead in power.  But then Jesus explains that the worldly model – the ones the disciples appeared interested in emulating, was not God’s model for leadership.  He tells them in verse 43, “But it shall not be so among you.  But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.”  Jesus tells His disciples that there is a way to walk on this hard road.  As they walk along this road they aren’t to be seeking out power, position, authority, or fame.  They aren’t to be dominating those who are under them.  As they walk along this road, they are to walk as servants and slaves.  They are to be humble men who aren’t seeking to serve themselves, but rather seeking to serve others.  They are to be men who are willing and eager to serve all as they follow Him.

Jesus’ instruction to be servants of all is a difficult thing to put into practice.  Many of us are willing to serve those who we believe can help us and benefit us.  We’ll babysit the kids of a CEO because perhaps one day he’ll be able to give us a job with his organization.  We’ll hold the door open for an attractive girl because it might lead to getting her phone number.  We’ll take dinner to the married couple who just had a baby and who also have a pool, because perhaps they’ll remember our kind gesture and invite us over to their house to swim sometime in the summer.  But what about the single mom raising two kids on her own, who can barely make ends meet?  Would you babysit for free and provide her with a Starbuck’s gift card so she can go out one night and just have some peace and quiet?  And what about the old lady with a cane you see walking into Chick-fil-a while you’re comfortably seated inside – would you get up and walk over to the door to hold the door open for her?  And what about the unmarried young girl who has just had a baby and is scared to death about life with a baby and how she is going to make it on her own – would you make dinner for her, take it over to her, and try to offer her some encouragement?  We are often less inclined to serve those individuals because they have nothing to offer us in return.  But Jesus’ instructions aren’t to serve those who can in turn serve you.  He told His disciples and each of us that we ought to humbly serve all.  That is in fact what Jesus came to do and that was how He was leading on this road.  He ends this dialogue with His disciples with verse 45 saying, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”  Jesus, God’s Son, the Creator of all people as well as the Creator of all the earth, the One who was vastly superior to all of us, came to serve us.  That’s amazing!  But then note as well the costliness of His service.  He didn’t come to babysit for us, though He probably would have.  He didn’t come to hold the door open for us, though I’m sure He would have.  He didn’t come to make us dinner, though He did on two occasions feed a total of more than 9,000 people.  Jesus came, He said, to give His life as a ransom.  Make sure you hear this – Jesus’ came to serve you, He came to serve me, and He came to serve everyone else by giving His life in exchange for ours.  Jesus’ life became a payment for ours.  His service to us was incredibly costly.  If this is how Jesus came to serve and this is how He explains to us that we are to walk along this road, there is no reason for us to believe that our service should only cost us a little and should only take place when it is convenient.  Might it be hard?  Yes.  Might it inconvenience us?  Yes.  Might it cost us a lot?  It might.  Might we not be recognized and praised for our efforts?  There’s a really good chance that will be true.  But guys, Jesus doesn’t say that this is a way that we can walk on this hard road – He explains that it is the way we are to walk on this road as we follow after Him.

In verse 46 we find Jesus and His disciples leaving Jericho.  But as they were making their way out of the city their path would take them by a blind man named Bartimaeus who was sitting on the roadside.  Mark, in this encounter gives us the details of where Bartimaeus was located because he wants his readers to see something clearly.  Jesus’ disciples, His followers, were where?  They were on the road, right?  Their position on the road following behind Jesus signifies them as disciples of Jesus in Mark’s account.  Where was Bartimaeus?  He was on the side of the road.  His position off of the road, not following after Jesus, signifies him as one who was not yet a disciple of Jesus.  Now that we have made that distinction let’s continue with the text.  Verse 47 tells us that Bartimaeus began to hear that Jesus was passing by.  Now I want you to imagine the scenario for just a minute.  Put yourself in Bartimaeus’ position.  Close your eyes for a second.  Now you’re seeing exactly what Bartimaeus was seeing – nothing at all.  Then imagine that you’re sitting on a dusty ground, not leaning back against a soft seat cushion, but rather against a hard, uneven stone wall.  Perhaps the sun is beating down and you’re a little hot and sweaty.  And you’re listening intently.  Why?  Because you’re only means of income is begging.  The people passing by can see you from a distance and they don’t rwant to give you any money.  So as they draw close they silence their conversations and walk as quietly and carefully as they can, hoping that you won’t hear their presence and ask them for money.  Imagine yourself in his place.  Something begins to change though.  You’re beginning to hear people’s conversations.  You hear a woman shouting across the street to her friend, “Jesus, the man from Galilee is coming!”  Then you hear a father telling his son, “Quick, go get your mother.  Tell her that Jesus is getting ready to pass by.”  Then you hear feet running quickly past you and the clamor of a crowd getting louder as it makes its way towards you.  Because of the noise of the crowd it will be impossible to distinguish which one is Jesus.  And because of your blindness you can’t see Him.  You’re sitting there with no one to help you and while you are filled with hope because you have heard of this man, your hope is quickly fading because if He is surrounded by a great crowd, He won’t see you sitting on the ground as He passes by.  So what would you do?  Bartimaeus begins to cry out.  It’s his only hope.  But his cry has to be greater and louder than the noise of the crowd if Jesus is going to hear him.  So he begins crying out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”  What an interesting thing to cry out.  In identifying Jesus as the Son of David, Bartimaeus is identifying Jesus as the Messiah.  He’s calling Jesus the One who was to come from David’s lineage and to sit on David’s throne.  That makes what Bartimaeus says next even more amazing, because He identifies Jesus as the Messiah who is coming to demonstrate mercy, not rule in power and might.  Bartimaeus’ theology is amazingly good!  Some might argue that it’s better than the disciples.  And while he is not on the road as a disciple of Jesus yet, he has a terrific understanding of whom Jesus is.  As you can imagine, those on the edge of the crowd hear the cry of this blind man and can’t imagine that Jesus needs to be bothered by him.  So they rebuke Bartimaeus, essentially telling him to “shut up.”  But Bartimaeus’ only hope is if Jesus hears him, so he shouts out all the more. 

Now change roles for just a minute.  Imagine that you’re Jesus.  You’re trying to journey down the road out of Jericho and you’re surrounded by a crowd of people on all sides.  Think about what you’re able to see - mostly people’s faces.  You’re making your way down the road by trying to stay in the middle of the buildings on either side of you.  You can see the roof tops and you can see the open space in front of you, so you’re more or less making your way by guessing where the street is.  As you pass by some homes you see small children lifted up in the air by their fathers because left standing on the ground they could not see you and you wouldn’t see them.  There’s absolutely no way that you would see a blind man sitting on the side of the road, leaning against a rock wall.  The noise around you is pretty loud.  People are shouting your name.  Others are shouting to those around letting them know who is passing by.  Perhaps there are cheers, pats on the back and a lot of rejoicing.  But then you hear what sounds like a cry of desperation.  Someone is calling you and pleading for you to have mercy.  You look around, but you can’t see where the cry is coming from.  But as you listen closely you recognize that the one calling you seems to understand who you are and what you came to do.  So what do you do?  Verse 49 says that Jesus stopped and says, “Call him.”  Can you picture this?  Imagine Jesus in the midst of this rejoicing and loud crowd, His great smile and bright eyes changing to a look of great concern.  Then He raises His hand and begins to speak up, “Everyone, quiet down!  Quiet down please!”  Then He says to the crowd, “Who is that crying out?  I want whoever that man is brought to me.”  Those near to Bartimaeus then turn to him and say, “Hey, get up!  Jesus heard you and He wants you to come to Him.”  Bartimaeus had succeeded.  Jesus had heard him and had not just passed by.  This was his chance.  So he sprang up and had someone lead him to Jesus.  Then in verse 51 we find a key question.  Jesus asks Bartimaeus the exact same question that he asked James and John in verse 36, “What do you want Me to do for you?”  The question should cause the reader of Mark’s gospel to wonder how Bartimaeus will respond?  Will he seek prominence and position, and power and authority like James and John did, or will he ask for something else?  Bartimaeus answers, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.”  Bartimaeus doesn’t ask for great position, power, or authority, he only asks Jesus to restore his sight, to fix what is broken.  James and John wanted to use Jesus to promote themselves.  Bartimaeus pleads only for restoration, for Jesus to make him whole.  Bartimaeus’ request was in line with who Jesus was and what His mission was – healing and restoring the broken.  So Jesus tells Bartimaeus to “Go your way, your faith has made you well.”  Literally the last part reads, “Your faith has saved you.”  Immediately Bartimaeus’ sight is restored, but notice that Bartimaeus doesn’t go his way.  Where does Bartimaeus go?  He immediately follows Jesus on Jesus’ way.  The blind beggar who was once on the side of the road is now where?  He’s on the road following after Jesus. 

Not only does Jesus explain where the road is leading and how to walk along the road, in Bartimaeus Jesus provides another model to follow.  Bartimaeus becomes for Mark’s readers then and now a picture of right discipleship.  Discipleship is about those of us who are broken and damaged and on the side of the road, calling out to Jesus for the restoration and healing that only He can provide, and then getting on the road and following after Him.

The truths we find in this text require each of us to do some self-examination and to ask a few questions.  The first question we have to ask is, “Where are we and what are we doing?”  Are we on the road, on mission with Jesus, or are we on the side of the road?  Have we been healed from our sin and are we following after Jesus or are we broken on the side of the road, doing our own thing?  Allow me to be truthfully honest with some of you.  If you haven’t surrendered your life to Jesus as Lord and Savior you may think you are on the road, on mission with Him, but you are not.  You are still broken and needing restoration.  The most wonderful news that I can tell you though is that if you will cry out to Jesus, He will not pass you by.  He will stop, and He will ask you the same question that He asked Bartimaeus, “What do you want for me to do for you.”  If you will tell Him, “I am a sinner, separated from God, and I need your cleansing and healing” He will do just that.  He will forgive and cleanse your sin and save you from the wrath of God that your sin deserves.  He did it for me, He has done it for every other individual who has called on Him, and He will do it for you.  You need this to call out to Him.  If you have already called out to Jesus, asked Jesus to cleanse you of your sin, and have surrendered your life to Jesus as Lord and Savior, then the question we need to ask is “How am I walking along this road?  Am I following Jesus with the hope that He will make much of me, or am I following Jesus, seeking to serve others and to make much of Him?”  Does our discipleship right now look more like James’ and John’s or more like Bartimaeus’?

Mark 10:32-52 offers us an incredibly clear picture of what following Jesus looks like.  Jesus clearly explains where the road is leading, He clearly explains how we are to walk along the road, and He provides us with another clear picture of what humble discipleship looks like.  This is the biblical picture of discipleship.  Following Jesus is costly and it’s hard, but what Jesus does for us and what we gain in Him is the greatest gift one could ever receive.  Our sin forgiven!  Our hearts made new!  Renewed fellowship with our Creator and the One who loves us more deeply and passionately than any other one could.  And the promise of an eternity with Him.  This is God’s desire and plan, but He gives you the choice.  What choice will you make?    

Small Group Questions for Discussion

1. Read Mark 10:32-34.  As we examined these verses we emphasized the truth that Jesus explains where the road is leading.  What do followers of a religious leader or teacher have to do when their teaching is vague or unclear?  What results from that?  How does understanding Jesus' clear teaching concerning His mission and ministry and where it would lead help you as a disciple/follower of Jesus?  HOw does it help the church?

2. Read Mark 10:35-45.  As we examined these verses we emphasized the truth that Jesus explains how we are to walk along the road.  Some of the things we noted that characterized Jesus' serves was that it was to all, it was not convenient , and it was very costly.  What are the conditions under which we like to serve?  What's our typical response when we encounter opportunities to serve that are hard, inconvenient, and costly?  What might we be missing out on when we walk away from those opportunities to serve?

3. Read Mark 10:46-52.  As we examined these verses we emphasized the truth that Jesus provides another model to follow.  And one of the things that stood out in these verses was Bartimaeus' response to Jesus' question, "What do you want me to do for you?"  Bartimaeus simply asked Jesus to make him whole - to fix what was broken.  If Jesus asked Escalate Church, "What do you want me to do for you," what would our response be?  Would our request(s) be more about our position and prominence or His glory?  How would you answer that question as an individual?  Would your request be more about your own position and prominence or His glory?

4. What step of faith does this passage of Scripture require us to take as individuals and as a small group?  How do we work this out on mission?