Mark 10:32-45
Chapter 10
Third Announcement of the Passion and Resurrection
They were traveling on the road to Jerusalem, with Jesus walking ahead. The Twelve felt anxious, and those following were afraid. Once again, Jesus pulled the Twelve aside to explain what was going to happen to him:“You see, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and deliver him to the Gentiles
who will mock him, spit on him, scourge him, and kill him; but three days later he will rise.”
Against Ambition
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached Jesus and said:
“Master, we want you to grant us what we are about to ask.”
And he replied:
“What do you want me to do for you?”
They answered:
“Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left when you come in your glory.”
Jesus said to them:
“You don’t know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized in the way I am baptized?”
They answered:
“We can.”
Jesus told them:
“The cup that I drink, you will drink; and you will be baptized in the way that I am baptized;
but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant. It has been prepared for others.”
Hearing this, the other ten were angry with James and John.
Jesus then called them to him and said:
“As you know, the so-called rulers of the nations behave like tyrants, and those in authority oppress the people.
But it shall not be so among you; whoever would be great among you must be your servant,
and whoever would be first among you shall make a slave to all.
Think of the Son of Man who has not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life to redeem many.”
Commentaries
Third Announcement of the Passion and Resurrection.
Jesus consciously accepts his destiny, not because he is a fortune teller, but because he understands his reality. Notice the contrast between Jesus, who moves forward confidently and determinedly to “go up” to Jerusalem, and the disciples who follow him in fear. They do not fully grasp that following Jesus involves walking paths, sometimes joyful and sometimes hard, but always leading to experiences of resurrection. Three days is the maximum time limit for divine intervention on behalf of the righteous sufferer (Hos 6:2).
Against Ambition.
James and John seek the first place. They do not yet understand that the path to glory is the path of the cross. The cup symbolizes suffering (14:36), and baptism symbolizes immersion (“submerging”) in the passion and death of the Lord (Rom 6:3). Jesus uses this moment to teach the disciples about power and service. Anyone who wants to follow him must be like him, who did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (45).