The Lutheran Hour
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"Knowing Your Place"
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Text: Mark 10:35-45
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When I was a young pastor serving in North Wisconsin, I learned a valuable lesson about knowing my place. I had been in the ministry three years. I was transitioning into serving the saints at Zion Lutheran Church in the Town of Easton, just outside of Wausau, WI. I learned much about the ministry from them. They taught me the joys of serving with and among faithful laymen and women. These were good lessons. But there were also stinging lessons like the one that I learned at the hands of my brother pastors in one of our circuit meetings.
I was young, full of energy, and was ready to take on the world for Christ. As the pastors would gather, we would share ideas on the texts of Scripture, church issues, and all matter of things theological. My problem was that I was too slow to listen and far too quick to speak. In hindsight, that came from being far too interested in making a place for myself. After all, I had a degree from the Seminary! I knew my stuff!
But so did these other pastors, hence the need for a lesson about being in my place. It was after a particularly pointed discussion that I was taken aside by one of the pastors in the circuit. It was this conversation that put me in my place. He asked me to take a look around the table. As I looked, he asked me to count up the ministry experience of the older pastors at the table. Now, in our circuit, there were several retired pastors and the combined number of years of faithful service was well in the hundreds. These men had forgotten more about the ministry than any 3-year rookie could ever know. It was then he simply said, “Listen more, talk less.” That little phrase put me in my place. And now, some 10 years later, I realize that I needed it!
This is exactly what James and John are dealing with when we read about their efforts with Jesus in Mark 10. The students are cozying up to the teacher in hopes of making a place for themselves. They say just the right thing at just the right time. And when the moment is right, when the teacher is alone with them, it was time to close in for the kill.
“Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” They had put in the time and effort. All the attempts to jockey for position were about to pay off. They had Jesus right where THEY wanted Him. The only question remaining was “would Jesus take the bait?” Had they managed to make an eternal place for themselves? Have they managed to make a name for themselves at the expense of the other 10? It would seem that they had maneuvered themselves into a prime position like any other mover or shaker in life.
Don’t we try to do that? Don’t we try to manipulate our place with God? Of course we do. Whenever we are under authority, which we all are, we love to present ourselves in the best possible light. But we want to do it at the expense of others. You want your boss to think that you have it all together and that you are an indispensible part of the team. So much so that you will do even the unethical to get ahead. The student covets the favor of the teacher, even at the point of cheating. The athlete strives to be the apple of the coach’s eye so much so that they inject their bodies with performance enhancing drugs. Children vie for position in the family at the expense of family harmony. Even in the church there are those who long for the positions of honor so they can impose their will on the congregation or church body, even when it may not agree with God’s Word. What we see from James and John is nothing new to us. It is a part of what we do. This is especially true when we come to grips with the fact that we want our place to always be #1.
Is there anything wrong with us wanting to do our best? NO! Is it sinful to attempt to gain status and position by hook or crook, manipulation or maneuvering? Yes!
As we see in Mark 10, Jesus has no time or place for this kind of maneuvering. Jesus will not fall for their trap. He wouldn’t bite because Jesus can read hearts and minds. He saw right through the sinful manipulation and motivation of these Sons of Thunder.
The problem that James and John, and we for that matter, have is that we over-estimate our ability when it comes to our place with the Lord Jesus. They had been with Jesus. They were thoroughly righteous guys! They had left their dad and the family business to follow the teacher wherever He would go. They had been on this journey from almost the very beginning. We are told that only Andrew and Peter had been with Jesus longer and that was only marginally. They were students of the Master. They were servants of the Mighty One that had healed the sick, given sight to the blind, and even raised the dead. They too had been sent out on the Lord’s mission and had taught with authority. They had even been used to cast out demons. IF anyone deserved a special place in eternity with Jesus, James and John would be prime candidates. As a result, they wanted those seats of honor. The seats at the left and right of the King are prizes that should not fall to just anyone. And in their mind they were so much more than just anyone. They were the servants of God after all, and wanted the world to know that.
How about us? Don’t we often think that we aren’t that bad? How many times do we think God is so lucky to have us on His team? He is so fortunate to have me work for Him? Have you ever compared yourself to others and over-estimated your worth? Of course you have. We all have. This is the essence of sin. We think of ourselves more highly than we ought. We actually begin to believe the devil’s lies and think that we actually deserve a place of credit and honor with the Lord. Sounds a bit like the temptation in the Garden of Eden, doesn’t it? Maybe instead of James and John, we should be the ones at the left and right of Jesus in eternity!
But Jesus’ response to this request for status is telling. He first highlights the fact that these two have no idea what they are asking. They had no idea what cup or baptism Jesus was talking about. This ignorance combined with blind ambition is only surpassed by their foolish answer of Yes. It is then that Jesus burst their bubble. “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
Greatness in the kingdom of God is not a matter of merit. Greatness in the kingdom of God is granted by grace. James and John, you and I have a place in the kingdom. However, it has nothing to do with what you have done. But you and I do have a place. And that place is a place of greatness in the kingdom of God. But it has all to do with the Lord Jesus Christ. He has done it all for you.
You have a place because Jesus took your place. The coronation of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords took place in an actual place. And this place was no palace. This place was in a place of dishonor. This place was a place of shame. This place was a place of death. Jesus is crowned with glory and not gold. On a Friday we call Good, Jesus took His much-needed place on the cross of Calvary and served us to the point of death. Jesus took His place in fulfilling God’s promise to Adam and Eve to destroy Satan’s head. Jesus took the place that no one, not even James or John, would take and offered His holy precious life as a ransom for all people. And because He took that place, you now have a place with Him. The great High Priest Jesus offered the greatest once-for-all sacrifice. The great Lamb of God was sacrificed on the altar of Calvary. And look what that place entailed. Who was on His left and right? Malefactors. Sinners. Those deserving death. There, enthroned between the dead and dying, Jesus pays the ransom price for YOUR sin.
This ransom buys you a place in eternity. You can’t earn it. You can never deserve it. It is simply given to you out of the mercy and grace and love of God. It is given to you as you receive it as you are placed under the New Covenant of the forgiveness of sins in the Water and Word of Holy Baptism. You drink freely of this grace when you are welcomed at His eternal table. This is your place. This is a place of eternal honor.
Not knowing your rightful place causes only divisions and disaster. Mark 10 tells of the indignation of the other Disciples when they found out that James and John were maneuvering for position. But that anger was not out of shock as much as it was out of disgust that they had not made the move themselves. And in this we see that this is more than just a James and John problem. It is an every person problem.
As a young pastor, I needed to be put in my place by older and wiser brothers that I might gain insights and blessings. So it is with you today. The wisdom of my brother pastor is good for us to hear. Listen more. Talk less. Hear this today! You have been put in your place. And this placement is one of goodness and grace; of love and life. Jesus has placed you as His brother or sister. You have all the inheritance rights of any blood relative. This has been given to you. Your place in eternity is secure and sure. It is not dependent on you or your effort. No, your place is certain and secure because of Christ and His Cross.
Today you have been put in your place. God’s Word puts you in that place. But it is not a place of correction. Instead it is a place of salvation and service. Not a place of serving me and myself, not a place that puts me in the limelight, but a place of serving my Lord and my brothers and sisters in Christ. This place is a seat of honor. While it may not be at the right or left hand of Jesus in His kingdom, it is a treasured place. This place belongs to all those whom the Holy Spirit has called to faith in Jesus Christ. This place is yours! AMEN
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for March 29, 2009
Topic: Christians On Judgment DayMark: Will Judgment Day be optional for some? I’m Mark Eischer, here with Pastor Ken Klaus.
Ken: Hello, Mark.
Mark: First of all, what do we understand Judgment Day to be?
Ken: It coincides with the Second Coming of Christ when He returns in glory. The dead shall be raised and Christ will immediately gather all the nations before Him and render final judgment upon each individual.
Mark: On that day, all people will be divided into two groups. Right?
Ken: Yes–right-handed or left-handed.
Mark: Excuse me?
Ken: Two groups. The believers and the unbelievers, the righteous and the unrighteous, the sheep and the goats, the wheat and the chaff.
Mark: More specifically, those who have Jesus as their Savior and those who don’t.
Ken: Yes. Now, so far, we’ve haven’t gotten to our question, have we?
Mark: We’re getting there. Those who are believers have been forgiven of their sins and redeemed by Jesus, correct?
Ken: Right.
Mark: So, if believers are already forgiven why do they have to take part on Judgment Day? Aren’t they more or less pre-qualified?
Ken: So this is all a lead-in to the question, “If the heavenly Father has already forgiven me on account of Christ, does Judgment Day still apply to me?
Mark: That sums it up.
Ken: Let me try to answer. The first thing I have to say may sound harsh. I don’t mean it to be, but it will. First, our presence is requested. The Lord Who loved us when we were unlovable; Who sent His Son to save us when we didn’t want Him, is asking us to be there on Judgment Day. If there were no other reason, that should be enough. But, of course, attendance is not optional. Even those who don’t believe in God will be required to stand before Him.
Sometimes I think it’s like winning an Academy Award. If you’re getting the Award, you ought to be there in person. Out of respect for the people who have given you the award, you ought to be there.
Mark: Of course heaven is not a reward for anything we have done.
Ken: Absolutely not. We are saved entirely because of Jesus’ sacrifice. So out of respect for Him we ought to be there.
Mark: But you said there were other reasons.
Ken: There are. Through faith in Christ, we have been declared innocent. Now it’s time for the Judge to pronounce sentence.
Mark: I’d like to hear that official pronouncement.
Ken: I would think. Can you imagine a criminal who has been acquitted not wanting to be there to hear the Judge say the words, “You’re free to go?”
Mark: That would be pretty strange.
Ken: On Judgment Day the Savior will return in glory; He’s going to gather all before Him and all will receive the result of what they did in this world, both good and bad.
Mark: That sounds a little risky.
Ken: It might be–if we had to stand there on our own merits. But because of Jesus, the sins of believers no longer count against them. That is why the Lord isn’t even going to mention them. Believers will be judged only according to their righteous deeds-most of which they won’t even remember doing! That is why we don’t need to fear that day.
Mark: In Bible passages describing the judgment, the Lord doesn’t even bring up what we’ve done wrong. He carried all of that to the cross and left it there.
Ken: And that day we will be given a chance to begin thanking Him for His wonderful act of undeserved kindness.
Mark: And we’ll have all of eternity to continue.
Ken: Right. Luther summed it up for us when he said, “The Judgment pertains to the believers as little as it does to the holy angels. All believers enter out of this life into the kingdom of heaven without judgment and are even the judges of others.”
Mark: Pastor, we’ve covered a lot here. Could you say, in closing, why Christians should be glad to be there on Judgment Day?
Ken: Sure. Because the Savior wants us to be there and He died and rose for us so that we could be numbered among the righteous. So we can hear the Lord speak our sentence. So we can begin an eternity of praising Him. Because it is absolutely the right thing, the grateful thing to do. Lastly, and we haven’t talked about this before… because we’d be missing a wonderful moment if we weren’t there.
Mark: This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music selection for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“By Grace” by J. Williamson & J. Young. From By Grace by Jimmie Young (© 2004 Takestone Music) Mass Voice Music / BMI
“In the Shattered Bliss of Eden” by Stephen Starke & C.H.H. Parry, arr. Kevin Hildebrand. From Hymns for All Saints: Lent, Easter, Pentecost (© 2006 Concordia Publishing House)
“Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me” arr. Donald Busarow. From Heirs of the Reformation (© 2008 Concordia Publishing House)
“Christe, du Lamm Gottes” by J.S. Bach. From Orgelbüchlein & More Works by J.S. Bach by Robert Clark and John Peterson (© 1997 Calcante Recordings, Ltd.)