Jesus Went Before Them

Our Lord and our God, be pleased to open our eyes and open our hearts so that we may behold what you have for each of us this morning from your word, in order that we may treasure and do your will. We ask that you bless the truth of your word to our spiritual growth and good. May it correct and rebuke, as well as encourage and strengthen. Let our lives may show forth thy praise. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jesus and his disciples are on their way up to Jerusalem from Galilee for the last time. The disciples are secretly wondering what their immediate future would bring. Is this the time Jesus would seize power and become the Messiah ruling over the entire world? If so, what would their roles be in this kingdom? And, if not, what would happen to Jesus and them?

Now, everyone has a desire to know who the future holds for them, what their destiny will be. Young children dream about what they will be when they grow up. Young adults wonder what jobs and careers they will be able to get and who they will marry. Businessmen want to know if their business will prosper or whether it will be wrecked by presidential or gubernatorial edicts. We are all nervous to know what our political future holds and whether we will be banned from Facebook or Twitter. Each of us has a thousand questions about what tomorrow may bring.

But how many people want to know the future so that they can plan for eternity? Our Lord Jesus, as we shall see, was a man who fully knew his destiny, and he was able to fulfill it because of his complete trust in and submission to God his heavenly Father.

Let us consider now, first, the disciples’ focus and fantasy; second, Jesus’ focus and task; third, identifying with Jesus; fourth, a call to servanthood; and, fifth, considering your destiny.

The Disciples’ Focus and Fantasy

Ever since the day Jesus began his earthly ministry and had called disciples to follow him, he had tried to get them to understand exactly who he is and why he had come. They certainly believe that Jesus is a great teacher and even a great prophet. He had tried to get them to understand exactly who he is, why he had come, and why they should follow him.

In some sense, they even believe he is the Son of God. Relatedly, they believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah, and they hope that, as their leader, Jesus is going to deliver their Jewish nation from the domination and oppression of Rome and restore Israel to its former greatness that it had under King Solomon. They correctly believe that Jesus will be the king of Israel.

They are, however, quite mistaken about the timing and most of the specifics regarding Christ’s kingdom. The disciples believe that these things are about to happen in their lifetime. They believe that Jesus is on the verge of establishing his kingdom in the world, and they frequently argue over who among them will be the greatest in Christ’s kingdom. Thus, they fail to understand the truth of what God is doing.

We must ask, does this characterize you? Does it characterize me? Do you fail to understand who Jesus truly is and what he has done and what he is going to do? Do you interpret things from the point of view of your own self-interest?

Our text tells us that Jesus fearlessly takes the lead on the way up to Jerusalem. He is resolutely fixed on the task before him.

Jesus’ Focus

The phrase “and Jesus went before them” is in the present tense. Jesus is always leading. It was true then and it is true now. He leads, and you must follow him, if you are his disciple. This is a picture of an intrepid man whose mind and face are wholly fixed on the destiny that awaits him in a few days hence.

Jesus’ determined focus amazes the twelve and frightens his other followers. They sense the danger of his mission. These other followers are amazed by his courage, but they are probably afraid of the fate that awaits them all in Jerusalem. They know that Jesus is a marked man, and that the chief priests and the religious establishment wants to kill him. Yet Jesus just powers forward.

What is it on which Jesus is so singularly fixed? First, he is fixed on a place. The Bible says they were on their way up to Jerusalem. They are headed toward the capital of Israel. They are traveling on the same road that pilgrims on their way to celebrate the Passover went. We are told that they are “going up” to Jerusalem. Most Jewish people living in Palestine at that time lived at a lower elevation, so people always spoke about going up to that city. But another reason for saying this has to do with Jerusalem’s spiritual nature. Jerusalem was the site of the temple of God, the place where the sacrifices for sins were offered and blood atonement was made for the people. To first-century Jews, Jerusalem was the highest place of spiritual elevation in their minds.

However, I do not think that Jesus was contemplating the architecture of the city or the sights and sounds that would surround him when he arrived there. I do not think he was primarily focused on  the temple and the religious rituals that were being carried out there. Rather, Jesus has his mind focused on what is going to happen to him there—his pending betrayal and false arrest, his upcoming trial and wrongful conviction and condemnation, and, finally, the crucifixion that he would undergo on a little hill just outside the city gates, the place we know as Golgotha, or Calvary, a hill close by where Abraham had offered up his son Isaac (Gen. 22).

Every event in Jesus’ ministry, every miracle, every sermon, every single thing Jesus has done up to this point while he was here on earth served to bring him to that hill. As we read in Mark 10:45 and Philippians 2:5–8, Jesus, though being God, humbled himself, becoming a man in order to offer up his life as a ransom for many.

So Jesus is focused on the task before him. He knows that at Calvary, the Old Testament prophecies would all be fulfilled in him. He knows that a cross awaits him in order for him to become the final perfect substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of all elect sinners. Jesus knows that on that hill the just demands of the holy God will be met. He knows that when the events that will soon take place in Jerusalem and on Calvary are accomplished, the wrath of God Almighty will be poured out on him. The righteous justice of God will be satisfied, and the sins of many lost sinners will be fully atoned for.

You see, the cross and the death of Jesus are not some unfortunate accident, nor is the pending death of Jesus on the cross some sort of plan B. No, the death of Jesus was planned long before the universe was ever created (Eph. 1:4). And none of this was a surprise to Jesus. The first words that were recorded in the New Testament as coming out of his mouth are these: “I must be about my Father’s business” (Luke 2:49). The last words that would come out of his mouth just before he dies would be, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

So Jesus fully knows what awaits him in Jerusalem. His coming death as an atoning sacrifice was foreshadowed in Genesis 3:15. His death was also foreshadowed in the garments of skin God made to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:21. His death was prefigured in every sacrifice and offering in the temple. His death was the theme of the Old Testament prophets.

In his death on the cross, Jesus will accomplish what millions of gallons of animal blood that had been shed under the Old Testament sacrificial system failed to do. His death on the cross will be fully, eternally, and perfectly a full payment for the penalty of the sins of all those who will place their trust in him. So Jesus makes his way up to Jerusalem. God’s plan of salvation is most certainly on his mind. He is headed there to fully and once for all deal with the sin problem of his people, and nothing must stand in his way.

It also follows that Jesus is focused on a people—those people whom the heavenly Father had given him in the triune council held before time began. Before Jesus was born, an angel told his step-father Joseph, “You are to die him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). So Jesus came to this world with a certain set of people on his mind. Who are they? All those who had been chosen and given him by God the Father, as we see in John 6:37, before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4)—that is, all those people who, through the Holy Spirit’s regeneration and enabling, will repent of their sins and believe on Jesus and be saved.

Thus, Jesus has on his mind these people, and only these people, who will bow their hearts and bend their knees in submission to him, repenting of their sins and lawlessness against him, and truly confessing him as their Savior and Lord. This is to say that if you are numbered among God’s elect, you were on Jesus’ mind as he makes his way up to Jerusalem.

The next thing that demands our attention in this passage is our Lord’s clear knowledge of his own suffering and death. Calmly and deliberately, he tells his disciples of his coming passion in Jerusalem. One after another, he describes the specific circumstances which will attend his death.

This is not the first time Jesus had predicted his own death. At least twice before, Jesus had tried to tell his disciples that he had come to this world to die. We know that Jesus told them about his approaching death in Mark 8:31. On that occasion, the Lord had to rebuke Peter because Peter tried to argue Jesus out of such a thought. On the second occasion, found in Mark 9:31, the disciples were perplexed by what Jesus was saying and could not wrap their minds around it. They, like all Jewish people of that day, were looking for a Messiah, but one who would be a military and political leader, not a man who would purposely get himself executed. They simply could not comprehend the truth that the Messiah would have to die to accomplish his divine mission on earth.

On each occasion, Jesus tells the disciples something more explicit about what is going to happen. In Mark 10:33 is the first expressed statement that the Gentiles would join the Jews in carrying out Jesus’ execution. These two big divisions of the human race will take part together in crucifying the Lord of glory. And in Luke 18:31, we learn that now Jesus tells them that all things that were written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished. We should take note of this. This was nothing unplanned, unperceived, or involuntary on our Lord’s part in his upcoming death. It was God the Father’s plan ever since the trinitarian council met in eternity past and was also the result of Jesus’ own pre-determinative and deliberate choice. So Jesus knows what he is talking about when he speaks to his twelve disciples about this.

How does Jesus know this? He is both God and man, and in his divinity, he not only foresees the future, but also plans and controls it. Additionally, God the Holy Spirit revealed this to Jesus in his humanity, such that Jesus speaks as he is moved by the Holy Spirit. Finally, this is the work of the Messiah prophesied about in the Old Testament in places like Isaiah 53.

So keep in mind the “must” of Jesus’ suffering lies not in his heroic determination, but in Jesus’ willing submission to do the will of God the Father. From the beginning of his earthly ministry, Jesus always kept the cross before him and now goes to it as a willing sufferer. Jesus knows that his death will be the needful payment that must be made to reconcile God and his people, that payment he had covenanted to make at the price of his own blood.

So now the appointed time has come, and like a faithful son, Jesus is keeping his word to go and die for our sins on Calvary. But here is the good news: every aspect of every detail of everything the Father gave Jesus to do in order to save his people from the penalty, the power, the pleasure, and the presence of sin—everything—Jesus will (and from our present-day perspective after the fact, did) accomplish it.

It was prophesied that none of the Messiah’s bones would be broken (Exod. 12:46). It was also predicted that he would be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (Zech. 11:12), deserted by his friends (Zech. 13:7), pierced while on the cross (Ps. 22:16), given gall to drink (Ps. 69:21), cried out in pain, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Ps. 22:1), and that lots would be cast for his garments (Ps. 22:18). Isaiah 53 prophesied that Jesus would be the suffering Servant who would die for the transgressions of God’s people (v. 8), thus justifying the many and bearing their iniquities (v. 11). His body would be placed in a rich man’s tomb (v. 9), but he would come to life again. It was predicted that his body would not suffer decay and that he would rise from the dead to see his offspring, and the light of life (vv. 10–11).

Thus, Christ’s person and work are the reason for history, the focus of the Bible, the object of saving faith, and the singular hope for eternal life. Should we not marvel at God’s great plan?

In verse 34 of our text, Jesus not only predicts his crucifixion, but also his resurrection. He tells the disciples precisely what is going to happen. “We are going up to Jerusalem. I am going to be betrayed. I will be turned over to the chief priests. They in turn will give me to the Gentiles, the Romans, who will mock me, scourge me, and crucify me. But I will rise on the third day.” And all that Jesus tells them will come true in just a few day’s time. All the Old Testament prophecies will be fulfilled.

But verses 35 and following tell us that the disciples just did not comprehend at this time what Jesus is telling them.

Identifying with Jesus

We see that James and John come to Jesus with an audacious request to sit at his right and on his left in glory. They seek position and power in Christ’s kingdom, showing that they have a worldly concept of Jesus’ kingship. They want people to serve them. But Jesus will shortly tell them, and us, that the secret of greatness is in service.

We should not be too shocked by James’ and John’s selfishness and misunderstanding. Such often motivates us as well. We too often fail to grasp the basic biblical truth that servanthood is the way of spiritual greatness, that the cross comes before the crown, that to be like Jesus in some way we must be a servant.

The parallel passage in Matthew 20:20–21 reveal that James and John actually have their mother do the dirty work for them, and that they even kneel down before Jesus. Understandably, every mother wants the best for her child. It is quite possible that this lady was Jesus’ aunt, and in so doing is using a family tie to make this request of him. She and her sons cut Peter and the other disciples out, showing that blood, after all, is thicker than water.

Probably realizing the complete inappropriateness of their request, James and John actually try to trick Jesus into agreeing to give them carte blanche whatever they want without first stating what it is they want. But Jesus does not fall for it, and curtly asks, “What do you want?”

Their request is that they want to have the positions of honor on his left and on his right when he comes in his glory. This shows their superficial understanding of what it is to follow Jesus. And it also shows their inflated opinion of their own self-importance, something that those who are called to leadership are especially susceptible to.

Other disciples, however, are not excused. We know from other texts that they would have made the same request if James and John had not beaten them to the punch. Despite all of the plain warnings of our Lord, they cling obstinately to the belief that Christ’s kingdom on earth is immediately going to happen. They still dream of holding key cabinet positions and the earthly rewards that go with them.

Jesus graciously but directly points out the lack of understanding on the part of the Zebedee brothers. They want to be on his right and left, so Jesus asks them about their willingness to share his fate by drinking the cup that he will drink and being baptized with the baptism with which he will be baptized. They do not know the nature of their request nor what it will entail. What are this cup and this baptism of which Jesus speaks? They each refer to the death which Jesus faces—the false accusations, the sham of a trial, and the crucifixion, but especially enduring the wrath of God in judgment on behalf of God’s people.

Within the week, Jesus will have his disciples drink from a shared cup at the Last Supper. That cup will signify the blood which Jesus will shed on the cross. The Scriptures teach that the blood of Jesus, which is the price of our redemption, is in that cup. Therefore, the cup signifies his death through which these disciples, and we, are redeemed.

When Jesus comes to the garden of Gethsemane, he will pray that the cup might pass from him. But it is the Father’s will that he drink it to the dregs for us. Only Jesus as the infinite God-man can and will drink that cup.

Jesus is, however, asking if James and John are willing to die for him. The word “baptism” carries with it the idea of identification. When one is baptized, that act of baptism identifies you with Christ and his church. When Jesus goes to the cross, he will identify with our sin and guilt. God will judge him as though he were the guilty sinner. All the wrath of God against sinful elect people will be poured out on him. Jesus will identify with us and suffer in our stead that kind of death that we can never endure.

Again, what Jesus is asking is, “Are you willing to identify with me as your Master and Lord, and even suffer on my behalf?” Sadly, James and John failed to see that the pathway to true glory is always the pathway of service and suffering. Before the crown there is a cross.

The two brothers naively say that they are able to drink this cup and be baptized with this baptism, and they will. We read in the book of Acts that King Herod will take action against the early church and have James beheaded (Acts 12). We know that John will be exiled to the Roman penal colony on Patmos.

But Jesus also asks us, “Are you willing to identify with me in persecution and even die as my disciples, if called upon?” May we each be able to say, “God helping me, I will.”

The Call to Servanthood

In verse 44, when the other ten disciples hear of the request of James and John, they are indignant with them for trying to cut them out. Perhaps they were also a little angry at themselves over not having thought to make the same request first. Their own selfish ambitions and love of pre-eminence are once more stirred up and dashed at the idea of having someone else placed above themselves.

And, oh, how like us they are! Pride, selfish ambition and jealousy are poisons to a church. They can split a church faster than anything. (GJB) So Jesus steps in and uses the occasion to teach an important lesson on being a servant, on being a leader in God’s kingdom. He warns in Mark 10:42, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.”

This is not a new topic. Jesus had touched on it earlier in Mark 9:33, saying that if anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and a servant of all. And Jesus will reiterate this lesson on service again at the Last Supper a few days hence, when he, the Lord of all, will wash the disciples’ feet.

In the church, we must never be driven by selfish ambition and a lust for power. That is what people do in the world, in politics and in the workplace. They seek to lord it over others in their exercise of authority. In the world, the more important you think you are, the more you think people should serve you. But that is not the case in the church. Jesus opposes that mindset and says, “It is not to be so among us.” Instead, Jesus sets forth this principle of servanthood.

In verses 43 and 44, he says, “Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be the slave of all.” This is about greatness—the greatness of humility and service.

Christians must never forget they are called to be servants of God and of his church. It is notable how the apostle Paul describes himself as a “slave of God.” And Jesus modeled this type of servanthood. He said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

Jesus is the leader that leads. He never called his disciples to do anything that himself was not willing to do. In his humanity, he is the perfect servant of God, and he calls us to be his servants as well. On the last day, we will be judged by whether we evidenced true faith in Jesus by how we have served the little people of his kingdom.

At the same time, Jesus always leads and his disciples operate under his authority. In 1 Peter 5:1–4, leaders in the church are told not to be greedy for money, but eager to serve, not lording it over those entrusted to their care. But their service does not negate verse 5 of 1 Peter 5 or Hebrews 13:17, that we are to be submissive to those over us in the Lord. Submission and service go together.

Nevertheless, Jesus came to serve. Verse 45 tells us the Son of Man came to give his life as a ransom for many. This thought must be carefully treasured up in the mind of every true Christian. It is one of the texts which proves incontrovertibly the substitutionary atoning character of Christ’s death, that Jesus’ death would be no common death. Jesus is going up to Jerusalem to make full and complete satisfaction for all the countless sins of all God’s people. He will bear the penalty for our sins in his own body on the cross. The Lord God will lay on him the iniquity of us all. When he suffers, he will suffer in our stead. He will hang on the cross as our substitute. When his blood flows, it will be to cover our sins.

The Greek word for “ransom” used in our text is lutron. It reflects the Old Testament term used of slaves and prisoners of war being bought back, often by a close family member, a kinsman, a go-êl. The preposition used here is also significant. Verse 45 says that Jesus will give his life as a ransom for many. This is the language of substitution. It tells us that Jesus came to give his life as a ransom in the place of many. The ransom price is the precious blood of Christ (Eph. 1:7). Redemption from sin costs a life, a perfect life, and Jesus alone provides one. He alone paid the ultimate price for us, his own blood shed on our behalf. We see that in 1 Peter 1:18–20 and Revelation 5:9.

Important, too, is the truth that the ransom price will be paid for many, and paid for them in particular as the objects of his special love, the many being those ordained by God to eternal life (Acts 13:48), those given to Christ in the covenant of grace (John 6:37–40), those for whom Christ makes intercession in his high priestly prayer (John 17); those effectually called to eternal life by God the Holy Spirit (Rev. 19:9). They are all those who will receive Jesus for the redemption and salvation which he alone has to bestow and who will happily be subject to him as their Lord and King. They are many, but few in comparison to the rest of humanity.

Let us then not only gladly accept Jesus as our redeemer and advocate at the Father’s right hand in heaven, but also gladly give ourselves to him in his service. Surely, if Jesus died for us, it is small thing for us as Christians to live for him. But we must come humbly, serving under his lordship and serving in the capacity he assigns us, always considering others better than ourselves.

Ensuring Your Future Destiny

Your destiny can also be known. The apostle John wrote, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). Your destiny does not have to be a mystery. Verse 12 of 1 John 5 puts it very plainly: “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” Your destiny is determined by your relationship to Jesus the Son of God.

Jesus said in John 3:14–18, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only unique Son, that everyone who believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned; but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

All this begs the question, “Have you identified with Jesus as your Savior and Lord? Are you willing to follow him even unto death, if needs be?” Such sharing in the shame and fate of Jesus will later mark the early church and will evidence their commitment to Christ and the strength that the Holy Spirit provides his people. Acts 5:41 says, “So they departed from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” It is not that the disciples rejoiced in the shame itself. Instead, they rejoiced in being identified with Jesus and thus gladly suffering the shame and death in his behalf, if called upon.

And if this is so, then know that becoming a disciple of Christ means that you have to make an attachment to him that is revolutionary in that it will transform you completely. No part of your life will be unaffected, including your church life. Scripture tells us that God hates pride but honors humility. So let us walk in humility. Let us serve to please Christ, watching and standing against self-esteem and self-aggrandizement. These sinful desires, which are deeply rooted in the human psyche, ought not to be tolerated in a Christian’s life. Those who profess to be Christians sometimes feel irritated or annoyed when a brother or sister is in some sense more honored than themselves, but they must get over it quickly.

This ought to be the case for those who love Christ. The church of Christ is no place for the selfishly motivated. We must ponder the words of Paul, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves” (Phil. 2:3).

We must never ask, “What is in it for me?” Mark 10:44 says that we must be a doulos, a bondservant, a slave in Jesus’ service. Elsewhere, this word is translated “deacon.” It refers to a person who does menial labor, housecleaning, serving tables, gardening, and so on.

The call of being a slave to Jesus is humble, self-denying, sacrificial service. It is service rendered to others for Christ’s sake by men and women who have learned that “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

Disciples follow Jesus. So make him your Lord. Make him the ruler of your life. If you would live for Christ, then live for others. If you would serve Christ, then serve one another.

Here is your motive: “You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Cor. 6:19–20). Blessed is that person who can sincerely and gladly rejoice when others are exalted and honored, especially when he himself is overlooked and seemingly passed by.

May we indeed heed Ephesians 4:2, which says, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” So I ask you: What is your destiny? It is either heaven or hell. If your name is written in the book of life, it is heaven. If your name is not in the book of life, it is hell. We see that in Revelation 20:15. There is no in-between, and after you die, there is no second chance. Of this we can be certain, though: “There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). But those who have not placed their faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation remain under God’s condemnation.

The truth is that Jesus offers eternal life to all who believe in him. In other words, he gives eternal life to all those who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, who then hate their sin, who seek his forgiveness in repentance and look to him for salvation, and who entrust themselves to him to live under his lordship.

Salvation is found in no one else. To reject Jesus is to reject God’s provision for sin, and such rejection damns you for all eternity. So I exhort you to repent of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Then come, follow him as your Lord even unto death. And may you do so today.

Let us pray: Our Lord and our God, may we each here this morning commit ourselves to following Jesus as his disciple. May no one here delay in doing so. May no one tarry, thinking he has many days in which to make the decision, for today is the day of salvation. Do this in our midst, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.