Mark 10.35-45 Version 2

FAVOURS FOR THE UNFAVOURABLE

Mark 10.35-45

‘When you sit on your throne in your glorious kingdom, we want you to let us sit down with you, one at your right hand and one at your left'. (Mark 10.37)

What a cheek! Just because James and John considered themselves a cut above the average disciple, insofar as their father was able to afford hired servants, and just because they, together with Peter, formed the inner circle around Jesus, they immediately thought that they deserved special favours from Jesus.

No wonder the other disciples were angry with them. I would have been absolutely furious.

There is no doubt that this story certainly does not put James and John in a very favourable light. I am therefore not surprised, that when Matthew came to write up the same story in his Gospel, some thirty years later, he put this request for special favours upon the lips of their mother.

However, if you are going to rewrite this part of Mark’s Gospel, you have got to rewrite much more of Mark’s Gospel, for there are many occasions when the early disciples do not appear in a favourable light.

Take for instance Mark’s picture of Peter. When Jesus tried to tell him that he was going to die upon a Cross, we are told that Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

At the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter wanted to prolong the experience by building three Tabernacles, rather than face the reality at the foot of the mountain. Then when Peter is told to keep awake in the Garden of Gethsemane, he goes asleep. And when finally, in spite of his earlier boastful assurance that he would never deny Jesus, the minute he meets the serving maid in the Temple courtyard, his courage fails him.

But it is not just Peter, James and John who appear often in an unfavourable light in Mark’s Gospel. In fact we can say all the disciples appear at times under Mark’s pen in an unfavourable light. They appear to be spiritual dimwits. Unable to understand what Jesus is saying and unable to glimpse the significance of what he is doing.

When in the boat upon the sea of Tiberius a storm develops, they immediately awaken Jesus and suggest he does not care for them. ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are about to die?’ When Jesus feels the power go out of him and turns and asks who touched him, they impertinently reply, ‘You see how many people are crowding you. Why do you ask who touched you?’ When Jesus invites them to participate in the feeding of the five thousand, they sarcastically reply: ‘Do you want us to go and spend 200 silver coins on bread to feed them?’ Later, when faced with a similar situation of feeding four thousand people, they reply: ‘Where in the desert can anyone find enough to feed all these people?’ And finally, it was not just Peter who could not keep awake in that Garden of Gethsemane. All the disciples fell asleep and, finally, when Jesus hung upon the Cross they all deserted him.

There is no doubt, that it is not just James and John and Peter, but all of the disciples who frequently appear in an unfavourable light in Marks Gospel.

In fact, the author goes even further and reinforces this rather dismal picture with his own editorial comments, such as: ‘They did not understand what this teaching meant and they were afraid to ask him’ and ‘They did not understand the feeding of the five thousand’ and, if that is not enough, he also recalls Jesus’ own reaction to these disciples when he says: ‘Don’t you know or understand yet, are your minds so dull? You have eyes, can you not see; you have ears, can you not hear?’

Now you must be wondering why St Mark appears to go out of his way to paint such a disparaging picture of the early disciples, particularly when you consider that some were probably still alive at the time when he wrote his Gospel.

I do not personally believe he was seeking to discredit them, or belittle their understanding. Much rather he was seeking to remind his readers, that the early disciples were as human as they were. They were not supermen with a divine hot line to God, but ordinary people with ordinary failings, just like them.

Not only does the inclusion of these stories give the Gospel a ring of authenticity, since no one would have ever invented such stories, but it gives me hope and encouragement in my life of discipleship.

At the end of the day it is not the picture that Mark paints of the disciples that really speaks to me, but the picture he paints of God as revealed in Jesus Christ.

Here is a God of infinite patience and understanding. A God who, whilst not condoning my inadequate discipleship, nevertheless understands my lack of faith, my overconfidence, my slowness in understanding, my stupidity at times, my ambition, my cowardice, my consistent failure to realise my good intentions, my lack of tolerance, my reluctance to forgive and all those other many failures in my life.

Here is a God who does not reject me even though I may reject him when he does not come up to my expectations. He does not abandon me, even though I may abandon him, when I do not get my own way. He does not turn his back on me, even though I may turn my back on him, if I do not like what he is saying to me. He does not despair of me even though I despair of him, when I simply cannot understand why certain things happen in my life.

Jesus remained faithful to his disciples throughout. He displayed infinite patience and understanding even though it may have hurt him terribly at times. And therefore I know that the God revealed in Jesus remains faithful to me in spite of my unfaithfulness to him. And it is because of this I am able to carry on in the hope that as I persevere in the spiritual life I may slowly become that unique person he is calling me to be in spite of the unfavourable side of my character.

Whilst I may not dare to hope to sit either on his left or on his right in heaven, I do nevertheless persevere in the hope that I may one day sit within his nearer presence in heaven.