There are a couple of common types of exegesis that really bother me.  One is extracting doctrine or commands instead of teaching people how to love the text.  The other is trying to get to some sort of historical event behind the text.  The first is a lack of imagination and the second is imagination run wild.

I think both problems are indicative of the individualism we Americans worship.  Even many Christians, today, believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Whereas most Christians and even pagans throughout time viewed aesthetics as something that mankind only discovers.  The whole idea of the muses was a personification of something that most artists find themselves driven by as they practice their art.  Something outside of themselves.  The same certainly applies to beauty, as Christians we should realize that beauty, like morals or any other aspect of this world, is based on the character of God.  And it applies to a text that we didn’t write. Our job is to imagine a situation outside of ourselves, not to apply our view on the text.

God knows quite well how to communicate with us, he created us.  He created the world to communicate to us.  I think of Psalm 119, or Romans 1.  But above all he gave us his Word, which is mostly a book of stories.  Oh sure he also gave us the compilations of Solomon, the proverbs, which contain much advice in concise pithy sayings.  “Pride goes before destruction” says Proverbs 16:18, “One’s pride will bring him low. . .” The only problem is that Mark 10 doesn’t really say anything about pride.  It’s a snippet of a story, which Mark is telling us.  A few chapters back he detailed the transfiguration, which James and John were one of three men on earth to witness.  At the beginning of chapter ten Jesus tells his disciples that they will receive a hundred fold what they have given up to follow him.  In addition, they were making their way up to Jerusalem, something was about to happen.  The crowds felt it as they laid out palm branches a few hours later.  It makes perfect sense that they might ask him for a position of honor in his kingdom.  Of course it was political maneuvering.  But Jesus doesn’t tell them to knock it off, he tells them how to maneuver the right way.

Byzantine Mosaic. c. 540. Jesus with John on his left and James on his right. Painted on countless churches throughout the world. A fame like few have achieved.

We look at the situation and think they were arrogantly asking to be seated at the right and left hand of almighty God in heaven.  The problem was that they didn’t see it that way.  They were still thinking in earthly, Jewish terms.  They wanted to be earthly advisors to the a conquering prophet-king-messiah, who would put repentant Israel in it’s rightful place at the head of humanity.  And so he did that, and so much more, but they were not ready for it at the time.  Which is why they all fled when he was crucified, and were even leaving town after the tomb was found empty.  The battle was over, their messiah candidate was dead.  But that was the plan.  It was not a new plan, or a plan different from the Old Testament.  It was right in front of their face.  It was that part of Mark 10, verses 32 to 34, that they just skipped over.

“See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and 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.”

That’s how you conquer the Romans, and the world.  That’s how you fulfill the entire Law and Prophets.  That’s how the Jews rise to the head of the world, and then bless the world, through the Jew, Jesus, who laid down his life as the perfect sacrifice.  And because he did, he will be raised to the right hand, on the throne of thrones, in the glory of heaven.  And if we want a similar place of honor, we must do the same, we must not only suffer but die.  It’s right there in the other half of that proverb “. . .but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.”(Proverbs 29:23).  Jesus gives them what they asked for.  Both men fell as their master was crucified, they fled in fear.  But they were remade, they suffered much for following Jesus.  And both became great leaders.  We see James leading the way to death on the heels of Stephen(Acts 12:2).  And John finished out the revelation of the New Testament.

If you want to boast boast in what the Lord has done for you (Jeremiah 9:23,24).  If you want a place of honor, give your life.  That is the teaching of the Old Testament, and it is the teaching of the New Testament.  But the disciples had a tendency to forget it.  We too can forget it. Don’t jostle for power as they were attempting to do, as the world always does, scrambling to the top of the rat heap.  Instead, sit in the lowest place at the table and let the host bring you up to the head (Luke 14:7-11).  You will not only find favor with Earthly masters, but with the Master of Heaven.

So, it’s not so much about shaming us or the disciples for ambition.  It’s about learning how to read the story.  Learning how how our evil hearts have turned a good thing on it’s head, and how we can make it aright.  Take that ambition and use it to serve, to lay down your life, to put others first.  And you will be a type of Christ, a living story for the world to read.  So that we all may be seated at the fathers own right hand, in glory.