Because the time for the Slave-Savior’s death had come, He was willing to go to Jerusalem. He went before His followers with a speed and boldness that amazed them. This was His obedience to God unto death (Phil. 2:8), according to the counsel of God (Acts 2:23), for the fulfillment of His redemptive plan (Isa. 53:10).
The Lord Jesus knew that through His death He would be glorified in resurrection (Luke 24:25-26) and that His divine life would be released to produce many brothers for His expression (John 12:23-24; Rom. 8:29). For the joy set before Him, He despised the shame (Heb. 12:2) and volunteered to be delivered to the Satan-usurped leaders of the Jews and condemned by them to death. Therefore, God exalted Him to the heavens, seated Him at His right hand (Mark 16:19; Acts 2:33-35), gave Him the name which is above every name (Phil 2:9-10), made Him both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36), and crowned Him with glory and honor (Heb. 2:9).
The death of the Lord Jesus in Jerusalem included not only the Lord Himself, but also His followers. In fact, we also were included in His death. When the Lord entered into His all-inclusive death. He brought His followers into that death with Him. It is important for us to have this view as we consider the remainder of chapter ten and then the last six chapters of the Gospel of Mark.
When the Lord Jesus died on the cross, all His believers died with Him. According to the record of Mark, we can see that Peter, John, and James in particular were put to death with the Lord Jesus. He brought them and the other disciples purposely with Him into death. As a result, they could share in His resurrection and even be witnesses of His ascension.
On the day of Pentecost, ten days after the Lord’s ascension, the Spirit, who is actually the Lord Himself, was poured out upon all those who entered into Christ’s death, participated in His resurrection, and saw His ascension. With Christ as the life-giving Spirit poured upon them, they could realize in their experience that truly they were in the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. Furthermore, they could apply the Lord’s crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension to their living. Therefore, on the day of Pentecost Peter and the one hundred twenty were people in Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension. They were one with Christ, and they were actually His embodiment. On that day they were living Christ. We all need to see such a marvelous picture.
It was not an accident that on the day of Pentecost the one hundred twenty were witnesses of the crucified, resurrected, and ascended Christ. They all had followed Him and had passed with Him through death and into resurrection. They also saw His ascension. On the day of Pentecost they were in the reality of the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ.
As the Lord Jesus and His disciples were on the way to Jerusalem, He wanted to impress them with the matters of His all-inclusive death and His wonderful resurrection. Hence, for the third time, He spoke to them about His death and resurrection. However, the disciples did not have eyes to see. Even after the Lord had repeated this word the third time, His followers still were not able to see it.
The incidents recorded in 10:35-45 prove that the Slave-Savior’s disciples were blind with respect to the vision of His death and resurrection. Immediately after the Lord’s unveiling of His death and resurrection for the third time, James and John came to Him and said, “Teacher, we desire that whatever we ask You, You will do for us” (v. 35). The Lord replied, “What do you want Me to do for you? And they said to Him, Grant to us that we may sit, one on Your right, and one on Your left, in Your glory” (vv. 36-37). This request exposes the fact that John and James were still natural sons of thunder. They certainly had not been replaced by Christ, and they had not been crucified and brought into the Lord’s resurrection.
According to the account in the Gospel of Matthew, it was the mother of the sons of Zebedee who made this request (Matt. 20:20-21). She was a sister of Mary, the Lord’s mother, and was therefore His aunt. From this we see that James and John were the Lord’s cousins. It may have been based upon the fact that they thought they had a close natural relationship with Him that they asked for a favor—sitting at the Lord’s right and left in His glory.
The Lord had told His disciples that He was about to die. But they were ambitious to sit at the Lord’s right and left. Their request was altogether natural.