The
time of the Passover was drawing near, and again Jesus turned toward Jerusalem.
In His heart was the peace of perfect oneness with the Father's will, and with
eager steps He pressed on toward the place of sacrifice. But a sense of
mystery, of doubt and fear, fell upon the disciples. The Saviour "went
before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid."
Again
Christ called the twelve about Him, and with greater definiteness than ever
before, He opened to them His betrayal and sufferings. "Behold," He
said, "we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the
prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For He shall be
delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and
spitted on: and they shall scourge Him, and put Him to death: and the third day
He shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying
was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken."
Had
they not just before proclaimed everywhere, "The kingdom of heaven is at
hand"? Had not Christ Himself promised that many should sit down with
Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of God? Had He not promised to all
who had left aught for His sake a hundredfold in this life, and a part in His
kingdom? And had He not given to the twelve the special promise of positions of
high honor in His kingdom,--to sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of
Israel? Even
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now
He had said that all things written in the prophets concerning Him should be
fulfilled. And had not the prophets foretold the glory of the Messiah's reign?
In the light of these thoughts, His words in regard to betrayal, persecution,
and death seemed vague and shadowy. Whatever difficulties might intervene, they
believed that the kingdom was soon to be established.
John,
the son of Zebedee, had been one of the first two disciples who had followed Jesus.
He and his brother James had been among the first group who had left all for
His service. Gladly they had forsaken home and friends that they might be with
Him; they had walked and talked with Him; they had been with Him in the privacy
of the home, and in the public assemblies. He had quieted their fears,
delivered them from danger, relieved their sufferings, comforted their grief,
and with patience and tenderness had taught them, till their hearts seemed
linked with His, and in the ardor of their love they longed to be nearest to
Him in His kingdom. At every possible opportunity, John took his place next the
Saviour, and James longed to be honored with as close connection with Him.
Their
mother was a follower of Christ, and had ministered to Him freely of her
substance. With a mother's love and ambition for her sons, she coveted for them
the most honored place in the new kingdom. For this she encouraged them to make
request.
Together
the mother and her sons came to Jesus, asking that He would grant a petition on
which their hearts were set.
"What
would ye that I should do for you?" He questioned.
The
mother answered, "Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on Thy
right hand, and the other on the left, in Thy kingdom."
Jesus
bears tenderly with them, not rebuking their selfishness in seeking preference
above their brethren. He reads their hearts, He knows the depth of their
attachment to Him. Their love is not a mere human affection; though defiled by
the earthliness of its human channel, it is an outflowing from the fountain of
His own redeeming love. He will not rebuke, but deepen and purify. He said,
"Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized
with the baptism that I am baptized with?" They recall His mysterious
words, pointing to trial and suffering, yet answer confidently, "We are
able." They would count it highest honor to prove their loyalty by sharing
all that is to befall their Lord.
"Ye
shall drink indeed of My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am
baptized with," He said; before Him a cross instead of a
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throne,
two malefactors His companions at His right hand and His left. John and James
were to share with their Master in suffering; the one, first of the brethren to
perish with the sword; the other, longest of all to endure toil, and reproach,
and persecution.
"But
to sit on My right hand, and on My left," He continued, "is not Mine
to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of My
Father." In the kingdom of God, position is not gained through favoritism.
It is not earned, nor is it received through an arbitrary bestowal. It is the
result of character. The crown and the throne are the tokens of a condition
attained; they are the tokens of self-conquest through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Long
afterward, when the disciple had been brought into sympathy with Christ through
the fellowship of His sufferings, the Lord revealed to John what is the
condition of nearness in His kingdom. "To him that overcometh,"
Christ said, "will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also
overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne." "Him that
overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no
more out: and I will write upon him the name of My God, . . . and I will write
upon him My new name." Rev. 3:21, 12. So Paul the apostle wrote, "I
am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have
fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day." 2 Tim. 4:6-8.
The
one who stands nearest to Christ will be he who on earth has drunk most deeply
of the spirit of His self-sacrificing love,--love that "vaunteth not
itself, is not puffed up, . . . seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked,
thinketh no evil" (1 Cor. 13:4, 5),--love that moves the disciple, as it
moved our Lord, to give all, to live and labor and sacrifice, even unto death,
for the saving of humanity. This spirit was made manifest in the life of Paul.
He said, "For to me to live is Christ;" for his life revealed Christ
to men; "and to die is gain,"--gain to Christ; death itself would
make manifest the power of His grace, and gather souls to Him. "Christ
shall be magnified in my body," he said, "whether it be by life or by
death." Phil. 1:21, 20.
When
the ten heard of the request of James and John, they were much displeased. The
highest place in the kingdom was just what every one of them was seeking for
himself, and they were angry that the two disciples had gained a seeming
advantage over them.
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Again
the strife as to which should be greatest seemed about to be renewed, when
Jesus, calling them to Him, said to the indignant disciples, "Ye know that
they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them;
and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among
you."
In
the kingdoms of the world, position meant self-aggrandizement. The people were
supposed to exist for the benefit of the ruling classes. Influence, wealth,
education, were so many means of gaining control of the masses for the use of
the leaders. The higher classes were to think, decide, enjoy, and rule; the
lower were to obey and serve. Religion, like all things else, was a matter of
authority. The people were expected to believe and practice as their superiors
directed. The right of man as man, to think and act for himself, was wholly
unrecognized.
Christ
was establishing a kingdom on different principles. He called men, not to
authority, but to service, the strong to bear the infirmities of the weak.
Power, position, talent, education, placed their possessor under the greater
obligation to serve his fellows. To even the lowliest of Christ's disciples it
is said, "All things are for your sakes." 2 Cor. 4:15.
"The
Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His
life a ransom for many." Among His disciples Christ was in every sense a
caretaker, a burden bearer. He shared their poverty, He practiced self-denial
on their account, He went before them to smooth the more difficult places, and
soon He would consummate His work on earth by laying down His life. The
principle on which Christ acted is to actuate the members of the church which
is His body. The plan and ground of salvation is love. In the kingdom of Christ
those are greatest who follow the example He has given, and act as shepherds of
His flock.
The
words of Paul reveal the true dignity and honor of the Christian life:
"Though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto
all," "not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they
may be saved." 1 Cor. 9:19; 10:33.
In
matters of conscience the soul must be left untrammeled. No one is to control
another's mind, to judge for another, or to prescribe his duty. God gives to
every soul freedom to think, and to follow his own convictions. "Every one
of us shall give account of himself to God." No one has a right to merge
his own individuality in that of another. In all matters where principle is
involved, "let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." Rom.
14:12, 5. In Christ's kingdom there is no lordly
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oppression,
no compulsion of manner. The angels of heaven do not come to the earth to rule,
and to exact homage, but as messengers of mercy, to co-operate with men in
uplifting humanity.
The
principles and the very words of the Saviour's teaching, in their divine
beauty, dwelt in the memory of the beloved disciple. To his latest days the
burden of John's testimony to the churches was, "This is the message that
ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another."
"Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us:
and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." 1 John 3:11, 16.
This
was the spirit that pervaded the early church. After the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit, "the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one
soul: neither said any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was
his own." "Neither was there any among them that lacked."
"And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the
Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all." Acts 4:32, 34, 33.
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