How many times does Jesus have to tell us?

How many times will Jesus need to tell us that being a Christian is not about power and status?

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Appoint us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink and with the baptism with which I am baptized you will be baptized, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to appoint, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you: instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Mark 10:35-45 NRSV

Just before these verses, after the rich man walks away from Jesus,¹ the disciples and Jesus are on the road to Jerusalem. Jesus is on the way to the cross.

They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.” Mark 10:32-34 NRSV

This was the third time Jesus has told the disciples what will happen in Jerusalem. After the first time², Peter rebukes Jesus and then Jesus teaches about taking up the cross as Jesus’ followers. After the second time³, the disciples argue about who is the greatest. Jesus then teaches that “whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he teaches about welcoming a child.

This third time, they are on the road to Jerusalem. Jesus again talks about what will happen to him. James and John ask to sit on either side of Jesus “in his glory”.

Three times Jesus explains what will happen. Three times the disciples miss the point. Or perhaps they simply cannot accept it. Perhaps they cannot comprehend what Jesus is telling them. Jesus tries to prepare them for an un-kingdom like kingdom. He tries to prepare them for a kingdom that looks like loss. A kingdom that contains suffering and death. This was not the expected end for the Messiah. There was supposed to be triumph. There was supposed to be victory over the Roman empire. There was supposed to be so much winning.

It seems that it was nearly impossible for the disciples to grasp what Jesus was telling them. They kept falling back on the outcome everyone expected. Victory. Power. Glory. A resurrected Messiah who cooks breakfast and who continues to walk and teach as he did before, is not what they expected. A resurrected Messiah who does not announce his victory from the halls of religious and political power is not what they expected. A resurrected Messiah who does not take over the government is not what they expected.

This has been the struggle for Christians and the church ever since. After the resurrection, we expect power and glory and victory for the church and for Christians. As followers of the risen Christ we agree with James and John, we should be in charge. We may use less explicit language, but we all too easily fall into the trap of power.

Over and over again we forget, as individuals and as the church, we forget nearly all that Jesus taught. That the first will be last and the last first. That the greatest of all must be servant of all. That we enter the kingdom as children- weak and without power. We are to give up our possessions and power and take up the cross. This was a hard teaching in Jesus’ day and it remains a hard teaching for us. Power and privilege are valued and rewarded in our society.

The latest iteration of this desire for control is Christian Nationalism⁴. Christian Nationalism seeks power. It seeks to rule. It wants the United States to be a Christian nation, meaning a certain kind of Christianity is privileged over all other faiths. It wants “Christian values” to be imposed on all citizens regardless of their beliefs. Christian nationalism holds a particular set of Christian beliefs as truth. You can read about some of the beliefs of Christian nationalism and why they are deeply problematic at the links in the footnote.

The fundamental problem that underlies Christian Nationalism is its embrace of power⁵. Power over. Power to control. Power to impose.

There is nothing in the life of Jesus that calls up to power. There is nothing in the gospels that calls us to power. There is nothing in the gospels that calls us to control others. There is nothing in the gospels that calls us to impose our beliefs and standards on others. Jesus never tells the disciples to “take back” anything. Jesus never tells the disciples to “win”. When Jesus sends the disciples out, he tells them if they are not welcomed to leave. When a town does not welcome Jesus, the disciples want to burn the place down. Jesus says no.⁶

Jesus does not fight Rome. Jesus tells Pilate, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over…”⁷ Jesus does not seek revenge but forgives those who crucified him.⁸ Nor do the disciples. Whenever a community does not welcome him, Paul doesn’t fight, he leaves⁹.

Taking back our schools, our libraries, our government, taking back control over anything is not the way of Jesus. It simply isn’t. Read the gospels. Read the epistles. Read Torah. Read the prophets.

Christian nationalism isn’t the way of Jesus. Christian nationalism is about power and control. That is not the way of Jesus. The way of Jesus is self emptying. The way of Jesus is focused on the flourishing of others.

Over and over again Jesus calls us to give up power and privilege. To serve others. To be in solidarity with the poor, the marginalized, the stranger. To turn the other check. To give away our cloak. To carry the burden of those who would oppress us. To give our very lives for others. To live and to love without fear. To live and to love without coercion. To love others as God loves us.

1. see last week’s post about Jesus and the rich man ↩︎
2. Mark 8:31-38 ↩︎
3. Mark 9:30-37 ↩︎
4. https://www.christianitytoday.com/2021/02/what-is-christian-nationalism/
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_nationalism https://www.christiansagainstchristiannationalism.org/ ↩︎
5. There are, in my estimation, multiple problems with Christian nationalism, but I think the root issue is power. ↩︎
6. Luke 9:51-56 and Luke 10:3-12 ↩︎
7. John 18:36 ↩︎
8. Luke 23:34 ↩︎
9. This is not to say that Paul doesn’t vigorously preach the gospel. Be when he is not welcome, he does’t fight, he leaves. ↩︎