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Scripture Reading: Mark 10:35-45
When the Lord was on the earth, He rarely taught others how to be an authority. This is because His goal on earth was not to establish authority among men. Mark 10:35-45 contains the clearest teaching concerning how to be an authority. Anyone who wants to be an authority must read this passage; it is the Lord’s own teaching. Here He shows us the way to be an authority. We know that the conversation was initiated by James and John; they wanted to sit on the right and left of the Lord in His glory. They knew that such a request was somewhat blunt, and they were too shy to mention it to the Lord directly. Instead they said, “We want You to do for us whatever we ask You” (v. 35). They said this to first secure a promise from the Lord. But the Lord did not answer them immediately. He asked, “What do you want Me to do for you?” (v. 36). Since He did not know what they wanted, He could not promise them anything. At this point they said, “Grant to us to sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory” (v. 37). This request implies two things. First, they wanted to be near the Lord, and second, they wanted authority in glory. It was proper for them to desire to be near the Lord; such a request was properly directed. But that was not all they wanted; they wanted authority in glory as well. They wanted to be over the other ten disciples. What did the Lord say to them? First, He said that He did not know what they wanted Him to do. Then He said that even they themselves did not know what they were asking (v. 38a).
They thought that sitting on the right and the left was something that the Lord could grant or dispense to them. But the Lord told them that it was not that simple. They wanted to be near the Lord and to have authority. The Lord did not say that their request was wrong, nor did He say that it was wrong to desire to be at His right and left side. He told them that in order to be on His right and left, they had to drink of His cup and be baptized with His baptism. James and John thought that they would acquire the place merely by asking. But the Lord told them that it was not a matter of asking but a matter of drinking the cup and partaking of the baptism. This is not a matter of prayer. It is not a matter of trying to sit on the right or left side of the Lord. If one does not drink of the Lord’s cup and is not baptized with His baptism, his asking is in vain. If a man does not drink of the Lord’s cup and is not baptized with His baptism, he cannot be near Him nor can he have any authority. The Lord is not free to grant position and authority to anyone. Only those who drink His cup and are baptized with His baptism are given position and authority. Drinking and baptism are the foundation. If the foundation is wrong, there cannot be the right superstructure. Suppose a child goes up to the mountain to pick flowers and then plants the flowers back in the soil. Even though he thinks that he has planted a garden, the flowers have no roots. James and John were wrong in the root matters. In order to be near the Lord and have authority in glory, they needed to drink His cup and be baptized with His baptism. If the disciples did not drink His cup and were not baptized with His baptism, they could neither be near Him nor receive authority and position. This is something that they would understand shortly. This is something that has to do with today, not just with the future.
What is the Lord’s cup? His cup carries only one meaning. When the Lord was in the garden of Gethsemane, a cup was before Him. It was God’s cup of righteousness which He was to drink. Yet He prayed to the Father, saying, “If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will” (Matt. 26:39). Here we clearly find that the cup and God’s will were two different things. At that moment the cup was the cup, and God’s will was God’s will; the two had not yet become one. The cup could be changed, but God’s will could never be changed. The Lord was asking if the cup could pass. But He was not asking to avoid God’s will. The cup could pass, but He was absolute to carry out God’s will. The cup was not a necessity. It was not permanent but incidental. If the cup was not God’s will, He was willing to let it pass. But if the cup was God’s will, He would drink it. The Lord’s attitude was clear: If it is God’s will that I drink the cup, I will drink it. But if it is not His will that I drink the cup, I will not drink it. His word indeed draws out our worship. He could never reverse the order of His word. It would have been wrong for Him to pray the other way around. In other words, the one thing He insisted on in the garden was knowing whether or not the cup was God’s will. Before the cup and God’s will became one, it was all right for the Lord to pray as He did. In fact, He prayed this way three times (v. 44). But when He knew that the cup and God’s will were one, He said to Peter outside the garden, “The cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?” (John 18:11). In the garden He could ask for the cup to be removed, because the cup and God’s will had not yet become one. Outside the garden the cup and God’s will were one. At this point the cup was different; it was something from the Father. This is why the Lord said, “The cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”
Here we find the deepest spiritual lesson. The Lord was not hasty even when He was about to go to the cross. He only wanted to carry out God’s will. He was not set on crucifixion. Although His crucifixion was crucial, it could not replace God’s will. Although the Lord’s crucifixion was the most important thing, He was still under God’s will. Although the Lord came in order that He would become a propitiation for the sins of many, and although He came expressly to be crucified for men, the cross could never surpass God’s will. He did not go to the cross simply because the cross was good and necessary for men’s salvation. He did not come for the crucifixion but for doing God’s will. He went to the cross only after He realized that God’s will was the cross. He went to the cross for the simple reason that it was God’s will. He was not crucified for the sake of crucifixion. God’s will is higher than the cross. Hence, the Lord’s crucifixion was not just a matter of the cross but a matter of doing God’s will. He went to the cross because the Father wanted the crucifixion.
We can see that the cup is dispensable but God’s will is indispensable. The Lord did not ask for God’s will to be taken from Him. He had no direct relationship with the cross; it was only an indirect relationship. His direct relationship was with the will of God. This is why He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane for the cup to depart from Him. He wanted to walk in God’s will. He chose God’s will; He was not choosing the cross. Hence, the Lord’s cup signifies His subjection to God’s paramount authority. He prostrated Himself to choose God’s will, and His only desire was to carry out His will. This is why He asked James and John, “Are you able to drink the cup which I drink?” (Mark 10:38). In other words, He was asking if they could prostrate themselves to choose God’s will in the same way that He prostrated Himself before God to choose His will.
This is like Abraham’s offering up of Isaac, which I spoke of earlier. In the end Abraham took Isaac back. Perhaps many people have offered up their Isaac. It becomes a problem to them when they are asked to take Isaac back. This seems to be a loss of face to them. Many people attach themselves directly to their consecration. Others attach themselves directly to suffering. Still others attach themselves directly to their work. But we should be directly attached to one thing only — God’s will. To drink the Lord’s cup means that we should not be attached directly to anything. If a cup is not God’s will, we do not have to take it. Even though everyone knew that the Lord was going to go to the cross, He still prayed at the final hour to know whether the cross was God’s will. Everything depends on God’s will, not on us. Many people work for the sake of work itself. Once they take up a work, they cannot take up anything else. They are stuck to their work and sunk in their work. They have no more time to consider God’s will. They insist on having their work to the end. This is not working for God’s will but working for the sake of working. The Lord was so much for God’s will that He was able even to give up the cross. When He understood God’s will to be the cross, He took it without consideration of its pain. Drinking the cup means that we deny our own will and yield to God’s will. The Lord was asking the disciples if they could yield to God’s will in the same way that He yielded to God’s will. This is the Lord’s cup. If a man wants to be near the Lord or receive glory, he has to obey God’s will.
Obedience to God’s will is an important matter. It is a great matter. If a man can say glibly that he obeys God’s will, he probably has not seen the great significance of God’s will. Obeying God’s will means being related to His will directly. Everything else can change. Even the cross, God’s cup of wrath, can change. But God’s will can never change. Man must forever be subject to God’s authority before he can obey God’s will. In reading the prayer in Gethsemane, we have to touch this spirit. The garden of Gethsemane speaks of the peak of the Lord’s submission on earth. He did not impose God’s will on the cup. Here is a profound principle. God’s will was the object of His submission; God’s cup was not the object. From the first day to the last, Christ’s unswerving allegiance was to the will of God. He obeyed God’s will all the way to the end. This was more important for Him than anything else. I believe there is a most profound revelation in the Lord’s earthly experience of Gethsemane. We have to know Christ Himself through such a deep experience. Up until a few hours before the cross, He was still not committed to the work of the cross; He was only committed to obedience to God’s will. Hence, the highest calling is not the work, the suffering, or the cross, but the will of God. This is why the Lord asked James and John, “Are you able to drink the cup which I drink?” It seems that the Lord was saying, “If a man wants to draw near to Me and receive a place in glory above that of the other children of God, he must be like Me, yielding to God’s will and taking it as the unique goal. Only such ones can come near to Me and sit at My right and left hand.” Whether or not we can be near the Lord and sit at His right and left depends on whether we can drink His cup, which is to render absolute obedience to His will.
What is the Lord’s baptism? Clearly the baptism that the Lord referred to was not the baptism at the river Jordan, because that was over. The baptism that the Lord was about to go through was forthcoming, referring to His death on the cross. In Luke 12:50 the Lord said, “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how I am pressed until it is accomplished!” In his book The Release of the Lord, Mr. Austin-Sparks said that this refers to the Lord’s desire to release Himself. The Lord was yearning to release Himself. The word pressed means confined or constricted. Christ had a sanctified body in which all of God’s riches were embodied. Such glorious riches were bound by the flesh, and how constricted and confined He was! How wonderful it would be if these riches would be released! It seems as if He was saying that God’s life was too confined and constricted within Him, and that it would be wonderful if it could be released. On the one hand, the cross was for redemption of sins. On the other hand, it was for the release of life. God released His life through the cross. The Lord desired that this life be released. Before crucifixion, however, such a life was constricted within Him. Hence, the basic and primary meaning of this baptism is the release of life.
Following this, the Lord said that once God’s life was released, it would be kindled like fire on the earth. What would be the result of this baptism? It would result in something like a fire, something that would bring in division rather than peace on earth (v. 51). Once a fire touches something, it burns. From that time on, houses would be against houses, believers would be against unbelievers, those who have life would be against those who do not have life, and those with the fire would be against those without the fire. This is what it means to be baptized with the Lord’s baptism. Once life is released, let go, and unleashed, there will be division. Wherever this life goes, it will not bring peace, but strife. Some know the Lord and some do not know the Lord, and there will be strife. Once life enters a house, there will be striving in the house. Those who have passed through this baptism are immediately separated from those who have not passed through it. The Lord was saying, “I am going to the cross to release My life. This will bring in strife. Can you handle this? Do you like this?” First there is death, and then there is the release of life. This is baptism. The result of this baptism is division. Dead men cannot strive with one another; only those who have life can strive. The Lord’s word points to the fact that death operates in us and life operates in others (2 Cor. 4:12). The Lord’s baptism was the removal of the outward shell and the liberation of His life through death. This is what we are doing today. We must break the outward shell before the life within us can flow out.
When we were at Custom Lane [Translator’s note: In Foochow at the base of Kuling Mountain], I mentioned that life cannot be released unless the outward man is first broken. Our outward man has constricted His life and restricted it from flowing out. We must realize that if the outward man is not broken, life cannot flow out. Once a man’s outward shell is broken, he becomes very approachable and life flows out easily. Otherwise, life is bound; man’s spirit is not released, and life does not flow freely. It is one thing to expound 2 Corinthians 4:12. It is altogether another thing to give others a touch of life. Many people think that this verse is merely a teaching. Let me repeat: Unless your outward man is broken, no life will flow out. Once a man’s outward shell is broken, he becomes very approachable. This is like a grain of wheat that falls into the ground; the life within breaks forth from its shell and spontaneously grows out of the opening. This is what the Lord said in John 12:24: “Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” When a grain of wheat falls to the ground, the shell breaks, and the life is released. Following this the Lord said, “He who loves his soul-life loses it; and he who hates his soul-life in this world shall keep it unto eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there also My servant will be. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him” (vv. 25-26). If a man wants to save his “shell,” he will not be able to release the life. Once a man loses his “shell,” he will bear much fruit.
There are two aspects to the cross — the aspect of redemption and the aspect of life-releasing. In Mark 10:35-45 the Lord did not speak of His death; He only spoke of His baptism, because He did not want others to think that James and John could participate in His redemptive work. The work of redemption can be accomplished only by Christ our High Priest; no one else can participate in it or do anything about it. We have no share in the Lord’s death on the cross as far as redemption goes. But we do have a share in the release of His life. This is why the Lord only brought out the aspect of death that is related to His baptism when He spoke of the cross. This death has to do with the release of His life; it has nothing to do with redemption. The Lord said that He was going to go through a baptism. This meant that His outward shell would be broken and life would be released, like a grain of wheat breaking its shell and bearing much fruit. For a person to be baptized with the Lord’s baptism means for him to be broken and torn down before the Lord and for life to come forth. If the outward man is not broken, it is very difficult for the Lord’s life to be released. You may have life within you, but it cannot come out. You may be sitting very close to another person, but the life within you cannot come out or touch him.
The result of baptism is fire and division. Once this life flows out, there is no peace on earth. Instead, there is division. Many people are divided by this life. There is a big chasm between those who follow the Lord and those who do not. There is also a big difference between those who belong to the Lord and those who do not. Once a man touches the life of Christ, he takes a different way. There is much contention between those who have the Lord and those who do not, those who know God and those who do not, those who pay the price and those who do not, those who are faithful and those who are not, and those who accept the trials and those who do not. The Lord seemed to be saying, “Are you willing to bear the consequence of taking My baptism? You want to be on My right and left; you want to be different. But are you willing to bear the consequence of taking My baptism and becoming different from other children of God today?” In order to sit at the Lord’s right and left and to have a place of glory, we have to drink His cup and be baptized with His baptism, which means that we have to acknowledge God’s will above everything, to break the outward shell, and to release life. Only such ones know what it is to sit at the right and left of the Lord. This is the Christian pathway.
The Lord’s word to James and John, in effect, was, “You must first drink My cup and pass through My baptism before you can sit on My right and left in glory. Can you drink this cup and be baptized with this baptism?” They answered, “We are able” (10:39). The two inquired of the Lord, but they did not know how serious their request was. They were not the only ones; all descendants of Adam are the same. The Lord spelled out the conditions, and they said that they were able. The Lord told them the fact, that to sit on His right and left required that they drink His cup and be baptized with His baptism. But even in saying this, He did not promise them His right and left side. What He meant was that if a man does not drink His cup and is not baptized with His baptism, he will surely not be able to sit on His right or left. But even if they drank His cup and passed through His baptism, they still might not sit on His right or left, because the latter depends on God’s preparation (v. 40). If a man does not drink the Lord’s cup and is not baptized with His baptism, he will surely not be able to sit on His right or left side. But even if he drinks His cup and is baptized with His baptism, he may still not be able to sit on His right or left side. Those who do not drink the Lord’s cup and are not baptized with His baptism will surely not sit on His right or left. But those who drink His cup and are baptized with His baptism may not necessarily sit on His right or left. Perhaps James and John would ask, “What then can we say?” If one does not drink the cup and take the baptism, he is disqualified for sure. And if one drinks the cup and takes the baptism, he may be qualified, but it still depends on God’s preparation. James and John could be off the mark in their request, but the Lord could not be inaccurate in His answer. If the Lord gave the right and left places to James and John, these two seats would have been gone for the past two thousand years of church history. Other seats might still be available, but these two seats would have been taken over by these two; they would have become reserved seats for the two disciples, and others would have been discouraged to go on in the Lord’s way. The Lord did not grant their request, and the two seats are still available. Some among us may still have a chance to take those two seats. Therefore, this lesson is still applicable to us. But the main point of this passage is not in the preceding discussion but in what follows.
Following this, the Lord talked about authority. Verse 41 says that when the other ten disciples heard about James and John’s request, they became indignant. It appears that James and John asked the Lord in secret, but later the ten disciples found this out. Subsequently, the Lord taught them. Here is the subject of the whole passage. He gathered the disciples around and taught them things concerning the future glory. He said, “You know that those who are esteemed as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you shall be the slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many” (vv. 42-45). The two disciples’ question led to a discussion on authority. The Lord told them that the issue is not with the future but with today. The spirit of this subject is applicable not only to future glory but also to today. The Lord introduced the spirit that will be applicable from that day until the present. Here were two persons who wanted to sit on the throne to rule over others. The Lord showed them that among the Gentiles, there are those who are esteemed as rulers and great ones who lord it over them. Among the Gentiles there is the hunger for authority. Men like to be kings; they like to rule over others or to be great ones to control others. But it is not so among us. It is good if some among us seek for future glory, but such ones should not have the thought of lording it over God’s children today. They should not have the thought of controlling or ruling others.
There is nothing wrong for man to want to sit on the Lord’s right or left side. But there should not be any striving for supremacy among God’s children. There should not be any thought of struggle for power or any intention of controlling others. If we do, we will fall into the same condition as that of the Gentiles. Nothing is more unsightly than a person who struggles to be an authority. It is the most ugly thing for a person to try to control others in an outward way. Ambition for authority or to be a great one is something that belongs to the Gentiles. We should drive this kind of spirit from the church. The Lord can only use those who know His cup and who are willing to be baptized with His baptism. If we drink His cup and take His baptism, authority will be ours spontaneously. This is the God-ordained way, the root of everything. If we do not take this way yet try to reach our destination, or if we do not have the root yet try to produce fruit, we are trying in vain. We must abound in our knowledge of God’s will and must accept all the breakings so that the life within can be released. As far as our position before God is concerned, it is up to God’s preparation. If anyone wants to climb above other children of God, or if he wants to take control and rule, I will say that such a one is a Gentile in reality. We must first drive out this Gentile spirit from among us. Among us, we should not tolerate the spirit of the Gentiles. We are after those whom God can use, not those who can rule over others. Such a Gentile spirit must be thoroughly purged from us before we can go down from this mountain to help others or handle business affairs.
The more a person wants to be an authority or a great one, the less we can entrust him with authority. God never grants authority to those who want to be His authority. The more Gentile spirit a person has, the less God can use him. I hope none of us are politicians, manipulating, controlling, and hushing others, while allowing only ourselves to be the ones to issue the orders. We cannot do this. The more a person realizes his foibles, the more authority God will give to him. Since this is how the Lord selects men, this is the way we should take. We must never be a politician and must never play politics. We should never say, “If we do not give this man some position, he will rebel against us.” We cannot deal with others this way. In God’s house we can only take the spiritual way according to the spiritual principle; we cannot take the way of politicians. I hope that you will be faithful. You should be meek and pliable in your attitude, but you have to be faithful before the Lord. A man can only be used by God after he has prostrated himself before Him. When a man is standing tall, God can never use him.
In verses 42 and 43 the Lord said that the Gentiles have rulers and great men to rule over them, but “it is not so among you.” I like the words among you. This means that there is a great difference between the Gentiles and the church in the matter of authority. If we are not careful in this matter, we will have no way to go on in the church. The Gentiles rule according to position, but the church serves according to its spiritual life. Once the church is contaminated with this Gentile practice, it is ruined. The church has to maintain a strict separating wall between it and the Gentiles. Among the Gentiles, one only sees power struggles. Among us, the more a person thinks that he is authority, the less he is qualified to be the authority. The more a person thinks he is qualified, the less he is qualified. We should maintain this attitude among us at all times.
The Lord uses the phrase among you three times. Today the Lord is establishing authority in the church. Those who are great in the church, that is, those who are established by the Lord as great ones, are actually the servants and slaves of all. Whoever wants to become great shall be the servant of all, and whoever wants to be the first shall be the slave of all. This is the authority in the church. Here we see the two great requirements for a man to be appointed as God’s authority. First, there is the need to drink the cup — obedience to God’s will absolutely — and to accept the baptism — acknowledgment of death for the release of life. Second, there should not be any ambition for power. One should only be a servant, a slave of all. On the one hand, one should have a spiritual basis; he should honor God’s will as the central and highest thing among all things and should release the Lord’s life. On the other hand, one has to be humble, which means having no interest in being the authority among the brothers and sisters and being satisfied with being a servant and a slave. God can only use such people as His authority. All those who are willing to be servants will be appointed by the Lord as the great ones, and they will be entrusted with authority. All those who are willing to be the slaves, that is, who have a heart to serve the brothers and sisters, will be appointed to be the first by the Lord. In other words, a man must have a spiritual foundation on the one hand, and have a proper attitude and view towards authority on the other hand. He must not have any craving for authority. Only men such as this can be God’s authority.
I have laid out these two points in an honest way before you. If you do not possess the first point — a spiritual foundation, it will do you no good to possess the second — humility. You still will be useless even if you become very humble. When the Lord answered James and John, He first dealt with the first criterion. However, this does not mean that a person will be given the right or left side of the Lord after he has a spiritual foundation. The Lord said that it would be given to whoever God wills. After the first qualification, there is the need for the second condition, which is being a servant and a slave among the brothers and sisters. Those who fulfill these two conditions, who see themselves as unsuitable and incapable men, are the ones who are qualified to be the authority. The Lord is after those who consider themselves unqualified men, servants, and slaves. The Lord said that such ones can be made the great ones and the first. In order to be an authority, one has to drink the cup and take the baptism. Otherwise, all is in vain. But in addition to this, he has to be truly humble, considering himself worthy to be only a servant (not in word only, but in inward feeling). The Lord said that such a one can be great. We are afraid of the kind of humility that stays on one’s lips only. Humility must be something that issues from the heart.
In order to be a deputy authority, we must fulfill the condition of spirituality as well as the condition of humility. The qualification of an authority is based on one’s consciousness of his inability and unsuitability. One thing is sure: None of the persons that God used in the Old and New Testaments were proud. I can tell you frankly that as soon as a person becomes proud, God will put him aside. As a worker for over twenty years, I have never seen a proud man who was used by the Lord. Even if a man is just a little proud in private, his words will sooner or later expose him, because a person’s words always disclose the hidden state of his heart. Even a humble person will be greatly surprised at the judgment seat. The surprise that awaits the proud, however, will surely be many times more than that of the humble! We must be conscious of our unprofitableness all the time, because God can only use the unprofitable slaves. We are not saying this to be polite. We honestly should feel that we are unprofitable slaves. We may have tended sheep or plowed the field, but when we come in from the field, we should still acknowledge that we are unprofitable slaves. We should always stand in the position of a slave (Luke 17:10). God never entrusts His authority to the self-confident and self-assured. We have to reject pride and learn humility and meekness. We should not speak for ourselves but should learn to know ourselves and to see things from God’s viewpoint.
Finally the Lord said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). The Lord did not come to be an authority but to serve. The less ambition a man has and the more he humbles himself before the Lord, the more useful he is in the eyes of the Lord. The more a man thinks highly of himself and the more he thinks he is different from others, the less he is useful in the hand of the Lord. The Lord took the form of a slave and became a slave to all. He never seized any authority; all of His authority came from God. The Lord was raised from a lowly place to the height. This is His principle. We should not try to seize any fleshly authority with fleshly hands. We should be the servants of all. Then when God commits certain responsibilities to us, we will learn to represent Him. The basis of authority is ministry, and there is ministry only where there is resurrection. When one has a ministry, he has a service, and when he has a service, he has authority. May the Lord deliver us from haughty thoughts.
A man who tries to usurp God’s authority with his fleshly hands will suffer severe judgment! We have to fear authority as much as we fear hell fire. It is not an easy matter to represent God. It is too great a matter, something unfathomable to man, and something that we dare not touch with our own hands. We should take a straight course in obedience. Our way is the way of obedience, not the way of authority. It is a matter of being a servant, not a matter of being great. It is a matter of being a slave, not a matter of being the first. Moses and David were great authorities, yet neither of them built up their own authority. This should be the way of those who serve as authorities today. We should tremble with fear in our exercise of authority. May the Lord be merciful to us.
