Mark 10:31-37 New International Version
31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time
32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”
The Request of James and John
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” 36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
Monday - October 25
Sometimes we will tell our girls that we are not going to have any dessert after dinner. Then only a few minutes later after they have finished eating they ask if they can have dessert. Maybe they completely forgot what we had said. Maybe they ignored us. Or maybe they thought we had changed our minds. Jesus literally says that the “last shall be first” and then describes what that will look like when he goes to Jerusalem to be arrested, beaten, crucified and then raised again. But it seems that minutes later James and John have moved on from all that stuff and are thinking about power, privilege, status, and authority. They want the glory of victory, not the shame of defeat in the cross. We, too, are often blinded by our own desires and plans that we miss what Jesus is trying to quite clearly tell us! Let us listen and hear the voice of Jesus and follow where He leads.