Grace and Space

Mk 10:35-45 [or 10:42-45]
Before Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi (8:27-33), Mark portrays Jesus as a miracle worker, an exorcist, a healer—a man of power. After Peter’s confession, Jesus is portrayed as the suffering, rejected, condemned, crucified Son of Man—a person utterly devoid of any power.
Discipleship for Mark is powerlessness.
In this context the account of the ambition of James and John serves to highlight the ignorance of the disciples—possibly the historical ones, and certainly those of Mark’s time and community. They are still seeking power and position, while Jesus has predicted his powerless rejection, suffering, and death for the third time. In other words, they have not understood what it means to follow Jesus.
In response to their request, Jesus asks them if they can drink his cup and accept his baptism (cf v 38). To drink from the cup is an Old Testament metaphor for accepting one’s destiny as assigned by God. Addition of the reference to baptism forms a metaphor for the rejection, suffering, and death of Jesus.
Thus, the question that Jesus is asking concerns discipleship. The authentic disciple is willing to accept God’s destiny for him or her, even if such destiny includes rejection, suffering, and death. The example to follow is the Son of Man who gives his life as a ransom for many. Anyone who wants to be counted among the followers of Jesus accepts this cup and this baptism.
James and John answer Jesus’ question in the affirmative, to which he replies, “The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized” (v 39). In other words, the fate of every follower of Jesus is like that of Jesus. Discipleship is not to be taken lightly; it involves the willingness to give one’s whole life.
Once Mark has made this point he returns to the original question about the positions on the right and the left of Jesus in glory. Jesus tells James and John that God will assign places in his kingdom.
Discipleship is not to be modeled after the rulers among the Gentiles because “their great ones make their authority over them felt” (v 42). Discipleship, according to Jesus, is exactly the opposite: whoever wishes to be great will be the servant and slave of all.
This understanding of discipleship reverses all earthly conceptions. Discipleship is having no power, no position, no rank. The authentic follower of Jesus is like the Son of Man, who “did not come to be served but to serve” (v 45).