32 Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, 33 saying, “Behold, 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 and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock Him and spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him; and three days later He will rise from the dead.” 35 James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, *came up to Jesus, saying to Him, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” 36 And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 37 They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.” 38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. 40 But to sit on My right or on My left is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 41 Hearing this, the other ten began to feel indignant with James and John. 42 Calling them to Himself, Jesus *said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them; and their people in high position exercise authority over them. 43 But it is not this way among you; rather, whoever wants to become prominent among you shall be your servant; 44 and whoever wants to be first among you shall be slave of all. 45 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 10:32-45
In Mark 10 starting at verse 32, Yeshua and the disciples are on the Road to Jerusalem! I was excited while reading this passage because I immediately began to see parallels between this passage and our ministry. In the passage, Yeshua is leading the way to Jerusalem, but the disciples are following behind in fear and concern; they have no idea what lies ahead of them. Sensing the disciple’s fear, Yeshua takes the time to lay out for them what is to come, which is ultimately His crucifixion. James and John immediately respond with a zealous request of the Lord and His response to them was priceless. He explained that the path to “glory” is not laced with bells and jewels; the path that one must take is that of a humble servant.
Much like this scripture, the ministry of The Road to Jerusalem believes that the Lord has gone before us, but often times we are met with fear and uncertainty in how we can carry out the amazing call to unify Jewish and non-Jewish believers. Yet, the Lord so lovingly and patiently reminds us of the promises and the prophecy in His word where He desires to see all of his children to stand together as ONE! Just as the scriptures in Mark revealed, the path to seeing this call fulfilled is not found in how loud we scream the message or how popular we are amongst the nations. The path to fulfilling this call is found in service and humility. The Savior of the world did not come screaming to the world that we must commit our lives to him because He is Lord. He came as a humble servant, considering others as more important than Himself. His posture of service and humility spoke volumes to the world! If our Lord is the example, then we must take a posture of humility and service in order to see His purpose fulfilled in our lives and ministry.
Shalom,
Petra Scott
Vice President of The Road to Jerusalem
