FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT
YEAR B
Old Testament Jeremiah 31:31–34
Psalm Psalm 119:9–16
Epistle Hebrews 5:1–10
Gospel (Mark 10:32–34) 35–45
GOSPEL
Mark 10:35–45
35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said 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 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38 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 And they said to him, “We are able.” And 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, 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,4 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave5 of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Lead Us Not Into Temptation...
Grace, Mercy
and Peace be unto you from God our Father and Savior Jesus Christ, His Son our
Lord. AMEN
Our Focus is
the Gospel Text and the Sixth and Seventh Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, Lead
us Not into Temptation but Deliver us from Evil.
Human beings
are motivated for a number of reasons, but Chief among them seem to be Power,
Wealth, and Glory. Take a look at any
story that involves a bad guy, and you will see a person seeking at least one
of these, if not all three together.
Power indicates that we are in charge of our own destinies. Wealth means that we do not need to fear not
having enough of anything. And Glory is
what we get from other people, respect, admiration, and fame and honor. Control, possessions, and being remembered
are powerful motivators in life. The
problem is though, that when we allow ourselves to be motivated by power,
wealth, and Glory, we are attempting to take what truly belongs to God. We are being tempted, like Adam and Eve were
tempted. But the Son of God came as a
servant, not seeking Power, Wealth or Glory.
For Christ, came into the World, to establish a new covenant through
giving his life as a ransom for many.
In today’s
text we see James and John approaching Jesus for a favor. The favor that they ask for is not a small
favor, but a very big favor, one that would set them in an incredible position
had Jesus granted them this Favor. They
wanted to sit by him one on his Right side and one on his Left. Now this request goes well beyond simple
seating arrangements for supper, but supper arrangements may help us understand
why it matters.
When we
arrange a supper party, we take into a number things into account. One is to mix up the people so that a number
of conversations will hopefully go on, involving much of the table. Another is to separate people that don’t get
along very well. And the most important,
is to set people next to ourselves that we want to talk to, and that we
like. Now if you are a political or
business leader, those people have your ear, they can get their own agendas
listened to by the guy in charge. It is
a way to have power, when you aren’t the person in charge. Being seated at the right hand of someone,
specifically the host of an event back then was a great honor, it means that
you were highly valued, very important, and loved.
So James and
John were seeking the best spots for themselves. They wanted to be the most important
disciples. That is why the other
disciples became indignant, not because they were upset at the audacity to ask
Jesus for the seats of honor, but because by asking Jesus, they were saying
that they were better than the rest of the disciples.
It is
tempting to want the best spot for ourselves, to lift us up in the social
hierarchy. In our daily lives we are
constantly trying to climb the “Corporate Ladder”, because it shows how
important we are to the world. The
important people go up, and the less important people do the menial tasks. The
very first sin of humanity though was giving into the temptation to be like
God. Adam and Eve wanted to be more than
they were, they wanted to be like God.
And because of them, they fell, instead of going upwards, they went
down, out of the garden and out of perfection.
What things
are you tempted to do? Maybe it is a
simple thing, like have another piece of dessert even though you don’t need
more. Maybe it is a little more
complicated, like telling a little white lie, so that you don’t have to deal
with the consequences of your decision. “I promise I only had one piece of pie”
when in reality the piece was the size of half the pie. Or perhaps the temptations are more demand,
temptations of power, wealth, and glory, that lead to greater and greater sins,
in the name of progress.
That’s what
makes temptation so terrible. It
promises that your life is going to be better if you do these things, but in
general, life does not improve, it just goes downward. There is always one more thing to do. For one thing may look like it has improved,
but other more important things have been sacrificed to get there. That why Jesus Taught us in his Prayer to
pray, “And lead us not into Temptation.”
God tempts no one. We pray in this petition that God would guard and
keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful nature may not deceive us
or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice.
Although we are attacked by these things, we pray that we may finally overcome
them and win the victory.
We do not
stop though with, “Lead us not into Temptation” but instead we continue with,
“But deliver us from evil.” And We pray
in this petition, in summary, that our Father in heaven would rescue us from
every evil of body and soul, possessions and reputation, and finally, when our
last hour comes, give us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this valley
of sorrow to Himself in heaven. We need
to be deliverd from the source of all temptations, the powers of the evil one,
and we cannot do it on our own, instead the one who stood up to temptations
himself had to stand in our place as a ransom for us all. For before his ministry began, he face the
temptations of earthly possections with turn this stone into bread. He faced the temptations for Glory, when he was asked to cast himself down from the
temple for all to see. And he faced the
temptations for Power when the devil offered to Jesus all the kingdoms of the
world and their glory. Each of these
temptations did Jesus Face, and each of these temptations did he turn away
from.
For when seeking
to be first, he came as a servant and as a slave of all. The King of hosts did not come down with
trumpets sounding surrounded by wealth, but he came as a servant, a teacher,
who would drink of the cup of wrath for all people. He took it upon himself to face the greatest
evil, death. For the son of man came and faced all the temptations of the world
and the evil one, and did not give in.
His death upon the cross would be the defeat of death, the devil, and
the world for all humanity. This was not
done in the search of Power, wealth or Glory, for those things already belonged
to him as the son of God. He lowered
himself, giving up all things for us and for our salvation.
We as humans
still face temptations in our daily lives, but we do not need to fear them. For the power of the devil has been defeated
by Jesus Christ, the perfect Prophet Priest and King. He faced the temptations that we faced, and
did not give in, and by him and through him we can say no to all
temptations. We can rejoice that Christ,
came into the World, to establish a new covenant in his blood as a ransom for all who believe. To him be Kingdom, the power, and the Glory,
forever and Ever. AMEN 
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