Ambitious Arrogance! Mark 10:35-45

Text: “And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto Him, saying, Master, we would that Thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.”

Mark 10:35.

          “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”                                                                                                                                                           James 4:3.

Good morning, correctly praying, Christian!  You and I have come to the Lord Jesus Christ robed in the vileness of our sins and iniquities; humbled ourselves prostrate at His Holy feet, and cried out in faith, God-given, in true repentance from our sins, and genuine desire to be born again of Him; washed in His sinless Blood – and we have been graciously saved.  Hallelujah!

Now that we have been saved, we need to learn how to be a genuine Christian, and we have learned that being a Christian after we are saved, actually requires us to become more and more like Christ every day thereafter.

“Therefore, if any man/woman be in Christ, he/she is a new creature; old things are passed (or continually passing) away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, Who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”  (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)  

People all around us totally expect to SEE great change in sinners that have been redeemed by the precious shed Blood of the Lamb of God, and are very quick to point out our faults otherwise.  The proof of the ‘Christian’ pudding is in their seeing!

The rest of our lives are dedicated to serving the risen Jesus Christ, and that requires much prayer for His help to do so.  Therefore, we promptly learn that praying to the Living Lord God Jehovah, through Jesus Christ our Saviour Lord, in God the Holy Spirit’s power, necessitates asking God for what we actually need to serve Christ in God’s way of doing so.

“For everyone (believers) that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”  (Matthew 7:8) 

However, how one asks, and one’s motivation for the asking – is what needs to be correct in the eyes of a Holy Lord God. Selfish prayers, with wrong motivations only reach as far as the ceilings of our homes. We must pray correctly if we are to receive God’s correct help.

J.C. Ryle Comments:

“LET us mark in this passage, the ignorance of our Lord’s disciples. We find James and John petitioning for the first places in the kingdom of glory. We find them confidently declaring their ability to drink of their Master’s cup, and be baptized with their Master’s baptism. In spite of all the plain warnings of our Lord, they clung obstinately to the belief that Christ’s kingdom on earth was immediately going to appear. Notwithstand­ing their many shortcomings in Christ’s service, they had no misgivings as to their power to endure anything which might come upon them. With all their faith, and grace, and love to Jesus, they neither knew their own hearts, nor the nature of the path before them. They still dreamed of temporal crowns, and earthly rewards. They still knew not what manner of men they were.

“There are few true Christians who do not resemble James and John, when they first begin the service of Christ. We are apt to expect far more present enjoy­ment from our religion, than the Gospel warrants us to expect. We are apt to forget the cross, and the tribula­tion, and to think only of the crown. We form an incorrect estimate of our own patience and power of endurance. We misjudge our own ability to withstand temp­tation and trial. And the result of all is, that we often buy wisdom dearly, by bitter experience, after many dis­appointments, and not a few falls.

“Let the case before us teach us the importance of a solid and calm judgment in our religion. Like James and John, we are right in coveting the best gifts, and in telling all our desires to Christ. Like them we are right in believing that Jesus is King of kings, and will one day reign upon the earth. But let us not, like them, forget that there is a cross to be borne by every Christian, and that “through much tribulation we must enter into the king­dom of God.” (Acts 14:22.)

“Let us not, like them, be over-confident in our own strength, and forward in pro­fessing that we can do anything that Christ requires. Let us, in short, beware of a boastful spirit, when we first begin to run the Christian course. If we remember this, it may save us many a humbling fall.”  (J.C. Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Mark.)

The Lord God knows not to answer in the affirmative when we pray ambitious or arrogant prayers, for He already KNOWS what our deepest needs are, at every point of our lives.

“…For your Heavenly Father knoweth (knows, and continues to know) that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness (Jesus Christ IS the righteousness of God); and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:32-33)

Personal ambition has no place in our prayer life. Arrogance is uncomely for a saint.

“The greatest prelate in the church, is he who is most conform­able to the example of Christ, by humility, charity, and continual attendance on his flock, and who looks on himself as a servant to the children of God.” (Pasquier Quesnel, French theologian, 1634-1719)

Thought: The best Christian person, is at all times, merely a sinner, saved by God’s grace. Let us approach God’s Throne of grace with reverence, humility, and love.