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IF JESUS LIVED TODAY
HOW WOULD HE HANDLE AMBITION
(Mark 10:35-45) (Delivered 7-7-02)

At a Tee-ball game, a little boy came up to bat. He swatted the
ball off the tee and ran as fast as he could to third base. The
coach went over to the child and said, "Man, you sure hit that
ball a long way." The little fellow said, "I sure did!" "Yeah,
and you ran really fast to third base and surprised everybody!"
"I sure did!" he said. "I just have one question to ask you,"
the coach continued, "why did you run to third base instead of
to first?" The little boy replied, "Well, 'cause that's where I
wanted to go and I could get there a lot faster that way."

That's a problem with most of us. We want to get there faster.
We want to skip steps on the stairway of success.

Two of Jesus' disciples were like that. They had high
ambitions. They wanted honor and power and important positions.
Furthermore, they wanted them without effort. The Scriptures
say, "James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him.
"Teacher," they said, "We want you to do for us whatever we
ask." "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked. They
replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your
left in your glory" (Mark 10:35-37).

Now, this wasn't just a request about seating arrangements. In
that day, those who sat on the "right and left" of a ruler were
second in command. They were like "Vice Presidents or
Secretaries of State. This was a request about authority. In
fact, sitting on the right hand of God was the figurative
position that Jesus, himself, would occupy.

The Scripture says, "God exalted him to his own right hand as
Prince and Savior . . ." (Acts 5:31).

Paul said, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ . . .
(who) is seated at the right hand of God" (Col. 3:1).

The writer of Hebrews said, "The Son is the radiance of God's
glory . . . he (is seated ) at the right hand of the Majesty in
heaven" (Heb. 1:3).

Jesus reply was discouraging. "You don't know what you are
asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be
baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" "We can," they
answered. Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink
and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit
at my right or left is not for me to grant . . ." (Mark 10:38a,
40).

Matthew gives a slightly different version of this incident. He
says, "Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her
sons and kneeling down, asked a favor of him. "What is it you
want?" he asked. She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of
mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your
kingdom" (Matt.20:20-21).

This intercession of the mother of James and John indicates that
ambition was probably a family trait. Again Jesus explains that
success can't be given. When the other disciples heard about
this incident, they were jealous. In fact, the Scripture says,
"They became indignant with James and John" (Mark 10:41).

So, at this point, Jesus stopped everything and taught them a
lesson. He "called them together and said, "You know that those
who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so
with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must
be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of
all" (Mark 10:42-44)

Many people want to skip steps. They want the success, the
rewards and the status of a high position without working for
it. That doesn't happen! When the writer, Thackeray, became
well known, a woman said, "That man hadn't even been heard of a
year ago. He just woke up one morning and found himself
famous." "Madam," the author's friend replied, "On the morning
Thackeray work up and 'found himself famous,' he had been
writing 8 hours a day for 15 years."

The ignorant and the indolent see only the effects of things,
and not the causes. They talk of luck and chance because they
don't understand the process. J.T. Bolding put it this way:

At the foot of each bright rainbow

Some say there's a pot of gold;

But to find it my young seeker

Takes a lot of work, I'm told.

Why do you suppose Jesus responded to James and John as he did?
What lessons can we learn from this incident? What point was he
making about ambition?

I. FIRST, HE INDICATED THAT AMBITION IS OKAY.

He didn't condemn James and John for aspiring to a high
position. Jesus, himself, had considered taking a shortcut to
success. Two of his temptations involved this issue. Jumping
off the temple would have given him instant notoriety and
credibility. Worshiping Satan would have resulted in a quick
rise to worldly power. But he rejected both.

Almost everyone wants to be somebody; but few are determined
enough to do what it takes to reach their goal. Paul admitted
having ambition. He said, "It has always been my ambition to
preach the gospel where Christ was not known . . ." (Rom. 15:20).

But Paul also condemned selfish ambition. He said, "Do nothing
out of selfish ambition or vain conceit . . ." (Phil. 2:3).

II. NEXT, JESUS EXPLAINED THAT SUCCESS CAN'T BE GIVEN.

You can't skip steps on the ladder of success. A parent can't
give a young person maturity. A teacher can't give a student an
education. A businessman can't give an employee success. These
things must be earned. Abraham Lincoln said, "You have to do
your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was."

In those cases, when young people get too much too soon, they
never mature. Famous men's sons are often unproductive. A
butterfly that's helped out of its cocoon can never fly. The
struggle is an essential element. Earning something gives
dignity and worth and confidence. Solomon said, "In all labor
there is profit, But mere talk leads only to poverty" (Prov.
14:23).

James said, "Do not merely listen to the word . . . Do what it
says" (James 1:22).

III. FINALLY, JESUS EMPHASIZED THAT JEALOUSY IS WRONG.

Some people seem to believe that if you're up, then I must be
down; therefore, the only way I can be up is to put you down.
This see-saw mentality is immature. Such wrangling over status
is useless. It will destroy the unity and morale of any group
or organization

We say that the business world is too often a matter of "Dog eat
dog"; but if the church becomes like the world, "Dog eat dog" is
simply changed to "Sheep eat sheep!" That's wrong!

David said, "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live
together in unity!" (Psa. 133:1).

Peter comanded, "Live in harmony with one another; be
sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble" (I
Peter 3:8).

Now, what if it were today? Would Jesus condemn young people
with lofty goals? Of course not! Would he advise us to have a
false modesty? Of course not! Would he discourage people from
seeking promotions? Of course not! Would he criticize those
with high aspirations? Of course he wouldn't! He knows that
our success honors God.

We don't know exactly what Jesus would do. Even though his
words would be different if he lived in America today instead of
in Palestine 2000 years ago, his basic responses would be the
same.

1. FIRST, JESUS WOULD STILL ENCOURAGE AMBITION.

There are many areas like education and levels of service which
cannot be achieved without ambition. We need to have personal
desires and personal goals and personal dreams. Paul said,
"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own
business and to work with your hands . . . so that your daily
life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not
be dependent on anybody" (I Thess. 4:11-12).

2. NEXT, JESUS WOULD STILL TEACH THAT SUCCESS MUST BE EARNED.

Those who rush through their period of preparation live to
regret it. If you're going to be your best you must have
discipline. You must be willing to dedicate your energy and
your time, and your effort to turn ambition into results.

When Joe Louis was heavyweight champion of the world, many young
boys dreamed of becoming boxers. One young man decided to take
private lessons. The teacher told him the required course
consisted of twenty lessons. The student agreed and his first
lesson began. The tough, painful sparing session left him sore
and swollen. After he showered, the battered youth had some
questions: "You say there are twenty lessons in this course?
And I just took one today?" "That's right," answered the
teacher. "And I have to finish all of them before I can earn
any money boxing?" "Right again!"

Scratching his head the student asked, "Well, sir, I wonder if I
could take the other nineteen lessons by correspondence?"

Well, you can't take life by correspondence. You must
experience it! Paul said, "I press on toward the goal to win
the prize for which God has called me . . ." (Phil. 3:14).

III. FINALLY, JESUS WOULD STILL EMPHASIZE MUTUAL SUPPORT.

We must not have an atmosphere of jealousy and envy in spiritual
circles. Instead, we need cooperation and support. A poet
expresses it this way:

I will try to find contentment in the paths that I must tread;

I will cease to have resentment when another moves ahead.

I will not be swayed by envy when my rival's strength is shown;

I will not deny her merit, but I'll strive to prove my own.

Amos Wells said, "Envy is one of the most debasing of all flaws
. . . It poisons one's life. It takes the joy out of every
experience. It makes a foe out of every one that surpasses us.
We are intended to find much of our pleasure in the joys and
successes of others, and envy transforms all this possible
pleasure into wretchedness."

Paul said, "Each of us should please his neighbor for his good,
to build him up" (Rom. 15:1).

Now, if we're to take the Gospel seriously, what does this mean
for us?

Remember the Scripture says, "Whoever claims to live in him must
walk as Jesus did" (I John 2:6).

If Jesus lived today, he would encourage personal responsibility
in the area of growth and success. He would never advocate easy
shortcuts or indicate that we can have success without effort.
Robert Frost said, "The best way out is always through."

A certain party of businessmen went hunting together each year
in the Canadian woods, employing the services of the same guide.
One year the guide was not at home when the hunters arrived, and
the hired hand sitting on the porch of his cabin said, "I can
take you to the hunting grounds. Then he explained to the
hunters that he knew a shorter way. Against their better
judgment, they followed and soon became hopelessly lost. They
next day they were rescued by the experienced guide who had
returned and heard that they had gone into the woods. "I guess
we learned the hard way," observed one of the hunters. "When a
man has a map and a guide, he'd better leave the short cuts
alone!"

We have a map and a guide. We have the Bible and Jesus'
example. We must avoid shortcuts.

1. Do you have ambition in important areas of your life: such
as knowledge, wisdom and service? Jesus did!

2. Are you willing to work and wait and earn your promotions
and rewards? Jesus was!

3. Do you avoid jealousy and envy when others make progress or
receive honors? Jesus did!

A wise man said, "If you wish to achieve great success, you must
put forth great effort."

*****

(Word Count 2154)

This message is from an unpublished manuscript © copyrighted by
Miles and Maralene Wesner, Idabel, OK. Please use it in any way
you think appropriate. The only thing we ask is that you give

My ministry has been blessed immeasurably by reading other
people's sermons. When I started preaching 54 years ago, I
waited for "inspiration" before I began my sermon preparation
(usually Saturday night, about midnight). Then, I discovered it
wasn't inspiration at all-it was sheer PANIC. I would have
welcomed this service.

Comments are always welcome. (Please indicate if you do not want
your comments to appear in New Perspectives).

Miles Wesner