Steadfast, Immovable, Abounding

This is the forth installment in my series of posts on Jesus’ disciples

Can you imagine Jesus giving you a nickname? You probably would hope for a great one—one that would tell people how faithful you were to the Lord, one that would be long associated with your spiritual strength. But instead…He labels you and your brother “sons of thunder.” To make matters worse, a later convert (it was Mark) feels the need to include your alias in his gospel, so that even twenty-first century readers will be aware of this somewhat amusing detail.

As we read more about John and his brother, Jesus’ descriptive name for them makes more and more sense. Luke 9:49 says, “John answered and said, ‘Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us.” Only a few verses later: “But [the Samaritans] did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, ‘Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’” (53-54). Both of these situations illustrate a desire for power and influence as John and his brother make judgements without even seeking Jesus’ wisdom. In the early part of John’s life as a disciple, we see a lot of arrogance arising from spiritual immaturity. He certainly exhibits enthusiasm for Jesus’ ministry, but very little humility and Christlike compassion.

In Mark 10, we see yet another example of the gap of misunderstanding between the mission of Christ and the mission of His followers. Verses 35-37 says, “James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying, ‘Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.’ And He said to them, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ They said to Him, ‘Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.” Verse 41 continues, “Hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John.” I can imagine the conversation between the other disciples after hearing the brothers’ outrageously bold request. “Did you hear? James and John have done it again…How could they ask such a thing?” It’s easy for us to have the same reaction as the ten when we think about the question the two asked. Yet also like the ten, we are just as vulnerable to the trap of sinfully erecting our own pedestal.

Grace is, by nature, undeserved. As fallen humans, we can do nothing to earn the all-surpassing mercy our Father bestows on His children. We all know this. Yet how easy it is for self-righteousness to creep in and eat away at the amazement with which we consider our blessings: the amazement which marvels that God could love us yet thanks Him every day that He does. When we lose this wonder at the infinite price God places on us, we have taken the first step toward declaring we don’t need Him at all. As David writes in Psalm 103:10-12, “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

John keeps learning more about the greatness of the God he serves until the very end of his life. While on the island of Patmos, the disciple has an unforgettable revelation from the Lord, revealing to him and us an account of Christ’s return. Revelation 5:1-5 says, “I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?’ And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it; and one of the elders said to me, ‘Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.’” John experienced so much during his lifetime that revealed the nature of His Lord to him. But this was a never-to-be-forgotten moment. Most of us must wait until death for our faith to be made sight. But John lived to see the Jesus whom he had loved and served and followed and watched die between two thieves…this was the Jesus whom all of heaven was declaring worthy when the whole world was unworthy.

This is true humility—the recognition of the immeasurable greatness of God which leaves empty and void all our arrogant ideas about ourselves. I love what C. S. Lewis writes in Mere Christianity: “A really humble man…will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.” Godly humility is not about self-deprecation, but having a mindset that is so transfixed by Christ that our own desires fall by the wayside. We cannot be truly humble until we acknowledge God as infinitely great. Instead of wondering what God can do for us, we give our lives to serving Him. Our highest ambitions are replaced by His perfect plan. Trust me, His way is always worth it.