Mark 10:35-45

With thanks to page sponsor:
The Adult Lectionary Class
at Trinity Lutheran Church,
Hagerstown, MD.
(Oct 2006-07)

• Reading the Text:
  • NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
  • Greek Interlinear Bible, ScrTR, ScrTR t, Strong, Parsing, CGTS, CGES id, AV.
  • The Bible Gateway: NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
  • The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Greek text with concordance, commentaries.
  • The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary & sermons.
• Historical References, Commentary and Comparative Texts:
  • The Five Gospels Parallels, John W. Marshall, University of Toronto.
  • Primary comparative texts about Food & Fellowship (including "one who serves"), at (Rutgers University Dept of Religion) Mahlon H. Smith's Into His Own: Perspective on the World of Jesus companion to the historical study of Christian texts.
  • "Jesus' Baptisms," "Leader as Servant," The Jesus Database, an online annotated inventory of the traditions concerning the life and teachings of Jesus. Dr. Gregory C. Jenks, FaithFutures Foundation.
  • Patristic Commentary on Mark 10:32-45 from the Catena Aurea.
  • Chapter XIV, The Martyrdom of Polycarp (ca. 156).
  • XXX.47-52; XXXI.1-4; Tatian's Diatessaron (c. 150-160).
  • I.XXI.2, Adversus Haereses, Irenaeus of Lyons. (c. 180)
  • I.9, Paedagogus, Clement of Alexandria (c 200)
  • V.III, The Refutation of all Heresies (Philosophumena), Hippolytus of Rome. (c. 225)
  • VII.XXIII, Against Celsus, Origen. (c.246)
  • Concerning Works and Almsgiving -- Cyprian of Carthage (c. 254)
  • From the Catena Aurea, Patristic Commentary by St Thomas Aquinas.
  • From the Geneva Notes.
    • "The magistrates according to God's appointment rule over their subjects: but the pastors are not called to rule, but to serve according to the example of the Son of God himself who went before them, for in doing such he also was a minister of his Father's will."
  • From Matthew Henry's Commentary.
    • "If Jesus would gratify all our desires, it would soon appear that we desire fame or authority, and are unwilling to taste of his cup, or to have his baptism; and should often be ruined by having our prayers answered. But he loves us, and will only give his people what is good for them."
  • From Wesley's Notes.
    • "Them who by patient continuance in well doing, seek for glory, and honour, and immortality. For these only eternal life is prepared. To these, only he will give it in that day; and to every man his own reward, according to his own labour."
  • From the Commentary on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
    • "In the kingdom about to be set up, this principle shall have no place. All My servants shall there be equal; and the only greatness known to it shall be the greatness of humility and devotedness to the service of others. He that goes down the deepest in these services of self-denying humility shall rise the highest and hold the chiefest place in that kingdom; even as the Son of man, whose abasement and self-sacrifice for others, transcending all, gives Him of right a place above all!"
  • From The People's New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
• Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
  • Commentary, Mark 10:35-45, Matt Skinner, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2009.
    • "This passage plays a key role in the Gospel according to Mark's understanding of why Jesus dies and what his death means."
  • Comments (commentary) and Clippings (technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican Diocese of Montreal.
  • "Great Service," Kate Huey, Weekly Seeds, i.UCC.org, 2009.
    • "How might we change our systems and practices to better reflect Jesus' words in this text about serving? How is our religious imagination?"
  • A Brief Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 8:27 - 10:52, Carl W. Conrad. (Click superscript numbers for commentary.)
  • "James and John Want to Be at Jesus' Right Hand," Michael A. Turton's Historical Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, "a complete verse-by-verse commentary on the Gospel of Mark, focusing on the historicity of people, places, events, and sayings in the world of the Gospel of Mark."
  • Exegetical Notes by Brian Stoffregen, at CrossMarks Christian Resources.
    • "While we are not called to be a ransom for many, are we as individuals and congregation's called to be self-sacrificing (not maintaining ourselves) in our mission to serve each other and be slaves to all?"
  • "First Thoughts on Year B Gospel Passages in the Lectionary," Pentecost 20, William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
    • "Jesus was powerful. The liberation he lived did not require him to seek power for his own sake, but to own the power he had in compassion and in self giving."
  • Holy Textures, Understanding the Bible in its own time and in ours, Mark 10:35-45, David Ewart, 2009.
    • "And since servants and slaves did function within the family household, Jesus also says that his followers are to treat one another as they would treat their own family: meeting each other's needs without concern for pay back."
  • Theological Themes, Mark 10:35-45, Mary Louise Bringle, Lectionary Homiletics sample, 2009.
    • "...the Church wanted—and still wants—to exercise such imperial power itself. The next time we are tempted to lament the church’s marginalization we would do well to remember the “Galilean vision”: we are most faithful to our mission not when seeking, but when dethroned from seats of privilege."
  • "The Example of Jesus," Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources. Includes detailed textual notes.
  • "Secret Ambition," Mary Hinkle, Pilgrim Preaching: Keeping Company with biblical texts and the people who hear and preach them.
    • "I once heard Will Willimon point out that in Acts, verbs for staying put (histēmi and related words) do not often occur in a favorable light. People with "place" are contrasted with people "on the way." The contrast here in Mark is the same."
  • Marginally Mark, by Brian McGowan, Anglican priest in Western Australia.
  • "Having the Heart and Hands of a Servant," Gospel Analysis, Sermons from Seattle, Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle, Washington. Detailed background and exegesis.
  • "Sons of Entitlement," Stephen B. Chapman, The Christian Century, 2006.
    • "JAMES AND JOHN McZebedee matriculated at my seminary again this fall. The "Sons of Entitlement," I call them. They are usually--but not always--young and white in addition to being male. They have typically grown up in the church, attended Christian colleges and majored in religion...."
  • "Jesus' Idea of Authority," Ordinary 29B, Fr. Gerry Pierse, C.Ss.R., from Sundays Into Silence: Reflections on the Sunday Gospels in the Light of Christian Meditation. Claretian Publications.
    • "Many people think of religion as a way of avoiding or getting around reality, and of the Bible as a kind of holy religious book. Both assumptions are very far from the truth."
  • "The Glory of Christian Leadership," Larry Broding's Word-Sunday.Com: A Catholic Resource for This Sunday's Gospel. Adult Study, Children's Story, Family Activity, Support Materials.
    • "What sorts of ambitions do people have? How do these ambitions affect those around them?"
  • "Whoever Wishes to Become Great," Ron Starenko, Sabbatheology, The Crossings Community, 2009.
    • "So, whoever wishes to become great among us here today, there is still only one way to go and live, and that is to serve as he did, as he still does."
  • Wellspring of the Gospel, Ordinary 29B, Catherine McElhinney and Kathryn Turner, Weekly Wellsprings.
  • "Jostling for Position," Martin B. Copenhaver, The Christian Century, 1994.
    • "We can stop looking for the world to give us the places of honor and get back to our rightful place--in the kitchen."
  • "On Being a Survivor," William Willimon, The Christian Century, 1986. At Religion Online.
    • "As his disciples flee into the darkness with their swords, he is dragged away by Caesar’s men who come after him with the sword. The sacrificial victim of "civilization as we know it," he bids us to let go."
  • "Jesus as Lord, Jesus as Servant," Diogenes Allen, Princeton Theological Seminary. Adapted from The Truth About Jesus, ed Donald Armstrong III, 1998. Republished at Religion OnLine.
    • "For all we ever do is to be witnesses. A witness is one who puts the issue clearly. The issue is that we either stand on earth on our own feet or we are suspended from above, attached to the living Lord."
  • "Mark: The Movie," commentary by Stacey Elizabeth Simpson, The Christian Century, 2000. At Religion Online.
    • "More often than not, we too are blind to the gruesome reality of what it means to follow Jesus. But the One who healed the blind bids us press on."
  • "The Call to Downward Mobility," Kenneth L. Carder, The Christian Century, 1997. At Religion Online.
    • "The disciples’ request to be positioned near Christ reflects the ambivalence of the human spirit. On the one hand there is the drive to be somebody, a drive often expressed in substituting power for love. On the other hand there is the lure of Incarnate Love, whose power is manifested in weakness. Following the Christ toward downward mobility and giving oneself to others is authentic greatness."
• Articles & Background:
  • "Mark 10: Journey to Jerusalem," wikipedia.
  • "Questions, Chreai, and Challenges to Honor. The Interface of Rhetoric and Culture in Mark's Gospel." Jerome H. Neyrey, Catholic Biblical Quarterly 60 (1998):657-81.
    • "In terms of rhetorical background, our survey of "questions" indicates that how they function more often than not as competitive, even hostile weapons intended to inflict major damage. Questions score points, draw blood, and shame opponents. The same interpretation applies equally to the phenomenon of answering a question with a counter-question, which also is an aggressive weapon. And by observing who is reduced to silence, we have narrative clues about who triumphed in the question game and who lost."
  • "Opening Blind Eyes: A Revisioning of Mark 8:22 - 10:52," Marie Noel Keller, Biblical Theology Bulletin, 2001.
    • "Keller argues that Mark uses the stories of the two blind men in his Gospel to serve as metaphors for his community...Their stories and the material within the frame of 8:22-10:52 work together to help his community learn the lessons they need in order to advance from the fear they are experiencing to follow Jesus boldly 'on the way.'"
  • "Minjung and Power: A Biblical and Theological Perspective on Doularchy (Servanthood)," Kim Yong-Bock, at Religion OnLine.
    • "Power has been the perennial problem in human history. The reality of power is complex; and its use and misuse in all human, social and political relations and interactions has been a question of utmost importance for all peoples. In movements for liberation from oppression, the question has been always raised not only in terms of use or misuse, but also in terms of the very nature of power."
  • "God Speed the Year of Jubilee! The Biblical Vision of Sabbath Economics," by Ched Myers in Sojourners. Part two: "Jesus' New Economy of Grace."
    • "We Christians must talk about economics, and talk about it in light of the gospel."
• Recommended articles from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are linked below. ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices.
  • Carder, Kenneth L., "The Call to Downward Mobility," The Christian Century, 1997.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Chapman, Stephen B., "Sons of Entitlement," The Christian Century, 2006.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Copenhaver, Martin B., "Jostling for Position," The Christian Century, 1994.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Hutchison, John C., "Servanthood: Jesus' Countercultural Call to Christian Leaders," Bibliotheca Sacra, 2009.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Kim, Yung Suk, "Jesus' Death in Context," The Living Pulpit, 2007. (See also "Atonement," issue focus of The Living Pulpit, 16.2, 2007.)
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Koyama, Kosuke, "A Holy Mystery: Welcoming a Little Child," The Living Pulpit, 2003.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Neyrey, Jerome H., S.J., "Questions, Chreiai, and Challenges to Honor: The Interface of Rhetoric and Culture in Mark's Gospel," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1998.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Preiss, Théo, "The Son of Man Came to Minister," Interpretation, 1950.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Reardon, Patrick Henry, "The Cross, Sacraments and Martyrdom: An Investigation of Mark 10:35-45," St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly, 1992.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Roose, Hanna, "Sharing in Christ's Rule: Tracing a Debate in Earliest Christianity," Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 2004.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Santos, Narry F., "Jesus' Paradoxical Teaching in Mark 8:35; 9:35; and 10:43-44," Bibliotheca Sacra, 2000.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Santos, Narry F., "The Paradox of Authority and Servanthood in the Gospel of Mark," Bibliotheca Sacra, 1997.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Seeley, David, "Rulership and Service in Mark 10:41-45," Novum Testamentum, 1993.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Simpson, Stacey Elizabeth, "Mark: The Movie," The Christian Century, 2000.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Smart, James D., "Mark 10:35-45: Expository Article," Interpretation, 1979.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Willimon, William, "On Being a Survivor," The Christian Century, 1986.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
• Reviews:
  • Kaminouchi, Alberto DeMingo, But It Is Not So Among You: Echoes of Power in Mark 10:32-45. T&T Clark, 2003.
    • Reviews by Douglas Geyer and William Campbell in SBL's Review of Biblical Literature.
    • Review by Paul J. Achtemeier in The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2004.
• Sermons:
  • "The Drum Major Instinct," Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ebenezer Baptist Church, 1968. Another link with sound file.
  • "But It Shall Not Be So With You," Samuel Wells, Faith and Leadership, 2009.
  • "Good News?" Bishop William H. Willimon, Day 1, 2009.
  • "Having the Heart and Hands of a Servant," Sermons from Seattle, Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle, Washington.
  • "Ambitions - Yours and Jesus'," 25 July 2004, Walter Harms, Goettinger Predigten: Every Sunday Sermons based on the RCL by a team of Lutheran theologians/ pastors.
  • "Finding the Way to Joy," the Rev. Dr. Wiley Stephens, Day 1, 2003.
  • "The Journey," the Rev. Dr. Thomas Lane Butts, Day 1, 2000.
  • "Power, Pleasure & Wealth," Fr. Patrick Brennan, 30 Good Minutes, Chicago Sunday Evening Club, 1998.
  • "The Servant's Quarters," John Jewell, 2000.
  • "A Sermon on Mark 10:45," Geerhardus Vos, in Kerux: The Online Journal of Biblical Theology (Reformed)  
  • Father Andrew M. Greeley, "Priest, Author, Sociologist," Commentary and Homily:
    • Ordinary 29, 2009
    • Ordinary 29, 2006
    • Ordinary 29, 2000
• With Children:
  • "Who Is the Greatest?" Illustrating the Story (lessons, children's sermons), coloring pages, activity sheets, crafts, children's songs. MSSS Crafts.
  • "Humility," Fr. Max Bowers, Kid's Church.
  • "To Be Like Jesus," Charles Kirkpatrick, Sermons4kids.com.
  • "Who Will Sit at Jesus' Right and Left Hand?" Sunday School Lessons: Family Bible Study, art projects, music, stories, etc.
  • Mark 9 & 10 Crossword, Don Crownover's Bible Puzzles.
• Drama:
  • "The Right and the Left Seats," from A Certain Jesus by Jose Ignacio and Maria Lopez Vigil. Ideal for catechetical and liturgical dramatization of today's gospel. Claretian Publications.
• Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
  • Clip Art, Mark 10:45, Fr. Richard Lonsdale, Resources for Catholic Educators.
  • Clip Art Images: Mark 10:35-45, Misioneros Del Sagrado Corazón en el Perú.
  • Mark 10:35-45 at Cerezo Barredo's weekly gospel illustration. Liberation emphasis.
  • Images for this week's readings, Pitts Theology Library Digital Image Archive.
  • Mark 10:35-45, Liturgical Drawing, Maria d.c. Zamora, Claretian Resources, Philippines. ("Download and use these for free.")
  • Commercial Site: "The Drum Major Instinct," (Mark 10:35-45) Visual Liturgy/Film, The Work of the People.
• Hymns and Music:
  • Contemporary/Praise Song suggestions, Together to Celebrate, David MacGregor.
  • Hymns with Scripture Allusions: Mark 10:38, 44, 45. The Cyber Hymnal.
  • At Digital Hymnal (midi files, guitar chords, karaoke files, projection text):
    • Give of Your Best to the Master
• Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
  • James and John
• Movies scenes with the following themes, listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
  • Servanthood
  • Children ("Lesser Ones") as Mediator Figures
• Literary References and Comparative Texts:
  • "Prayer for All," St Francis of Assisi. ("Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace...")
• Study Links and Resources for the Book of Mark