JAMES THE AMBITIOUS BUT BROKEN
June is the month
of graduations in America. Graduates are peppered with inspiring speeches on
“Ambition and success” Arnold Schwarzenegger in his 2010 at Emory university
commencement speech said, “You’re going to find naysayers in every turn that
you make. Don’t listen. Just visualize your goal, know exactly where you want
to go. Trust yourself. Get out there and work like hell. Break some of the
rules and never ever be afraid of failure.”[1]
Arnold, the inspiring movie star, the terminator, the 38th Governor of
California is a living proof of how one can overcome all odds to achieve one’s
dreams, as long as you set your heart and mind to it. Highly ambitious people
are admired in our society and rightly so they achieve a lot.
Have you ever
known someone whose aggressive, ambitious personality just rubbed you the wrong
way? Have you known someone who was so self-seeking that you couldn’t help but
hope something humiliating would happen to them, just to teach them a lesson in
the area of humility? We find many highly ambitious people in the secular
setting and in the corporate world, but how about in the Kingdom of God, is
there a place for them? Let me introduce you to a mother and two brothers,
James and his younger brother John who were very ambitious to an extent they
wanted the most coveted positions of sitting next to Jesus on either side. In
the past we have talked about one of the brothers John, today we will look at James
the ambitious but broken. We read about him in Matthew 20:20-28, Mark
10:35-45
I. JAMES’ EARLY LIFE: (Mark 1:14-20)
The story takes
place in a thriving fishing village by the Sea of Galilee. It is the lowest
fresh water lake earth, about 13 miles long and 7 miles wide and about 690 feet
below the sea level. After calling a set of brothers Simon and Andrew to follow
him, Jesus calls the second set of fishermen brothers. James and John the sons
of Zebedee. They were with their father Zebedee preparing their nets for
fishing. When Jesus called them, they immediately left their father Zebedee in
the boat with the hired servants and followed him.
There are some
specific things we can learn from this passage in regards to what kind of
environment James and John grew up in and what molded their way of
thinking. These verses indicate that the
father Zebedee was wealthy enough to hire other fishermen to help in his fishing
business. When we look at the following scriptures we can understand what made
them very ambitious. In Matthew 20:
20-28, we read Mrs. Zebedee, the mother of James and John came up to Jesus with
an unusually selfish request.
Vs 21, she said,
to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit one at your right hand and
one at your left in your kingdom.” It is a lofty request that caused quite a
stir among the disciples. What do you think of this mother’s request? When you first read this story it kind of
reminds you of parents who have shown how far they would go in the name of a
beauty competition -- especially on national television? In TLC's popular show
"Toddlers and Tiaras" pageant moms and dads go to great lengths to
ensure their children look "perfect" no matter what the age or the
cost. In one episode a mother forces her daughter to wax her eyebrows even
though part of her eyebrow had previously been ripped off because the wax was
too hot. All these parents care about was that their daughters look pretty and
become beauty queens.
What a crazy world
are we living in where parents drive their children to no end to be famous and successful?
In our story all Salome, the mother of James and John cared for was that her
two sons have prominent positions in the kingdom of God, not realizing what it takes
to have those positions. From reading we know, Salome was a sister of Mary the
mother of Jesus. She was also one of the women who gave money to support Jesus’
ministry, perhaps she might have thought that would help secure those prominent
places for her boys. Her two boys too must have thought that they were the
best, therefore they deserved those positions
But Jesus had to
disappoint all three of them in order to teach them and us a valuable lesson of
humility. He showed them the difference between how the world selects leaders
and how God prepares and appoints leaders in His Kingdom. Listen to how Jesus
handled this highly ambitious mother and her two boys. Jesus answered, “You do
not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?
They said to him, “we are able.” He said to them, you will drink my cup, but to
sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those
for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
And when the ten
heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. Jesus, taught everyone a
valuable lesson of true leadership. “But Jesus called them to him and said, “You
know that rulers of the Gentiles Lord it over them, and their great ones
exercise authority over them. It shall
not be so among you. But whoever would
be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you
must be a slave. Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and
to give his life as a ransom for many.” In this rich text, the Lord was
teaching the disciples that the style of greatness and leadership for believers
is different. The Gentile leaders
dominate, using carnal power and authority. Believers are to do the opposite,
they lead by being servants and giving themselves away for others as Jesus did.
Here are some principles
for all those who are aspiring to be leaders in the Kingdom. Mere ambition, and
determination to succeed may get you the presidency, but to serve in the
kingdom of God ambition alone doesn’t cut it. You cannot lobby, bribe force, or
manipulate your way into ministry. God is the one who calls people into ministry,
and once they respond to that call then he teaches them the values of the kingdom,
equips, and sends them to make an impact in the world. The way God works in raising
and releasing leaders is contrary to the way the world works. Does that mean
God cannot use ambitious people? Of Course He can, but not until they are
broken and become humble before God.
Take for example,
Moses: He was highly educated in the palace in Egypt, He saw the injustice
being done to his own people, and he was ambitious to release his people from
the slavery. But God said; No, Moses you are not ready yet, I need to do some
work in you before I could use you; so he sent him into the wilderness to take
care of dumb sheep for 40 years. The arrogant, highly intelligent, and
ambitious man, by the end of forty years became the meekest man on earth and
led over half a million people to the Promised Land. Are you pushing your way
in ministry? Or are you letting the Lord shape you into a broken and humble
person? Coming back to our story let’s see how James the highly ambitious
person was broken before God.
II. JAMES’ LIFE WITH JESUS
Out of the twelve
disciples, Jesus spent extra time with three disciples, Peter, James and John.
Out of these three we have the least information about James. His own brother
John never mentions him (or himself, for that matter) by name in the Gospel he
wrote. James the son of Zebedee is called, “the Great” merely to differentiate
him from James, the son of Alpheus (“the less”) one of the other disciples. For
some unknown reasons, Peter, James and John became the inner circle of Jesus,
who were allowed to witness some special events in the ministry of Jesus.
Though James was
older to John, we don’t hear him speaking much. It was John who became more
prominent of the two. On a couple of occasions, we hear James speaking,
firstly, when Jesus asked the brothers are you able to drink the cup that I am
to drink? They said to him, “We are able.” Secondly, when the Samaritans refused
to welcome Jesus, James, John both came to Jesus and asked, “Lord do you want
us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them? But Jesus turned and rebuked
them.” (Luke 9:54) Jesus called John and his brother, “Sons of Thunder,” Just
by being in the presence of Jesus, made James the ambitious person into a
broken disciple.
III. JAMES’ LATER YEARS:
James was among
the eleven disciples on the mount of Galilee when Jesus commissioned them to
“Go and make disciples of all nations.” Instead of going to all nations, James,
John and Peter went back to their old business of fishing. For the second time
Jesus restores Peter and commissions him with a task of feeding, and taking
care of the sheep (disciples). When the Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples in
the upper room James’s life was changed forever.
From that point
onwards James began to proclaim the gospel boldly along with the rest of the
Apostles. God confirmed their message through signs and wonders. The Apostles
were arrested, put in the prison, they were beaten and given a charge, “not to
speak in the name of Jesus.” We read in Acts 5:41-42, “Then they left the presence
of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for
the name. And every day, in the temple
and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the
Christ.”
Not too long after that we read, in Acts 12:1, “Herod the king laid
violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed, James the brother
of John with the sword.” With that, James the ambitious but broken disciple
earned the reputation of being the first Apostle who was martyred for his
faith. An ancient church in Spain claims to contain at least some of the
remains of James’s body.
After hearing the
story of James, you might be wondering what does this have to do with me in the
21st century. James’ story challenges our priorities and our purpose in life. Who are you living for?
What is your
ambition? Is your ambition to become somebody
big and popular to make lots of money, or to work for Goldman Sachs, or like
James following Jesus and His Kingdom?
James and John had a great ambition to sit on the either side of Jesus
in His Kingdom. They thought they could get it by sheer ambition, zeal and
imploring their mother to put in a word to Jesus. In turn Jesus showed them
another way by asking them a question saying, “Are you able to drink the cup
that I am to drink? In other words are you willing to go through the pain and
suffering that may involve in following me?
If your ambition
today is like James’ to follow Jesus and be used of God in ministry, then Jesus
is asking you the same question, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drank
from? James and John answered saying “Yes we are able,” what would be your
answer? I would like to close with another question, do you think that God
granted the request of James and John to sit on the either side of Jesus in His
Kingdom? When you find out the answer
let me know. Amen
