It seems that James and John, if, indeed, they sought to be inconspicuous, failed to keep their ambitious behavior from becoming known to the other Apostles (Mark 10:41), and the others were not amused! Surely, the brothers realized their desires couldn’t be kept secret for long. Were they so convinced that Jesus would grant their request that any opposition from the others would have been futile? How does one know his good idea isn’t as good as it seems? I believe, if one hides his good idea from others in a hope of attaining one’s desires, it should be somewhat clear that something is wrong. Either, deep down, one knows the idea, itself, is a bad idea, or one assumes the folks who might oppose it are evil. At least in the case of the Apostles, I think the former must be true, but worldly ambition both veils reality and drives good people to do wrong things.
When it became clear the Apostles weren’t happy with one another, Jesus didn’t permit the discord to get out of hand. When ignorance rules the day, sometimes the only thing one is able to do is control the inevitable damage. Clearly, until the coming of the Holy Spirit, neither the Apostles nor any of Jesus’ disciples would be enabled to continue in spiritual insight each moment of every day. Having ears to hear seems to have been an ‘on again / off again’ type of thing even for Jesus’ disciples during Jesus’ ministry. So, when the ignorance of James and John had become known to the others, they followed their example of ignorance with an equally fleshy response (Mark 10:41).
At times, they were all quite close to God and were able and willing to hear the truth (Matthew 16:16; John 6:69), but this wasn’t always the case (Matthew 16:22). A wrong worldview (cp. John 12:34) is nearly impossible for the believer to overcome, because he believes the lie is true, and such a thing would be quite difficult for the knower of truth to make the truth clear to the one holding the false worldview. Casting false doctrine out of its believer is a spiritual battle, and Jesus was in that battle to save his disciples. Although Jesus was flesh (John 1:14), he didn’t conduct his spiritual warfare using physical methods. Casting down the vain thoughts and imaginations, which his disciples exalted over the truth, and bring them into captivity in exchange for obedience to the Lord (2Corinthians 10:3-5) wasn’t a simple matter. Jesus was a teacher, not a magician. None of this was done in a moment’s time. Undoing the bonds of ignorance and false doctrine was a process, not an event. Certainly, Jesus’ disciples believed he was the Messiah, but along with believing that real truth, they brought a lot of false doctrine with them, and Jesus labored for three-and-one-half years to tear what was false away and replace it with truth.
What Jesus did in this instance was a repeat of what he had done on another occasion, when his disciples disputed among themselves over who should have the greatest authority (cp. Mark 9:33-37). There he brought a little child into their midst, but here he simply pointed to how authority was conducted among the gentiles (Mark 10:42). Nevertheless, authority within the Kingdom of God isn’t at all like how authority appears in the world (Mark 10:43). Instead, the greatest servant in the Kingdom is the one who, in reality, has the greatest authority (Mark 10:44).
At first, this seems like an illogical idea thrown into the mix just to confuse the hearer, but think about it. Jesus came not to be served, himself, but to serve others, and in doing so to use his life to ransom many (Mark 10:45). He was often referred to as a Rabbi or Teacher. A teacher has authority, but the effective use of that authority comes out in service not through law or force. A teacher’s authority, and therefore his effectiveness, is bound up with the pupil’s ability to understand. If the pupil / disciple understands and believes the teacher, the teacher’s idea has gained authority over the pupil’s / disciple’s worldview and casts down the falsehood and replaces it with truth, which becomes the disciple’s new stronghold (cp. 2Corinthians 10:3-5).
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