Exegesis on Request of James and John in The Bible :: essays research papers

Exegesis on the Request of James and John 10:35-45 The context call of Christian discipleship is from chapters 8:22 – 10:52 these chapters are devoted to informing us of the disciples following Jesus and includes to miracles. These miracles emphasize that the disciples at this stage have no real knowledge or belief of the mystery of the son of man or his destiny and theirs. This passage â€Å"the request of James and John† is placed after â€Å"a third time Jesus foretells his death and resurrection†, and before â€Å"the healing of the blind Bartimaeus.† â€Å"A third time Jesus foretells his death and resurrection.† This is third passion prediction of Jesus addressing to his disciples about his fate and destiny to die, it also happens to be the most graphic and vivid described than the other two. It opens with Jesus and his disciples on the road to Jerusalem, and his disciples following him were afraid. Jesus took them aside and begins describing his death and resurrection. The cause of the disciples fears it that they do not know Jesus’ destination or his predictions. The disciples are blind in their understanding of Jesus’ Messiahship, their interpretation of a messiah is typical in all the other Jews minds. That God promised a messiah in the line of David, and would lead the Jew’s to victory in every battle, and fight it for them. In this sense the disciples expect that Jesus is going to throw out the foreign aliens (Romans). However it is through suffering, dying and the resurrection that the real truth or message of Jesus is revealed. â€Å"The healing of Blind Bartimaeus† 10: 46-52 This is the last healing miracle on the gospel of Mark. The Blind beggar addresses the Jesus as the son of David recognizing him as the messiah, and as â€Å"Jesus† as well. Unlike all the other miracles in the gospel Jesus does not try to silence the man but has already accepted the fact that he will die. The disciples throughout the gospel have shown antagonistic traits such as, fear doubt and a displacement of trust in Jesus. They have come up with ideas that will assure their own advancement. Bartimaeus recognizes Jesus as the son of Man, God’s messiah and followed Jesus on the road. This passage is placed here to highlight the disciple’s failure of not knowing the true meaning of the kingdom of God. Jesus teachings are not laws but an invitation into the kingdom of God through suffering and serving.