When I was young, I remember finding on our bookshelf at home a copy of the Living Translation of the Bible. I do not know if you recall it, but I can still see the cover in my mind. It was a paperback Bible, with all the aesthetics of the mid-seventies, and instead of having “The Holy Bible” inscribed on the cover it was called “The Way.” Now, first of all, that is actually a great name for the Bible: The Way. And as it turns out, this seems to be an early designation for Christians before the title of “Christian” became normalized. In fact, like the name “Lutheran,” “Christian” began as an insult that soon caught on. But Jesus Himself had said He is “the way, the truth, and the life,” and no one can come to the Father except through Him. At the conversion of Saul on the road to Damascus, it says He was going there to find any who belonged to the “The Way” to bring them back to Jerusalem for trial. The followers of Christ were followers of a way, a way that led to life eternal.

The reason I mention this is because our text for today, from Mark chapter 10, works as a beautiful description of what it looks like to follow our Lord. You might even say it is a picture of “The Way.” Maybe, you would prefer to see it as an outline for discipleship or a guidebook for what it means to be part of the Church of Christ, but in a stunningly simple manner, our life of faith is summarized in these few verses. It moves from a passion prediction by Jesus, in quite shocking detail I might add, to a longing for glory and the reality of suffering for those who follow Him, and then disagreement and animosity because of individual moves for power and prestige which lead towards our Lord’s call for a life of service. If this is not a description of our life of faith, a picture of what the Church ought to be, I do not know what is.

Before us then, we have a picture of the way; the way of discipleship, the way of one who claims to be a follower of Jesus Christ, the way of life for those who trust in the promises of God. Let me clarify, I am not saying this is a step-by-step guide for getting into Heaven. As we know, the way into Heaven is Christ alone. He is the beginning and the end of our quest for salvation. Rather, this is a description of how that life now looks, the life which receives the blessings and promises of our Lord. To believe God sent His only Son to die for the sins of the world, to trust that your eternal life is already secure in the works of Christ alone and given freely to you by grace alone and received by faith alone will impact your life. Your way will be different than the ways of the world.

Our text begins with Jesus and His disciples walking up toward Jerusalem, up to the place where Jesus will face the full ferocity of His opposition. He knew full well the way that lay ahead of Him. He knew about the pain, the rejection, and the betrayal. It is safe to say any of us would choose a different way. He may go forward silently like a lamb to the slaughter, but we would not be so foolish. We would make alliances, find some strength, deterrents that might change the course of the way ahead. But the way of Christ is not the way of temporal glory. It is not about His deliverance, but your deliverance. So, His way is a way of love, and this is how He describes His love. Our Lord says, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock Him, spit on Him, flog Him, and kill Him. And after three days, He will rise.” Mocking, spitting, flogging, death, and resurrection, this is His way. This is how He loves.

Therefore, if we are taking this text as a description of “The Way,” it begins not with our hopes and dreams, not with our desires, but with the purpose and focus of our Lord’s work. It begins with radical actions of love. It begins with sacrifice. The foundations for all we do, the groundwork for our life of faith is the sacrifice of Christ. He comes in opposition to those who thought they could work the Law of God to their advantage, who thought they had the wisdom and strength to earn their own salvation. He comes bearing the sins of the world, the sins of arrogance, pride, and self-righteousness. And He will meet the violence of the world and endure the gory passion of the cross. His body is broken, His pure blood is spilled as His mission, His “Way,” does not avoid the grave but charges headlong into it, for the grave will not be the end of His journey. A tomb is not the destination of Jesus’ “Way.”

Following on the heels of this foundation, the disciples then react. And what happens? Well, Zebedee’s boys, James and John, say, “Grant us to sit, one at Your right hand and one at Your left, in your glory.” These bold disciples, these followers of “The Way” desire the seats of honor in our Lord’s glory. This makes sense, right? If you are going to follow Christ, if you are going to sacrifice and go where He leads, then at least you want to make sure it is worth it. You want a little assurance this will end in some recognition, a bit of honor in the glory that surely awaits the Son of God. Well, not so fast. Our Lord responds by asking if they are able to drink the cup He is going to drink and be baptized with the baptism He is going to be baptized with.

This is no child’s play here. This is heavy stuff. After all, the cup Jesus will drink is the cup of the wrath of God, the wrath all sinners deserve for their rebellion. And the baptism He is speaking of is not the washing of repentance in the Jordan River. No, this is a bloody baptism, a baptism of suffering and pain. Shockingly, they say, “Yes!” Yes, they are able to drink and be baptized as He is. And in a very foreboding way our Lord responds that they will indeed drink and be baptized, they will suffer, they will know the rejection of the world, and they will follow their Lord in the way of the cross. But then, as a particular point of clarity, Jesus says, “To sit at My right hand or at My left is not Mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” Those sitting on His right and His left are two thieves, for His glory is not in splendor and majesty, but in sacrifice and His love on the cross of Calvary.

This exchange begins a discussion among the Church, amid the disciples who are all following our Lord. They are upset with James and John, troubled that they are seeking seats of honor. This begins some division. The desire is to pull down James and John while trying to elevate themselves. Acts of love, deeds of sacrifice soon fall away to the temptations of power, the longing to be right, and the desire for superiority over another. Humility and repentance give way to quests for glory. So, our Lord says, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great one’s exercise authority over them. But 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 slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

As a result, in a picture of the way of discipleship, the way of the faith, the way of the Church, it all ends where it began: With Christ, with His love, with His service. The cross of Christ, the sacrifice of our Lord is not just where you start down the road. It is so much more. It is your identity every step of the way. It is your guide and correction in the face of the temptations of power and glory. It is your assurance when your works fail, when you doubt and stumble along “The Way.” The cross of Christ is the love of God for you. Here you are forgiven. Here you are welcomed into eternal life. Here we begin and here we finish our journey on “The Way.”