Shabbat Shalom! Please open your Bibles to the Gospel of Mark today. We are starting in the 10th chapter of the Gospel of Mark, and verse 32 to the end of the chapter, to verse 52. So please follow me as I'm reading the passage, Mark 10:32. And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem, and Yeshua went before them, and they were amazed. And as they followed, they were afraid. And He took again the 12, and He began to tell them what things should happen unto Him, saying, "Behold, we go up to Yerushalayim, and the Son of Man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles.

And they shall mock Him, and shall scourge Him, and shall spit upon Him, and shall kill Him, and the third day He shall rise again." And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto Him, saying, "Master, Rabbi, we would that thou should do for us whatsoever we shall desire." And He said unto them, "What would ye that I should do for you?" They said unto Him, "Grant unto us, that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory." But Yeshua said unto them, "Ye know not what ye ask? Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" And they said unto Him, "We can." And Jesus said unto them, "Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of, and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized.

But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared." And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John, Yaakov and Yohanan. But Yeshua called them to Him and said unto them, "Ye know, the day which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But so shall it not be among you, but whosoever will be great among you shall be your servant. And whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall be servant of all.

For even the son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many." And they came to Jericho. And as he went out of Jericho with his disciples, and a great number of people blind Bar-Timai, the son of Timai, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Yeshua of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Yeshua, thou son of David, have mercy on me." And many charged him that he should hold his peace. But he cried more a great deal, "Thou son of David, have mercy on me." And Yeshua stood still and commanded him to be called.

And they called the blind man, saying unto him, "Be of good comfort, rise, he calleth thee." And he, casting away his garment, rose and came to Jesus. And Yeshua answered and said unto him, "What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?" The blind man said unto him, "Lord, that I might receive my sight." And Yeshua said unto him, "Go thy way, thy faith has made thee whole." And immediately he received his sight, and he followed Yeshua in the way. I love to read those stories about the life of our Messiah, Yeshua, when he walked in the land of Israel. Not only because I was born and raised in Jerusalem, and often times visit Jericho and Bethlehem, and all the land, the Galilee and so on.

But it's always precious to be able to read the word of God, and to see when you visit the land of Israel, how it's applicable and how things must have happened when the Messiah, Yeshua, was there. Well, we are now, of course, in the second half of the tenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark. Yeshua, in the tenth chapter, has finished his ministry in the Galil, in the north of Israel. And now he is focused on coming to the city of Jerusalem, the city of Jerusalem, because in the city of Jerusalem, in Jerusalem, Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah, was going now to accomplish redemption. You remember what the book of Galatians, chapter 4 and verse 4, the apostle Shaul Paul said, "In the fullness of time, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law, in order that he will redeem them which were under the law." In other words, God had planned it all.

It was in the program, in the plan of God, that in the fullness of time, he will send the Mashiach, his son, the Messiah, in order to provide redemption. So it was necessary for the Messiah to come to earth, to be born as a child out of the virgin Miriam, to be born in Bethlehem, to be born under the law, to live a perfect life here in this world, because ultimately he came to establish a work of redemption. All we like sheep have gone astray. We all needed forgiveness. We needed someone to pay for our sin and our sins. And finally the Messiah is here.

And so the Gospel of Mark present the Son of God, present the Messiah, present the Lord Jesus, the Lord Yeshua, as a servant of the Lord. He is the supreme servant of Jehovah, of whom we read in Isaiah chapter 53, who has believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord had been revealed. And Isaiah described there some 750 years before Mark Gospel is presented before us. Already then and there, before the Messiah has come, Isaiah, the prophet of Israel, predicted that the Messiah will come, and he will suffer, he will die, he will pay for the sin of this world. And finally the Gospel of Mark in chapter 10 shows us that he determined to go to the city of Jerusalem to accomplish his work.

And so the verses that we read today are very much linked with the passages that we read, Isaiah 42, Isaiah 49, Isaiah 50, Isaiah 52, Isaiah 53, Isaiah 61, all the servant passages that Isaiah was speaking about, prophetically speaking about the coming of Yeshua, the Messiah. these wonderful passages in Isaiah chapter 50, the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, is presented as the obedient servant of the Lord. And we read there in Isaiah chapter 50, this beautiful passage, and we read, "The Lord has given unto me the tongue of the learned." Isaiah 50, in verse 4, says, "I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary. He wakens me morning by morning.

He wakens mine ear to hear as the learned." Listen what it says in verse 5, "The Lord has opened mine ear and I was not rebellious. neither did I turn away. I gave my back unto the smiters and my cheeks to them that pluck off the hair. I hid not my face from shame and from spitting. For the Lord will help me. Therefore I will not be confounded. Therefore," listen to this, "I set my face like a flint and I know that I shall not be ashamed. He is near that justify me. Who will contend with me? Let us stand together." And so on. "I set my face as a flint." The prophets speak about the servant of the Lord.

That word as a flint in Isaiah 50 and verse 7 is really chalamish in Hebrew, which is a rock that is standing firm and he is going forward, immovable. He is moving forward to go to Yerushalayim to give himself a ransom for many. So now in Mark chapter 10, the Lord Yeshua the Messiah predict, this is the third time in the Gospel of Mark, he predict before the disciples his sufferings, his death, and ultimately his resurrection. He predicts it. Now how did he know it? How did he know it? He knew it because he came from heaven for the express purpose that he will suffer, that he will die, that he will pay for the sin of this world and be ultimately resurrected from among the dead.

And so notice, beloved brothers and sisters, in Mark chapter 10, verse 32, 33, 34, Yeshua, the Son of God, as the Son of Man, predicting his death on the tree, on the cross. Verse 32 of Mark chapter 10, and they were in the way going to Jerusalem. Yerushalayim is the city where the Messiah will ultimately pay for the price of the sin of this world. He was focused, Isaiah 50 verse 7, He set his face to go towards the city of Yerushalayim. That word for Flint is speaking about a solid rock. Immovable. He's going to go all the way to Jerusalem. And so, you see, he went before the disciples and they were following after him, his disciples.

They were amazed at his devotion. They were amazed at the fact that he did not shake or move to the right or to the left. They were amazed, it says here, but they also were afraid because they knew when they will identify with him, they will have to experience some rejection by their own people. So the disciples, according to verse 32, they were amazed, they were afraid, and you notice what he does. He gathered the twelve together. Notice verse 32. As he took the twelve again, he began to tell them what things should happen unto him. Now, you know, who can predict his future? You and I cannot predict what's going to happen in ten minutes from now.

You and I do not know what's going to happen tomorrow. We do not know our future except through the word of God, through the person of Yeshua the Messiah. But he knew exactly what's going to happen to him when he's going to arrive to the city of Yerushalayim. He knew that. He didn't need anybody to tell him, not only because he's divine, he's God the son, but he's also the son of man who knew the reason that he was born into this world. And so in verse 32, he's instructing his disciples as he was going towards the city of Jerusalem. You see, beloved brothers and sisters, he must pay for the price of sin.

God is holy. God is just. He cannot look upon sin. Sin must be judged. And if he will not judge it in his son, he will judge us in you and I because we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And so notice in verses 33 and verse 34, he described in details what will happen to him in Yerushalayim. And notice what he said. Again, verse 33 and verse 34 of Mark chapter 10. He said, Behold, we go up to Yerushalayim and the son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and unto the scribes. Then notice, they shall condemn him to death and then in turn, they shall deliver him unto the Gentiles.

Then as he continued in verse 34, they, this is the Gentile, shall mock him and scourge him and shall spit upon him and shall kill him. But he doesn't stop there because immediately he says, and the third day he shall rise again. Now who can predict it? Who in the world can predict what's going to happen to him in order, in the events, in the way that they are going to happen, even predict his death? I can see him anticipating his death, but to anticipate his resurrection? This is amazing. It teaches us, beloved brothers and sisters, that this man, the Lord Jesus, the Lord Yeshua, knows everything.

we studied yesterday, Isaiah 46. And God said to Israel, in Isaiah 46, I know the beginning from the end and the end from the beginning. I know everything that is going to happen to you, Israel. I know the Babylonian will take you captive. I know I will raise a man by the name of Cyrus, who will deliver you after 70 years. I even mentioned his name, Cyrus, before he was even born, I know his name. Where the Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Yeshua of the New Testament. The one who is the Creator God, who made all things, is the one that entered into this world the person of the Son, and who was born to the Virgin, Miriam, and came to become the Redeemer of mankind.

And I want you to notice, beloved brothers and sisters, how interesting, here in this verse 33 and 34, that he includes both Jew and Gentile. He doesn't blame the Jews alone or blame the Gentiles alone. He doesn't put any blame on one group of people or another group of people. include the whole humanity. And he says, listen to that. Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, he said, and the Son of Man. By the way, that's expression, the Son of Man, you hear it many times in the scripture. In Hebrew, it's called Ben HaAdam, the Son of Man. This is the Messianic title, which Daniel, in chapter 7, and verse 13, in his writing, received the revelation from the Lord.

that he saw one like unto the Son of Man, coming in a future glory, and reigning and ruling over this world. The same Son of Man, Ben HaAdam, of Daniel 7:13, is the same Son of Man, Ben HaAdam, of Mark chapter 10, and verse 33. The Son of Man shall be delivered. Now just think about it. How he was delivered. We're going to read about it later on, in chapter 14 and 15. He was delivered. He was handed over. First of all, he was handed over to the chief priests, and the scribes, the Jewish leaders, the leaders of our own nation. They will condemn him. They will not accept him.

They will not recognize that he was the Mashiach. That's what Isaiah said. We just raised Isaiah 53. When we look upon him, there is no beauty that we shall desire him. But he was wounded for our transgression. He was bruised for our iniquity. The chastisement of our peace fell upon him. And with his stripe we are healed. The prophet Isaiah predicted the words of the Jewish people in a future day when they will recognize that he indeed is the Mashiach. But here he predicts what's going to happen. He's going to be handed, delivered to the priests, to the high priests, to the scribes. They will condemn him to death.

But then they will deliver him unto the goyim, unto the Gentiles. And who are the Gentiles represented here by the Romans? The Romans represented the whole Gentile world. While the high priests represented the whole Jewish world. They in turn, notice that in verse 34, they will mock him. They will scourge him. They will spit upon him. And eventually they will kill him. And we will get to it later on in the Gospel of Mark, where they will hang him between heaven and earth. And they will pierce him. They pierce my hand and my feet. We read in Psalm 22. He will be hanged between heaven and earth on a cross.

On a shameful cross. And they will pierce him through. And eventually he will die. They will kill him. You see, he predicted this. He knows what's going to happen to him. And that's why when Isaiah 50 predicted that the Messiah, he set his faith as a flint. As a chalamish in Hebrew. As a rock. It shows us here that he didn't deviate. You see, he could have said, you know what? I do not want to go to Jerusalem. I don't want to anticipate such a condition that's going to happen to me when I will arrive to Jerusalem. I will be delivered. I will be condemned. He could eventually be mocked.

Be scourged. Be spitted upon. And eventually die. Be killed. He could have turned away. But you know, brothers and sisters, had he turned away, where would you and I be? We would have no hope. And the fulfillment of the promises of God that the seed of the woman will come and will crush the head of the serpent will not come to pass if Yeshua would have changed his mind and decide, no, no, I'm not going to do so. But he was fulfilling the word of the Lord. As we read in the whole prophets of Israel, they predicted the Messiah's death, burial. Judas, he's not stopping here because he said, on the third day he will rise again.

Not only that he will rise again, but it will be on the third day. He knew how many days he will remain in the grave. I mean, it is amazing. It is fascinating. No wonder, when we read of him in the garden of Gethsemane, when he was anticipating his death, he says, "Abba, Father, if it is possible, take this cup away from me." But then he says, "Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done." And so Yeshua is instructing his disciples and he reminds them that the reason that he came to this world is in order that he will pay for the penalty of sin.

And beloved brothers and sisters, this ought to move our hearts every time. We cannot just brush it and pass it by. We always have to be reminded of the price that the Messiah, Yeshua, paid for our sins. Because one day when we are going to stand in the presence of God, it will only be on the basis of his work that you and I will be allowed to enter into the presence of God. It's because the Messiah was the one that was delivered, was mocked, was scourged, was killed. Eventually, on your behalf and my behalf, he also rose again in order to declare the believer justified.

And so as he is going ahead, moving towards the city of Yerushalayim, when we are going to get to chapter 11 and verse 1, he finally has arrived to the city of Yerushalayim and there the conflict and all that which he anticipated will come to pass. So now after he instructed his disciples about his death, burial and resurrection, he continued on and he explained to the disciples what is the value in being a servant. You see, he is the true servant of the Lord. A servant, the purpose that the servants serve is in order to honor God and to bless God's people. And so now notice that it is so interesting.

It shows us how our human nature is so deceitful and so sinful that in the midst of his anticipation to die on the cross, the disciples seem to be occupied with something else. And so from verses 35 to verse 45, and you can see yourself, I can see myself right here. In those verses, Yeshua is now explaining the importance to be a true servant of the Lord, appreciating what he has done for us, but it happened after James and John came to him and asked him to do something for them. So we read in verses 35, 36, and 37, how James and John request from Yeshua the Messiah to sit on his right hand and on his left hand in glory in heaven.

Now he is talking about death and they are talking about glory. He is talking about suffering. They are talking about joy and blessing and position in the presence of the Lord in heaven because immediately, notice what it says here, James and John, Hebrew, Yaakov and Yohanan, the sons of Zebedee, they come unto him and they said to him, Rabbi, we would, that you should do for us whatever we desire, they said to him in verse 35. So Yeshua said to them, well, what do you want me to do for you? Verse 36. So notice what they said to him. You would think they would be sharing with him his anticipated suffering, but no, no, notice what it says here in verse 37, but then grant unto us that we may sit one on thy right hand and the other on thy left hand in thy glory.

You know, Lord, we want to make sure that we have a good position in glory. I want to sit on your right and I want my brother to sit on the left in the future day of your glory. Now what does that tell us? He tells us that they did not enter into his suffering. It seems to be very shallow in their entering into what he just said to them. He was just speaking about his suffering. He was just speaking that the fact that he will be mocked and he will be scourged and he will be spit upon and he will be killed. He was just telling them what he's going to experience now in the city of Jerusalem.

But they were so occupied with themselves that they said, you know, Lord, we want to make sure that we have a good position in the future glory. Now, to remind you that he already promised to them that in the future day, those apostles, all of them will sit with him in the future day and they will receive a position ruling all the 12 tribes of Israel because they have already promised us according to Matthew, chapter 19 and verse 27. We read those words. Let me just read it to you. "Behold, we have forsaken all and we follow after you. What shall we have therefore?" And Yeshua said to Peter and then to the other disciples, "Verily I say unto you," Matthew 19, verse 28, "That ye which have followed me in the regeneration in the new age when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of his glory, you also shall sit upon 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel." He says, "You're going to sit with me one day, you followed after me, you suffered because of me, you identify with me in a time when you were rejected even by your family, you one day going to sit upon 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel." He promised this.

So the issue of the desire of James and John to be with him in glory in a future day is not wrong. But what's wrong here is that they requested a selfish request while the Messiah was anticipating his death on the cross. You see, beloved brothers and sisters, don't you see yourself in this? how many a time we just selfishly ask from the Lord to do things for us instead of accepting things from his hands and allowing him to be the one who will direct us in our lives in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in. So they were really in a selfish way saying to Yeshua the Messiah, we want to sit on your right hand and on your left hand when you come in the future glory.

And by the way, if you read in Matthew chapter 20, it's not only that Yaakov and Yohanan asked it, you read in Matthew chapter 20, verse 20 and 21, their mother asked for that. You know, your mother always liked the best place for you. Our mother always wanted the best for us. The mother of James and John already asked him earlier, you know, do you mind to put my sons on your right hand and left hand when you come in the glory in the future day? The mother took care of her own son. But you can see that the sons continue on what their mother have requested earlier according to Matthew chapter 20.

But beloved brothers and sisters, selfish requests from the Lord, while he is anticipating his death and burial and resurrection, is not right before the Lord. James, not this one, another James, the half-brother of Yeshua the Messiah, wrote in his writing in chapter 4, he says, Why do you have all these problems? Because when you pray and you ask for your own lust and miss, you don't pray in the right way and the right attitude. That's why you don't receive an answer from the Lord. And you see, beloved brothers and sisters, we can learn from what, sincerely James and John requested this from the Lord, not in the right time.

And therefore, God was not pleased with a request such as this, as the Messiah is anticipating his suffering on the shameful cross. So notice what he's telling them. After they ask him this request in verse 35, in verse 36, in verse 37, notice what Yeshua is telling them. In verse 38, Yeshua the Messiah responded to the request of James and John, Yaakov and Yohanan. And he said to them, notice this, Yeshua said unto them, Ye know not what you ask. Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? And can ye be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? See, he was really challenging them. He says, you asking to go and sit on my right hand and my left hand in the future day in glory, but don't you realize that before glory, there is suffering?

Before there is honor, there is suffering? In other words, before we are going to go into the place of blessing in the presence of God in a glorious day when the Messiah will have his rightful place in this world, don't you understand that suffering has to come first? And that's why he asked them, and you notice he used these two expressions, are you going to be able to drink the cup that I will drink? Are you going to be able to be baptized with the baptism that I will be baptized with? What does he mean? He used these two expressions, the cup and the baptism.

The cup in Hebrew, and baptism to be placed under. What he is really saying here is simply this. He says, are you going to be able to go through what I am going to go through soon? I am going to take the cup of God's righteous indignation against sin, and God whose cup is filled with his anger and righteous indignation against sin, and he is going to pour it upon me when I am going to go to the shameful cross. Are you going to be able to bear it? You mean that you are going to be able to be willing to suffer before you are going to be sitting at my right hand or my left hand?

Are you going to be able to bear this? Secondly, he says, use the word baptism, lehitavel in Hebrew. Are you going to be able to be baptized with the baptism that I will be baptized with? This expression of baptism is to be put under. You know, when we have water baptism, the brother or the sister who are being baptized, he or she is going to be placed under the water representing death. And then they come out to represent resurrection. In other words, the Lord Yeshua the Messiah is anticipated to be baptized. He doesn't speak about water baptism. He is speaking about the judgment of God, the wrath of God against sin that is going to fall upon him when he is going to die on the cross.

That is why we read in the Gospel of Mark later on in chapter 14 and 15 that he was six hours on the cross. The first three hours he suffered for the hand of men, but the second three hours he suffered by the hand of God. And God poured, if you will, the cup of his righteous indignation against the Messiah, the Messiah for you and I because sin has to be judged. And God, as a holy God, placed him, you might say, under being judged on behalf of the people of humanity because of sin. Are you going to be able to drink the cup and be baptized with the baptism that I have to be baptized with?

You see, they didn't understand. Like you and I don't understand what it meant for the Lord to suffer on behalf of mankind. There is a verse in Psalm 75 and I'm going to read that verse. It says in verse 8, Psalm 75 and verse 8, we read: For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, Kos, and the wine is red, and it is full of mixture, and he poureth out of the same of the cup. But the dregs thereof all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out and drink them. You see, there is a cup. That cup is a cup of God's anger against sin.

And the wicked who reject the Messiah will end up drinking from that cup of God's righteous indignation against sin. And the very fact that you and I will never need to drink of that cup, it is because he drank it on our behalf. He, you might say, it was poured upon the Messiah himself. There is in the hand of the Lord a cup that is red, it is full of mixture. And then he said, he poureth that cup. And that cup is the cup of the wrath of God against sin. Now about baptism, when you think about baptism, it's speaking about being overflowed with the wrath of God.

He'll become like the judgment of God upon the world that they've seen. In Psalm 69, I'm going to read verses 1 and 2. Save me, O God, for the waters are come in unto my soul. Verse 2, I sink in deep mire where there is no standing. I am come into deep waters where the floods overflow me. It speaks of the judgment of God, beloved brothers and sisters. Verse 15 says, Let not the water flood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. Psalm 69 is a messianic psalm that speaks about the trespass offering that the Messiah took upon himself when he died for us on the tree.

So, Yeshua the Messiah is saying to John, he's saying to James, he's speaking to these brothers, and he said to them, you know not what you're asking. Can you drink of the cup that I drink? Can you be baptized with the baptism that I will be baptized with? And of course, the answer is no. They can never suffer the way he suffered, you and I can never suffer like he suffered. No one has suffered like Yeshua the Messiah had suffered. But yet, he's telling them that they will suffer. Even though they could never suffer to the extent that he suffered. Notice now in verses 39 and 40, Yeshua predicted the future suffering, the death of James and John.

and Yohanan. Because in the next verse, it says, they said unto him, we can't. They assumed that they could suffer the way he suffered for sin. And he told them, no, no, no. He said, Yeshua said to them, okay, you will suffer. You cannot suffer the way I suffered. I will suffer in order to provide redemption, but you will suffer because you will identify with me. In verse 39, ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of, and with the baptism that I am baptized with all shall ye be baptized. But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand, it is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.

What does he say here? That these two men, they were brothers, by the way, they were sons of Zebedee, Yaakov and Yohanan Bnei Zebedee, that they, because they're going to follow after him, they will experience persecution and ultimately death. And you notice it is so fascinating that the first apostle who died was Yaakov, James. And the last apostle who died was John, Yohanan, his brother. If you notice, if you turn to Acts chapter 12, for a moment, in Acts chapter 12, the first apostle who died was Yaakov, James. It says here in verse 1 and 2, Now about that time, Herod the king stretched forth his hand, and he waxed certain of the church, of the assembly, the believers.

And notice what it says in verse 2, And he killed Yaakov, the brother of John, with a sword. The first men of the apostles who died, was James, was Yaakov. He had died by the sword because Herod was persecuting the assembly, the local believers in the land of Israel, in the city of Yerushalayim. He suffered, and he died. He had experience, identified with his Messiah, who was rejected, despised, and ultimately was killed. James, Yaakov, was killed as well. But not only him. His brother Yohanan, according to Revelation chapter 1, he was cast into the island of Patmos, and he suffered because he testified of Yeshua, the Messiah.

Revelation 1 and verse 9, I, John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation, he suffered. And in the kingdom and patient of Yeshua, the Messiah, I was on the island that is called Patmos, why I was there, for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ, of Yeshua, the Messiah. Apparently Dormishan, have taken John Yohanan and placed him in the island of Patmos, and he was there because he was testifying to the fact that Yeshua was the Messiah. And there John received the book of the Revelation. And while we don't know the exact date that he died, the Revelation was written somewhere around 95, 96 AD, and he died a few years after.

Some believe that he died at about 100 AD, while James, his brother, died at about 42 AD. The two brothers, the one was the first, the other one was the last. Those are the two that wanted to sit at the right and left hand of Yeshua the Messiah in his glory. And while they did not quite grasp the fact that they could never suffer like Yeshua suffered, Yeshua had to teach them that lesson and he said to them, you are going to drink of the cup. You are going to experience baptism like the baptism that I have. In other words, you will identify with me and you will experience suffering and ultimately you will die.

And this is exactly what happened. Yaakov died 42 AD. Yohanan died about 99, 100 AD. Both of these men identify with Yeshua the Messiah when they lived their life and gave a testimony of the person of the Lord. And now notice what we read in verse 40. He says to sit on my right hand and on my left hand. It is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them of whom it is prepared. In other words, he have handed over the future day of the kingdom to the Father, that the Father will be the one who will execute what he planned, where to put and who to put in the kingdom day.

And he said, it is not for me to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. Yeshua predicted the suffering of James and John in which they all that have trusted in him will enjoy. And now notice, beloved brothers and sisters, in verse 41, the disciples, the other disciples, were really displeased with James and John. It says in the next verse that when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. And you know how quickly you blame James and John, but you yourself probably hoping that you would sit on the right hand or the left hand of Yeshua the Messiah and glory.

And that's why you can see they are displeased. But when you look elsewhere, they had the same view. They had the same failure, which remind us of the fact that all of us at time failed the Lord. And so in verses 42 to 45, Yeshua instruct his disciples the truth about who is really going to receive a place of greatness. Let me just read you those verses. Verse 42, we read, Yeshua called unto him those disciples, and he said unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles, they exercise lordship over them. And their great ones exercise authority over them. He says, look at the Gentile world.

The people that are rulers and leaders, they exercise, they want to show that they are rulers, that they have authority, that they are in a position of greatness. That's the world. But he says it should be different with you. In verse 43, verse 44, he says, you know, really it should be the opposite with God's people. And then he says, and I'm reading these verses, but, verse 43, so shall it not be among you. Whosoever want to be the greatest among you, he shall be a servant. And whosoever want to be the chiefest in the higher position, he shall serve all. Do you want to have a place, a position, a high position?

We have to, first of all, become a servant. You see, we can never be appreciated and have authority over others unless we first learn to serve. A good leader is served first. He's a good servant. A person that wants to be appreciated and respected has to be one who, first of all, spends some time and energy and willing to serve the people of God. We don't get to be rulers and leaders before we, first of all, among the people of God, first of all become servants of the Lord. That's why Yeshua is the example. Don't be like the world. The world, the world, oh, I have an authority and I'm your boss and I'm your supervisor and I will exercise my authority and my rulership and you will listen to what I have to say.

But no example. The people of God, it should be exactly the opposite. You know how attractive it is to see a brother or a sister who serve the people of God, who humbly serve God's people. That's amazing. And notice how the Lord concludes with this passage because in verse 30, 45 he says, "For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many." The Son of Man, the Mashiach, the Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah, the reason that he came is not that we will serve him first, but that he will serve his people and ultimately give his life a ransom for many.

And isn't that what he had actually done? When he was healed some 2,000 years ago, everywhere he went, he served mankind. He ministered to the needs of God's people. The blind received their sight. The lame could walk. The deaf could heal. Even the dead were raised. And he himself set himself as a flint, as a rock, to go to the city of Jerusalem to give his life a ransom for many. You know, brothers and sisters, do you know that even today the Lord is at God's right hand, still serving us? We don't see him, but he serves us. We don't even realize how much he blesses us and how much he ministered to us, direct us, preserve us, protect us, help us.

We don't realize that. But even today, our blessed Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, serves the people of God. And in response to what he has done for us, we need to serve him. We need to be those, not like the world, they are the rulers, they exercise lordship, exercise authority, I am the captain, I am the boss, I am in charge. No, no, no. He says, you're going to be different. You want to be the ruler and the leader? You first of all learn to serve. You want to be the one that is the chiefest? You make sure that you serve your brothers and your sisters.

It is a different economy. It is a different economy. It is a completely different than the world and its system. That's the ways of the Lord. Because the Lord himself, the son of man, he came, he came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, to serve himself, and to give his life a ransom for many. Now to conclude with this chapter, in verses 46 to verse 52, Yeshua gives sight to a blind man to show us a great lesson that we by nature are blinded. And in the experience with this man who was blind in the city of Jericho, he teached the disciples a lesson. Because it says in verse 46, it says here that, and they came to Jericho as he went out of Jericho with his disciples, and a great number of people were there, blind bar Timai, the son of Timai, set by the highway begging.

You and I might say it is a coincidence. Yeshua was in Jericho, Jericho, the cursed city. And what does he see as he leaves the city towards Jerusalem to go up the hill? What does he see? A man sitting there by the name of Bar Timai, who was a blind man. And what does he do? He is begging. Helpless. Can you imagine to be blind? Not ability to know where you go. Not ability to see your wife, your children. Blind. This is our condition spiritually. We were dead in trespasses and sins. We were blind to see God in our life. We were blind to see the Mashiach, the Messiah that loved us so much.

That's us. Bar Timai is Gideon. Gideon is you and I. We were blind. We were living in Jericho, the city of curse. We were beggars who could not lift ourselves up. So Yeshua is passing by. So Yeshua is passing by. And you notice, beloved brothers and sisters, actually, some believe that the name Bar Timaius comes from Timothy, which means honorable to God in the Greek language. But in the Hebrew, Timai or Tameh comes from the word unclean. Bar Timai represents son of one who is unclean. Like David says, in sin did my mother conceive me. He was blind. He cannot see. He was sitting as a beggar by the city of curse.

But Yeshua is passing by. And so we read in verses 47 and 48 that Bar Timai cried for mercy. We read and notice it is amazing. When he heard that it was Yeshua from Nazareth, he began to cry out and he said, Yeshua, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. Many charged him that you should hold his peace. He cried the more a great deal. Thou son of David, Ben David, Ben David, have mercy on me. Who of us would not need the mercy of God when we are in a city of curse, when we are spiritually blind, when our name represents our uncleanness, Tameh, and when we beg because we can't sustain ourselves.

That's the condition of the human race. But Yeshua passed by. And he cried to him. And you notice he called him Ben David. Yeshua, son of David. How did he get this expression, son of David? Because in 2 Samuel chapter 7, God had promised to David that out of him there will be one that will come into this world that he will call him his son and he will establish his kingdom in a future day. Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah, is a descendant of the house of David. Ben David, son of David, have mercy on me. You know, I wish people will cry this today to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy on me. I am a sinful man. I have no hope without you. I live in a cursed world and I am spiritually blind and I am unable to sustain my life spiritually. I am dead in trespasses and sins. I need your forgiveness. Earlier we read, God be merciful to me as sinner. And so as he cried, do you think that Yeshua will continue on? We read here, it's so beautiful, in verse 49 and verse 50, Yeshua heard Bartimae. And so we read in verse 49 and 50, Yeshua stood still. And he commanded him to be called. And they called the blind man saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise, he calleth thee.

Verse 50, And he casting away his garment, he arose and he came to the Lord Yeshua. It's so wonderful, you know, to come to Jesus, to come to Yeshua. He was invited. Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. God said to Israel, Come and let us reason together. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. To come to Yeshua. He came blind. But he must be so anxious just to come because he cried to the son of David, Yeshua, son of David, have mercy on me. And the Lord had mercy on him.

Because we read in the last verses, beloved brothers and sisters, verse 51 and 52, that's the desire of Yeshua, the Messiah, that people will come. Don't delay today if you hear his voice. Do not harden your heart because one day you will have to leave this sin. If your sins are not forgiven, you're going to be judged by God because God cannot look upon sin. And so he came. And the conclusion of this chapter, verses 51 and 52, Yeshua answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? What do you want, Bartimae? What should I do for you? And you notice Bartimae, he answered and he said to him, The blind man, notice he was still blind.

The blind man said unto him, Lord, he called him Adon, Rabbi. Lord, Master, Rabbi, my Lord, my Master, I would like to receive sight. I want to see. I want to be able to see. So Yeshua said unto him, Go. And notice what he said, Faith has made it whole. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believe, just to have faith, shall not perish but have everlasting life. faith in the person of the Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, is the ground upon which God can forgive sins. And so he says, Your faith have made it whole.

And then immediately, notice no delay, he received his sight, and he followed Jesus, Yeshua in the way. You see, brothers and sisters, that's what happened to us. We were blinded spiritually. We didn't want God in our life. We didn't want the Messiah in our life. But somehow, we recognize that we are blinded. We are helpless by nature. We can't be right with God. And we ask for forgiveness. God, be merciful to me, a sinner. And in love for you, in love for me, Yeshua the Messiah has invited us. He says, I paid. The price is paid. I have died on the shameful tree. God is satisfied.

Just accept me. Believe on the Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, and you shall be saved. Your faith in me has made thee whole. Yeshua said to him. And you notice, he followed after him. We follow after Yeshua because he is our shepherd. We follow after him because it gives us joy in our hearts. Because he loves us. Because he wants a blessing for each and every one of us. So, may the Lord help us as we continue on here in this world to follow after the Lord because we were like blinded. He opened our hearts and he gave us the understanding that he paid for the sins that we have committed throughout our life.

May the Lord bless his word and may the Lord help us to continue to follow after him. Can we say amen to that?