Both the other readings and the psalm lead to this moment in today's Gospel, when James and John, the "sons of thunder," ask Jesus for special treatment--to sit on either side of him in His glory. They do not merely ask, they demand. The Yiddish word for this is chutzpah.
If the chronology is correct, just before this reading, Jesus took His disciples aside and told them what would happen to the "Son of Man." It seems every time Jesus hinted broadly that He would suffer and die, then be resurrected, they did not understand, or did not accept it. Perhaps they were confused by the term "Son of Man," or perhaps they were simply unable to believe this would happen. This was the third time they were given this prophecy, though this is the most detailed of the warnings.
In this same incident in Matthew's Gospel, it is the mother of James and John who requested honor for her sons by allowing them to be seated at His right hand when He comes into His glory. I cannot help but smile when thinking of her. She was the ultimate stage Mom. I can almost see James and John looking embarrassed with her. The contrast is striking, though. She actually knelt before Jesus, and asked, while in Mark's version the two brothers practically demand He give them what they want.
This Gospel is a lesson in being informed before you ask for something, but it is also a lesson in humility. Jesus knew the death He must face to fulfill His mission on earth. He tried to dissuade them, by hedging. He even told James and John that they didn't know what they were asking. They seemed to think they would gain special honors this way, but in effect, they were asking to be treated as Jesus would be treated--to be crucified and die with him. They did not realize that Jesus did not come to be the Messiah they were expecting--a king riding a white horse who would liberate Israel from the Romans and set up a great earthly kingdom--but as the suffering Messiah, who would give up his life in expiation for their sins. They were not expecting the suffering Messiah portrayed in today's reading of Isaiah. They just didn't seem to get it.
As Jesus points out elsewhere, no one is above his or her master. If James and John were to share in the glory of Jesus in heaven, they must also share in his death, yet, Jesus did not tell them "no" outright. His patience was amazing. He told them that the places at his right hand and left were not his to give. In Matthew's Gospel He even said that the honor would be given by the Father.
The jealousy of the other apostles is obvious, and not unexpected. After all, to be seated at the right and left hand of Jesus when He comes into His glory would be to receive great honor. They probably wished they had thought to ask first. Jesus nipped this in the bud right away. He had to do this more than once, as evidenced by messages He includes in His parables, and by His actions in washing their feet at the Passover service the evening before His crucifixion.
Most of us have to learn humility. When we are children, the world revolves around us, or so we think. Our parents have to teach us to share things with others, because we tend to think everything is ours. Think of it as a natural progression from inward to outward. It is difficult, but rewarding, to learn that nothing in this world is really ours, but everything came from God, and belongs to God. We are stewards of the earth, and even the air in our lungs, the blood in our veins, and our very souls are ours only as God wills them into existence.
The apostles had to go through this same progression under Jesus. They had to learn that His Messianic vision was not theirs. Jesus was focused on the spiritual realm, the kingdom that is here beside us, though we often fail to notice it. He kept telling people, "the kingdom of God is within you," or "the kingdom of God is here." Even when Jesus rose from the dead and spent time with them, they did not understand what His mission was all about. It took Pentecost. It took a complete filling of the Holy Spirit for them to see that it was never about them.
Learning humility is difficult. Saints achieved it--St. Francis of Assisi, or St. Claire, for instance. Both showed an amazing selflessness, love, and humility in their devotion to God. They showed that in order to truly follow Jesus, we must learn to love God and others more than ourselves. It takes love. Without love, true humility is impossible. Pride gets in the way.
Of the seven deadly sins once mentioned in the Church in almost every passion play and tract, pride is the most difficult. It is the sin most often ascribed to Lucifer, who became called Satan. Why is it so slippery? Because once you think you have conquered it, you become proud you have conquered it. The others do not seem to be quite as subtle or insidious. In case you wanted to know, the rest are: covetousness, lust, envy, gluttony, anger, and sloth.
There is no place in the New Testament where Jesus proudly stated that He was the Messiah. He was silent until He was before Pontius Pilate, and then his answers were noncommittal until the last moment. When Pilate asked if He was the Messiah, he said, "You say that I am." A megalomaniac would have started out saying he was the Messiah long before anyone thought to try him. Jesus seemed to have answered questions in a fashion that would make certain He was crucified, but only when the time was right. Before His arrest, He did his best to deflect any flattery about being "good," much less the Messiah. This may or may not have been in order to distance Himself from the image of the conquering Messiah, but also, Jesus was truly humble, something most of us really don't think about. He did not worry about whether He would be honored, whether he would be seated at the head of a table, or even whether or not His clothes were good enough for those around him to be impressed. He actually preached against seeking honor.
This humility may be the key to understanding the meaning of the term "Son of Man." While Jesus seemed reluctant to admit He was the Messiah, the anointed of God, He called Himself the "Son of Man" forty times in the Gospels, when speaking on thirty-five different occasions. This may have been because there seem to have been two Messiahs included in prophecy and folklore. One was the warrior-king who would conquer the world for God and then rule an earthly kingdom, after establishing God's law on earth. The other was the priest Messiah, also known as the suffering servant, who is included in our first reading for today from Isaiah.
In John 12:34, a crowd asked Jesus directly who the Son of Man was. Jesus replied cryptically that they should walk in the light while the light is here.
Jesus never explained the meaning of the term "Son of Man." The Jerusalem Targum is the Aramaic translation of the Hebrew scriptures, but is not a word-for-word translation of the Hebrew. Aramaic was the common language in the Middle-East. Most Jews who were able to read and write read the Targum, since it took more study to read the Torah in Hebrew. The Septuagint was the Greek translation made for the Jews of Egypt, who no longer knew Hebrew. There were also many Hellenized Jews throughout Greece and the rest of the Mediterranean. The Targum contains references to the conquering Messiah, but little or no reference to the "Son of Man." While "Son of Man" is not a term used widely in the Hebrew scriptures, it is included in the Book of Daniel and the apocalyptic writings in the Qumran caves, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Fragments of the Gospel of Mark were found in a cave at Qumran.
"Son of Man" could mean several things. According to some scrolls, such as Daniel, the Son of Man was with God when the world was created, and helped God in the creation. He was also the perfect example of what Adam should have been, had he not sinned. He was also born of flesh, but divine as well. He was the more peaceful Messiah mentioned in the apocalyptic scrolls, who was to come in glory and judge the world.
While the word "Messiah" was widely known thanks to the Targum, the term "Son of Man" was not, hence the confusion of the crowd. Jesus may have used the term because it was not as widely known, and the confusion would have allowed Him to continue His ministry longer, until it was time for His crucifixion and death. As with the term "Messiah," Jesus could easily have sought acclaim by explaining Himself. His humility, love, and selflessness, allowed Jesus to fulfill His ministry. What Jesus did was the ultimate, selfless act. As He said, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends."
Amen