当你想到一个君王时，你脑海中会有一幅怎样的图画？可能是一个头戴金冠又手持宝石杖的英俊男子。又可能是一个发施号令、有人向他打恭作揖、和唯命是从的人。当我们想到一个君王时，最不可能联想到的是一个十字架。
所以我们需要不断提醒自己，耶稣是一个与众不同的君王，祂的国也是一个与众不同的国 － 是这个世界从未见过的。
雅各和约翰仍需要学习这点，因为他们想像中的君王耶稣，是坐在镀金的宝座上的，而他们希望坐在祂的身旁。他们想藉着接近耶稣来得到权力 － 这显明他们不明白耶稣的荣耀是什么，也不明白祂国度的模式。耶稣说他们想要的位置已经预留给别人，结果是有两个强盗与耶稣一同钉十架，一个在右，一个在左。
总括来说，就是要忘掉那镀金的宝座。天国的君王耶稣是“坐”在两根木头交叉而成的宝座上，而祂的荣耀乃是遵循神的旨意。天国的君王耶稣受苦受死，是因为祂的国是关于怜悯和饶恕、而不是在乎权力和征服的。因此我们要不断调整我们这幅图画。
主耶稣，你真是一个奇特的君王，你的国也是奇特的。但这正是这个世界需要的，也是我们每天都需要的。阿们。
马可福音 10:35-40
35西庇太的儿子雅各、约翰进前来，对耶稣说：“夫子，我们无论求你什么，愿你给我们做。”
36耶稣说：“要我给你们做什么？”
37他们说：“赐我们在你的荣耀里，一个坐在你右边，一个坐在你左边。”
38耶稣说：“你们不知道所求的是什么。我所喝的杯，你们能喝吗？我所受的洗，你们能受吗？”
39他们说：“我们能。”耶稣说：“我所喝的杯，你们也要喝；我所受的洗，你们也要受；
40只是坐在我的左右，不是我可以赐的，乃是为谁预备的，就赐给谁。”
"They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left." - Mark 15:27
What picture forms in your mind when you think of a king? Maybe it's a handsome man with a golden crown on his head and a jeweled scepter in his hand. Maybe it's someone giving orders while others bow before him and do as he says. Most likely, when we think of a king, the last thing we picture is a cross.
That's why we have to keep reminding ourselves that Jesus is a different kind of king, and that his kingdom is a different kind of kingdom—different from anything the world has ever seen.
James and John still had to learn that. They pictured King Jesus sitting eventually on a gold-plated throne, and they wanted to be sitting right next to him. They wanted the power that comes with proximity—and that showed they didn't understand the glory of Jesus. They didn't understand the way of his kingdom. Jesus said that the places they wanted were reserved for others. And it turned out that two rebels were crucified on the right and the left of Jesus.
Here's what it adds up to. Forget the gold. King Jesus "sits" on a throne made of two crossed pieces of wood. And his glory is to do the will of God. King Jesus suffers and dies because his kingdom is about mercy and forgiveness rather than about power and conquest. We need to keep adjusting our picture accordingly.
Lord Jesus, you are such a strange king. Your kingdom is strange too. And that's good because it's exactly what this world needs. We need it too. Every day. Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳
