“These Two Sons of Mine. . .”
Matthew 20:20-28, The Message - It was about that
time that the mother of the Zebedee brothers came with her two sons and knelt
before Jesus with a request.
“What do you want?” Jesus asked.
She said, “Give your word that these two sons of mine
will be awarded the highest places of honor in your kingdom, one at your right
hand, one at your left hand.”
Jesus responded, “You have no idea what you’re asking.”
And he said to James and John, “Are you capable of drinking the cup that I’m
about to drink?”
They said, “Sure, why not?”
Jesus said, “Come to think of it, you are going to drink
my cup. But as to awarding places of honor, that’s not my business. My Father
is taking care of that.”
When the ten others heard about this, they lost their
tempers, thoroughly disgusted with the two brothers. So Jesus got them together
to settle things down. He said, “You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their
weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It’s not going
to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant.
Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of
Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in
exchange for the many who are held hostage.”
You can
hardly blame James’s and John’s mother for asking that Jesus elevate her sons
to places of honor. I imagine every good
mother wants to see their children excel and most parents see their children as
more exceptional than others. Further, I
also want to note that the brothers’ character is not in question here; even Jesus
acknowledges that they will also be faithful to the end as Jesus himself will.
However, the mother’s invention on
her full-grown sons’ behalf drives a wedge between James and John and the other
disciples. I can almost feel them
cringing as she asks Jesus the question.
They know this isn’t going to go over well with their peers and that
worry is confirmed when the other ten disciples are up in arms. This provides a teaching moment for Jesus
about position and power. What the
mother was asking for was for her sons to be given positions of prestige. Jesus answer is that prestigious positions work
differently in the Kingdom of God than they do in the world in which we
live. Greatness in the Kingdom comes
from submitting to serve others the same as a slave would do. Jesus not only teaches this, but His
disciples are about to see Him live it out to the ultimate extreme. He will submit to death instead of staging a
takeover – a takeover that He is completely able to execute. Two thousand years later, the church
acknowledges and teaches that it is in Jesus’s submittal to “making himself
nothing” (Phil 2:7) that displays His greatest power. The most powerful force in the kingdom is humble
service.
This bears out in my experience. When I think about the most impactful people in
my life, they are not world-renowned leaders, best-selling authors, and star
athletes/actors. They were people who served
me as if I were someone more special than I am.
Some of them, to be fair, actually held positions of influence (teacher,
pastor, coach etc), but their service to me wasn’t offered from that position,
Their interest in and care for me would have been the same even if they didn’t
hold the position. In my mind, they rank
higher than the President of United States.
This is the greatness alludes to and you can achieve it regardless of position. Making the position the goal is to seek to
take God’s job for our own. This is a
hard concept to fully grasp, which is why we hear Jesus talking about it multiple
times in Matthew’s gospel. Ultimately,
He shows us what it looks like.
Question: Other than
Jesus, who in your life has shown you what the greatness of humble service
looks like?
Prayer: Jesus, thank
you for your example of humble service.
Show us the way to follow your example in the opportunities that will
come our way today. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Spend
some time thanking God for putting the specific people in your life that have helped
to make you what you are today.
Song: Lord I Lift
Your Name on High – Hillsong Worship
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