True Greatness – To be last
Matthew 20:20-28
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favour of him. 21 And he said to her, ‘What do you want?’ She said to him, ‘Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.’ 22 But Jesus answered, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?’ They said to him, ‘We are able.’ 23 He said to them, ‘You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.’
24 When the ten heard it, they were angry with the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 26 It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; 28 just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’
With all due respect to mothers, they sometimes get so focussed on advancing their children’s interests that they do not notice what is going on around them. The mother of James and John, knowing that Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, and thinking that he was about to be made king. He is the Messiah after all. She asked that her sons get to be second in command in the kingdom that Jesus was bringing.
Jesus challenged James and John asking if they could drink the cup he was going to drink – that is, were they willing to face death for Jesus’ kingdom. The only way Jesus’ kingdom will arrive is through his death. The cross will be his throne.
The other 10 disciples hear about the request made on behalf of James and John, and they get upset. Jesus again calls the disciples aside to take advantage of this teaching moment. First, in Jesus’ kingdom the greatest person is the one who serves everybody else – to be in charge is to serve (the first shall be last, as we saw already Matt. 19:30 and 20:16).
Second, to live this way is to live following the example that Jesus is about to set, the king (Son of Man) came to serve and came to die – came to give life on behalf of others. If the greatest, the leader, the ruler of the kingdom lives this way, then that is the example for all to live. The citizens of Jesus’ kingdom are expected to be people who serve others, who give their lives away for the sake of others.
PRAYER:
O Lord, we rejoice in Jesus’ example, may we be people who live worthy of that example. Teach us the path to greatness, the path of service, the path of giving ourselves away on behalf of others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.