Matthew 20:20-28 Greatness Is Serving
Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.
And He said to her, “What do you wish?”
She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”
But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
They said to Him, “We are able.”
So He said to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”
And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
It was bound to happen sooner or later. Once the disciples grasped the idea that Jesus was truly the Messiah, the next speculations would involve the power structure of his coming kingdom. Granted that Jesus would be the head, who would be his immediate subordinates? How much authority would each of the disciples wield in this kingdom? While the disciples had undoubtedly been discussing this concept and arguing about it, Zebedee’s wife, the mother of James and John, decided to settle this matter and get her request in first.
Even though this lady came to Jesus and knelt before him, make no mistake; she was anything but humble. Kneeling was only the traditional way one made requests and had nothing to do with one’s ego. Zebedee was a highly successful fisherman and an observant Jew, so his wife was comfortable in her role as a social leader. Why shouldn’t she ask Jesus for special favors for her sons? John had become especially close to Jesus and James was also a good fellow, so their mother felt they were eminently qualified for high position.
Jesus knew this problem would crop up, so he warned James and John, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.”
So He said to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”
James and John had no idea what they were requesting. Later, James would be martyred and John would be exiled for several years on the Island of Patmos before finally dying somewhere in modern Turkey. Meanwhile, the other disciples were beyond furious! What nerve! How could these brothers think they were better than everybody else?
Just as things were about to erupt in fist fights, Jesus calmed the disciples, saying, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Now the disciples were really confused. Here they anticipated that Jesus was going to summon legions of angels and ride into Jerusalem on a white horse brandishing a flashing sword and routing the Romans and all those conspiring with them. Now Jesus was advising that the path to greatness in his kingdom lay through service and humbling oneself. Frankly, this was the very last thing that the disciples wanted to hear. They were really hoping that Jesus was going to announce some kind of hierarchy and then they could fight it out among themselves.
Much of the problem stemmed from the fact that the disciples had been steadfastly refusing to learn from Jesus’ example. Although there were people who traveled along with Jesus and the disciples, never do any of the Gospels even hint that Jesus was taking advantage of this situation. The only times Jesus withdrew from the crowds, he climbed into a boat anchored just off-shore so that people wouldn’t crush him. When Jesus went up into the hills, he frequently took the disciples along so he could teach them without interruption. Jesus responded to all kinds of requests from people of all social classes, from Jewish rulers and Roman centurions to prostitutes and tax collectors. Now Jesus was taking advantage of this uproar to emphasize the concept of servanthood leadership.
There was nothing particularly glamorous about servanthood; in fact, servants and slaves generally got stuck with the nastiest jobs. Low-level servants had to wash the stinky dirty feet of visitors, even when those visitors might have walked through cow dung. Servants always had to care for others before meeting their own needs. Servants were so common that they were part of the scenery, something to be ignored. Particularly astute servants or those working very hard might possibly attract their master’s attention, but generally, servants and slaves got no recognition or thanks of any sort.
If servants and slaves occupied such a low estate, why was Jesus identifying with them? Jesus knew that he had been born to die for the sins of the world. No matter what anyone had done, no matter how lowly they were, Jesus was going to die for those people. Jesus was going to be the ultimate servant making the ultimate sacrifice. The entire theme of the Kingdom of God was to be one of service-service to others and service to God. Jesus knew that any service rendered with a clean heart was actually a service to God and would glorify God.
Jesus and the disciples were moving closer to Jerusalem and the time of Jesus’ death. Few lessons were more essential than that of servanthood and few were also harder to get across to the disciples. If the disciples failed to learn this lesson, they would simply descend into squabbling and would refuse to teach anybody about the Kingdom of God.
What held true for the disciples still holds true today. Those choosing to become disciples must also choose to become servants as well. There is no room for ego in the Kingdom of God, only actions done to glorify God. When we are serving God, we should not be concerned about being the Greatest of All Time but rather the humblest and the most useful.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, please give us servants’ hearts. Help us to be most concerned with Your perfect will for our lives and to seek to fulfill Your will. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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