Greatness in Christ's Kingdom

Matthew 5:3–6 ESV

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

It has been quite some time since we looked at those verses. Every time we read those verses, we note the radical difference between the outlook of those who are blessed, those in the Kingdom, versus that of the world’s system.

The culture and comforts and lifestyle of those in Jesus’ day may have been much different than ours, but there are always commonalities. And one of those, especially among the larger culture influenced by the Romans and the Greeks, was the concept that humility was weakness, and pride was strength.

What does it mean to be humble? Well, those four beatitudes described it well. Poor in spirit, mourning, meek, and hungry. All of those things bring with them an admission of need, an admission of insufficiency, and an outlook of seeking.

In terms of comparison, as an outlook, they place us below, rather than above. Pride does the exact opposite. Pride says “I’m sufficient.” Pride says “I’m above.” Pride says “My happiness or experience of peace is the goal.”

What pride rarely does is take the form of a servant. Pride rarely willingly takes second place in order to exalt someone else. Pride rarely looks to the best interest of others at the detriment of self. But as we will see in this passage, that is exactly what the goal is.

What we find in our text today is maybe not an overt or blatant display of the worse kind of pride, but by seeing how Jesus responds, we can tell that it is not the Kingdom attitude that he sees, but that of the world. May that be a simple reminder as we begin.

So much of our lives, especially as followers and servants of Jesus Christ, has to do with our attitudes. In every situation there may not be a silver bullet answer, there may not be a quick fix or simple solution, but there is always a Kingdom attitude to have, and that is the attitude of the servant, the attitude of humility.

Proverbs 16:18 ESV

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 11:2 ESV

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.

Greatness in the Kingdom of Christ is not achieved in the same ways as greatness in the kingdoms of the world. Whoever would be great must be a servant.

A Bold Request - 20-21

I said a moment ago that what we see is not an all-out example of pride, but there is at least some boldness there, and coupled with the mindset that Jesus addresses, this gives us a good example of what not to do, how not to think.

I toyed with the idea of calling this sermon “how not to be great in Christ’s Kingdom,” but Jesus turns it around into a more positive lesson, so we are probably better to think of it in those terms.

The mother of the sons of Zebedee. Back in Matthew 4, when we saw the calling of some of these disciples, we saw that Jesus called James and John from a boat, a boat that they were working in with their father Zebedee.

So this is Zebedee’s wife, James and John’s mother. We can put some pieces together in other places and find out that her name is Salome. She was one of the three who carried spices to Jesus’ tomb and discovered it empty. So whatever we learn about her here, we must know that she was at least a follower of Jesus. Her sons testimony and example had done something for her. She was one of the faithful Israelites who, when met with the Messiah, did not reject him.

And she comes, with her two sons, and kneels before Jesus.

She says, “can I ask you for something?”

Her posture probably indicates that she knows her question is a big one, and it may even indicate that she knows its a risky question to ask.

She comes before him in an honoring way, but there is somewhat of an angle behind that honor.

But the way she asks it is probably familiar to us. Sometimes we say things like this, “Will you promise me something?” Hoping to get the promise of a promise before the full request is out.

Or, we say, “you have to promise not to tell anyone this...” before we even say what “this” is (by the way, I’ve found that can often be a trap, especially if it’s coming from someone you don’t know that well.)

Matthew 20:21 ESV

And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.”

Then she tells him - “say that my sons will sit on your right and left hand in the kingdom.”

It’s not a question, “what could my sons do to ensure they will have a prominent place in your kingdom?” Or, “what is the process for getting one of the best chairs in the house?”

It’s not even really a request, the way she words it “say that they will sit at your right and left hand.”

Now, how did she arrive at this question? Did James and John put her up to this? Was it her idea?

Was this simply her motherly instinct of wanting the best for her children?

Furthermore, how did she have the boldness to ask such a question?

One possibility, is that some clues in scripture and much of tradition tells us that Salome was actually a sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus, (Compare Matthew 27, Mark 15, and John 19) which would have made James and John Jesus’ cousins.

Was there a behind-the-scenes angle of Salome having Mary’s ear, and that somehow trying to influence Mary’s son into giving her nephews a prominent place in the Kingdom?

We’re not sure - either way, it was bold. It was bold if it is coming from James and John, and it is bold if it’s coming from the mother. A request of privilege always leaves a bad taste in your mouth. In my years of service on the school board, we get these sometimes. It always leaves you asking, “what if everyone else asked the same thing?”

Now, we have to point out though, at least that there was an element of faith here. The request itself may have been selfish, but it did hinge on the fact that James and John and their Mother truly believed that Jesus was going to be reigning in his kingdom. And it also probably tells us that they believed what he said back in chapter 19.

Matthew 19:28 ESV

Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

We didn’t talk much about that, because we don’t know exactly what Jesus was referring to. One very possible option is that it ties in to the 24 Elders in Revelation. That it might be 12 representatives of the tribes of Israel, and the 12 Apostles. That’s a likely answer. But regardless of tis meaning, James and John probably at least remembered it! And they believed it. Now, did they go too far in asking for privilege? Yes, they did - but there was at least some faith evident there.

Even here we can begin to apply this to our lives. We see something like this from the outside, and we say “how could you ask that?” But often we view our lives through the lens of hoping for privilege, don’t we?

We know the promises that Jesus has made, promises of persecution and trouble and tribulation, but we secretly hope that we might be able to escape those things.

An eye of privilege is never a healthy eye, and an attitude of elevating ourselves does not reflect Christ.

An Honest Response - 22-23

Jesus, apparently knowing that this request probably comes from James and John through their mother, turns to them and says, “you don’t know what you are asking.”

There is honesty on the part of Jesus. He doesn’t immediately scold them, but he does require them to think. Are you able to drink my cup? You don’t know what you are asking.

Now, what is Jesus cup? The cup motif in the Old testament usually has to do with punishment and wrath. It can refer to a cup of blessing, but here, the obvious connotation is that it is going to be a difficult cup. Jesus is not asking, “Are you able to recieve bountiful blessings?” He is asking, “are you able to bear the kind of death I am going to bear?”

We will get to this in a couple of months, but Jesus Himself would pray in the garden concerning this cup.

Matthew 26:39 ESV

And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

The cup of Jesus was, ultimately, the cup of suffering and death. His would be unique, in that he would bear the people’s sins in his sinless body. In that way, the disciples could never drink that cup. They could never bear the cup of wrath for someone else as Jesus did.

But I think Jesus is asking them, do you know that you are going to have to die?

James and John, with whatever understanding they had, said “we can drink it! We are able!” And I think, they truly meant that. I think that they truly believed, at that point, that they would do anything for their Master.

There would be a test, though, that would prove to humble them. Later in that same passage in Matthew 26, James and John would leave Jesus and flee when he was arrested. At that point, at least, they could not bear the cup.

But Jesus lets their answer lie, and he even affirms it in one sense.

“You will drink it.” This, I believe, looks ahead to the fact that James became a martyr for Jesus early in the church age, and John himself suffered great woes and was exiled to the Island of Patmos, where he wrote the book of Revelation.

James and John would drink the cup of suffering for their Savior, but at this moment, I think Jesus knew they simply weren’t prepared yet.

Matthew 20:23 ESV

He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

Jesus does a couple of things here. One, he affirms what he has been doing all along, which is doing the will of the Father, obeying Him perfectly. In coming to earth, in the incarnation, Jesus humbled Himself, and he never despised that Humility. He wore it and bore it perfectly as our example. So that, even though Jesus is very God Himself, He gives an example of submission that we can only hope to follow.

But second, he gives a little clue about how God works. God doesn’t work solely on a first-come-first-served basis, he works by His own will. In some way, there will be those who apparently will sit next to Jesus, but it is not a political race to win those seats - it is by the gracious choice and preparation by the Father.

May we never come to God in a political sense, trying to influence his Grace by our standing, by our doing, or by our earning. As we saw last week, God deals not in wages, but in Grace. We can say the same thing about bribes - God does not receive a bribe, he works in grace.

We, like James and John, need to learn to rest in the choices of God’s wisdom, rather than trying to skew the Kingdom to our favor. We can trust the Holy and righteous God to do well.

A Brash Quarrel - 24

What happens next is really the fuel for the main thrust of Jesus’ teaching here.

Matthew 20:24 ESV

And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers.

The rest of the disciplies weren’t so gentle in their response as Jesus was. Somehow word traveled back to these other guys, and once they heard what went down, it exploded. We aren’t told the dialogue, but we are given one word.

Indignant

(describe what it might have gone like)

Indignant is, specifically, anger or wrath against something that is wrong, or perceived to be wrong. The word, in Hebrew, is used often to describe God’s Holy wrath. But in a human sense, it is an irate or incensed reaction to a perceived inequality or injustice.

That is exactly how the disciples felt. They felt slighted by their friends, they felt betrayed.

(Illustration about VBS Bible verses)

A Counter-Teaching - 25-28

Matthew 20:25 ESV

But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.

Jesus, breaking up the fight, so to speak, now had a lesson for all 12 - because James and John may have erred first here, but it was all of them who turned out to have the wrong mindset, the wrong attitude.

Jesus makes two comparisons with the world system.

Now, he is comparing “Gentiles” to what should be happening in the lives of God’s people.

First, the rulers of the gentiles “lord it over them.”

there is pride and arrogance in their leadership.

We can go back in Israel’s history for examples where they saw this. Now, they certainly saw it in their own day, as they had become a conquest of Rome and Roman rulership. But think back a little further.

Remember the book of Daniel, and his times in the Babylonian captivity? What did Nebuchadnezzar do?

He made a giant statue of himself, requiring everyone in his kingdom to bow down. He elevated himself above all, to the point of practically being deity, and required others to recognize that.

One element of the world system is that of pride and arrogance, and the lifting up of self.

But secondly, he points to another aspect. “Their great ones rule over them.”

with this, we see the flipside of the coin. There is pride and arrogance, but there is also the respect of persons. That is, leadership in the world is often a competition of power, influence, and greatness.

If you have enough connections, you can be in leadership. If you are popular enough, you can be in leadership. If you have enough money, you can have the position of chairman.

Jesus points to these two things as examples, negative examples. Pride, and Respect of persons.

James 2:2–5 ESV

For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?

And peter, after hearing the testimony of Cornelius and coming to realize how God is working among the gentiles, says this.

Acts 10:34 ESV

So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality,

With that in mind, lets keep reading Jesus’ words.

Matthew 20:26–27 ESV

It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,

Notice that simple injunction - “it shall not be so among you.”

In other words, in Christ’s kingdom, pride and respect of persons gets you nothing.

In Christ’s kingdom, being first does not get you the best seat in the house.

In Christ’s kingdom, politics don’t work.

In Christ’s kingdom, humility is much to be preferred than all the greatness you can muster.

Followers of Jesus must stay far away from this attitude when it comes to our dealings with one another. God’s Kingdom doesn’t work like the world system. Much like the physical world is affected by the curse in the way we see disease and death and natural disasters, the political and leadership structures of the world are also under that same curse, as we see arrogance and fighting and lying and scraping and doing anything possible to get to the top.

Arrogance, pride, and respect of persons are not currency in Christ’s kingdom. Putting yourself up and boasting in yourself, vying for first position, those things are not legal tender in following Jesus.

Whoever would be great, must be your servant.

Is this how we think? Do we think, in every circumstance, “how can I be a servant here?”

Do we think, at every turn of life, “what would it look like to model humility?”

And Jesus is not saying that we should be humble so we can be great, he is simply saying humility and servanthood is what is most valued in His accounting.

Jesus counts the score different than the world.

Psalm 73 is all about this kind of comparison.

Psalm 73:1–3 ESV

Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Even David was dealing comparitavely with the ways that the world system works versus God’s accounting. And it was a struggle. There is no denying that it is a real temptation to think and act in the acceptable ways of the world’s systems. Whether that is in climbing the corporate ladder, or achieving more financial success, or keeping up with the Jones’s, or simply avoiding “looking bad” in others’ eyes. It is so easy to look outward and be depressed at how others, in their unrighteous ways, are succeeding.

But David goes on.

Psalm 73:16–17 ESV

But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.

David says, essenaitlly, “this didn’t make any sense - I couldn’t justify it. Until I went to God and His perspective.”

This is so often true. We come against situations in life and we say, “I just can’t imagine having a different attitude about this.” or, “I just can’t imagine letting this go in my mind.” Until we come to God’s perspective, to Jesus’ perspective.

David goes on to describe “their end,” an then he says

Psalm 73:23–26 ESV

Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

That is the mindset of humility, of servanthood, of lowliness.

David’s attitude was the attitude of the blessed ones in Matthew 5 - poor in spirit, hungry, meek. God our portion.

I don’t need leadership, God is my portion.

I don’t need greatness, God is my portion.

I don’t need to be justified in the eyes of others, God is my portion.

I don’t need to exalt myself and earn the accolades. god is my portion. He is my reward.

We can apply this in the church, also. There are some churches where leadership positions are fought for, are politicked for, campaigned, almost. But don’t you know that even in church leadership, the entire point is to be a servant?

Matt, Denis, Myself, we’re not that great - I mean honestly! But we are your servants, and we are Christ’s servants.

Sean, as a deacon, well, the very word means servant. When it comes time for more men or others to serve, may we never look at it as a competition, as a chance at greatness, but may we be mindful of servanthood.

Jesus then goes on, back in Matthew 20 and gives the ultimate example.

Matthew 20:28 ESV

even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus, referring to himself as the Son of Man, uses this Messianic title. It is a title that emphasizes that Jesus is truly man, that he came, though he is God, he took on true flesh. He didn’t appear to be a real man with real flesh and bones, he was truly man, just like we are.

With the same physical strength, the same physiological makeup, with a real human will and emotions. the whole thing, except without sin.

The Son of Man came, not to be served, but to serve.

Think of it. Christ, our Savior, as Servant. Now, he was serving His father first and foremost, but in a real sense, he lovingly and joyfully served others in humility.

Think of the children in the last passage that he blessed, when others pushed them away.

Think of the multitudes that he fed, when the easy thing would have been to just send them off.

Think of the Leaprous man he healed, he touched! When that was forbidden and despised.

Insert (vs. 29-34 story here)

He became a servant. Denis read that passage earlier, from Philippians 2.

Philippians 2:5–8 ESV

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Do yo see it there, the mindset? The Attitude? The attitude of Christ that we are to take on is the attitude of humility, the attitude of a servant.

We can never humble ourselves as much as Jesus did, but we can have an attitude like His. Not exalting himself, submitting to the Father, serving willingly and even to the point of ridicule, and ultimately, to the point of death.

The Apostles would all face extreme opposition and, for most of them, death for Jesus. And it was, for them, death as servants. They simply served by giving their last.

Jesus also served by giving His last, but of course, he did it in a totally different category.

He did it to give his life as a ransom for many.

To purchase many. To pay the debt for many. It was the Father’s will that Jesus would come, and it was the Father’s wrath that needed to be satisfied.

Isaiah 53:10 ESV

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

Jesus’ death, the cup that he had to drink, this ultimate task that he has been alluding to now, and now as they are on the very road to Jerusalem, Jesus gives them this ultimate picture of suffering, of what greatness in the Kingdom really looks like.

Jesus suffered as a servant in order to pay the ransom for your wrath, your sin, your punishment. He made atonement for your sin. Willingly, with the servant attitude.

Is this our attitude? Is this our mindset? He calls us to look at others in the way he did. We cannot pay for the sins of others, but we can love them and forbear with them and forgive them.

We cannot make atonement for the griefs of others, but we can patiently endure when we are called on to do so.

And most of all, we can never seek first place for ourselves, we must seek to simply do God’s will, and allow him to reconcile things in his perfect accounting.

A Compassionate Example - 29-34

Matthew 20:31–34 ESV

The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.