49 20.17

INTRODUCTION

I thought I’d share some more humorous prayers of children. I don’t think I’ve shared these before.

Dear God, I went to this wedding and they were kissing right there in church. Is that OK?

Dear God, I went to this wedding and they were kissing right there in church. Is that OK?

Dear God, did you mean for giraffes to look like that or was it an accident?

Dear God, in Bible times, did they really talk that fancy?

Dear God, I heard the moon was made of cheese. Tonight half of it is missing. Did you get hungry?

Dear God, I didn’t think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset you made on Tuesday night. That was really cool.

Dear God, please take care of my daddy, mommy, sister, brother, my doggy and me. Oh, please take care of yourself, God. If anything happens to you, we're gonna be in a big mess.

Dear God, I say your prayer every night, “lead us not into temptation and deliver us some e-mail” but I never get an e-mail from you. Do you have my right address?

Dear God, when my mom makes leftovers, do I have to pray for the food again?Dear God, who do I pray to when you go on vacation?

Dear God, we read Thomas Edison made light, but in Sunday school they said You did it. I bet he stole your idea.

Dear God, could you please send Mikey Johnson to another summer camp this year?

Dear God, did the unicorns miss the ark? Too bad the skunks didn't miss.

It’s easy for us laugh at the prayers of children, but I wonder how often God laughs at our prayers.

Two teams huddle up and pray before the game: “Dear God, help us win.”

Two people pray. The farmer prays, “Lord, please make it rain.” The city guy taking his girlfriend on a picnic prays, “Dear God, please make is sunny.”

I pray for snow in the winter and most of you pray for warmer weather and no snow.

Then there are the times when we pray for what we think we want, but then realize when we get that we don’t really want it. Or we’ll pray for something we think will be good for us when God knows it isn’t. I wonder if that’s why Paul kept his prayers to more spiritual things. When you read his letters to the church you find that:

He prayed that the Corinthians would not lack any spiritual gift

He prayed that the Ephesians would have the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that they might know God better

He prayed that the love of the Philippians would abound more and more

And he prayed that God to fill the Colossians with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives

Paul knew he couldn’t go wrong with those prayers.

How do you pray for yourself or for others? Is it something you would look back on and still wish you’d asked for? Maybe one prayer should be that God would give us wisdom to know how to pray and what to ask for.

SERMON

Turn to Matthew 20. As I’ve mentioned in the couple of sermons, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. This will be his last trip. As he makes this week long trip he’s going to prepare his disciples for what will happen to him when he gets there. Perhaps I should say he’s going to try to prepare them. He’ll tell them, but they won’t quite understand. Their misunderstanding is made apparent in our passage tonight from chapter 20. There will be a request made of Jesus that shows that even after three years of traveling with him they still didn’t understand.

Video

I mentioned in the introduction that we don’t always know what to pray for. Even as adults our prayers aren’t always very smart. In this passage I want to point out two other prayers we should make.

Mark indicates there was a crowd walking with Jesus and his disciples. They too were on their way to Jerusalem. The occasion was the year celebration of the Passover. The Historian Josephus wrote that every year at Passover three million Jews would visit Jerusalem for the celebration. It’s estimated that it would take a quarter of a million lambs for the Passover. As Jesus walks along with his disciples he tries to tell them that this year he will be the Passover lamb. This is at least the third time he’s tried to tell them and each time Jesus adds a few more details. What this shows us is that Jesus did indeed understand what was going to happen.

In mathematics there is a law called the Law of Compound Probability. This law simply says the more details you add to a prediction the less likely it is to come to pass.

For example, let’s say I were to predict I would go to the mall. Considering the fact that I only visit the mall two or three times a year the chances are slim, but certainly in the realm of possibility. Now let’s say I also predicted that someone I didn’t know would walk up to me and start asking me questions. That too is possible, but less likely. Then I predicted the guy would ask me ten questions and I would answer all ten of them correctly. Now it’s becoming less likely. Then I finally predict that after I answer the ten questions the guy would give me a million dollars. Now what do you think the chances are that my predictions will come true. The more details I add the less the chances are it will actually happen.

There are six parts to the prediction Jesus makes:

It will take place in Jerusalem

He will be betrayed

The religious leaders will be responsible for his death

They will turn him over to the Gentiles

The Gentiles will mock, flog, and crucify him, and

He will rise on the third day

Jesus not only predicted the events that would happen when he arrived in Jerusalem, every detail Jesus predicted happened. That alone should have been enough to prove that he was the Messiah. But even without his predictions the people should have known and recognized him. If all they did was read the Old Testament they should have known. But they were so wrapped up in their own traditions and rituals that they couldn’t see how Jesus was fulfilling the predictions made about him. Here are some of the predictions made about him.

Jacob predicted the Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah

Micah – born in Bethlehem

Isaiah – born of a virgin

Hosea – escape from Herod into Egypt

Jeremiah – Herod would kill all male babies in Bethlehem

Malachi – Jesus would have a forerunner [John the Baptist]

Isaiah – begin his ministry in Galilee, heal the sick and work miracles

Zechariah – ride into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey

Zechariah – betrayed for 30 pieces of silver

Isaiah – scourged, beaten, spit upon

David – pierced hands and feet

Isaiah – crucified with thieves and buried in rich man’s tomb

That’s just a sampling of the predictions made about Jesus. Hundreds of years before his birth these details were given by God to his prophets, written down to become a part of the Old Testament scriptures, and they all came true.

As Jesus saying these things he’s approached by the mother of two of his disciples. We know from others passages that her name was Salome, the wife of Zebedee. Some believe that she was Mary’s sister which would have made her Jesus’ aunt. The Bible isn’t clear on that connection, but it’s possible. The reason for thinking this is that Matthew, Mark, and John each list the women present at the crucifixion. They repeat the same names. However, while Matthew and Mark list either Salome by name or as the wife of Zebedee, John doesn’t mention her but instead the sister of Mary. So many think she is the sister of Mary.

If this is indeed the connection, maybe James and John thought she might have more influence over him than they would. Jesus is talking about the cross, and these guys are worried about a crown. Jesus is focused on his suffering, and James and John are focused on seating arrangements in heaven, wondering if they’ll have big thrones beside him. While Jesus is on his way to ultimate humility, they think it’s a good time to ask for a promotion.

Salome asks that Jesus give her sons seats on his right and left, but Jesus insists that she doesn’t know what she’s really asking. She thinks she knows, but Jesus says she doesn’t. Who do you think is right? How many times do we make requests of God thinking we know what is best?

The road to their desire will be marked with suffering and Jesus asks if they are ready.

Can you drink the cup I am going to drink? (Matthew 20:22b)

Jesus is referring to the price that must be paid on the path to greatness. They answer that they are ready to drink the cup and indeed they do. Both men are persecuted for their faith in Jesus. James becomes the first apostle to be martyred (Acts 12:2) and John will be the last living apostle as he is exiled to the prison island of Patmos. The cup for James would be a death in just a matter of years. The cup for John would many long hard years of service.

A Roman coin was found with a picture of an ox. In front of the ox was an altar and a plow. The inscription read, “Ready for either.” The ox was ready for the ultimate sacrifice on the altar or the hard life of pulling a plow. As we serve God we must be ready for the cup God has for us.

James and John said they were ready. However, Jesus added that even if they drink the cup before them that he did not have the authority to assign those seats to them. That’s us to God.

It’s not hard to imagine how the other disciples feel when they hear about this request. They’re fuming. Each of them wanted those same seats and can’t believe these two have the nerve to actually come out and ask for them. They can’t believe they didn’t think of it and ask Jesus themselves. And to make it worse, James and John had their mother ask for them.

It’s easy for us to criticize the gall of James and John as well as the jealousy of the other ten. How could they not see that the kingdom is more than that? And in light of what Jesus just said he was going to experience, how could they not see beyond their own selfish desires? Jesus had already promised them a throne in heaven. After Peter asked Jesus what they would receive considering all they had given up to follow him.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Matthew 19:28)

Twelve thrones! How much more did they need? We know how much more they wanted. They wanted the thrones to the left and right side of Jesus.

The question we need to ask is if we do that? Do we ask for more than we really need? Are we content with the blessings God has already given us. Because if I’m honest I have to say that often I’m not. I don’t have to worry about about missing a meal because I don’t have enough food. But I still want more. I don’t have to worry about having clothes to wear. But I still want more. When the temperatures were down in single digits for a week I didn’t have to worry about staying warm. I’m sure the heating bill is going to be a lot higher because of the cold temperatures, but I’m not worrying about how I’m going to pay the bill. But I still want more. Perhaps a second prayer request should be that God would help us to be content with all that he has already given us.

What surprises me about this request is the response of Jesus. Jesus doesn’t grow impatient or irritated with the question. He doesn’t criticize James and John for asking to sit on his left and right. I would expect him to say their being arrogant and rude for thinking like that and shouldn’t be asking the question. But that’s not how Jesus responds. First he says informs them that it’s not his decision. God the Father will decide who sits at his right and left side. Second, Jesus then tells them what they must do to be considered great in the kingdom.

If you want to be considered great in the kingdom and sit at my side here is what you need to do.

And what do you need to do? You need to serve. If you want to be great you must first become a servant. If you want to be first you must become a slave. In other words, you need to follow the example of Jesus.

This obviously doesn’t work the way we’re used to. Nor was it the way the disciples we’re used to. The world teaches that in order to climb the ladder of success you must step on hands and heads at every rung. You climb higher as you push others downward. But Jesus says the way up is down.

Jesus uses two words here: servant and slave – διάκονος (diákonos) and δοῦλος (doûlos). The first word, διάκονος, can be translated as servant (as it is here), deacon, or even minister. That should make us think when we use those terms. Ministers and deacons are not positions of power and authority, but position of servanthood. The second word, δοῦλος, can be translated as servant, slave, or bondslave. The point is that greatness comes not from exalting yourself, but from humbling yourself.

We must be very careful about putting a spotlight ministries. There is a tendency for us to lift up those on the stage that preach or teach or sing. And there’s a temptation of those on the stage to point to themselves, to do it for themselves and not for God, or to worry more about what others think instead of directly serving God and leading others to do the same. It’s sometimes difficult to be humble and act like a slave or servant and just use your gifts to glorify God. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, whatever you do – even if it’s only eating and drinking – do it in such a way that God is glorified and you. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

You’ve heard that membership has it’s privileges. However, that’s shouldn’t be true when it comes to church membership. I heard someone say recently, when it comes to church membership the longer you’ve been a member the less privileges you should have, at least there are less that you should demand. As I’ve said before, the church doesn’t exist for members, but for non-members.

There are some lyrics to a song I came across called “This Must Be the Place” that express the attitude we should have.

This must be a place where a broken heart can mend

This must be a place where the outcast finds a friend

For we cannot lift the fallen if our hand still holds a stone

And their sin that seems so great to us is no greater than our own

There must be a point where shame meets grace

And this must be the place.

The church doesn’t exist primarily for the benefit of those who are members, but for those who are yet to be members that they might come to know God. It’s not about being served, but how we can serve others. And Jesus set the example. Jesus said he didn’t come to be served, but to serve. Jesus never hesitated to serve. Even in the upper room when his arrest was only hours away he served in one of the most menial of tasks – he washed the disciple’s feet. Jesus led not insisting on being first or by forcing the disciples to obey him. Jesus led by serving others.

In his book Famous Life Decisions, Cecil Northcott tells about the life of Toyohiko Kagawa, a Japanese Christian. He says that Kagawa prayed: “O God, make me like Christ.” Sensing God’s leading to minister to the poor, he went to the inner city where he lived in a six-by-six foot hut in a Tokyo slum. Northcott writes:

On his first night he was asked to share his bed with a man suffering from contagious itch. That was a test of his faith. Would he go back on his point of no return? No. He welcomed his bed-fellow. Then a beggar asked for his shirt and got it. Next day he was back for Kagawa's coat and trousers, and got them too. Kagawa was left standing in a ragged old kimono. The slum dwellers of Tokyo laughed at him, but they came to respect him. He stood in the driving rain to preach, coughing all the time. “God is love,” he shouted. “God is love. Where love is, there is God.” He often fell down exhausted, and the rough men of the slums carried him gently back to his hut.

Kagawa himself wrote:

God dwells among the lowliest of men. He sits on the dust heap among the prison convicts. He stands with the juvenile delinquents. He is there with the beggars. He is among the sick, he stands with the unemployed. Therefore let him who would meet God visit the prison cell before going to the temple. Before he goes to church let him visit the hospital. Before he reads his Bible let him help the beggar.

That is where Jesus says we will greatness. The world measures a person’s greatness by the number of people who are under them, the number of degrees they have earned, the amount of money they’ve made and the size of their bank balance, or the amount of material possessions they have amassed. But Jesus says greatness is found in serving others.

Are we willing to put others before ourselves and serve in the name of Jesus?

So here is the last prayer, that God would show us how we might serve others. Pray:

That God would give you wisdom to know what to ask for

That God would help you to be content with you have, and

That God would show you where you can serve him