Matthew 20: A Tale of Two Men

Introduction

Today’s lesson will be relatively short, but it is important nonetheless. Our passage will deal with two sets of two men that Jesus deals with on his way to Jerusalem. Two are his disciples, and two become his disciples. Their stories parallel each other and show us exactly what it means to truly follow Jesus.

17-19: Third time’s the charm

Before we get into the two stories we first see Jesus predicting his death and resurrection for the third time.

The crew is now getting very close to Jerusalem. They are in or near Jericho at this point (Matthew doesn’t tell us that they went to Jericho, only that they left in vs 29). That’s where things are going to start to get a little hectic, so Jesus pulls the apostles off the side of rode to remind them of what’s about to take place.

This is the third time he’s told them these things. If you recall, the previous two times didn’t go over very well.

The first time, in 16:21, Peter tried very strongly to rebuke and stop Jesus for saying such things.

The second time took place after the transfiguration, in 17:22, and the response was mildly better: “And they were greatly distressed.”

Third time’s the charm, right? On the surface, it doesn’t appear that we get any response from the disciples - but we will. The request of James and John are the response.

There are a few reasons that I think Jesus tells them all of this a third time:

First, according to Jewish law and custom, all things had to be established by two or three witnesses. By saying these things a third time, the Lord is establishing them as fact. There are no ifs, ands, or maybes. Jesus was going to be executed and raised up.

As previously mentioned, this last week of the Lord’s life will be busy and crazy. It’s important that the disciples know exactly what is going to happen so that they don’t do any rash (looking at you Peter).

When the events actually take place, it will be important for the disciples to remember, “Oh yeah, Jesus DID know what he was talking about, and accurately predicted them.”

However, Luke tells us that in this moment, the disciples were still lost: Luke 18:34 “But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.”

Even though the “saying was hidden from them”, it’s still hard to blame the disciples for not understanding. Would we have responded any differently? If someone you were close to said they would be brutally murdered and then ‘rise up’, what would you think?

20-28: A blind request

On the surface, it doesn’t appear that we get a response from the disciples as we previously did. But in fact, we do. The response comes from the Sons of Thunder and their mother (and it seems like the boys put their mom up to it, because who can say no to a mother?).

The disciples may not have understood what Jesus was meaning, but it seems like they knew that his “glorification” was near. They were approaching Jerusalem, the place where the King of Israel was destined to enter.

It’s not clear why James and John felt like they had a right to ask this question, but perhaps it was at the instigation of their mother, who went with them.

I personally think the Zebedee family were on the wealthier side. They ran a successful fishing business and had connections to the high priest.

Perhaps this upbringing made them feel entitled to such a claim?

Maybe since Jesus made Peter the ‘rock of the church’ during one of the other declarations, they thought Jesus would hand out other positions in the Kingdom now, too?

Their mother makes a bold request for them: Say that the two boys can sit at his right hand and left in his Kingdom. Wow!

These are the two highest positions of power in a kingdom - to sit at the right and left hand.

Anyone involved in politics knows this type of ‘reward’ happens to loyal members of a king or otherwise.

Just the other day RFK Jr. decided to support Trump, and what was said right after? “I’ll consider giving him a position in my cabinet, if I win.” These are the kinds of worldly backdoor deals rulers make all the time.

It seems like they thought Jesus was the same as the ‘rulers of the Gentiles’ - something they will quickly discover was not true at all.

Jesus is honest with them: they don’t know what they are asking. And then he asks them, ‘Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?’

Jesus regularly uses ‘cup’ as a metaphor for suffering. The theme carries over from the Old Testament

Psalm 75:8 “For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.”

Isaiah 51:17 “Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering.”

They truly don’t know what they are asking for because even Jesus himself would ask that the cup be taken away from him on several times. If the Son of Man struggled to ‘drink the cup’ no other man could!

Of course, momma didn’t raise no quitters. Their response is, “We are able.” and I just imagine Jesus letting out a loud sigh and rubbing forehead as he says, “Yes…yes you will.”

These men (and all the disciples) would in fact ‘drink the cup’ to a lesser degree. They wouldn’t be taking on the sins of all mankind, but they would still suffer for their faith in Christ. James would be ‘put to death by the sword’ by Herod in Acts 12. Tradition tells us that John was not martyred, but he still suffered intensely.

But then, perhaps to their surprise, Jesus admits that he doesn’t personally have the authority to grant such positions. Yes, Jesus is God, but at this point he was functionally subordinate to the Father, and made clear that the Father was the one who decided who received such positioning.

Did anyone expect this request to go over well with the rest of the group? Jesus had already previously said that those twelve would receive their own thrones to judge. Apparently that wasn’t good enough for James and John, and it of course irked the other 10 that they would ask for ‘more’.

It’s no surprise that the devil tried to ‘break up the band’ just before the show was about to start. The last thing Jesus needed before triumphantly entering Jerusalem was disunity between his followers.

He reminds them that His kingdom is completely different than the kingdoms of this world.

The rulers of the Gentiles (for us that would be Presidents, Prime Ministers, Governors, ect.) relish in power and authority, and ‘lord it over them’. As I mentioned, even our two Presidential candidates now are making public displays of their power by declaring who can and cannot be in their cabinet.

But for disciples of the Lord Jesus? Not us. His Kingdom is different. Instead of everyone grabbing and positioning for power…it’s the opposite.

In a Kingdom where the ‘first will be last, and the last will be first’, power is defined as a race to the bottom.

If we want to be great, we must become servants (this is the same word for ‘Deacon’). And if we want to be first, we must become slaves. This was as uncomfortable a truth 2000 years ago as it is today. Servants and slaves don’t have power. But in the Kingdom of God, they do.

In a nation that prides itself on our ‘freedoms’, the idea of becoming a ‘slave’ to anyone is particularly difficult, and almost offensive, I would say. That’s where in our particular context, being a Christian must transcend our being ‘Americans’.

Because Jesus never asks us to do something He didn’t do first, he holds himself up as the standard for this type of kingdom living.

The Son of Man, True God of True God, King of Kings, came not to be served, but to serve.

Paul elaborates on this more in Philippians 2:5–8 “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.”

If Jesus can humble himself that much, he expects his own people to do likewise. And do you know what happens when everyone lives like this instead of trying to have power? There becomes peace and true freedom.

The final note is important too: He came to give his life as a ransom for many.

This is one of the few explanations given in the Gospel for the cross. Jesus died, so that we may be free.

But it’s also the fullest expression of what it means to serve: we ought to be willing to “die” (not just physically), to serve and save others.

It’s also worth noting that at the end of his life when John saw Jesus again (Revelation 1), Jesus places his “right hand” on John’s shoulder - I think it was a subtle reminder.

29-34: A request from the blind

It’s fitting that this story took place right after the “blind” request of the two brothers. God in his divine providence seems to have set this up almost as an object lesson.

They were leaving Jericho (Luke tells us that this is where Jesus had met Zaccheus). Amidst the crowd there were two blind men sitting on the sidewalk crying, like frogs on a log.

Have you ever been in a public place where someone starts causing a scene by yelling? It’s very uncomfortable, and maybe even a little scary. You kind of just want them to stop - at least I do!

They are trying to get the Lord’s attention, and their cry tells us that they know exactly who Jesus is. They call him “Lord” and “Son of David”. That’s a level of faith that we haven’t often seen!

It’s also more than what the brothers and their mothers called Jesus in their request!

I loved that when the crowd tried to silence them, they only got louder. How much do you want Jesus? How much do you want his mercy? For these men they didn’t care what people thought. They wanted the Lord!

Jesus finally stops, and he asks them a very similar question to what he asked the brothers: What do you want? Thrones and positions of power? Since we’re in the asking business, might as well go big or go home!

No, these men simply say, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.”

They don’t want power or prestige. They just want to be able to see.

This should have been a humbling moment to James and John (and the other disciples). We so often ask for the wrong things!

When Jesus says, “Ask and it will be given to you.” we usually ask for the things we don’t need. These men asked asked out of humility for their sight to be restored.

I think there’s also symbolism in this request: not only were their eyes opened, but I hope the eyes of James and John were opened, too.

I don’t really like the translation of the word ‘pity’ here in the ESV. It’s the same word for ‘compassion’ that Jesus had when he saw the crowds. Splanchnizomai: It’s the kind of compassion that comes from the depths of your stomach.

Having gotten their sight back, they followed him. Not for thrones, or power, or prestige, but merely because they were blind, and now they see.

Conclusion

Today we saw two sets of blind men. But only one set had their eyes opened. We should learn from them that following Jesus isn’t for power and prestige. The true followers of Christ are lowly, servants, and slaves. Once we understand that, our eyes will be truly opened.