The Upside Down King

Some of the most subtle and dangerous things about studying the Bible are the preconceived notions and ideas that we bring to the text. And all of us bring our own ideas and notions to the text. Part of the exposition of the Scripture is that we learn to remove ourself from the text, and let the text speak for itself.

Give you a few examples.

If you come to the Bible, and you hold the belief that people are naturally good, and are corrupted by outside influences, then you might read the Bible and conclude that Jesus did not die to forgive our sins, but instead died to show us the way. That Jesus died to show us that we can choose good over evil. This is called the Moral Example view of the Atonement.

If you come to the Bible, and you hold the belief that God is loving and that means He wouldn’t send anyone to hell, then you might read the Bible and conclude that God will eventually save everyone, and that everyone is going to end up in heaven. This is called Universalism.

If you come to the Bible, and you hold the belief that you are the center of the universe, then you might read the Bible and conclude that it is God’s job to give you everything you need to be happy, and to keep you from all harm. This is called the prosperity Gospel.

You see, when we come with preconceived ideas, it taints the way we read the Word. It changes the things we put accent on, and it ultimately changes the message of the Word. None of the examples given can be taken from Scripture without outside ideas. But as we see this morning, the problem of preconceived ideas isn’t a modern issue. The disciples had this issue too.

Take a look at Matthew Chapter 20, and starting at verse 17.

Matthew 20:17–19 ESV

And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”

We are going to stop right there for a minute.

This is not the first time that Christ has predicted His own death, burial and resurrection. If you have those little section descriptions in your Bible, it probably tells you that this is the third time Jesus has foretold His own death.

Matthew 20:17-

Lets look at the first two.

Matthew 16:21–22 ESV

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”

Matthew 16:21-22

English Standard Version Chapter 16

21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.

Matthew 17:22–23 ESV

As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.

So we see that there is resistance from the disciples every time Jesus tells them what is going to happen. So then what is the reaction this time?

Matthew 17:

English Standard Version Chapter 17

22 As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.

Well, Matthew doesn’t say. But Luke does. Luke writes in Chapter 18,

Luke 18:34 ESV

But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

Luke 18:34

English Standard Version Chapter 18

34 But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

So the first two times Jesus tells them about His death, they object, the third time, it doesn’t even compute for them. How does something that is so spelled out completely get past them? Why is it so hard for them to believe that Jesus is going to do this when they have seen him heal the sick, raise the dead, and turn water into wine?

Because of their preconceived ideas of what the Kingdom of God was supposed to be.

We see that in the next section. Look at verse 20

Matthew 20:20–28 ESV

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 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.” Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 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.” And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 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. 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, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Matthew 20:20-

So momma comes and wants Jesus to commit to having her sons be at the right hand and the left had of Christ when Christ reigns in His kingdom. And in the question itself, we see the preconceived ideas that both mother and sons have in mind. They are envisioning a kingdom like the Kingdom of David, where Christ sits on the throne and reigns like all other earthly kings.

And again, the disciples were just told that Christ was going to die, be buried and rise again, and they are so entrenched in their view of the kingdom that they didn’t understand it. And here we can look and say, “well evidently momma doesn’t understand it either!”.

And if you have those little section descriptions, it may say what mine says which is “A Mother’s Request”. Well this is my little reminder that those descriptions aren’t inspired. They were added by the people that worked on whatever translation you hold. Because with respect to the collaborators of the ESV, this is not the mother’s request. The boys put momma up to this.

We see this in Jesus’ response. He does not address momma, he addresses the two sons, and asks them the question.

He asks if they are able to drink of the cup that he is to drink. What is he talking about? Exactly what He just told them. He is going to be given up, and His life is going to be laid down.

And clearly they don’t understand that, because they volunteer to do the same.

They hear the questions as “Are you able to reign with me?”

But Jesus is asking “Are you able to die with me?”

Doriani says “they think the cup is full of wine, but Jesus knows the cup is full of suffering.”

And Jesus confirms that they will, indeed die with Him.

We see James’ death in Acts 12

Acts 12:1

Acts 12:1–2 ESV

About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword,

John, who wrote the Gospel of John, 1-3 John and Revelation, died of old age, but lived through intense persecution by the Roman Empire.

But it is interesting that this declaration is inconsequential to the question they ask, because Jesus points out that the positions of authority are given by the Father.

Not only is the kingdom completely upside down from what they are expecting, but as Jesus will show them, leadership in the kingdom is also different than their ideas.

Jesus tells them that unlike the worldly leadership they are used to, where leaders rule with iron fists and demand loyalty, that leadership in the kingdom is about service.

Nothing like the kingdom is what they expect it to be!

But it’s consistent. Think about it. Go back to earthly kingdoms, talking like Persian, Greek and Roman Emperors. Most of them got their power by overthrowing the previous leader. So force and power were how they got into power, it was how the kingdom operated, and that’s how they were going to lose their power. They were the top of the pyramid. You want to take over? Just take the top off the pyramid and take his spot.

But Christ’s kingdom works differently. Christ’s kingdom is ushered in when the King lays his life down to purchase His subjects. How do you depose a king that already laid His life down? So by instituting His kingdom differently, the kingdom operates differently.

Christ isn’t the top of the pyramid, He is the cornerstone. Remove him and the entire structure falls.

Look again at

Matthew 20:27–28 ESV

and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Matthew 20:

Christ has instituted how His kingdom works when He lays down His life, and if you want to be great in the kingdom, you follow the example of the King.

Notice the reverse hierarchy in Jesus’s statement. If you want to be great, you must be a servant, but those who want to be first, or preeminent, must be your slave. The lower you humble yourself, the higher in the kingdom you become.

If Christ is the cornerstone, if Christ is the piece that cannot be removed, If Christ is the piece holding everything in place, then leaders in the kingdom are load bearing pieces. They support. They hold up. They serve.

And Christ doesn’t just serve “His People”. Christ doesn’t work the same way earthly kings work, where they receive people of wealth and status over others. Christ does the exact opposite. Look at verse 29

Matthew 20:29–34 ESV

And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 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.

Christ doesn’t just teach that His followers are to serve. He exemplifies it. Jesus is followed by a great crowd, but He never is impressed by His own following. The two blind man have a great need, and Christ is never too busy to meet those needs.

Just as an aside, that’s still true. So many times, we look at either the mess we have made, or the little nagging things in our lives, and we say, “I don’t want to bother Jesus with this. I just need to try and handle this little fire”. When both you and Jesus know you can’t handle anything on your own, and we don’t serve a God who is ever too wrapped up to deal with the concerns of His children.

Psal

Psalm 34:15 ESV

The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.

So the two blind men cry out, and the crowd tries to get them to be quiet, and I love Jesus’ address here. He just stops and asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” This is the servant heart that Jesus exemplifies and expects of us.

Jesus doesn’t say, “Guys. I’m a little busy here. Big crowd. Can I get back to you?”

He doesn’t say, “Alright, I have a few seconds before I have something else”

He doesn’t say, “If I fix it, will you be quiet?”

He says, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Christ is the example. The cornerstone. That means we have to follow that example and be load bearing. We should be supporting others.

Daniel Doriani wrote something so convicting, I’m just going to read it to you this morning, because there is no way I could summarize it well.

“It’s so easy to be abstract here, to say, “I want to serve” while we take care of ourselves. Jesus’ service was concrete. Christians often hide behind their theology. A number of us hide behind “gift theology”. If we do not want to take a turn at a form of humble service, such as nursery duty or kitchen cleanup, we say “it’s not my gift”. We must find ways to make our service and sacrifice as concrete as the sacrifice of Christ.”

So this morning, who are you supporting? Who are you serving?

Are you seeking to be the tip of the pyramid like worldly kings?

Or are you seeking to be the support that others can be built upon?

If we want to do great things for the kingdom, we have to be like the King

We have to serve.