Wednesday of Reminiscere

James and John are trying to plan ahead for their future in the kingdom of God. They want to have positions of honor and power, sitting at the right hand and left of the throne of Jesus. Naturally, this request was resented by the other ten disciples, all of whom had their own ideas about who should be at the top of the ladder. This desire to be promoted and honored about others is nothing new. It’s part of sinful human nature, and it is found in every kingdom of man. There has never been a kingdom or organization on earth where greed and ambition were not in play, even within the church, even among the disciples of our Lord.

We see this struggle playing out today. The Have Nots resent the Haves and are calling for a redistribution of power and wealth. But the Have Nots are not actually seeking true equality or justice. They simply want to reverse the roles. Those who have power seek to keep and expand it, and those without power plot to claim it for themselves. No new social structure will end this struggle. No government program will cure selfishness and greed. We will never create a utopian paradise in this broken world. Christ alone can make all things new at the coming of his kingdom.

When our Lord heard his disciples arguing amongst themselves about who would be the greatest, he called them together 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” (Mt 20:25–26a). Certainly, all human experience bears witness to the truth of Jesus’ words. The great ones lord it over the little ones. It has happened in every civilization. It is happening in our country even now. When governors seize power under the pretense of “emergency measures” do they give it back willingly? Of course not. But we don’t need to point the finger at political leaders. We can find mini-tyrants within the church, whether among the disciples or on a church committee. In fact, look no further than your own sinful heart. Whether you actually have power or not doesn’t matter. The desire to rule is coded into our corrupted DNA. Jesus says, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,” and he’s right. We do know. We’ve been lorded over, and given the chance, the sinful nature within us would gladly lord it over others.

But Jesus says, “It shall not be so among you.” What does Jesus mean here? Is this a command? Is he telling is what we must do, or rather, stop doing? Not primarily. Jesus is not giving us a prescription, he is giving us a description of the kingdom of God. In every manmade kingdom, the ones at the top exercise their authority over those below them. This is not how it will be in Jesus’ kingdom. It will not be so among you.

“Will” is a future tense verb. When will it not be so? We might say, in Jesus’ kingdom of heaven. Certainly, that’s true. God won’t need to use force in heaven like earthly rulers because everyone there will be completely free from sin. But the future event Jesus speaks of here is not heaven. “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” (Mt 20:18–19a). This is what Jesus means when he says, “It shall not be so among you.” Jesus, the greatest one of all, did not come to be served but to serve. He tells his church, “My kingdom will be unlike any human kingdom. Instead of lording it over my subjects, I myself will serve them.”

This kingdom will be fully realized on the Last Day, but by faith we know that our Lord’s kingdom is already happening among us today. When Jesus was crowned with thorns, when he was lifted up upon his cross, when he gave his life as the ransom for many, his kingdom was breaking in upon us. And at this very moment, where two or more of us have gathered in his name, Jesus is present in order to serve us with his Word and Sacraments. Unlike the kingdoms of the Gentiles, where the subjects serve their masters, in Jesus’ kingdom, the Lord of all serves us, his people. How blessed we are to belong to Christ and live in his kingdom! Amen.