The way of the cross is the way of the Kingdom. Matthew 20:17-34

The way of the cross is the way of the Kingdom.

Roman Abramovich was born poor in southern Russia. He was orphaned at 2 and raised by an uncle in Northern Russia. After hard work and starting a selling multiple business, he eventually owned the fourth biggest oil business in the world and sold in 2005 for $13 billion. Today he has a net worth of 8.2 billion. (https://www.inc.com/business-insider/billionaires-who-went-from-rags-to-riches.html)

Sheldon Adelson was the son of a cab driver in Dorchester, Massachusetss. He sold newspapers when he was 12. He eventually dropped out of college, and according to Forbes magazine, “built a fortune running vending machines, selling newspaper ads, helping small businesses go public, developing condos, and hosting trade shows.” Today he runs Las Vegas Sands, the largest casino company in the world, and is considered the most high-profile donor in America. Adelson has a net worth of $29.5 billion. (https://www.inc.com/business-insider/billionaires-who-went-from-rags-to-riches.html)

One my favorite rags to riches stories is Andrew Carnegie.

“Often described as the quintessential “rags to riches” tale, the story of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie’s rise begins in 1835 in a small one-room home in Dunfermline, Scotland. Born into a family of destitute laborers, Carnegie received little schooling before his family emigrated to America in 1848. Arriving in Pennsylvania, the 13-year-old soon got a job in a textile mill, where he earned only $1.20 per week…. Carnegie went on to labor as a messenger boy and factory worker before eventually winning a job as a secretary and telegraph operator at the Pennsylvania Railroad. By 1859, the enterprising young worker had become superintendent of the railroad’s western division. Carnegie invested his newfound wealth in a variety of businesses including a bridgework company, a telegraph operation and—most famously—a steel mill. By the turn of the century, his Carnegie Steel Company had blossomed into an industrial empire, and Carnegie became the richest man in the world after he sold out to J.P. Morgan for $480 million. Proclaiming that, “the main who dies rich dies disgraced,” Carnegie spent his later years donating his fortune to charitable causes, eventually giving away some $350 million” (https://www.history.com/news/7-amazing-rags-to-riches-stories)

One of the reasons that I like the story of Andrew Carnegie is because of his attitude about wealth. He was the richest man in the world when he sold his empire. Even though he did affirm the gospel and trust in Christ, he was influenced by his upbringing in the Presbyterian church. Carnegie believed that it was the responsibility of the wealthy to produce the most beneficial results for the community. According to Carnegie he viewed surplus revenue as trust funds that he was called to administer for the good of others. Carnegie gave away the majority of his wealth, $350 million over 19 years. (This would be close to $6 billion dollars today.)

The world loves the story of those who move from suffering and poverty to wealth and greatness. We love these stories because if they can do it then we can do it. Rags to riches stories provide hope that through hard work and few good breaks anyone can be wealthy and influential.

But, the gospel is the opposite of a rags to riches story.

The gospel is a riches to rags to riches story.

Jesus came to the earth to do many things, but everything Jesus did throughout His entire life and ministry was aimed in the direction of Jerusalem. Everything that Matthew has written in this gospel has been aimed at Jerusalem.

Here in Matthew 20 we see the direction Jesus has been walking this entire time. Jesus has been on the way to Jerusalem, and in Matthew 20 He shares for the third time what is waiting for Him there.

Matthew 20:17–19 (ESV) says,

“17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 “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 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”

The riches to rags to riches story is the story of the Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

Jesus is the Son of Man

This title represents the duality of the nature of Jesus. He is both human and divine, a son of Adam and the promised Messiah who is coming to rule and reign over His kingdom.

"While the expression “son of man” occurs frequently in the OT as a synonym for “man,” the book of Daniel also uses it to refer to the coming divine ruler who will be given authority and a kingdom by God; both of these usages form the background of the Jesus’s own self-designation as the Son of Man.” (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/jesus-christ-son-man/)

Jesus designates Himself the Son of Man with all if its intended implications to His hearers and disciples. But, the nature of His kingdom and the way that He was going to exercise His authority and establish His kingdom were misunderstood.

Jesus came to suffer and die for the sake of sinners

1 Peter 2:24 (ESV)

24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

1 Peter 3:18 (ESV)

18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

Isaiah 53:5 (ESV)

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

Jesus was resurrected to conquer sin and death

Hebrews 2:14–15 (ESV)

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

1 Corinthians 15:55–57 (ESV)

55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus demonstrated the way He would rule His kingdom by the way He established it: The Cross

Jesus said in Matthew 20:25-28 (ESV),

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

But, the disciples did not fully understand the implications of what Jesus was saying. The believed what Jesus was saying, they had faith in Jesus and what He was saying, but they did not understand it.

They misunderstood the way He was going to establish His kingdom, and they misunderstood the way that He was going to rule His kingdom.

Matthew 20:20–24 (ESV)

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 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.” 22 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.” 23 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.” 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers.

Right after Jesus predicted His arrest, suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection the disciples are caught up in the end of the story. They caught the ending, the part about his resurrection. They were still remembering His words to Peter in Matthew 19:28–30 (ESV),

“28 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. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Though the remembered the promise of reigning and rewards, they did not quite catch the significance of verse 30, that, “The many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

A lack of understanding doesn’t equal a lack of faith.

Even though they were still struggling to understand what Jesus meant, it is clear that they have full faith in what He is saying. After telling them a parable that demonstrates the grace of God to all who follow Christ they still didn’t understand the nature or way of His kingdom. Again, this doesn’t mean they were lacking in faith, just understanding.

I want to make sure that you know a lack of understanding doesn’t equal a lack of faith. This is a great lesson for us right here in the middle of this sermon. Your faith will exceed your understanding over and over again in your relationship with God. However, this doesn’t mean that you won’t ever understand, it only means that a lack of understanding isn’t a reason to go back and re-evaluate your faith.

A lack of understanding is simply a reason to listen, learn, and grow!

The disciples understood and believed that Jesus was going to rule and reign over everything. Because of that they looked forward to what that might mean for them. But, Jesus tells us in this passage that it isn’t up to Him what role anyone in His kingdom will have in eternity. Instead, Jesus focuses their attention on the direction relationship between the way Jesus establishes His kingdom and the way of His kingdom.

The way of the cross is the way of the Kingdom.

Matthew 20:26-28 (ESV),

“But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Paul writes about the way of the Kingdom of Jesus in direct relationship to the way that Jesus established His kingdom. Philippians 2:1–11 (ESV), “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

The way of the cross is humility demonstrated through service and suffering.

Humility is the way of the kingdom of Christ. Throughout Matthew’s gospel we have pointed out the consistent humility of Jesus and the necessity of humility for salvation. There is no salvation without humility. As Jesus says in Matthew 5:3 (ESV), 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

The poor in spirit are those who have seen their sin in the reflection of the law of God and who have humbled themselves before God.

Jesus demonstrates his humble service again in Matthew 20:29-34

Matthew 20:29–34 CSB

As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. There were two blind men sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd demanded that they keep quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” Jesus stopped, called them, and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord,” they said to him, “open our eyes.” Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they could see, and they followed him.

The blind were not coming looking for position or personal power, they were only looking for the power of Christ and His kingdom to heal them. They demonstrate humility in their dependency on Jesus.

“Humility is the displacement of self by the enthronement of God.” - Andrew Murray (Murray, Andrew. Humility: The Journey Toward Holiness)

“Our humility before God has no value, except that it prepares us to reveal the humility of Jesus to our fellow men.” - Andrew Murray (Murray, Andrew. Humility: The Journey Toward Holiness)

Instead of looking for a path to greatness, those who are great look for someone to serve.

Like Paul said in Philippians 2:3–5 (ESV),

“3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.”

We mentioned a stories of greatness, the rags to riches stories… but I’d like to tell you about a few truly great men and women:

Hudson Taylor

“James Hudson Taylor was the first Christian missionary to China and spent fifty-one years working to bring the gospel to those who had never heard the name of Jesus in their own language. In 1865, Hudson founded the China Inland Mission (CIM) because he knew that there were millions of people who needed to hear the message of Jesus Christ. His legacy has inspired countless Christian missionaries to go to the hardest and darkest places on earth" (https://bethanygu.edu/blog/stories/christian-missionaries/)

Jim and Elisabeth Elliott

“Jim and Elisabeth Elliot met as students at Wheaton College in Illinois. Jim was a young man whose heart was on fire for God to be known among the unreached, who was inspired by several missionaries such as David Brainerd, William Carey, and Amy Carmichael. He convinced his four friends to join him as missionaries in reaching the Auca Indians along the Curray River in Ecuador. In 1956, all five missionaries were martyred by the tribe. Later, Elisabeth Elliot went to go live among the tribe that killed her husband and share the gospel with them. Their lives continue to impact countless Christians all over the globe to this day.” (https://bethanygu.edu/blog/stories/christian-missionaries/)

John G Paton

“Born in Scotland in 1824, John G. Paton was a Christian missionary to the cannibals on the New Hebrides Islands of the South Pacific until he died in 1907. His life was filled with trials, as his first wife and their child soon died after his arrival on the island, and many times he had to flee for his life from the natives. However, Paton’s faith withstood testing and he continued to work and preach for several years while also raising support for missionary work. Today, the impact of his life can be seen in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.” (https://bethanygu.edu/blog/stories/christian-missionaries/)

There are numerous examples of Christians who have followed Jesus by serving others in His name. But, no one gets to that place by accident. In fact, there are some things that each of us must do if we are going live to serve.

Practically speaking:

1. Check your heart.

The life you live and the relationships you have with others flows from your heart.

Proverbs 4:23 (ESV), “23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”

Check your heart to make sure you aren’t living selfishly. Paul warns against this in Galatians 5:13 (ESV), “13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

2. Check your schedule.

Between a bank account and your schedule you can see where your priorities are. Do you have room for others in your life? Do you plan and prioritize other people in your life or is everything you do all about you? Are you doing too much?

3. Pray Daily

Don’t let your prayer life be selfish. It is good and right to pray for yourself, your family, etc. In fact I would go so far as to say that if you don’t pray for yourself then I am not sure about your relationship with God. But, don’t let your prayer life become selfish.

Pray to God about God (praise Him, adore Him, thank Him, celebrate Him, remember Him)

Pray to God about your own life and heart

Pray to God about the people in your life. And not just those who are physically ill. Pray for your friends, pray for other marriages, pray for people, not just their circumstances.

Pray for opportunities to serve others

4. Put your yes on the table

To live a life of service means you put your life in the hands of God, and you let Him direct your path. This means that you surrender to Him everything. With a humble heart, a selfless approach to life, and a commitment to pray- put your yes on the table and serve God wherever He wants you to be.

This means a willingness to suffer or at least be inconvenienced for the sake of Jesus and His name.

There are places to serve in our church, you can visit our Say Yes tables in the foyer down by the gym.

There are places to go, you can sign up to go on a mission trip

There are people to serve, you can enlist to be a house parent with the Baptist Children’s Village, sign up for foster care, or even adopt.

There are inconveniences and suffering waiting for each of us. But, we serve a Savior who suffered Himself.

This is what we mean when we say that Jesus demonstrated the way of His kingdom through the way He established it, The way of the of the cross is the way of His kingdom!

But, not only is the way of the cross the way of His kingdom…

The way of the cross is the way to His glory

Revelation 5:9–12 (ESV)

9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” 11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” - Revelation 5:12

Jesus, the Lamb who was slain is the only one who is worthy to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!

The way of the cross is the way of the Kingdom.

Will you follow Him?

Will you live His way?

You can come to pray and receive Christ and surrender your life to His way… Jesus said that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life…

You can come and pray for yourself, others, and even our church here at the steps while we sing.

You come if the Lord is leading you this morning, I will be here, other ministers are in the back of the sanctuary foyer. But, you come and commit to the way of the cross through salvation or through prayer, however the Lord is leading you