Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
From the time we were children, we all wanted to be included, we wanted to be important, right? No one wants to feel excluded, ignored, and no one wants to feel like a failure. Yet you and I both know millions of people feel undervalued or unwanted. Did you know that was even an issue in the days of Jesus, even within the small group of His disciples and closest friends?
Yesterday as we watched, Jesus shocked His disciples by telling them He was intentionally going to Jerusalem for Passover, even though He knew there was a warrant out for His arrest. More than that, Jesus had said these words: “…everything written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him, insult Him, spit on Him, flog Him and kill Him. On the third day He will rise again.” (Luke 18:31-33).
None of the disciples, or others who were close friends with Jesus, could believe or imagine what Jesus had described. As they left the village of Ephraim, where Jesus had been spending some time out of the limelight for His own safety, (John 11:54) it appears two of the brothers among the disciples, James and John, and their mother, came privately to Jesus as they struggled to make sense of the horrific prediction Jesus had made.
Many Bible scholars believe Mary, the mother of Jesus, may have been a relative to the woman who was the mother of James and John. Thus, even though Joseph and Mary had raised their family in Nazareth, and Zebedee and his wife raised their family in one of the villages along the Sea of Galilee, still the two families may have visited one another from time to time, or perhaps gone to Passover in Jerusalem together on occasion. Most mothers have high hopes for their sons, and it appears this mother took matters into her own hands, approaching Jesus asking a favor for her sons. If in fact their two families had known each other quite well, then it’s not difficult for me to imagine this special moment which is recorded by Matthew, another of the disciples.
Matthew tells us she came with both her sons to Jesus with this very unusual request: “Grant that one of these two sons of mine will sit at Your right and the other at Your left in Your kingdom.” (Matt. 20:20,21) Oh my, that’s a remarkable request, isn’t it? While Jesus had often spoken about the Kingdom of God, at no time had He ever inferred that He was about to set up an earthly Kingdom, with Him as King.
However, Mrs. Zebedee had evidently been watching closely. She’d seen or heard of the miracles and this last one, Jesus’ resurrection of Lazarus who’d been dead several days, (John 11) well that proved there were no limits to the power of Jesus. If this trip to Jerusalem for Passover was going to turn out to be a confrontation that would actually end in His death, but then three days later His resurrection, I can imagine Mrs. Zebedee was thinking that a Kingdom led by a King who had defeated death and could raise others from the dead… well that would be an invincible kingdom and those in the highest ranks of important leadership would be famous, powerful and probably prosperous.
Isn’t that the natural human desire of every mother for her sons? Her husband, Zebedee, was a simple fisherman, and both sons, James and John, had been working with their father daily in the business of boats, nets and fish, when Jesus had invited them to leave the fish and follow Him! (Mark 1:16-20) So it’s not hard for us to imagine this woman’s hope for a better future for their family.
But Jesus’ response was not what Mrs. Zebedee expected! “You don’t know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” (Matt. 20:22) Jesus is omniscient God the Son. Jesus knows all things; thus, Jesus could see every detail of what awaited Him that Passover week in Jerusalem. It would be a terrifying, horrific experience, far beyond the torture of crucifixion. Of course, in their enthusiasm to be elevated to significant leadership roles, they boasted: “Yes, we can!”
I imagine Jesus paused and perhaps put His hand on each of their shoulders. Maybe even hugged their mother with a loving compassion. But His heart was breaking for what Jesus knew was ahead for Him. Of course they had no idea. But I think Jesus’ heart was grieved by more than that. Normal human ambition had overtaken their hearts, even though Jesus had worked so hard to nurture their hearts with a deep love for God and a willingness to prioritize God’s purposes above their own.
As Jesus looked ahead in time, in truth both James & John would have very significant roles in the continuing, God given, life mission of Jesus, after Jesus returned to heaven. James became a key leader among the apostles in the Jerusalem church after the Acts 2 Pentecostal revival. However James also became the first martyr of the movement of Christ followers, executed by King Herod. (Acts 12:1-3) I wonder if tears rolled down Jesus’ face as He considered what awaited James in the days ahead?
Jesus turned and looked at John, His very dear friend. Oh, what amazing things Jesus could see in John’s future. John would be the only disciple courageous enough to stand at the cross, watching Jesus die. (John 19:25,26) From the cross Jesus would see His mother standing next to John and Jesus would entrust them to each other. John would be among the first to recognize the resurrected Jesus. (John 21:7) John would be anointed in a special way by the Holy Spirit and emboldened to stand with Peter against the same Sanhedrin which would sentence Jesus to death.(Acts 4:1-24) John would eventually write 5 books of our New Testament, as led by the Holy Spirit, including the Revelation in which the resurrected Jesus would Himself appear to John and give John the vision. (Rev. 1:1,2)
So, Jesus said to John and James: “You will indeed drink from My cup, but to sit at My right or left is not for Me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by My Father.” (Matt. 20:23) Jesus once again modeled for them His submission to Almighty God His Father and His submission to the earthly mission God had sent Jesus here to accomplish: God’s Redemption plan for rescuing humanity and establishing His Kingdom for all eternity.
Matthew tells us the other 10 disciples heard about this conversation and became angry. So, Jesus called them together to explain that God’s ways are not the ways of mankind. In God’s Kingdom, humility has more value than pride; service more value than demands. Jesus then said: “Even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Matt. 20:28)
Once again Jesus’ words explained the life He was living as He modeled God’s Kingdom living. The disciples were shaken to the core, and as they walked along with Jesus starting their journey toward Jerusalem, the ancient, historic town of Jericho began to rise up out of the horizon ahead of them, and tomorrow we’ll join them there to once again see Jesus demonstrate the radical life expected in God’s Kingdom living on earth.
For today, this question for all of us: Do we understand the radical values expected by God, in those who are followers of Jesus? This song will help us consider it more deeply:
Today’s Scripture: Matt. 20:20-28.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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