Rethinking Greatness

RETHINKING GREATNESS

Matthew 20:17-28

For those of you who are visiting we have for some time been studying from the Gospel of Matthew.

And when you read the book of Matthew, you are really reading a journal where Jesus is really
trying to reeducate a group of men who had some wrong ideas about what it meant to be a
Who had some wrong ideas about the Kingdom…and who had some wrong ideas about “How to be great in the kingdom?”

Today, in this passage, Jesus is going to once again try to get these men…these disciples to understand.

But He is not only going to try and teach them… and get them to understand…he is going to also try and teach us as well.
So, let’s begin in verse 17.

In vs. 17 Jesus is about to go to Jerusalem…and He takes His twelve disciples aside and as they walk along He tells them in vs. 18-19 that they “are going up to Jerusalem; and that He will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes…and they will condemn Him to death…and will deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him…and on the third day He will be raised.”

But now, look what happens in verse 20.

The mother of two of the disciples, James and John, comes to Jesus and she bows down and makes a request of Him.

And this is interesting because, James and John always did things together Peter.
They were the 3 that the Lord took up on the Mountain of Transfiguration with Him.
They were our Lord’s 3 closest companions.
But this time these two leave Peter out.

And they come to Jesus along with their mother and to make a request…and Jesus says, “What do you wish?”

And she says in verse 21: “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left.”
In Mark’s account, in chapter 10:37 it says that they “wanted to sit in His glory, one on the right and one on the left.”
In other words, “Jesus, give them a place of authority…of influence…of greatness.”
“Do this for them…do this for me!”

They seem to have the same attitude that many people have today…perhaps some of us.

Jesus has just told all of His disciples what was going to happen to Him.
He has just described this horrible event where He is going to be “mocked, and scourged, and crucified.”
It is going to be a night of torture for Him, and this mother and these two disciples act like they didn’t even hear it.
They show no concern for Him and what He is facing.
They don’t say, “Lord, what can we do for you?”
Instead, they come and say, “Do this for us! “
They seem to be only thinking of themselves.
They definitely aren’t thinking about the other disciples.

That is the same way that many people feel today about Christ.

Many today, including some who claim to be His disciples, have this idea that Jesus’ sole purpose is to do “whatever we ask.”
“Let me tell you what I want Jesus. I want you to give me wealth …I want you to make me popular. . . I want you to make me healthy. “
We think that “Jesus should do whatever we ask.”?
Kind of like He is our “supernatural genie” whose whole purpose is to fulfill our every command.
“Don’t ask me to do anything for you Lord, But you can do everything for me.”

And we also have it in mind that Jesus’ whole purpose today is to “glorify us” instead of us glorifying Him. ”

And if He doesn’t do those things that we “ask Him too” we think something is wrong.
“He must not be able to.”
“He doesn’t want too.”
“I have done something wrong.”
Or this religion stuff doesn’t work… and we don’t come back.

I have some friends that live in New Hampshire…their names are Bruce and Eleanor Billings.

And Bruce and Eleanor, when they graduated from Sunset, went back to New Hampshire to
work with a congregation there…a congregation of about 100.
And Bruce told me that the congregation there, even though they have a 100 folks, couldn’t
support a preacher.
And He told me, he said that over 50 % of the population of the area was on Government Assistance.
And they had developed the mentality of “you need to give to me. . . you owe me. “
And so when they came to church they didn’t come to give.
They came to get.
They wanted to know what Christ and the “church” was going to do for them.

You see, it seems that many have developed this attitude that Jesus’ whole purpose is to do whatever we ask.

And it is true, Jesus does want us to “ask Him for help.”
He tell us that In Philippians 4.

But at the same time we cannot forget who is LORD.

Jesus is LORD.
He is the one who commands and who is to be served… and obeyed…and glorified.
We are His disciples… and disciples follow.
It is not our place to demand Him to do anything for us.
Our purpose, our attitude, is not to come to Him and say, “This is what I want you do to for me.”
Our purpose and our attitude is to say, “Thank you Lord for all your blessings, what can I do for you?”

If we have this idea that Jesus is here to just “do whatever we ask”…to “grant us our every desire”…then we are wrong.

Disciples are here to “serve Him and obey Him.”

Look at verse 20-21 again: James and John and their mother come and they say to Jesus, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left.”

Notice, they want Jesus to “Command” or “order” them a place in His kingdom or His glory.
And they don’t want just any place…they want places of authority…of influence…of greatness.

And look what Jesus says: “You do not know what you are asking for.”

They didn’t understand.
They didn’t understand how you obtain a place in “His glory.”
And they didn’t understand how you obtain greatness in His kingdom.

So look at what Jesus says; vs. 22: Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”

Jesus knows what He is going to go through…He just told them in vs. 17-18.
His “cup” has already been poured for Him.
The “cup” here is a metaphor speaking of His impending suffering and death.

And what Jesus seems to be saying here to these two men is, “Do you realize how I am going to obtain the glory and honor that you are talking about?”

“I am going to obtain it by suffering…and by dying.”
“By giving totally of myself.”
“By totally humbling myself and submitting myself to the will of God.”
“By being faithful to God.”
“I am going to obtain my glory and honor by being a servant.”
“And if you are going to obtain it… you are going to have to do the same thing.”

No one gets an automatic appointment into His glory.

It doesn’t matter who you are.
These two disciples were two of Jesus’ closest companions… and still He would not grant this to them.
And He won’t “just grant it to any of us.”

The way you obtain glory and honor and greatness in His kingdom is by humbling yourself…and giving totally of yourself…and submitting to the will of God.

Being faithful and obedient to His will… even if it includes suffering and dying.
You obtain glory and honor and greatness by being a servant.

Paul said it this way in 2 Timothy 4 when he said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day…”

Paul wasn’t just “granted a place in glory.”

He only received His crown after He had “finished the course”… only after years and years of
being faithful to God…and obedient to His will.
He received it only after He had humbled himself to become a servant of God.
Only after He had proven His faith through suffering, mistreatment, even unto death.
No one has glory and honor and greatness “simply” granted to them.

Now a lot of people think they do and they think it in a couple of different ways.

Some think that God has chosen them…that they have been predestined to glory and no matter what they do, they are going to get it.
It has already been granted to them.

Others think a little different.

They think that they have come to Christ and been saved.
And since they have…glory has been granted to them… and nothing they do can prevent them from receiving it…even if they live a life of sin.

That is not how it works.

A place in the kingdom is obtained by being “poor in spirit.”
By trusting in Jesus…by submitting to His will.
And by being continually obedient to Jesus…even unto death.
Access into “His glory” is not simply “granted” to anyone.

Jesus asks them, “Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”

And James and John say, “We are able.”

And now look at what Jesus says in verse 23: And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you shall drink;”

James and John were right and so too was Jesus. They were able to “drink the cup.”
And they did.
James would be the very first apostle that would die for the cause of Christ.
John would be the last.

But look at what else He says in vs. 23: “But to sit on My right and on {My} left, is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”

Greatness in the kingdom was not for Jesus to give.
It is prepared for those who are servants to the will of God.

Now notice what happens in verse 24.

The other disciples hear what has been said, and they think James and John are trying to get ahead of them… so they become “indignant.”
Do we sometimes do that?
Think a brother or sister is getting ahead of us a little so we get upset.

So in verse 25, Jesus calls them all together and look what He says: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.”

Brethren, as disciple’s of Christ we don’t do things the way the world does.

The world has this system of rulers and lords… and position and power… and look at the
mess it is in.
And if we do that same thing in the church… in the Lord’s kingdom… it too would be a mess.
In fact, any religious system that sets itself up saying, “I am over you, and you are over them,
and they are over them”…is not a system that is in agreement with the will of God.

The church is a body…and a body only has one head…and that head is Jesus.

And the rest of the body works together for the common good of all.
No one part is more important than another.
No one part is ruler over another.

In the church there are a lot of job descriptions.

There is elder… preacher… deacon… teacher…
But there is only one role for all… and that is servant.

But we still have a hard time understanding.

So to try and get this point across one more time…look what Jesus says in verse 28: “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give His life a ransom for many.”

Brethren, service is the law of greatness in the kingdom. Even the king is not exempt.

Think about this as we close.

Does it really matter who is first or who is last as long as we all get to where we really want to go?