Which Way Kingdom Greatness?

I invite you to turn in your Bibles this evening to the first Gospel, the Gospel according to Matthew, the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 20. You'll find that on page 954 in most of the Pew Bibles. Matthew chapter 20. I chose this text in anticipation of what we've just witnessed, the ordination of men to the offices of elder and deacon. called and confirmed to positions of authority and responsibility in the church of Jesus Christ. They, along with the continuing elders and deacons, will find this text of particular application to them, but at the same time, people of God, it has application to each and every one of us. Everyone who's joined the Christ through faith is his disciple, and this word of God is for you. Now, the events of our text took place near the end of Jesus' ministry, as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. He was on the home stretch of the race he had come in the flesh to run. And knowing that the time was short, that the time was approaching for him to be taken up to heaven, he once again prepared his disciples for what was ahead, for what must happen to him in Jerusalem. According to Matthew, this was the third and final time he told them what was coming. And it was the only time he revealed to them that he would be killed by a crucifixion. They had a curse of death on the cross. But his startling revelation seems to have fallen on deaf ears. His disciples were preoccupied with themselves, as we shall see. And as they walked up to Jerusalem, they were busy thinking about other things. Pondering the question, which way kingdom greatness? And as we consider this question, we will see that the disciples began their pursuit of kingdom greatness by asking the wrong question before getting the right answer from Jesus himself. And so we read the Word of God from Matthew chapter 20, beginning in verse 17. Hear now the Word of God. Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life. Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. What is it you want, he asked. She said, Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom. You don't know what you are asking, Jesus said to them. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink? We can, they answered. Jesus said to them, 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. When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them, and their high officials exercised authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Here ends the reading of God's Word, and may He bless it to us in the power of His Spirit. Somewhere along the road to Jerusalem, the mother of Zebedee's sons came with her sons, and kneeling down, asked a favor of Jesus. Now Mark, in his parallel account, identifies the two sons by name, James and John, the sons of thunder, but he does not mention their mother. This is easy to reconcile when we realize that the request that she brought, she brought on their behalf. It was their request. They just played their cards. They thought their mother may have a better time getting their request granted. But once she made the request, she disappears from our text, not to be heard from again, and Jesus speaks directly to James and John. Well, she and her sons came to Jesus desiring a noble thing. Greatness in the kingdom of God. Which is still a noble thing to desire. But in their pursuit of this noble thing, they began by asking the wrong question. Before we consider that question, we need to understand what informs the question, what stands behind the question, and that was a true faith in Jesus Christ. However misguided it was. It sprang from believing and acting on promises that he had made to his disciples along the way. Misunderstood as they were. From the beginning of his ministry, Jesus had preached, as John the Baptist had preached before him, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, it is near. Indeed, it had come near in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God come in the flesh, but it had not yet, and it has not yet come in his fullness. But they did not understand that distinction and they believed that the kingdom of God in his fullness was near. And so as they walked, the disciples could not help but mull over that in light of the promise that Jesus had made to Peter in chapter 19, not long before. In that chapter, Jesus tells the young ruler, the rich young ruler, that he must go and sell all that he has and then come and follow him. To which Peter replies to his Lord with a complaint. He complains that following him has cost the disciples everything. And he asks Jesus a very pointed question. What then will there be for us? What's in it for us? Is the life of a disciple only cost and no reward? And then Jesus answered, I tell you the truth. At the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, You who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Yes, there's a reward, a gracious reward, but it is coming. It is coming when the Son of Man sits on his throne in glory at the renewal of all things. And that the disciples believed this promise is evident from our text. But they had mistaken as to when it would be fulfilled. The popular hope of Israel at the time, the Jews at the time, was that the Messiah would come and reestablish the kingdom of God, the kingdom of Israel, in the land, on the earth. The disciples believed that Jesus was the Messiah, and they believed that he had come to reestablish the kingdom of God, the kingdom of Israel, on the earth. Therefore, when they heard that he was going up to Jerusalem, they concluded he would take his throne. That he would establish his kingdom. And that he would begin the renewal of all things in the land. You see, theirs was still an earthly hope. They didn't understand. But as is true of all men, they heard only what they wanted to hear. You know how that is. So with their hopes fixed on glory and expecting it to come soon, They looked to Jesus as an earthly king who was going to take his throne. And because they entirely missed the heavenly nature of his kingdom, they could not understand, they could not accept that Jesus, the Son of God, must suffer and die to establish his kingdom. It didn't fit. It didn't compute. The first time Jesus told them in chapter 16 that he was going up to Jerusalem to suffer and die to be raised on the third day, Peter rebuked him. He said, Never, Lord. This shall never happen to you. And you know how Jesus responded. He rebuked Peter. He says, Get behind me, Satan. You do not have your mind on the things of God. You have your mind on the things of men. You are earthly minded. This time, no response at all. They did not understand the nature of the kingdom. The glory they longed for is the glory that we still long for when Jesus will return. It will only return, it will only come when Jesus Christ, who is now ascended in glory, comes in the flesh again to establish his throne and renew all things in the heavens and the earth. But that was their faith. This true but misguided faith led this woman and her sons to come to Jesus in verse 20 to make a request, to ask a favor of him. Now we ask favors of one another all the time and we don't think much of it. We don't really expect it to get it, but that's not the kind of favor she was going to ask for. According to Mark, the substance of the favor was we want you to do for us whatever we ask. Now parents, when your children come to you and they say, I want you to do for me whatever I ask. Are you ready to do so? You know better. But that's not the kind of favor, that's not the kind of request this was. That's how we hear it in our modern ears. This was not a request for a blank check from Jesus. This was not a request for her to then say, well, I want A, B, C, and D. This was an appropriate approach to a king. An appropriate reproach to gain permission from a king in order to ask the real request. She approached Jesus as one approaches a king on her face, prostrate on the ground. It says, kneeling down, she was on her face before Jesus. And her request was really an acknowledgement of the greatness of Jesus. It was a way of expression to him that her sons and she believed that King Jesus had the resources to grant whatever request she could possibly ask or imagine. And it had the power and the authority to do so without having to check with anyone. He had the resources, he had the power, he had the authority, and it was an acknowledgment to him that she came to him as one able to answer whatever she might ask. And Jesus accepted that and he opened the door for her to ask her question, to make her request, what is it you want? well because she and her sons expected that once jesus assumed his throne in jerusalem he would immediately establish his royal court as they understood kingdoms that's how it worked every king had his court and every court had his special seats for those the king would grant favors those who perhaps he owed something to those perhaps that he liked a lot those perhaps that would garner special favor for him with others he would have his reasons to grant special seats. That's what they knew. That's how the world worked. Therefore, she proceeded to ask Jesus in verse 21, grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom. This was the wrong question. This was the wrong question, not because she wanted greatness for her sons in the kingdom of God, but because of what kind of greatness she wanted and how she wanted to get it. She was petitioning King Jesus for a very particular thing, a royal grant, a binding decree that must be fulfilled immediately and without question. So let it be written, so let it be done. Rather than asking for Jesus to consider them when it came time to make such appointments. Rather than asking Jesus to prepare them for these exalted positions in his court, she asked that he grant them these positions immediately regardless of their qualifications. And by this grant she hoped to have Jesus named James and John superior to, exalted above the other ten. And we cannot read the hearts of men not even the depths of our own hearts but we can recognize in her request the fruit of selfish ambition. The ambition that had twisted her faith and blinded her and her sons to what Jesus had already clearly taught them about greatness in his kingdom. And Jesus responded to them, this time to the brothers, you, you don't know what you're asking. You don't know what you're asking. For three years, Jesus had worked tirelessly to have his disciples understand not only who he is and what he came to do, but what he had come to call them to do, who they were to be as his disciples. And even at this late hour, they did not yet understand the nature of the kingdom as we've seen, and they did not understand the true nature of kingdom greatness. Visions of thrones were dancing in their head, And it displaced the clear teaching of Jesus on this matter clearly to them. He had taught them otherwise. In chapter 18, verse 1. When the disciples asked him this question, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Jesus answered with what should have been a memorable illustration. He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said, I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. He told them more directly, according to Luke, chapter 14, verse 11, everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be exalted. See, the way of kingdom greatness is through humility. It always has been. It ever will be. And the request for a royal grant was an attempt to bypass that way. As Augustine put it, they sought the exaltation but did not see the steps. They sought to be placed on a platform and they didn't see how to get there. But Jesus exposed it in their hearts. He exposed their ignorance and selfish ambition and he prepared his disciples to get the right answer from him. Which way, kingdom greatness? now getting the right answer began with the right question this time from Jesus to James and John in verse 21 can you drink the cup I'm going to drink can you drink the cup I'm going to drink now the image of drinking a cup we need to understand is a common image in the Bible it stands for fully participating fully partaking in something whether good or bad it makes no difference It's the idea of fully engaging. Ultimately, the cup that Jesus would drink was the cup of God's wrath. The fullness of God's judgment against sin which we would pour out on the cross on Jesus Christ on behalf of His people. And no disciple could or can drink that cup because Jesus Christ alone has drank it to the dregs. He's drank it to the bottom. He's done it once and for all for all of his people. So Jesus here is not calling them to go to the cross with him and do his work. But at the same time, to drink from this cup included being despised and hated among men. To be considered a criminal rather than honored and praised as a king. To be shunned. To be punished. To be jailed. To be martyred. This is the manner in which James and John would have to drink the cup. If they were to know kingdom greatness, they would have to share in this cup of Christ's suffering in the advance of the gospel. Can you drink the cup that I drink? Now it's clear that Jesus was offering to them the way, the kingdom greatness. But given their misunderstandings, we can be sure that they did not have any idea of what they were saying when they said, we can. We want it. We can. Because it did not take long before they showed themselves unworthy and unable to share in the sufferings of Christ in their own strength. All the gospel testimonies tell us that at the first sip of this cup, at the arrest of Jesus Christ in the garden, everyone to a man pursed his lips and ran away. He didn't drink. They were not prepared and willing to suffer for Christ. Yet Jesus, who knew their weakness and their coming failure, did not rebuke them for their presumption. Rather, he looked past their initial failure and went on to predict that in fact they would drink the cup. You will drink the cup. James drank the cup and became the first martyr for Christ. King Herod had him put to death, according to Acts chapter 12. And though John is not known to have been martyred, he drank the cup throughout his life. He lived under the threat of death, even as he suffered imprisonment, scourging, and ultimately exile to the island of Patmos. It was there that he recorded the book of Revelation that opens with this personal note from John. John chapter 1, or from Revelation chapter 1, verse 9. It says, I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Christ, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I, John, your brother and companion, who is drinking the cup from which Jesus drank. The way to greatness in the kingdom of God lies along the path of suffering for the gospel. But many besides James and John have and will walk this way. Who then will attain the places that they so desperately wanted? But with his answer, Jesus does not tell them that it's not for them. He just says that it's not for him to give. He makes it clear that these seats at his right and his left in glory are not bestowed by the royal grant of a king like an earthly king who gives it out by whim or will to whoever he wishes. He says in verse 23, 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. Those who will be exalted in kingdom greatness in glory have already been determined and already been appointed by God the Father from before the foundation of the world. And those He has appointed to sit there, He has or He will prepare completely and in the way He has ordained, in the way of kingdom greatness, humility and suffering for the cause of Christ. The right answer Jesus gave to his disciples has application not only to them, to James and John, but to all the disciples, in fact, to all disciples, including you and me. In verse 24, we're told that when the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. They were mad. Who do you think you are? Perhaps you felt a twinge of indignation at their request. Who do they think they are? In this they proved themselves no better than the two. Their own hearts were exposed. None of them was willing to yield to another. None of them was willing to subject themselves to another because each of them wanted the same thing. They might have been kicking themselves for not asking. In chapter 9 of his Gospel, Mark tells us that at least on one occasion they argued about who would be the greatest in the kingdom of God. It was a matter of conversation for them on more than one occasion. All of them misunderstood the nature of the kingdom. And all of them misunderstood the way of kingdom greatness. Therefore, Jesus called them all together in verse 25. And he reminded them of what they knew very well as men born and raised under Roman occupation. He said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and their high officials exercise authority over them. In other words, you know that rulers and their exalted officials subdue and dominate their people. Among the nations, the great are on top. They look down on and they press down to keep down those who are under their authority. The great men of the world stand atop the backs of others. You know this. Not so with you. It must not be so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. And whoever wants to be first must be your slave. In the kingdom of God, the great men lie prostrate, prostrate on the ground before the face of God, and uphold others on their backs. That's the way of kingdom greatness. The way of kingdom greatness is the way of selfless service in the name of Jesus Christ to the glory of God. And those who would become apostles of Jesus Christ, these men, they needed to know this not only in theory but in experience, in practice. If they were going to fulfill their calling to testify to, to bear witness to the sufferings of Jesus Christ and the glories that were to come and are yet to come. By their testimony, by this word of God, by this story tonight, we are called to understand that this is the way of kingdom greatness for all the saints. Which way? Kingdom greatness. In Philippians chapter 2, Paul spells it out for everyone who knows Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Paul lays out in Philippians 2 such a beautiful picture that Jesus could have said to these men. But he says to us through the Apostle Paul, he says, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourself. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. And then Paul sums up there in chapter 2 by pointing us to Christ as our example. He says, Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. And Paul does this with good authority. For that is exactly what Jesus does to his disciples at the end of our text. In verses 27 and 28 we read, Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave, just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Now in the flesh, Jesus Christ ministered and served men with love and compassion so that the blind received sight, the lame walked, those with leprosy were cured, the deaf heard, the dead were raised to life, and the good news was preached to the poor. But more than all of these which established the truth of his claim to be the Christ, his express and ultimate purpose for coming was to give his life a ransom for many. and here Jesus brings his disciples full circle back to what they failed to hear from him in verses 17 to 19. The fulfillment of this purpose, to become a ransom for many, required him to go up to Jerusalem, and there be betrayed by the chief priests and the teachers of the law so that they could condemn him to death, and to be turned over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, Not for his own sins, for the sins of his people. And thereby become the ransom for many. In this, Jesus Christ reveals himself to be more than our example. He's our Savior. He came in the flesh in order to turn away the wrath of God against sinners. By paying the full amount, the full penalty required by God's justice, he gave his one unique life in exchange for the eternal life of many. All who through faith in his shed blood are made right with God. He was delivered over to death for our sins, and he was raised to life for our justification. He came to be a ransom for many. And now to be saved by Jesus Christ is to enjoy a new life in Christ. Life created in us by the Holy Spirit of God. And it is this Spirit who is continually at work in God's people to will, to want to, and to act, to be able to follow the example of Christ more and more rightly pursuing kingdom greatness out of humble gratitude for the sake of the gospel not out of selfish ambition. This is why Paul can charge us in Ephesians chapter 5 be imitators of God therefore as dearly loved children and live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. This is the way of kingdom greatness. This is the call of the Christian life for all. For all the saints. But it is a particularly pointed call to men who are appointed to serve in prominent positions in the church. Brothers, the noble task to which you have been ordained are desirable, Paul says. And as those who have gone before you can tell you, however, you are ill-equipped in your own strength to attain that which has been set before you in your calling. When your labors cause you to suffer for the cause of Christ, and they will, fatigue, impatience, conflict, rebellion, sin, misery, the things that you will see and have to work with will wear on you. I've not met a man after three years who's not ready to take a break. But when this comes, you will be tempted like James and John to purse your lips and run away. For in your own strength you cannot do it. And it is then you must look anew to Jesus Christ. Look to him not only as your example, but as your Savior. That you might draw encouragement and get hope from all that he has done for you. So that your desire is renewed and your efforts are redoubled in the service you've been called to give in his name. Beware the way that ensnared a church leader by the name of Diotrephes, who loved to be first. And John rebuked him. And follow the way taken by Timothy, of whom Paul wrote in Philippians chapter 2, I have no one else like him who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. Brothers, continuing and newly installed, look to the interests of Jesus Christ. Look to the interests of his saints, his church. Look for where you can humbly serve and there you will find kingdom greatness. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for this account that we find in the Gospel of Matthew. We thank you, Father, that you were merciful to James and John. That you did not rebuke them, but rather, Lord, you purified their faith. You were patient with them and saw past what they had not yet seen. We thank you, Father, that for your people, each and every one that you've called, you have called us to kingdom greatness, to walk the way that you've set before us in humble service, of love, of considering the needs of others more important than our own. We pray, Father, for continuing and enabling grace to do so day by day. We pray for these elders and deacons, those now ordained tonight and those continuing to serve. That, Lord, they would be reminded from this text throughout the year to come that you are their Savior, that you are their example, and that you've called them to serve you in this way. And in so calling, you've given them all that they stand in need of to pursue it to the glory of your name and the building up of your church. We ask this on their behalf. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.