In this verse-by-verse study, we examine how James and John sought positions of honor right after Jesus predicted His crucifixion, how the other disciples reacted with selfish indignation, and how Jesus defines true greatness: not through power and control, but through servanthood and surrender.
Hello, I'm Matthew with Christ Before Coffee. Today we're going to be talking about one of my favorite scriptures. What does it mean to be the greatest? And our culture is so obsessed with who is the greatest of all time. I mean, if you turned on ESPN right now, there's a good chance they'd be talking about was Michael Jordan the greatest, was Kobe Bryant the greatest, was LeBron James the greatest.
So this is an argument that is not unique to our time. It's something that the disciples even amongst themselves would discuss. And Jesus takes this concept of who is the greatest and completely turns it on its head in Matthew 20. So the scripture we're going to be in is Matthew 20:17 through 26. While going up to Jerusalem, Jesus took the 12 disciples aside privately and said to them on the way, listen, we are going up to Jerusalem.
The son of man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes and they will condemn him to death. Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged, and crucified. And he will be resurrected on the third day. Then the mother of Zebedee's sons approached him with her sons. She knelt down to ask him for something. What do you want? He asked her.
Promise, she said to him, that these two sons of mine may sit one on your right and the other on your left in your kingdom. But Jesus answered, you don't know what you're asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I'm about to drink? We are able, they said. He told them, you will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right and left is not mine to get.
Instead, it belongs to those for whom it has been prepared by my father. When the disciples heard this, they became indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus called them over and said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles dominate them and the men of high positions exercise power over them. It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.
And whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. Just as the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life a ransom for many. And we see the background of these verses in 17 through 19, where Jesus, who is God in the flesh, is telling the disciples as he has his eyes towards Jerusalem, that he's going to be crucified.
He's going to die a gruesome death that he doesn't deserve to die. And against this backdrop, we see James and John put their mother up to asking Jesus for the seats of glory. They want to be the greatest. And Jesus, knowing what's going on through the mother's request, looks at the sons, James and John, and says, can you bear the cup that I'm going to bear? Jesus is asking them, can you suffer and take on the judgment of God and the will of God that Jesus Christ is about to take on?
And ambitiously, they say yes. Now, obviously, they don't truly know what is going to happen and what their crucifixion means. Scripture tells us that their eyes have been hidden from these things for now. And even though they ambitiously said yes, Jesus does say in verse 23, indeed, you will bear my cup. He acknowledges that James is going to serve Jesus. He's going to be the first apostle martyred.
And we see John becoming the first living exile when he was exiled to Patmos. And Jesus takes this moment as a teachable moment for what it truly means to be the greatest. The disciples, when they heard James and John ask for these seats of glory, the scripture tells us they became indignant. That's a fancy word of saying anger that feels like you've been wronged to the highest degree.
And part of the reason they're mad is because they feel like they deserve those seats of glory. How dare that James and John ask that? And the rest of the scripture, Jesus really lets them know, guys, you're misunderstanding what it means to be the greatest, to be the GOAT. He says the world, the Gentiles, they use their power to just exercise and force their own will on those under them with no regards for who their servants are.
They're only worried about themselves. And Jesus says it can't be that way amongst you all. Jesus says, if you want to be great, you must be a servant. You must be like someone who seeks to do and please the will of others. One who is like a hired position, who as they are performing a duty, are seeking to fulfill the will of the person who's hired them.
And what he's getting at is the greatest in the kingdom of God seek to fulfill the will of God, knowing that that's what they've been hired for. And he goes on to use even stronger language, not only a servant, but a slave, someone who doesn't even have rights over their own body, someone who knows that their body is used for another. It's extremely startling and strong language to get our attention and to let us know this is how we're supposed to come before God, knowing who he is and who we are in regards to that relationship.
And God is such a good master that being his servant is not a burden. But let's keep going here. Jesus, knowing what he's saying is extremely hard, says in verse 28, just as the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Jesus is saying, look at me. I am the ultimate example of power under control.
Philippians tells us that Jesus did not count equality with God as something to be grasped, but instead humbled himself to that of a servant. Jesus knew the will of God, the father, and he had his eyes set to do that. Jesus could have spoke a word and legions of angels would have come down from heaven to do whatever he commanded of them. But he didn't. And instead, trusting truth in the will of God, obeyed perfectly.
And because Jesus did that as a ransom for many, we now model that in his strength to those around us. So what does that look like for you this week? Because here's the truth. The world is going to argue about who's the greatest of all time in every industry and every sport. But the real GOAT, the real greatest man to walk the world of all time is Jesus Christ.
And that's not up for debate. And the greatest of all time took the form of a slave and gave his life for a ransom. That's what greatness looks like. It's loving those who the world says is unlovable. It's inviting those who can't repay you. It's about looking for those opportunities because you know the will of God through his truth to live it out in real time. Let's pray.
Dear most gracious heavenly father, thank you, Lord Jesus, that you came down and took the form of a man to die for our sins so that we can have forgiveness. And because of what you've done, we can now live a life that's pleasing to you, not in our own strength, but in yours. So today, help us not to seek our own way. Help us to seek your kingdom, your glory, Lord.
Help us to die to ourselves. Knowing that any good thing that would come has to come from you. Let us not seek power in this world. But instead, boast of your power in the world around us. Father, we love you. It's in Jesus name I pray. Amen. Thank you all. Praying for you as you go out and live out being the greatest.
Transcript from the video's captions, lightly tidied. Watch the full video on YouTube.
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