The Pursuit of Greatness
Matthew 20:25-28 NKJV
25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. 26 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— 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."
In our verses for today, Jesus is having to calm a storm brewing among His key leaders. It seems as if the mother of John and James Zebedee came privately to Jesus with a special request for her boys. She wanted them to have the preeminent places next to Jesus in His Kingdom. She asked for the right and left hand places to be given to her sons. The boys had to be in agreement with this idea because they did not stop their mother or seem appalled that she would make such a big request. John and James may not have been appalled, but the rest of the disciples were not happy at all. The New King James version says they were greatly displeased.
So Jesus is now having to realign the thinking of His disciples. They were used to the old paradigm of rulers rule, and everyone beneath them serves the ruler. In effect, John and James asked to be placed above the other ten disciples. But isn't that the way it is? If you are the leader, you are above everyone else. The greater you are, the more authority you have and the more people serve you. Jesus admitted that this was the way of the Gentiles, those without a relationship with God. But then He flipped that paradigm to how things are done in God's Kingdom.
In the Kingdom, those who desire to be great are to be servants. Those who want to be first are to be slaves. Jesus used two different words in this passage. The word for servant is also translated as minister. And the word for slave is a different word meaning slave, "one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another." Whichever word you use, neither one sounds powerful. To these disciples, the idea of being a minister and a slave to their fellow disciples had to hit hard. They lived in a culture where servants and slaves were common. So Jesus drove the point home just in case these guys were looking for a workaround.
Jesus stated that He did not come to be served but to serve. He came to give His life as a ransom for humanity. This pretty much had to end the argument. Matthew does not give us an account of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, but John would later do so in his gospel. Maybe the lesson of how to pursue greatness was even more real to John since he was the one asking for a prominent place. In any case, this had to end the 'who is the greatest' argument among the disciples.
Application
Things are still the same today. Serving others is the path to greatness in God's kingdom. That's a bit tougher for us to grasp in our American celebrity culture, but God's Kingdom does not adjust to our perspective. We may be surprised in heaven when rewards are passed out. So our best path is to ask the Lord, where can I serve Your kingdom best? It's a valid question and a great first step to the pursuit of greatness.
Prayer
Lord, where can I serve You and others in Your Kingdom? I follow Your example and am here to serve.