Happy New Year, Everyone!
Yesterday we looked at the beginning of this passage (20-24). Today we will be exploring verses 25-28.
Matthew 20:20–28
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. 21 “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.” 22 “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. 23 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.” 24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers.
25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—28 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.”
Jesus uses this audacious request from James and John and their mother as a teaching moment. Again, we see from the life of Jesus how he taught his disciples—through common, everyday events. This type of teaching only happens when you are living incarnationally.
I highlighted the beginning of verse 26 "Not so with you". The ESV translates this phrase, "not so among you." The you is plural referring the group of disciples. So he is contrasting the way the Gentile rulers lead and the way his disciples are to lead. They lead through power and position, the community of Jesus followers are to lead through service, just like Jesus.
In verse 28 Jesus links this leadership style to the mission in the incarnation. This is the reason he came—to serve, not to be served. There is no one else in all creation who has the rightful ability to come and be served. Yet, Jesus lays this privilege aside and comes to serve and give everything—even his life. His life that he gives is the price of redemption to free us from our sin and propitiate the wrath of God.
Here again we see the incarnation being the model for how the Christian community is to function. Leadership in the church should look more like Jesus and less like leadership of government institutions, businesses, etc. All too often the church throughout history, and even today, has failed to do this. Church history is full of church leaders using their influence to promote their own self-interest. Today, we see leaders within the prosperity gospel exploiting their followers in order to fund their own lavish lifestyles. We see mega church pastors accused of being overly authoritative towards their staff until they become exasperated and quit. We see church leaders overvaluing political power as the means by which the gospel influences our culture. All of these are not in line with the way of Jesus expressed here. Incarnational leadership is leadership of humility and servitude towards others. Leadership, authority and power must be expressed differently among us.
Additional Content
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Reflection
Reflect on the type of leader that you value. Is it someone who serves others, like Jesus mentions here. Or is it someone who speaks boldly and has a brilliant intellect, someone who is attractive and winsome, someone with business savvy and can bring in a lot of money? There is of course nothing wrong with all of those things, but those are not the marks of Christ-like leadership as Jesus defines here. Leadership is primarily an act of humble service. That is what we should look for and expect from our leaders within the church.