To Be Great in the Kingdom

RIVERSIDE INDONESIAN FELLOWSHIP
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To Be Great in the Kingdom

Riverside Indonesian Fellowship
Published by Stanley Pouw in 2013 · 20 October 2013

We live in a very proud and egotistical generation. This is not new, during the time of the Bible, particularly in the Roman Empire, pride was exalted as a virtue and humility was looked on as a weakness. But when people are all committed to only themselves, this will result in the disintegration of all relationships.

And we know that materialism in the business world is based on pride, self- promotion and success-motivation, building yourself up, getting more riches and more self-esteem. Everything is built on pushing yourself to the utmost and ambition for worldly success. You keep thinking: I deserve more than I'm getting now and on and on it goes.

But the Bible speaks about pride very clearly. "A proud heart is sin," it says in Proverbs 21:4. "Every one who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord," it says in Proverbs 16:5. “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogance," it says in Proverbs 8:13. In fact, pride in Romans 1:30 is the mark of man who has a reprobate mind. And 1Timothy 3:6 says, "Pride comes from the devil."

In fact, the Bible says in James 4 that “God resists the proud.” Isaiah 23:9 says that the Lord brings the proud into contempt. In Exodus 18:11, the proud will be subdued. Psalm 18:27 says, they'll be brought low. They'll be abased, Daniel 4:37. They'll be scattered, Luke 1:51. They'll be punished, Malachi 4:1 says.

On the other hand, humility is exalted as a virtue in the Bible. And we need to understand and practice that in our daily life as well. Micah 6:8 says, “And what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Psalm 138:6 says, "Though the Lord is on high, yet He regards the lowly.” Psalm 10:17 says, “LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble.” God exalts humility.

Now the lesson of honor through humility, and of glory through suffering, we all need to learn this and this includes the disciples. That is the essence of our text this morning in Matthew 20:20-28. The disciples were into self- promotion, seeking to be somebody special, to be recognized and to be esteemed. And the Lord needed to correct that. Unfortunately Jesus taught this a lot better than they learned. In fact He had to teach this lesson again just a few days after teaching it here on the way to Jerusalem.

Now remember that the disciples left all they had and followed Jesus. But they believed that whatever they gave up now would be replenished many times over when He set up His Kingdom. And so, they were eagerly waiting for the time when Jesus’ Kingdom came and He returned to them a hundred fold everything they had given up.

And the Lord had even reinforced that promise in Matthew 19:28-29, “So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.”

Well, this fed their materialistic tendency. That was not the intent, but that's all they heard. When Jesus talked about suffering, they didn't get it, it went in one ear and out the other. And Jesus just finished, in verses 17 to 19, a broad description of His death. He has talked about it already in chapter 16 and 17, and now in chapter 20 He reiterates for the third time that He's going to Jerusalem to suffer and die.

Yes, there is a Kingdom, but the way to the Kingdom is through suffering. Humility is before honor, as it says in Proverbs 15:33. And Jesus had also told them in Matthew 10 that if you weren't willing to lose your life, you shouldn't follow Him. Then in chapter 16, He told them again to take up their cross and follow Him and that meant death.

And Jesus emphasized humility in Matthew 18 when He said, "unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” And He tried to get that message across to the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:21, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But the man wouldn't do that.

And in Matthew 19:27 Peter still asks, “We have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?” And now 2000 years later, we still have the same kind of selfishness that the disciples had. Jesus is still talking about suffering. He is still saying, "Take up your cross." He is still saying there's humility as the path to glory. Jesus still is asking us to give up everything we have in this world to do what Christ wants us to do no matter what the cost.

People today look at grace like a free meal. They look at grace like a free ticket to the storehouse of divine goods where they can check out everything they want. They think that all God wants to do is give them health, wealth, happiness, wisdom, comfort and satisfaction. And the explanation for almost every inter-personal problem is thought to lie in someone's low self- esteem.

So let us reexamine then this idea of humility as a path to glory. There are two points in this text, how not to be great in verses 20-25; and how to be great in verses 26-28. Jesus begins with four wrong worldly ways to seek greatness; two by example and two by instruction of our Lord. Jesus said, "My Kingdom is not of this world." So the principles for this world do not operate in His Kingdom. So here are the ways not to be great in God's Kingdom.

Number one: political power play. Now the world says that if you want to get something, it all depends on who you know, right? You manipulate people and circumstances to find your way in with those in power so they'll pull you to the top. Look at this political power play in Matthew 20:20, "Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him," that's James and John, "kneeling down and asking something from Him.”

Mark 10:35-41 is a comparative text, and tells of the same incident but there the mother is not even mentioned. There it's James and John. So we don't want to conclude that this was primarily her idea, or that they were just tagging along. They came as a trio. Matthew seems to focus on her, but Mark definitely focuses on James and John. The request was from all three of them.

And Jesus says in verse 21, "What do you wish? She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.” Now they are seeking self-glory, promotion, honor and esteem. They really sought the praise from people. They were bold, their names were "Sons of thunder," they were demanding.

And they came to Jesus in what is a political power play. The mother of the sons of Zebedee is the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus. And they want to use the fact that they were His half- cousins as their ace in the hole. So because their mothers were sisters, they come as those who think they have an in. This is politics and manipulation.

And in Mark 10 it says that the mother didn't want to tell Jesus what she desired. She wanted Jesus to promise to give it before she told Him what it was. Very childish, have you ever had your child do that to you?" They wanted this so badly that they wanted to corner Christ into promising something that they thought if He knew He wouldn't do. Of course they did not realize that He was all-knowing.

And yet the church still suffers from those people who come in and want to have preeminence, who love the chief seats just like the Pharisees did in their synagogues. There always will be those who are self-seeking. But our Lord rejects totally any political power play. That is not how you reach the place of blessing and honor in the Kingdom.

The second wrong road to honor in verse 22 to 24 is called ambition. "Jesus answered and said, you do not know what you're asking." The highest places of glory are reserved for those who went through the deepest places of suffering. Who will be those who receive the greatest reward in heaven? The Word of God says: those who suffered the most in life for the cause of Jesus Christ.

Those who confronted the hostile world and paid the most in self-denial and dedication for His purposes, those will be the ones who receive the greater glory. So when we are afflicted, not afflicted with illness or because of our carelessness or our sin, but when we are afflicted, persecuted and suffer for the cause of the gospel, then we are building up a greater inheritance of glory in heaven.

But Jesus is saying you don't know what you're asking. "Are you able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of?" If you seek to sit beside Me, you must endure the same suffering that I experience. Now the cup is an Old Testament symbol that means to take everything in, to experience it all. It's reminiscent of Isaiah who talks about the cup of God's fury. Christ drank all that, it is the bitter cup of suffering.

At the end of verse 22, “they said to Him, "We are able." That is excessive confidence. If you think you can do it in your own strength, you can't. It's like Peter, you know, who said in Matthew 26:33, "Well, everybody may forsake you, but I'll never forsake you." And you know what happened? Before the cock crowed, he denied the Lord three times.

Matthew 26:56 says, “Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.” They couldn't handle it. Well, in verse 23, ever the gentle Savior, He responds to them in a tender way. He says, "You will indeed drink My cup." You'll taste it. And He knew that they would be faithful. Acts 12 says James was the first martyr that was killed.

And John was faithful, too, and he was the first living martyr, exiled to the Isle of Patmos to spend out his life. They did drink of the cup. They couldn't have drunk it all as Jesus did, but they tasted that same cup. They knew the fellowship of His sufferings. They were able to by the power of the Holy Spirit. See, they never were able to handle this until after the Spirit came and infused them with internal spiritual strength.

Now let us look at what verse 24 says, "And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.” No, they weren't spiritual, they were mad because James and John got in there before they did. Read Luke 22:24-27, they were all arguing about who's going to be the greatest among them.

And so in verse 25, "But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,” That is the world's way in seeking prominence by dominating as dictators. And then there is another way to power by charismatic control. Verse 25 continues, “And those who are great exercise authority over them," the charisma, the ability to speak with glibness and so forth gives them a certain power to sway and move people.

Now as you look at verse 26, the standard is different. And you hear Jesus saying, "Whoever desires to be great among you." Is it right to be rewarded and seek that? The fact is that Jesus here advocates it. Matthew 16:27 says, “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.”

And so, it's not wrong to seek that, it's only wrong to seek it for the wrong reason. If you seek greatness on God's terms, you will seek it on the track that He has ordained. And that is the track of suffering. And so, if you seek the glory on that path, it is in itself a self-effacing seeking. You understand that?

Oh, there are those who seek the glory but would avoid the pain. Only God can read the reason why we did what we did. So, there's nothing wrong with desiring that. I desire to give all that I have to serve Christ. I desire that I might be able to give Him the most glory possible. I want to fulfill my spiritual gifts. I want to maximize the potential I have for God.

Now look at the end of verse 26, He says, “but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.” The simple principle in Scripture is that you cannot lead until you have proven you can serve. You cannot be given the responsibility to lead until you have shown the humble heart of a servant. So, people who want to lead have to come on their own and serve among us, and should God approve of your service, He will lift you up to a place of leadership.

Now the word for servant here is diakonos. We get the word "deacon" from that. It is a word that had to do with low menial service. You would hire a deacon to clean up your backyard, take away your trash, and serve a meal. It talks of the person who doesn't have much education or training, just a person who willingly comes to serve.

Next in verse 27, “And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave." We don't understand much because we don't have slaves. But they did. They knew what it was to serve in terrible conditions. And yet, for them it became a graphic demonstration of how committed they should be to serving one another to find the true place of greatness.

The cost of greatness is humble and selfless service. It is important to get this across to young men who are in the ministry so that they would not fear the hard place but instead seek it. And the cost of greatness may be persecution, it may be death. And for some the true path to glory is marked by loneliness, there is a real sense of being apart from the social scene. There is a price to pay for greatness.

There is weariness there too. Fatigue is the price of pushing past mediocrity. And criticism is another part of the pain. You can expect to be misunderstood and misrepresented, misjudged, wrongly evaluated and accused. And to handle that without self-defense, without self- justification means that you bear the burden between you and the Lord and perhaps someone close and dear to you. 2 Corinthians 4:17 says, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

The Lord Jesus Christ went through the greatest humiliation ever. God became man. The sovereign of the universe, the sovereign of all eternity came to be a victim of sin. That is the greatest humiliation of all. And that's why in the Kingdom He's the greatest. He is the greatest, the most exalted because He was the most humbled.

Most kings demand to be served. This king came to serve. So, the passage then comes to a wonderful climax in the fact that the Lord Jesus is not only our example, but He's our redemption. He's our ransom who purchased us from sin. Greatness in the Kingdom, capacity for glory in the Kingdom is in direct proportion to humility and selfless service rendered.

And if your spiritual life is as it should be, then you will seek that eternal glory and you will desire it with all your heart which will cause you to serve Christ with a whole heart and to take the right path even though it means pain or suffering that brings about that eternal weight of glory. Let's bow in prayer.



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