Matthew 20:17-28
4th Sunday in Lent – A
March 6, 2005
#092
Matthew 20:17-28 Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, 18 "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 19 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!" 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."
Bottom’s Up! (Bottom’s Up – greatness is achieved by service; Bottoms Up – Christ’s drink of suffering gives us life)
I. Heights are reached by humility
II. Life is reached by death
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love (2 John 3). Amen.
Dear sons and daughters of the Father,
Imagine with me for a second, a table ringed by friends, laughter and smiles adorn the atmosphere. A man rises, the guests quiet. A gleam comes to his eye as he raises his glass of wine in the air.
What memories does that scene stir up? a wedding, the best man is about to toast two young couples ready to start their new life together; or maybe the president of the business is about to toast a valued member of the team, who is about to step down and enter the new life of retirement; For me, the picture brings to mind a gathering of missionaries, saying farewell to my wife and I, wishing us God’s blessings our new life in America.
When the glass of wine is raised, everyone becomes quiet, because what follows are words of wisdom, blessing, and a hint of grief, because they are spoken at the gateway of major change, when old relationships are about to recede from center stage, and become more of the background of a person’s, or couple’s life.
This morning our Lord gathers his disciples around him, because they will soon be standing at the gateway of dramatic change. Soon they will no longer be graced with his physical presence. Though Jesus is not making a toast, doesn’t even have a cup in his hands, let us give him the attention that a good friend deserves, who offers advice for the gateways of our life.
To refine his discussion in Matthew 20 to just two words, as if Jesus were offering his disciples a toast, I would like you to remember these two words, and use them as the great advice that they are – for the rest of your life. What does Jesus say in Matthew 20? ‘Bottoms up!’
What do I have in mind? Jesus touches on two things: (I.) achieving greatness and (II.) Christian suffering. In both cases, Jesus says ‘Bottoms up!’
I. Achieving Greatness
If you ever wanted to be great… I mean really, truly great, remember: “Bottoms up!” James and John stand as our examples today. They were eager to be great. But they tried taking a shortcut. Working through their mother, they asked Jesus for the privilege of sitting on his right and on his left… positions of power and recognition. We, of course, think that was pretty audacious on their part. But consider for a moment what was going through their heads. James and John had left their fishing nets, their livelihood, behind them as soon as Jesus called them to follow him. James and John were part of that special inner circle along with Peter, that were alone privileged to see the raising of Jairus’ daughter from the dead and the Lord’s transfiguration. Remember how John was described as “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” who at the Last Supper did have a position right next to the Lord (John 13:23). These two were just following through on what seemed (to them) to be the Lord’s will anyways. Hadn’t they already received preferential treatment? Who was the next closest contender? Well, Peter, and maybe his brother Andrew.
Dissension sprung up among the disciples, because of this request. Whose pride was at fault? Can we blame just James and John? The other ten were indignant, because their own pride had been accosted. What would they care, if they didn’t have aspirations themselves? Jesus turns to them and in essence says, “Bottoms up, boys!” What do I mean? Jesus said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise 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” (Matthew 20:25-27). Conventional wisdom says that being at the top is where the greatness is. Instead Jesus points to the bottom. You want to be up at the top in the eyes of God, then try the bottom. Thus: “Bottom’s up!”
Do you want recognition from the Father? Jesus says, ‘Be a servant… a slave even.’ Matthew chapter 6, gives clues on this slave mentality that is rewarded by the Father. If you help someone out, make it as anonymous as possible. Don’t let your right hand know that your left hand is being so kind and generous (cf. Matthew 6:3). “Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:4). Sometimes we tell people, “I pray for you,” when we really don’t. Sometimes we say it, to make ourselves sound more religious (cf. Matthew 6:5,6). If we are really praying for someone, and want the best for them, wouldn’t it be even more powerful and faith building for us to remind them of our Savior’s promises, than to talk about the frequency and earnestness of our own prayers for them? A major point in Luther’s famous work: “Freedom of the Christian” is this: “A Christian man is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” He makes an interesting point of Paul’s admonishment to thieves.
“The Apostle commands us to work with our hands that we may give to him who is in need. He could have said that we should work to support ourselves, but instead writes, “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work… that he may have something to share with those in need” (Eph. 4:28). And this is what makes it a Christian work to care for one’s health, so that we may be able to work, to acquire funds with which we may be able to help those who are in need. In this way the strong may serve the weak, and we may be sons of God, each caring for and working for the other, bearing one another’s burdens, and so fulfilling the law of Christ. Indeed, this is a truly Christian life. Here faith is truly effectual through love; that is, it flows forth in deeds of the freest service cheerfully and lovingly done, with which a person willingly serves another without hope of reward, for the Christian is satisfied with the fullness of blessings and wealth that he has simply by faith in Jesus Christ.”
Were James and John content with the forgiveness that comes with faith in Christ? No, they wanted to sit in glory. Do you see yourself in these words of Luther? I don’t see myself. What is my first reaction when my wife asks me to do something for her? Indignation. I have my own work to complete! When the telephone rings when I am working on my sermon? Impatience springs up… not gratitude at the opportunity to serve… not certainty that God will assist me, when I assist others. I’m no better than the self-serving Gentiles. How about you? I don’t see me sitting at the right hand of Christ. No, my selfish pride earns me a seat right next to the father of arrogance and pride, the devil himself.
Yet, Christ does not mention his own servitude as merely an example to follow. As far as greatness was concerned, Jesus followed his own ‘Bottom’s up’ attitude. The great man is the one who is willing to be on the bottom. Though Jesus really deserves the service of all mankind, to be waited on hand and foot, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mat. 20:28). When we are pushing and shoving in this life to get recognition and build up our earthly treasures, Jesus chose to be on the bottom. He didn’t schmooz with tax collectors, so that he could get some of their wealth, but first to give them life, and then lead them to help the poor. He didn’t have to outrun the crowd, so that he could have the privilege of getting the middle cross before anyone else. Whatever he did or said publicly, he did for the glory of the Father, and to create faith. He wasn’t on a glory trip. “Bottom’s up!” To raise the world up to heaven, he needed to be on the bottom, under the garbage pile of our sin… to pay the ransom for all of our glory-seeking, so that we will see what real glory is like one day.
II. Christian Suffering
Don’t get me wrong about James and John. They were ready to serve their Lord. When Jesus asked them, “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” (Matthew 20:22), they didn’t even have to think of the answer: “We can!” Ignorance is bliss, isn’t it? They had no idea what they were claiming. When they had the opportunity to prove themselves in the Garden of Gethsemane, they ran right along with everyone else. They were ready for some tough work, but betrayal? chains? persecution? Didn’t they know what cup Jesus was speaking about? He had just told them: “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” (Mat 20:18,19).
In response to their readiness to suffer for him, Jesus said, ‘Bottoms up!’ “You will indeed drink my cup” (Mat. 20:20 – Note that the NIV translates: “from my cup,” but the Greek says they will drink the actual cup of Jesus – suffering for the glory of God’s kingdom). Of course, it wasn’t the same extent of suffering as Christ’s. No normal man could bear that. But as disciples of Christ, these two men would drink from the cup of suffering. James was the first martyr, put to the sword by King Herod. John’s suffering would be prolonged. He was beaten at the order of the Sanhedrin (cf. Acts 5:18-42). And after a life of service, he was exiled to the island of Patmos (cf. Rev. 1:9).
Time and time again, Scripture describes discipleship as a cross, a path of suffering. When Jesus told his disciples: “Anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Mat. 10:38), he was saying to all of us, ‘when the path of faith calls for drinking from the cup of suffering, denying oneself, accepting admonition for sin, opening oneself to ridicule for Jesus’ sake, “Bottoms up!” Drink that cup of suffering. Don’t take the faithless, easy route. Don’t run, like James and John had done. Whatever cup God gives us, it will be for our benefit, no matter how bitter and distasteful it may be. Suffering can kill the germs of pride, the sinful misconception of self-sufficiency, and loving some things more than God. If suffering can improve my faith, why would I want to shirk from it? Unless, I have the wrong attitude that the Zebedee brothers had: that it would bring us to a place of glory.
The reason that James and John ran at Gethsemane, but later stood their ground in the face of suffering, is this: Jesus first had to drink fully of the cup of suffering. They had no idea yet what the Lord would do for them. Their glory-seeking was forgiven through Christ’s shame. Their boasts of strength were pardoned through Jesus’ weakness. The guilt of their retreat to save their lives, was erased by his willing death on the cross. After his resurrection, Christ filled them with the Holy Spirit, so they could understand all that they had received through Christ’s cup of suffering. Having received forgiveness and the certainty of eternal life, changed their way of thinking. Now they were thinking ‘Bottoms up.” They were ready to be on the bottom and serve others, die for their Lord, because Jesus turned up the cup of bitter hell and drank it till all of it had burned down his throat. They saw what true greatness was: it’s service… putting yourself on the bottom.
My dear friends, though ‘Bottoms up’ is something that you more frequently hear in a bar than at church. I hope that whenever you hear it from now on, you will think of greatness and suffering. True greatness in the eyes of the Father, is when you are willing to be on the bottom, no matter how embarrassing that may be to the world. And suffering for the name of Jesus is not something to be afraid of, but to accept willingly, knowing that God wouldn’t place the cup of suffering before you, if it wouldn’t serve you for good. Bottoms up! Christ was at the bottom, so that we can look up and be assured that we will one day be with him there. Amen.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful (Colossians 3:15). Amen.
