SHARING BREAD
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.”
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.”
Matt
20:20-23 (NIV)
Ignorance fueled by presumptuous selfish ambition caused
John and James to have their mother approach the Master with a request for
their honor. Granted, these two were
part of our Lord’s inner circle and - along with Peter - were His favorites yet
they were continually missing the mark.
In our verses for today, it was the mark of humility.
Jesus had recently spoken to them on this very subject when His
guys were found arguing over whom would be the greatest in the coming kingdom. In Christ’s way of thinking, humility before
God and man was and is a virtue every child of the King should seek to
understand and embrace at their very core.
It is, by the way, an essential attitude of our hearts. Humility is the correct estimation of self
and puts it in its proper place. To be
overly preoccupied with self will cause our downfall every time because pride
is ever at the bottom of it.
“Humility
is nothing else but a true knowledge and awareness of oneself as one really
is.” The Cloud of Unknowing
Perhaps John and James assumed if they had their mother
approach Christ He would acquiesce to their wanton wishes – she becoming the
tool of their ambition. We find earlier
in Matthew Jesus’ teaching on the subject of being humble:
1 At
that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven?” 2 He called a little child and had him stand among them.
3 And
he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and
become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this
child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matt 18:1-4 (NIV)
“For as long as a man is not emptied of
himself and of his own righteousness and goodness, he will have a legal
spirit. A spirit of pride in one’s own
righteousness, morality, holiness, affection, experience, faith, humiliation or
any other goodness, is a legal spirit…It is even possible to have a
self-righteous spirit about one’s own humility and to be self-confident about
one’s own abasement…But he whose heart is subject to Christian humility has a
very different attitude…Christians who are real saints and the greatest in the
Kingdom…humble themselves as a little child…They look upon themselves as
children in grace..” Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections
Indeed,
what do we have that we did not receive and if we received it why do we
boast? Paul’s exhortation to us in Philippians
comes to mind:
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,
but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Phil 2:3 (NIV)
Without question, selfish ambition is of the flesh and not
of the Spirit. “Vain conceit” or empty glory is often its root cause. Paul gives us a list of some of the obvious
acts of the sinful nature in Galatians of which selfish ambition is included:
19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual
immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry
and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition,
dissensions, factions 21 and
envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that
those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Gal 5:19-21 (NIV)
John and James desired to be men of rank in Jesus’ coming
kingdom – those possessing pomp and power.
They weren’t seeking employment rather honor. They had no idea what they were asking. They spoke of the kingdom as blind men who
speak of vibrant colors – ignorant to the reality. They had imagined their worldly warfare was
ending rather than scarcely beginning.
We do not know what we are asking for when we seek the glory of the
crown yet not the grace of the certain cross.
Jesus patiently reminds them of the cup of suffering He was to drink
from and graciously asks them if they were willing to drink from this cup too. Jesus came as the Suffering Servant because
of us – our need not His - and we think we are to bypass that? Our Lord’s followers are not carried to
heaven on a bed of down rather like our Master the way of the crown is the way
of the cross. Perhaps this is why in all
four Gospels we are given the same message:
23 Then he said to them all: “If
anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily
and follow me. 24 For
whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me
will save it.” Luke 9:23-24 (NIV)
“The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die
for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep
confidence at the same time.” Tim Keller
What I glean from this:
· If I am preoccupied with self it will
cause my downfall.
· It is God who lifts my head not myself. 6 Humble
yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due
time. 7 Cast
all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 (NIV)
· Humility is the correct estimation of
self.
