Matthew 20:22 - Forerunner Commentary

Matthew 20:22

Greatness Is Serving

20 ^aThen the mother of ^bZebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.

21 And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine ^amay sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”

22 But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink ^athe cup that I am about to drink,¹ and be baptized with ^bthe baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.”

23 So He said to them, ^a“You will indeed drink My cup,¹ and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”

24 ^aAnd when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.

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 ^ait shall not be so among you; but ^bwhoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.

27 ^aAnd whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—

28 ^ajust as the ^bSon of Man did not come to be served, ^cbut to serve, and ^dto give His life a ransom ^efor many.”

Two Blind Men Receive Their Sight

29 ^aNow as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him.

30 And behold, ^atwo blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, ^bSon of David!”

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Matthew 20:22-28

Do you really understand what all of that entails, all the grief and the sorrow and the pain, the agony of what He was going through? Do you really, really understand what it takes to sit on the right and the left side of Jesus? How do you get to that position?

This is another one of those very clear statements about His purpose. It may be the most direct statement of His redemptive purpose in the Gospels. What He does here in this passage, and that is why I read all of that from verse 20 on, is He connects high position, or leadership we might say, with service and sacrifice, using His own example of giving His life for a ransom of many as the prime illustration of what that looks like. It is far more than kneeling down and washing your brothers' feet. Jesus served and sacrificed, showing His leadership by dying the most despicable, bloody, agonizing death that you can imagine.

Excerpted from Peace, Peace (Part One): Peace with God by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

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