Mat 20:20-29 | KingComments | STEP | After His impressive words about His suffering, death and resurrection, the mother of John and James comes to Him. She honors Him first. She is aware of His majesty. Then she asks something of Him. She has not asked the question yet, but asked if she can ask something. Although the Lord knows what concerns her, He invites her to ask what she wants. Her request is whether her sons may have a prominent place in His kingdom. Her question shows her faith in Christ as King. He answers to her that she doesn’t know what she is asking. This is a reprimand. She should not have asked such a question. The Lord reveals the motive of the question by then asking the sons a question. They will have asked their mother to ask Him about the coveted position in the kingdom. Peter has just asked what their portion would be ( ); the brothers John and James go a step further and determine their portion themselves by asking for an important place in the kingdom. Although they are being reprimanded for their question by the Lord, we must not forget that it was their desire to be close to their Master and Lord. No doubt they will be close to Him on the day they will sit with their fellow disciples on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel ( ). The Lord responds with a question about drinking a cup. Drinking a cup is a form of suffering. The sons of Zebedee answered that they are able to drink the cup. Is that overconfidence? The Lord does not answer that they are able to drink the cup, but says that they will certainly drink it. He does not say anything about their position in the kingdom. This matter is in the hand of His Father, Who has prepared a place for each one. What the mother asks the Lord for her sons, she does not receive. It is exceptional that we read that a mother asks the Lord something for her children that is not heard by Him. That is because of what is being asked. An emergency question is always answered. This is a request for a reward for her sons, a tribute to them, and He cannot grant it. When the other ten disciples hear this, they become indignant with the two brothers very much. But why do they become indignant with John and James? Have they maybe been troubled by competitive feelings?

‏ Matthew 20:20-29

A Place in the Kingdom

After His impressive words about His suffering, death and resurrection, the mother of John and James comes to Him. She honors Him first. She is aware of His majesty. Then she asks something of Him. She has not asked the question yet, but asked if she can ask something. Although the Lord knows what concerns her, He invites her to ask what she wants. Her request is whether her sons may have a prominent place in His kingdom. Her question shows her faith in Christ as King.

He answers to her that she doesn’t know what she is asking. This is a reprimand. She should not have asked such a question. The Lord reveals the motive of the question by then asking the sons a question. They will have asked their mother to ask Him about the coveted position in the kingdom.

Peter has just asked what their portion would be (Mt 19:27); the brothers John and James go a step further and determine their portion themselves by asking for an important place in the kingdom. Although they are being reprimanded for their question by the Lord, we must not forget that it was their desire to be close to their Master and Lord. No doubt they will be close to Him on the day they will sit with their fellow disciples on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Mt 19:28).

The Lord responds with a question about drinking a cup. Drinking a cup is a form of suffering. The sons of Zebedee answered that they are able to drink the cup. Is that overconfidence? The Lord does not answer that they are able to drink the cup, but says that they will certainly drink it. He does not say anything about their position in the kingdom. This matter is in the hand of His Father, Who has prepared a place for each one.

What the mother asks the Lord for her sons, she does not receive. It is exceptional that we read that a mother asks the Lord something for her children that is not heard by Him. That is because of what is being asked. An emergency question is always answered. This is a request for a reward for her sons, a tribute to them, and He cannot grant it.

When the other ten disciples hear this, they become indignant with the two brothers very much. But why do they become indignant with John and James? Have they maybe been troubled by competitive feelings?

Not Ruling, but Serving

The Lord calls His disciples to Himself. He wants to teach them something about the things that concern them all with regard to their place in the kingdom. To teach them the lesson of serving, He points to what is customary in the world. They know how things are going there. They know the world. In the world, people strive for authority. The rulers and great men are in charge and the others have nothing to say.

Among the believers it should be different. The spirit of Christ is a spirit of service that leads to the choice of the humblest place and total devotion to others. It means renouncing everything to depend with confidence on the grace of Him we serve. It is a question of consistent readiness to take the humblest place in order to be the servant of all. That should be the mind of those who have part in the kingdom as it is now established by the rejected Lord.

In the kingdom of God there are rules that are opposed to the rules that apply in the kingdoms of the world. In the kingdom of God, true service leads to true greatness. Greatness in the world is expressed in lordship and authority over others. Greatness among the saints is expressed in serving and care.

“To become great” has to do with how someone makes themselves known. A person who wants to be great in the kingdom will be great if he wants to serve others as a servant. “To be first” has to do with ranking. Whoever wants to be that must be a slave, that is to say someone who is the full property of a master and has no right to his own existence. His existence is determined by his master. “Servant” is more about what he does, his willingness to serve. “Slave” is more about what the master wants. He who is served determines his life.

The Lord Jesus Himself is the great Example of Someone Who lives according to the rules of the kingdom of heaven. Therefore He is the Greatest and the First. He has also accomplished a work in which we cannot follow Him. That is the work of salvation. His service went so far that He gave His life. Only His perfect life and its surrender to death can be a ransom for “many”, that is all who believe in Him. The word “for” here means ‘in place of’.

In the lesson that the Lord gives His disciples and us, we see one of the moments in the history of our Lord in which He combines majesty with submission and authority with obedience. These combinations are seen in His life in a way that brings the disciples and also us to worship at His feet.

Healing of Two Blind Men

The Lord has spoken of His life as a ransom. With this in mind, He begins His last journey to Jerusalem. Jericho is the city of the curse. He has been there and has brought blessings. Now He is on His way, with His disciples, to Jerusalem to lay the foundation for all the blessings He has spread and will bring. Attracted by this blessing a large crowd follows Him and leaves Jericho with Him. They do not realize where His way leads.

While he is on the road, two blind people call upon his mercy (cf. Mt 9:27). They sit by the road. When they hear that “Jesus” is passing by, they cry out to Him. They must have heard of Him before. Their eyes are blind, but they have enlightened eyes of the heart. This is their chance and they seize it. The crowd wants to silence them. When the Lord is called upon, there are always those who want to prevent it. But the blind possess the power of faith, and are of those violent men who take the kingdom by force (Mt 11:12). Instead of remaining silent, they call all the more for the mercy of the Lord.

“And Jesus stopped.” What a wonderful Lord! While He is on His way to Jerusalem and the thought of what will happen to Him there occupies Him, He lets Himself be held up by a call for mercy. Then He calls them. He takes the time for them. Here too comes His question as to what they want Him to do (cf. Mt 20:20-21). He knows it, but He wants to hear it from them. He wants to hear from our mouth what we want from Him. Without many words they express to the Lord what their longing is: that their eyes be opened.

The Lord heals them. He does not do this as a benefactor, but as One Who shares in their need. He is moved with compassion. From an inner involvement with their misery He touches the place where it all revolves around. The result is immediately visible. These two follow Him from now on His way to Jerusalem.