Day 24 - Read the Room

Well, good morning and happy Monday.

I'm excited that you joined us again for our Ashes to Easter devotions.

Today we're looking at Matthew chapter twenty.

It says this And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priest and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles, to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something, and he said to her, What is it that you want?

She said to him, Say that these two sons of mine are to sit one on your right hand and one on your left, in your kingdom.

Jesus answered, You do not know what you are asking.

Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?

They said to him, We are able.

Each disciple has different reaction to Jesus' prophetic statements.

Peter, upon hearing this news in Matthew 16, wants to fight to defend Jesus.

But in this passage, James and John hear Jesus' words and then go with their mother to ask if they could sit in a place of authority in Jesus' kingdom.

People say awkward things when they don't really know what else to say, but it is obvious that these disciples that had spent a considerable amount of time with Jesus totally missed the lifestyle that Jesus was calling them into.

Jesus, over the course of his ministry, taught them to follow his example and become servants, rather than being served by others.

Again and again, the disciples had been told to resist the places of honor, fame, and prestige, and instead choose to think of others as better than themselves.

Somehow these two brothers missed the centrality of Jesus' message and instead begged for a cabinet position in Jesus' new kingdom.

It's easy to get so wrapped up in life and consumed with desire that we too miss Jesus' calling for our lives and instead ask for something that Jesus never intended to give.

In our culture today, we are bombarded with the message of making ourselves great and striving to achieve more authority and power.

However, the way of Jesus is not striving after these things, but rather willingly submitting to the Father's will and choosing the lifestyle of a servant.

Jesus finishes his conversation with these wayward disciples by saying, It shall not be so among you, but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Let us be like Jesus, and become a servant, rather than believing that others should serve us.

And so our action this morning is this Today, go out of your way to serve someone.

This could be a spouse, one of your children, a teacher, a coworker, or a complete stranger.

Go above and beyond to follow the example of Jesus and serve people the way that He would.

So we pray this morning.

Jesus, we thank you that you didn't come to earth to be served, but to serve.

Help me today to lovingly serve others the way that you would.

Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

We hope that you have a fantastic Monday, and we'll see you back again tomorrow morning as we look at Matthew chapter 21.

Matthew 21 · chapter mention

Have a great day.