Matthew Pt. 75- Greatness In The Kingdon

And everything else. Turn in your Bibles to Matthew

Matthew 20 · chapter mention

chapter 20. We have preached 74 sermons

through Matthew so far. We started in Matthew chapter

one, verse one. Now here we are in Matthew

Matthew 20 · chapter mention

chapter 20. I've been telling you for a few

chapters now that we are in the final phase of the ministry of

Jesus, and I can now tell you with certainty we are in the

last 10 days before the cross. That context is helpful.

That context matters because it's going to help to shape all

the conversations that are happening, everything that's

happening here in this moment. We've seen his miraculous birth.

We've seen His baptism. We've seen his calls to

repentance. We've seen his preaching.

We've seen his miracle. And now we've seen the ultimate

man on a mission, Jesus Christ, about to complete his mission.

He has had his heart focus. He has had his face focused.

He has been prepared on the mountain of Transfiguration.

When Moses and Elijah came to him, He says they talked with

him about the things that he would suffer.

And now he's shared with his disciples multiple times about

his suffering. He's about to detail it more

than ever before. The cross is not years away.

The cross is not months away. The cross is not weeks away.

The Lord Jesus knows that he is days away from being beaten and

ripped open with the cat of nine tails, as it's often called.

He knows that soon nails are going to Pierce his hands and

his feet. He knows that the crown of

thorns is almost on top of his head.

Have you ever felt visceral fear?

Can you remember? Can you think of a time when it

was just like gut wrenching? I feel it in my body.

Not like I'm afraid about worried about how that scenario

is going to turn out so much. But fear, my story is a bit of a

joke because it's, it's can in no way compare to what the Lord

Jesus suffered. But you've got a story, you've

got an example. The funny thing about fear is

it's irrational, right? So it doesn't care about what

the rules are. A little child, when you ask

them to jump off the edge of the pool into your arms, there's no

danger for them, there's no risk.

But to them it is. So to them it's fearful.

To them, it's terrifying. So cold water has been my

nemesis for a long time. And we had we had a men's event

a couple years ago and the guys knew that like JM doesn't like

cold water. So of course, what do they do?

As loving bro friends would do, they brought a cold plunge and I

laughed about all this is going to be funny ha ha ha.

Until it came time. And this is your first time cold

plunge. This is my first time cold

plunge. This is my first time in cold

water since I was 18 years old or something like that.

So I come down to the moment and it's time for me to go put on

trunks and come outside. There's like 60 guys there.

I don't know, you know? And they're all like, nobody

else is doing it. It's all for me and I have to do

it. But here's the problem.

There's no way in the world that I'm getting in that water.

I'm not. And my, my face was stoned.

It wasn't funny. It wasn't funny.

I went upstairs and I sat to go put on the trunks and I'm like,

what am I feeling? What's wrong with me?

And I was dread and it was fear. And it's like, this is so

stupid. Your story's dumb to Michael.

I agree. But still, in that moment, there

was no reasoning with me. There was like, dude, get in the

water. So there's no possible way I can

get in this water. And on the other hand, I'm in

front of 60 Bros. Like there's no way I can't get

in the water. So Long story short, I ended up

getting in the water. Hooray for me, right?

I'm a hero. Not exactly, but the point is

that's the last time I could remember, and that was in a long

time that I felt like this fear in my body.

When things go bump in the night, I don't feel that in my

body. When something goes bump in the

night, I go. I'm just alert, I'm ready, I'm

prepared to lunch on offense. But in this case, I just felt

terrified and afraid. I can only imagine the dread

that Jesus would feel. Jesus isn't afraid.

You'll never hear me call the Lord Jesus afraid because,

frankly, it's sinful to be afraid.

It reveals a lack of trust in the Lord.

But could he feel dread? Could his body be dreading the

torment that he's likely seen with his eyes?

It would have been a common thing for Jews to have seen

crucifixion. The road.

There's an uprising, 300 people crucified on the side of the

road as you travel between cities and villages.

They're begging, they're pleading for you to give them

something to drink as they hang for days naked, going to the

bathroom on themselves as their body just enters into the

different phases and stages of death.

Jesus might have seen this as a little boy and his whole life.

He knows this is what I've come for.

And now Jesus, without flinching like me, I delayed getting in

the cold water. I sat upstairs in that bedroom

at that Airbnb for like 20 minutes trying to hype myself

up. I even filmed a video for my

dad. I was like, I've got to snap out

of it. Hey dad, I'm getting ready to do

this cold water thing. I'm doing this for you.

Ha ha ha ha. It's going to be cool and push

stop. And I was like, Nope, still got

no fuel in the tank, still can't move, still can't make myself

get up off the bed. Eventually I just had to force

myself. Jesus never flinches as he

approaches the cross. At no point does Jesus stop.

At no point does he get stuck. He says we are going up to

Jerusalem. Jesus is the ultimate man on a

mission. Jesus loves you.

It was for the joy set before him that he endured the cross,

that he absorbed all of the shame he carried, all the

mocking, the flogging, the piercing of the cross.

He never hesitated. In chapter 20, we're in verse

17, and as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the 12

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 priests 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. Hallelujah, keep going.

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her

sons kneeling before him. She asked him for something and

he said to her, what do you want?

She said to him, say that these two sons of mine are to sit one

at your right hand and one at your left in your Kingdom.

Jesus answered, you don't know what you're asking.

Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?

They said to him, we are able. He said to them, you will drink

my cup, but to sit in my right hand and my left hand is not

mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been

prepared by my father. And when the 10 heard it, they

were indignant at the two brothers, but Jesus called them

to him and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles Lord

it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over

them. It shall not be so among you,

but whoever would be great among you must be your servant.

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. Lord, we thank you for Jesus,

for His perfection, for His goodness, for His glory, for His

strength. The perfect man, the ultimate

man, the one we love to submit to, the one we love to worship,

the one we love to trust, the one we love to take orders from.

God, we delight in Your delight. Your pleasure is our pleasure.

I pray that you would open up the eyes of our hearts now as

Your Word accomplishes everything you sent it to

accomplish. As you open us up, come in and

perform the surgery to bless, to strengthen, to heal, Build us up

in our minds. Continue to tear down

strongholds with your truth, with your anointing, with your

grace. We receive it as grateful

children, as as happy sheep in your pasture.

In Jesus name, Amen, He was going up to Jerusalem.

He pulls his 12 disciples aside. This is the third time he's

telling his disciples what was coming.

And now this time he adds the most detail that he's ever given

them. He said I'm going to suffer many

things at the hands of the scribes, the chief priests.

But this time he says exactly who's going to kill him and how

he's going to suffer. In Matthew 1621.

From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that He must

go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief

priests and scribes and be killed and on the third day be

raised. Matthew 1722 as they were

gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, the Son of Man is about

to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him

and he will be raised on the third day.

And they were greatly distressed.

And now Matthew 20 See we are going up to Jerusalem.

The Son of Man is will be delivered over to the chief

priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death,

and they will deliver him over to the Gentiles.

So they know this means to the Romans and he will be mocked, he

will be flogged, He will be crucified and he will be raised

on the third day, mocked, flogged and crucified, all

things that have been unbearable for the disciples to hear.

Jesus being mocked is unbearable enough.

That gets my blood boiling. I don't know about you.

Don't that boil your blood. When somebody mocks the Lord

Jesus Christ, you realize this is my enemy now.

Now the next temptation I have is to hate my enemy.

The Lord forbids that. I have to love my enemy, but I

hate what they're doing. Why?

Because I love my Master so much and I'm very jealous for His

glory. I take it personally because I

love Him, and yet I have to still also love my enemies, the

people he died for. Because except for the grace of

God, there go I. So I remember that it's by his

grace, it's by his goodness, it's only by his love that I'm

not in that position. But to see Jesus mocked, what a

tragedy, what a miscarriage of justice to see Jesus flogged.

So the flogging probably a a wooden rod with 9 leather straps

connected to it with pieces of metal and broken bone spread

throughout the leather straps. So the Roman soldiers would take

turns because giving the beating is too exhausting.

Even giving the beating of the of however many lashes, Jews

could only give 39 lashes. Romans had no such limitation on

how many lashes they could give. So as the beating was delivered,

they took turns and shifts because it's exhausting beating

this man to death. So the Jews knew what this

looked like. They could imagine this.

Jesus, of course, knows what all this looks like.

And then finally to be crucified.

And he'll be raised on the third day, mocked, flogged and

crucified. And still he marches on.

But notice what he says, We are going up to Jerusalem.

He's giving commands, He's giving instructions.

Hey, you are coming with me. We are going up to Jerusalem,

not I'm going to Jerusalem and you're hanging back.

We are all going to Jerusalem together.

This was his calling for his disciples.

This is still Jesus is calling for his disciples that we would

follow him anywhere and everywhere that he leads.

Read to Matthew chapter 16. You can turn there.

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

Just turn left a couple pages. I want to read verse 21 to 26.

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he

must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things from the elders and

chief priests and scribes and be killed and on the third day be

raised and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying

far be it from you Lord, this shall never happen to you.

But he turned and said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan, you are a

hindrance to me, for you're not setting your mind on the things

of God, but on the things of man.

Then Jesus told his disciples, if anyone would come after me,

let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

For whoever would save his life, we'll lose it.

But whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and

forfeits his soul? So not only does he tell the

disciples I'm going to Jerusalem to suffer.

When Peter objects to Jesus going to suffer, Jesus says not

only do I have to suffer, you also have to take up your cross

and follow me. That's the invitation on the

moment. He doesn't do a bait and switch

with anybody. He doesn't say follow me and you

have your best life now and then overtime he starts to introduce

a bit more challenging ideas. It was always honesty from the

very beginning with Jesus. I'm going to go be crucified.

No, Lord, that should never happen to you.

Hey, not only is it going to happen to me, but anyone who

would be my disciple has to take up their cross as well and

follow me. What does that mean exactly?

It means exactly what it sounds like.

Do we all have to be crucified? We're not all likely going to be

crucified. Every single believer who's ever

lived has not been crucified. Many were in Rome.

But you and I. It's not our likely outcome in

this day and age. The point is, that's the

willingness that is a part of following Jesus.

That's part of what I mean when I say, remember your baptism.

Remember your baptism, you're forsaking all others.

I'm all in with Jesus. Not as long as it's convenient

not to have a faith that's contingent upon where I live

geographically and the pressures that may come along with it, but

to have a faith that says I'm all in with Jesus, well, I'll

kill you. My statement doesn't change.

I'm all in with Jesus. I'm still all in with him, no

matter what it costs. I understood what I was signing

up for. Nobody tricked me.

Nobody deceived me. I looked at him, decided he was

worth it, and responded to the grace that he offered.

That's what Jesus does. If anyone would come after me,

Jesus calls us to lay down our lives so that he can give us

resurrection. Don't miss the last part back in

chapter 20 in verse 19. The cross is awful.

Death is brutal, but death is not the end.

This is why, Christian, you're not afraid to die.

This is why the worst thing in the world that could happen to

you is not dying. The worst thing in the world

that could happen to you is that your love would grow cold and

that you would forfeit the grace of God that he has offered to

you. That's the worst thing that

could happen to you. The worst thing that can happen

to anybody is that they could turn their affections and their

love from the living God and the grace that they once applied

their faith to, they no longer apply their faith to and that

they gain the whole world and lose their soul.

In chapter 20 and verse 19, he, I will be, he will be raised on

the third day. If Jesus was raised, you will be

raised as well by faith in him. So Jesus just shared about his

brutal suffering and now we continue into verse 20.

This is the same moment, days away.

He knows what's coming. We haven't got to the triumphal

entry yet. He's going to come in,

Everybody's going to rejoice. Hosanna.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

And then all week long he is going to go nuclear on everybody

non-stop, dropping bombs of course.

So how could we be in his last 10 days?

Because remember, the next 8 chapters really slow things

down. We really start to go one day at

a time as we walk through Jerusalem and we see here is

what happened. Then we get the details.

So the next 8 chapters are all condensed.

It's going to be hard for you and I to process that in real

time because it happened quicker instead of week after week after

week the way you and I walk through it together.

But now, right after he shares, I'm going to be flogged to death

and crucified to death by the Romans.

Now the mother of James and John, probably Salome, is her

name. She asks A foolish and poor

timed question. Real sorry about the flogging

and the crucifixion. Can my boys sit beside you in

the eternal Kingdom and have positions of power and glory?

Sorry about the whole Roman thing.

I know that's going to be unpleasant.

Good on her for having faith, right?

She knows he's coming back with a resurrected Kingdom, but also

didn't quite read the room, did she?

Is that is that what's appropriate?

Is that what's best? Is that's what, what's right?

So she's got great faith, but she and her sons also have a

misguided ambition. 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 do you

want? She said to him, say this is

what I want. I want you to say I'm going to

give you instruction and direction.

Say that these two sons of mine are to sit one at your right

hand and one at your left in your Kingdom.

So this is audacious. What's the problem with it?

It's not focused on God's glory. The motive here is focused on

James and John's glory. That is the problem because that

is the motive. The motive is their glory.

The motive is not. They love you so much and they

want to make sure they get to always sit closest to you,

Jesus. The motive is I want them to

have the highest positions of prominence and glory.

Parents, we want the best for our kids.

The problem is we might not always know what that is, which

is why we always have to surrender and submit them to the

Lord Jesus over and over and over.

I have preferences for my sons. I have desires for my sons.

If I could write the script, they would all live with me

forever. We would have a compound.

They have had their own houses. I have my own house and, and I'm

all in on this, but I really am open to whatever the Lord would

say to them because if they say, Dad, God's calling me to this

mud Hut and in wherever and I'm saying you obey the Lord's Son,

or they have to go to college or they can't go to college or they

have to do this or they have to do that.

They have to obey the Lord. That's the most important thing

and they have to fulfill his will for their lives.

They don't ultimately belong to me like I think they do.

They ultimately belong to him and whatever he wants for them

is what I want for for them. The problem here is they're not

focused on the glory of God. They're focused on glory for

themselves in chapter 19 in verse 28, remember what just

happened. Jesus said to them, truly, I say

to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his

glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on 12

Thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel.

They've just recently heard about these Thrones.

Salome would have heard about this as well.

Because remember, there's always a massive crowd around him at

this point. There's been a huge crowd around

him for a long time. But she kind of gets to be inner

circle, not quite inner circle like disciples, but right on the

bubble. Mom, Mom, earlier, earlier,

earlier today or last night around the fire, Jesus was

telling us that we're all going to have 12 Thrones around them.

And Salome and the boys get talking.

Well, who's going to sit where, though?

And now, now she follows up. They've been promised Thrones

for their reward and for their work, but that wasn't enough for

them. They've forgotten that to be

invited to the wedding feast, to be invited to the marriage

supper, the lamb is more than enough.

That alone is grace upon grace and glory upon glory.

Turn to Luke chapter 14. Matthew, Mark, Luke.

Luke 14 · chapter mention

What are they missing? They're forgetting something

else that Jesus has already taught, as He's taught it many

times. He's already taught them to be

childlike as they were fighting and arguing.

Luke 14 and verse 7. Now he told a parable to those

who were invited when he noticed how they chose the places of

honor. So this is pretty funny.

Jesus notices something that happens right in the moment, and

he tells the parable to them against them, instructing them

in that moment. When you were invited by someone

to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor.

So the way the seating was done, everyone knew culturally this

was a position of honor. This is a position of of

lowliness. When you're invited to the

feast, don't sit down in the place of honor unless someone

more distinguished comes who has been invited.

And he who invited both of you comes and says to you, give this

place to this person, and then you will begin with shame to

walk and take the lowest place. But when you were invited, go

and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he

may say to you, Friend, move up higher.

Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the

table with you. For everyone who exalts himself

will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Seek the lowest spot is what Jesus has already taught them,

and be upgraded if the Lord sees fit.

What is it that the better way? It's much less humiliating as

well. You sit yourself at the head of

the table and the Lord goes, hey, that's not your seat,

that's not your seat. Oh, how far down, how far, how

far? Well, because you took the high

seat, especially actually one farther down on the table.

So he's saying, don't seek the prominence.

This is the lesson. Don't be glory hungry for

yourself, be glory hungry for God.

Romans 12/3 For by the grace given to me, I say to everyone

among you, not to think of himself more highly than he

ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each

according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

They've forgotten this lesson. Keep going.

In verse 22 of chapter 20 in Matthew, Jesus answered, You

don't know what you're asking. Why don't they know what they're

asking #1 because they don't understand that those seats of

honor in the Kingdom are only going to be rewarded through

deep suffering and faithful service.

They're not aware of the suffering that both of them are

going to experience. James is going to be the first

martyr in the church. He doesn't yet realize that.

And John is going to experience untold sufferings and not die

during all of them. The Lord will preserve His life

even as He's boiled in oil, and then John is going to continue

to live. So they don't understand that

suffering comes first. And #2 even then these, these

rewards are not handed out for those who ask for them, but they

are handed out by the Father, whom the Father has sovereignly

prepared them for based upon how they have followed Jesus.

Verse 23 he said to them, you will drink my cup.

Oh, so he asked them the question in 22.

You don't know what you're asking.

Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?

We are able. Well, they don't fully

understand that, but he goes on you will drink my cup but to sit

at my feet, but to sit in my right hand, my left hand is not

for mine to grant. So drinking the cup in Scripture

often refers to absorbing the wrath of God.

So throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament, to drink

the cup is to refer to the wrath of God, which is why Jesus in

the Garden of Gethsemane, he's praying, Lord, let this cup,

Father, let this cup pass from me.

Let this cup of your wrath pass for me, which is a tragedy on

itself. Again, not because Jesus is

afraid, although I do believe he feels great dread and turmoil as

he is praying and sweating great drops of blood, but not just

because of the Roman beating, not just because of the Roman

crucifixion, but because the full wrath of God is about to be

poured out on the Son of God. That's the ultimate penalty.

That's the ultimate pain. He's actually about to fully

become our substitute. As brutal as the beatings were,

and we're going to look at them in detail when we come to them,

that wasn't all that happened. Many people have been tortured

to death for Christ throughout the ages in brutal and

disgusting and evil ways. Many Saints have suffered in

that way. That's not all Jesus suffered.

Jesus suffered the full wrath of God.

So for any St. whoever suffered for Christ, whoever experienced

any brutality in the name of Jesus, they did not along with

it, experience the wrath of the Father.

In fact, in that moment they experienced deep presence with

the Lord. They experienced deep communion

with the Lord, a preservation, A sheltering, and a comfort even

in the midst of their sufferings.

Jesus had none of those. He had full separation from the

Father, which is in a conundrum, an impossibility, and something

that's never happened before. So the Father points all of his

wrath on his son. So Jesus has all of this dread,

all of his weight, and this is the cup that he's going to drink

from. So now he's challenging the two

disciples. Are you able to drink the cup

that I'm going to drink? And they go, yeah, we're able.

Well, they foolishly don't know what they're talking about,

because everybody wants glory, everybody wants influence, but

nobody wants to be crucified. I want to make an impact, but

does my surrender match my desire?

Does your devotion match your ambition?

It's easy to be ambitious. It's easy to want a position of

prominence. I wish people would see me.

I wish people would notice me with wherever it might apply in

all facets of life, but specifically when it comes to

the Kingdom work. Does your devotion match your

ambition? That question should slow you

down and make you feel some weight.

But they respond right away. We are able.

Yes, yes, yes, Lord, yeah. Just as long as we get the the

seats of glory. Jesus basically tells them,

boys, you're right, you actually are going to suffer.

You're going to drink some of the cup.

You'll drink some of the cup. But still, it's the Father's

place to give those seats, not mine.

The father has already determined who will sit there.

He's been preparing those places not for the ambitious, but for

the obedient. And now we keep going to verse

24. And when the 10 heard of it,

they were indignant at the two brothers.

They're big mad. Why?

How dare you 2 get to him before we could with the whole where?

Where you're going to sit. What did he say?

Oh, good. He didn't.

OK, OK, cool. They're not indignant because

they're going guys, what a gross question.

I can't believe that you would think that he just shares about

what's going to happen to him and y'all are worried about your

glorious seats in the eternal Kingdom.

No, they were indignant because the James and John and Sallone

beat them to the punch. That's their frustration.

They've already been arguing about who was the greatest in

chapter 18, he told them, you must be childlike, humble and

simple in faith. They keep thinking that the

Kingdom has a ladder to climb, but they don't understand that

in the Kingdom it's not a ladder, it's a table, and

there's only one at the head of the table.

And that's the position of the Saint to say, Lord, it's all for

your glory. I surrender all the song lyrics

said. The failures that I hide and the

victories that I don't. Isn't that my temptation?

Isn't it yours? Downplay my failures?

Look at this picture, everybody. In some ways, it might be the

appropriate way to function with folks.

I don't think anybody would want to be my Facebook friend if all

that, if I shared all my failures, like this guy is an

absolute loser. I don't want to be a part of

anything he's doing. So on one hand, it's appropriate

to share good news. People like to hear that with

these eyes. They keep missing the point and

Jesus keeps bringing them back to the point.

So look here in verse 24. When they heard it, they were

indignant with the two brothers, but Jesus called them to him and

said, so we have some sort of stage of operations.

This interaction happens with Salome and with the two.

Somebody overhears it, figures out what happened.

Now, I mean, maybe it's over the next 10 minutes.

Maybe it's next, Oh, throughout the evening.

But now it gets back through the tent.

What do they say? No.

Are you kidding me? Stallone did it.

Yeah. I've.

Yeah. That sounds like her.

Yeah. And James and John both.

Yeah. OK, that makes sense.

And now everybody's mad. And now Jesus hears all the

little grumblings, as he has so wisely many times before.

Like when they were traveling on the road.

He goes, what were you boys arguing about earlier?

Like, who's going to be greatest in the Kingdom?

And that's when he brings the child.

It's the same thing again. He hears that everybody's mad at

each other. They're all grumbling with each

other. The Lord is days away from

crucifixion and the knuckleheads are still knuckleheading.

And here is how he brings them together.

Guys, boys, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lorded

over them, and they're great ones.

Exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you.

Whoever would be great among you must be your servant.

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.

He's making the point that he's made multiple times before I

even came. The Son of Man.

Remember the Son of Man language, mighty prophecy from

Daniel, the Son of Man. It's not what it sounds like the

Son of Man, He sounds like he's a son of man.

No, it's actually ironically not that.

To say the Son of Man is to reference Daniel's prophecy and

to reference I am the eternal one.

I am deserving of all the glory. So that's why I remember every

time Jesus said Son of Man, he's saying ultimate God.

That's what he's saying. So he's saying the ultimate God

came not even to serve, but to be served.

So if I'm, if I'm the example for you, how much more should

you be serving and caring for one another?

We should clarify here because this passage has often been

misunderstood. So we are going to say what

Jesus isn't saying and then we're going to most importantly

clarify what he is saying. Jesus is not throwing out all

authority structures here, as some have ignorantly taken this

passage alone and zoomed in on it and seeing no other part of

their Bible and said authority structures don't exist in the

Kingdom of God. Well, Jesus is speaking

authoritatively, right? Isn't.

Isn't he giving a command? So we're not, we're not going to

twist this thing and and create a contortion of it.

Jesus is not throwing out all authority structures.

The Bible teaches authority in the home, in the church, in the

government. Authority is real, and yes,

authority is power. What Jesus is doing here, what's

he doing, Pastor? What he is doing here, he's

showing that authority and power in the Kingdom are used to serve

others instead of tools to serve self.

That's the switch that he's making.

How do you know, Pastor? Pastor, show it to me in the

word. Good, good.

That's the right response. We know that based on the

context of where he's bringing it from.

What just happened, where did he bring his teaching out of it is

in response to we want the glorious seat it was for glory,

hungry people. That's the correction that's

being brought here. So you can't take this passage

and go, you're supposed to be a slave to everybody.

Well, that's literally what he said, pastor.

And you've taught me that the Bible means what it says and it

says what it means. Praise God.

I'm glad you're paying attention.

You'll also remember there are times where Jesus uses something

called hyperbole, where he says if your hand causes you to sin,

what should you do? Cut it off.

Looks like everybody has their hands in here.

I thought you wanted to obey Jesus Church.

Now we understood that he was making a point there.

So a slave obeys everything. They're commanded by everyone,

right? So if Jesus became the slave to

all of us, does he also obey our commands?

Everybody say no good. There's no heretics in our

church. So Jesus does not obey our

commands. And yet was he making a point

there? Yes, he was.

Do we want to take away the power from his point?

No, we don't. But some have again, maximized

something that should be balanced appropriately and say

what was he actually communicating?

He's saying boys, don't be glory hungry.

You 2. Hey, and you other 10 who are

just, you're just mad at them because they beat you to the

punch. You're all still fighting for

prominence. Any authority that you're going

to have, any power that you're going to have, boys, it's to use

to serve. Power is to be a blessing.

Power is not to be a preferred parking spot.

Power is not to be all of your rights and privileges and

demands. Power is real.

Power is a Kingdom thing. And yet it's supposed to be used

to be served. I am a police officer.

I'm a police officer. I am a police officer.

Good job. Congratulations.

That's an important role. You are the sword of the Lord to

punish the wicked, to reward the righteous, but you're to serve

with that. And sometimes that police

officer will be your slave by pulling you over and giving you

a ticket and making you pay a fine.

Are you going to give him instruction and say, hey, you're

actually my servant? Well, he is being your servant

with his authority, right? He has authority to make you

stop your car. And if you don't stop your car,

he will stop your car. He has the power to do that.

That's been given to him to do that.

Why are you running? Where are you going?

But he is a servant. But he could get on a power

trip, couldn't he? His heart could be wrong about

it. He could become puffed up and

inflated with pride. Go, I have power over these

people now. He's lording it over them now.

That was the focus of the disciples.

Who's going to have the position of prominence?

Who's going to be the biggest in the Kingdom?

Well, boys, I already told you, you're all going to have Thrones

and you're going to judge the 12 tribes of Israel.

That's a service you're going to provide.

You're going to bless, just like I have.

All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.

What did I do with it? I came and I served and I did

what was best. It is a hard posture.

Some who are afraid of authority and ignorantly misunderstand it

go, let's get rid of authority because we've seen it misused.

Jesus is teaching that very thing right here.

Yet we've seen authority misused.

Look how the Romans lorded over you.

Hey, Jew, carry my pack a mile. You have to ha, ha, ha.

Jesus says we're going to gut them of their power, and I'm

going to tell you to go the second mile.

You're legally required to go one mile with them.

So whenever they go, all right, give me my pack bag.

You go, I'm good. Oh, who has the power now?

I'm giving to you and there's nothing you can do about it.

I'm giving to you to bless you. You intended to extract from me,

but I'm giving to bless you. Why?

Because I love my enemies. And in doing so and loving well,

I pour hot coals upon their head.

Not that my motive is to torment them, my moment.

My motive is to bring them to repentance that they would

actually experience the love of God.

Because who am I? Whether I have a badge or

whether I have a pulpit or whether I'm a husband or whether

I'm a mother over little ones. Mothers, when your babies were

born, did you feel mighty and powerful or did you feel like,

wow, now I'm in service to somebody non-stop?

I think we know the answer, right?

Mamas didn't feel like I am badged with authority.

Now you're you're a slave, you are a servant.

And but do mothers have authority over their babies?

You better believe it. We better hope so.

We better hope that they're going to be shaping and

structuring and absolutely controlling their little lives.

Why? In service to their babies.

They control what they eat. They control when they nap.

And as they grow, they continue to control them.

You may go here. You will not go there.

You will speak to me this way. You will do this thing.

Mothers have authority over their children.

Mothers are not slaves to their children in the sense that they

obey their children. Right, Mom, we want to do this.

Well, the Bible says I'm your slave.

My sister, No, the point is, sister, that you would not Lord

your authority over them, that you would not be haughty about.

I have power over you. Well, yes, you most definitely

do. But it's not for you to feel

excited about having power. It's for you to serve them well.

That's the motive of Jesus. That's your passage, Saints.

That's the passage. That's what Jesus was doing

here. Jesus is showing that authority

and power in the Kingdom are used to serve others instead of

tools to serve self. Being a servant in the Kingdom

doesn't gut authority. It doesn't remove your backbone

as many teach. Instead, it purifies your

motives and makes you serve like Jesus who washed feet, who laid

down his life as the ultimate perfect sacrifice, and who also

commanded people what to do and called people to repentance and

said follow me and said obey me. Which is it?

Well, welcome to maturity in the Kingdom of God.

You're actually looking more like Jesus when you say I have,

I have power and authority and I'm not super pumped about it,

except that I am because it helps me to serve people better.

The people that I love, I have power to serve them well.

I can actually make things happen.

That's what power is. That police officer has power.

He can make things happen. He's not just making

suggestions. He can make things.

He can make you do something. A mother can make her child do

something, but it's in service to them.

A husband, a father, can make his family do something.

This is who we are. This is where we're going.

This is what's going to happen. He has that authority.

A pastor can make the church, and again, there's appropriate

authorities there. I don't control your lives, as

you know, but he can make the church do certain things.

He can. He can exercise church

discipline and he can say you're barred from fellowship in hopes

that you would come to repentance.

Those are real actionable things, all to be done in

service, not to be beat in your chest.

There's a new sheriff in town. But to say I, I carry this

weight with humility. I walk it out with fear and with

trembling. My position is one that is in

service to the Lord Jesus Christ.

So Jesus serves, and Jesus is the perfect and the ultimate

servant, but he is never obedient to those that he's

serving, duh. And he never surrenders his role

as a leader and as a king to them.

On the contrary, he actually does what his servants don't

want him to do. Mothers know about that too.

Fathers, husbands, anyone in leadership.

If you have served well, the people you have served at times

have not wanted you to do the thing that you're doing in

service to them. Jesus says I'm going to the

cross. Peter says never, Lord.

And Jesus goes, you idiot, I have to go to the cross for you.

And not only am I going to the cross, that was the invitation

for you too, Peter. That's, that's what any

Christian is called to. I will give my life unto death

for the Lord. Why would I do that?

Because you believe in a resurrection like Salome did.

I believe in a resurrection. What's my status going to be?

Let me just walk out my obedience.

That's my focus. My obedience is all that matters

right now. So we clarified what he's not

saying here. Let's keep clarifying what he is

saying. He's not saying you need to be a

little bit nicer when you're dominating somebody.

He's saying you cannot lead like the world does at all because it

is selfish, it is self promoting, and it is

manipulative leadership. You're using others to extract,

and he gets something for yourself instead of caring for

that flock, caring for whoever it may be that you can bless.

The world thinks that power is to be used, like we said, for

preferred parking spots, for personal satisfaction.

But power is to be used, as Jesus put it, in slavery to

others, preferring them, bearing their burdens and meeting their

needs because you actually love them so much.

Authority is not given to you to make your life easier.

Authority is given to you to make others lives better.

That's why it was given to you. Not so that you can have every

privilege and every advantage as the world does it.

If I was king, I would make everybody.

That's child, that's childish thinking, that's immature

thinking, like I would make everybody serve me.

Well, in some ways they would serve you, but you would be

serving them all the while with leadership.

If you were ruling well, then you would serve them from the

throne. You would govern well.

Hey, King, I don't need you to come to my house and cut my

grass. That might look good for the PR

campaign, but kings don't need PR campaigns because they don't

have to get reelected because they're just kings.

So if you could just rule well, that would bless me most.

If you would just rule well and look out for our city and our

region and pass laws and ordinances and dictates that are

actually a blessing to our civilization, that's what I

need. That's going to be the biggest

blessing. That's how you can serve me

well. That's what Jesus did.

Jesus did not have a 3 1/2 year foot washing ministry, did he?

Pastor, are you trying to minimize the foot washing?

No, but I won't to caution against the maximizing of it.

It was real, it mattered. It's significant, It ain't

nothing. It's really something.

And also, what did the King do with his 3 1/2 year ministry?

He was preaching, he was teaching, and he was healing.

Serving in the way that only the King can serve, serving in a way

that's best for the King to serve.

I don't want the president coming to my house, cleaning my

bathrooms. I don't want it.

Instead, I want the president ruling well.

You focus on rulership. I got my jobs.

You got your jobs. That is your service to me.

That will bless me richly if you serve well in obedience to the

Lord Jesus Christ and His will for the earth.

That's your job. That's what I expected you And

stay in your lane, by the way, which is to reward the righteous

and punish the evil doer. What does this look like for us,

practically? It's the mother who's up in the

night with her sick child, not because she has nothing else to

do, but because love doesn't clock out.

How do I humble myself? How do I make myself low and

serve? It's the husband who engages his

wife in conversation when he's exhausted and needs to sleep.

It's the boss who covers for a struggling employee because he

knows they're going through a difficult season.

It's the pastor who prays over his people and shows up week

after week to feed their souls even if they couldn't care less.

It's the Christian who forgives someone who doesn't deserve it,

who shows up with a meal when no one's asked.

Who takes a burden that nobody sees not to get noticed.

That because Jesus carries their burdens.

It's the Co worker who covers a shift so that someone else can

rest, not to climb a ladder but to bless someone quietly.

It's the friend who keeps showing up for the other friend

going through depression even when the conversations are one

sided and draining. It's the person who listens

without interrupting, speaks truth gently, and forgives

without making a show of it because they want to be like

Jesus. It's the church member who stays

late stacking chairs, makes a meal for someone who's grieving,

or gives up their seat to welcome a guest not for credit,

but because that's just how love works in the Kingdom.

I'm not looking around going I hope everybody noticed.

I hope everybody noticed, says let me give you some good news.

The Lord is keeping the books. That's good news, or that's bad

news. Make it be good news.

The Lord is keeping the books. He hasn't forgotten anything.

Not one of your tears has gotten by past him.

He catches them all in his bottle.

He sees all. And that is intended to be a

blessing and a comfort to you. A man hasn't noticed this.

Pastor JM hasn't noticed that. I don't think these other people

have noticed that. Saints, forgive me.

There's a lot I don't see. There's a lot I miss.

I mean, you wouldn't believe how much I miss.

I'm good at what I'm good at and I'm bad at what I'm bad at.

But I promise you, the Lord sees it.

The Lord sees your faithful service.

The Lord sees your humility. The Lord sees your love.

You're not forgotten. Your promotion is coming.

The Lord is the one who promotes, and it's the grace of

God, and it's the gift of God in you as you put it in service to

others that makes room for you and brings you before great men.

So if you have visions and expectations of hopes and a

future and you're like, is it wrong to have these hopes and

dreams? It's not wrong.

Is it wrong to hope for this kind of influence?

It's not wrong. It's not wrong.

But like we said earlier, make sure your desire for influence

never outgrows your humility, your submission, your smallness.

That's a prayer that I've been praying regularly now for

months, and I think it's going to stick with me maybe forever,

that God will not allow my influence, my reach, or any

glory connected to me to ever outpace my devotion, my love, my

maturity, my character. I do not want to gain the whole

world and lose my soul. I don't want to gain the whole

world and look good and deceive you and get to heaven and I go,

where's my seat? And he goes, you don't have a

seat, you're over there, you're over here.

I want, I want to be, I want to be as close to him as I can.

I want as many crowns as I can get so that I actually have

something to worship with. So I have something because

that's what everybody with crowns is even going to do in

heaven. I got a crown.

I got a crown. I got No one will be bragging

about their crowns. They're going to go, I can put

this at the feet of the one who's actually worthy because

who am I? What did you do outside of the

grace of God in your life anyway?

Nothing apart from him I can do. Nothing apart from him I am

nothing in him. I'm the only thing that I could

ever be. We're closing.

I'm going to read to you in Philippians chapter 2, verses 3

Philippians 2:3–8

through 8. Do nothing from selfish ambition

or conceit, but in humility count others more significant

than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to

his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Notice what he said there. Don't look only to your own

interests, implying you are allowed.

And obviously the Lord takes for granted that you will look to

your own interests. Duh, of course you will, He

says. Don't look only to your own

interests, look also to the interests of others.

Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God, He did not count

equality with God a thing to be grasped or a thing to be held on

to. He said, I'm willing to set some

things aside. But he emptied himself by taking

the form of a servant. Being born in the likeness of

men and being found in human form, he humbled Himself by

becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on Him

the name that is above every name, so that at the name of

Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under

the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is

Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus empowers us to live this way.

Jesus created us to live this way.

This is Christian living. This is normal Christian

behavior. Read your New Testament, the

instructions that were given. That's what normal Christian

behavior looks like. Remember, this isn't Navy SEAL

level stuff. This is, this is the only level.

There's just the childlike level.

There's just the I'm a toddler, I'm the Lords.

What does he want? What pleases him?

I'm unassuming. I'm not looking for power and

position, the humble believer says.

I didn't do it because you demanded it.

It wasn't extracted from me. I did it because I wanted to

serve the Lord and bless you. I might even have authority and

power that I could have used to shield me from sacrificing for

you. But I wouldn't dare hide behind

my power and authority because the Lord Jesus doesn't.

He doesn't hide behind it and go, well, I've got all these

things. He's not the king who stays

behind the battlefield. Jesus was the King who said I'm

going to step into the battlefield.

I'm going to win the entire battle by myself.

I'll do everything and I'll also get all the glory.

Come follow me. That's the invitation.

I'll equip you. I'll fill you, I'll walk with

you the cross all the way to the cross.

Lord, I pray that you would help us to walk faithfully with you.

You would help us to not see ourselves more highly than we

ought. You see us in a place of of deep

love and affection. But help us to not Lord any

authority that we have been given as husbands, as fathers,

as mothers, as ministers, as a pastor, as managers, as bosses,

any other context where we have power over others to make them

do things and to make things happen or make us their slave.

Help us to use our power and our authority in service to others

and give us the wisdom. Give us the wisdom to know what

that looks like, that we would be like the Lord Jesus, the

right thing at the right time. There were times where they look

like Jesus sleeping in the boat while disciples rode across the

lake. There are times where it look

like Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, washing the scum

of the road off of their filthy feet, and ultimately all the way

to the cross. The almighty infinitely high God

coming incredibly low. It is the greatest transition

that's happened throughout history.

It is the highest leader coming to the lowest role.

Certainly, certainly, Lord, we can joyfully give our power, our

authority in your service. Open up our eyes, Lord, for new

opportunities. Help us not to be hungry for our

glory, but for your glory and keep drawing us near to the

cross where the price was paid for our sins, that we would be

forgiven, that we would be saved.

We love you, we trust you, we thank you in Jesus name, and now

the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face Shinedown

upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance

upon you and give you great peace in Jesus name, Amen.