Matthew 20:24-28 (NIVUK)
24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
James, John and their mum get a bad press in our retellings of this story, but I have a sneaky feeling that the rest are just as bad. Why are they so indignant? Could it be that for a moment they thought that their potential positions of power and glory were threatened by their request… Jesus, however, turns it all upside down. The Son of Man, he argues, the figure in Daniel 7 who came to receive power and authority from God, does not exercise it as rulers of the world do, grasping at greatness, but through serving others and seeing the greatness in them. This is so hard for us to grasp as our mindsets are stuck in the old way of doing things. It is hard to genuinely put others first – and a good job for our sake that Jesus did.
Dare I pray it, ‘Dear Lord, teach me to serve?’
Original photo by Evan Dennis on Unsplash
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