The week of Jesus’ crucifixion, beginning with his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, his parables and teaching grew increasingly sharp in his condemnation of the religious leaders. He also continued to reinforce the need for disciples of Jesus to guard against entitlement and pursue humility; after all, these are disciples of a king who would willingly lay down his innocent life.
For example, Jesus’ parable of the workers in the vineyard dispelled any sense of entitlement for his kingdom workers. According to the parable, those whom a master hired to work at the beginning of the day received the same wages as those he hired at the day’s end. When the first group of workers complained about getting the same compensation as those who worked fewer hours, the master reminded them they were receiving the agreed-upon wage.
“Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous? So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” (Matthew 20:15-16, NIV)
God doesn’t owe a greater reward to those who follow him longer. God doesn’t owe a greater reward to those whose ministry seems great by our standards. God doesn’t owe anyone anything, and all that he gives is a testament only to his grace and kindness—not to the worthiness of the recipient. Further, his standards of greatness don’t necessarily look like ours.
“Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous? So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
The sons of Zebedee were James and John, two of Jesus’ closest followers.
“Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. ‘What is it you want?’ he asked. She said, ‘Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.’” (Matthew 20:20-21, NIV)
We who are moms have probably done something along these lines, if we’re willing to admit it. It’s like walking up to the coach of the team and saying, “My two kids would make the best captains of the team.” Even if we’ve not done this sort of thing, we get where she’s coming from. Because we all want our kids to be great. Jesus, of course, has to be number one—but surely her babies deserve to be numbers two and three, don’t they?
What’s amazing here is that Jesus didn’t respond like we might expect. This mom made an audacious request…and I like audacity. It’s one of our Core Values in my home church: “We make audacious, faith-filled moves knowing God is able.” But to say something like this to Jesus? I don’t think I have that much audacity. Yet his response isn’t the reprimand we might expect. It’s not so much the problem that she wants her sons to be great. The problem is that this mother—like the rest of us most days—has too small a view of greatness and too small a view of Jesus.
“This mother—like the rest of us most days—has too small a view of greatness and too small a view of Jesus.”
“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.” (Matthew 20:22-23, NIV) 
Her request suggests that the mother of James and John believes that Jesus is the Messiah—the promised Savior prophesied in the Old Testament. His followers also believe this. What they have a hard time with is what it actually means: they have too small a view.
The word “Messiah” comes from a word in Hebrew that means “to smear or anoint,” usually with oil. So, Messiah literally means “anointed one.” In the Old Testament, there were many people who were anointed, most notably prophets, priests, and kings. Along with the predictions connecting him to the reign of David, prophecies of a coming Messiah had many followers thinking he would be an earthly king—coming to restore Israel and make them an earthly power and get rid of the Romans. They believed he would overthrow Caesar and become king. His followers were pumped about this because they were going to ride his coattails straight to the top. This is what James and John’s mom thought, and this informed her view of greatness she wanted her sons to participate in.
Jesus looked at this mom with all her misconceptions, and rather than humiliate her or reprimand her, he said this:
“You don’t know what you are asking.” (Matthew 20:22a, NIV)
“You don’t know what you are asking.” —Jesus
When this conversation happened, Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, where he would be arrested, tortured, and nailed to a cross. He would be crucified not by himself, but between two criminals—one on his left and one on his right. How ironic that this was the request of James and John’s mom, seeking her kids’ greatness. She had no idea what she was asking for. But Jesus knew. Where his path led wasn’t a surprise for him—it was his purpose.
He wasn’t going to Jerusalem to defeat Rome. He was going to Jerusalem to defeat death.
He wasn’t going to free Israel from Caesar. He was going to free humanity from sin.
Thus, their concept of greatness was too small. Jesus knew they wouldn’t understand this until after he died and they saw him face to face, resurrected. Still, he used this mom’s request as a teaching moment for his followers. He called them all together, knowing they wouldn’t understand this yet, and he gave them this teaching (also knowing they would eventually write it down for you and me to read and learn from).
“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. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.’” (Matthew 20:25-27, NIV)
“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.”
Here’s how the world typically works: people strive to build their own earthly kingdoms. They strive to get power, and then they use their power to maintain power. They strive to get authority, and they use their authority to maintain authority. The way of the world (what Jesus describes as the way of the Gentiles) is to climb the ladder and claw your way to the top—even if it means stepping on the heads of people on your way up. An earthly kingdom is about rulers, power, authority—but that’s not Christ’s kingdom. In Jesus’ kingdom, if you want to be great, you must be a servant.
“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” (Matthew 20:16, NIV)
Check out Tina Wilson’s 365-day chronological Bible study Step into Scripture: A Daily Journey to Understanding Your Bible.
