Greatness Redefined

Matthew 20:20-34

1.) Greatness Requested (vv 20-24)

Matthew 20:20-24--

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 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.” 22 Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers.

2.) Greatness Redefined (vv 25-28)

Matthew 20:25-28--

25 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. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

“Jesus’ directive says, ‘The person in your midst who wants to be great must make the fundamental decision to be the servant of all the rest of you.’ … It is the decision, above all else, to be a servant of those to whom one is given. This is Jesus’ cure for the deep longing to be great. This seems to me to be an entirely new kind of greatness. Jesus is constantly challenging!” 

-Dale Bruner

3.) Greatness Exemplified (vv 29-34)

Matthew 20:29-34--

29 And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

John 15:13-- “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

“Jesus’ whole life was a ‘waiting on’ others, and his greatest service was his life given over to God in death as the Great Sin-Offering placed over the iniquity of the whole world. All who put their hands on the head of this God-sent Sacrifice— all who believe in him— find this One Sacrifice has been accepted for them, in their place, to make atonement for them before God. He who did nothing wrong was condemned for everything so that we who have done everything wrong may be condemned for nothing.” -Dale Bruner

Application:

1.) Evaluating Our Ambition

1 Corinthians 9--

 19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them....22b I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

2.) Evaluating Our Prayers

James 4:1-3--

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (NIV)

3.) Evaluating Our Service

“Surprisingly, service is the key to the Christian doctrines of work and leadership. It may also be the key to happiness. Plato asks, ‘How can anyone be happy when he is the slave of anyone else at all?’ Jesus turns this aristocratic ideal on its head, and in one of cultural history’s dramatic reversals he asks, in effect, ‘How can anyone be happy unless one is the slave of everyone else?’” -Dale Bruner