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Greatness in Suffering and Service (Matthew 20:17-28)
“Greatness in Suffering and Service”
(Matthew 20:17-28)
Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]
Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD
First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida
April 26, 2020
The Passage
Matthew 20:17-28
17 While going up to Jerusalem, Jesus took the twelve disciples aside privately and said to them on the way, 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death. 19 They will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged, and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised.”
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons approached him with her sons. She knelt down to ask him for something. 21 “What do you want?” he asked her. “Promise,” she said to him, “that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left, in your kingdom.”
22 Jesus answered, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” “We are able,” they said to him.
23 He told them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right and left is not mine to give; instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
24 When the ten disciples heard this, they became indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. 26 It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you 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.”
Introductory Comments:
What a joy to sing to the Lord in worship. Now, let’s worship God by studying His Word together.
Join me now in prayer as we begin to open God’s Word.
(prayer)
Do you ever want to be the greatest?
My three-year-old son, Levi, likes to tell me that he is the fastest runner in the world, and he is the strongest person in the world. He says it with confidence. There’s something inherent to humans that sometimes we want to be the best or the greatest at something.
Jesus has already spoken to His disciples about how they can be great. In Matthew 18:4 He said, “Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” [on screen]
Yet, here in today’s passage, we find ourselves talking again about what it means for the disciples to be great. They wanted to be important; they wanted to be great! Jesus was about to tell them, again, how they could achieve that aspiration.
However, as we immerse ourselves in this discussion about achieving personal greatness, we see Jesus sandwich this discussion with two mentions of His own death. This is both convicting and challenging for us as followers of Jesus.
Let’s dive into this passage.
Remember that Jesus and His apostles are making their way to Jerusalem. Jesus will eventually be crucified. This is the beginning of the end of Jesus’ mission of coming to the earth.
That leads us to our first point:
I. The Great One came to suffer (vv. 17-19) [on screen]
Jesus has already predicted His death a few times, explicitly so two previous times. Now, Jesus directly predicts His death a third time.
Look at verses 17-19.
17 While going up to Jerusalem, Jesus took the twelve disciples aside privately and said to them on the way, 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death. 19 They will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged, and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised.”
Jesus gets very specific here. He says that the chief priests and the scribes, that is the religious leaders of the Jewish people, will condemn Him to death. Then, the Jewish leaders will h
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By First Baptist Church Bartow
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“Greatness in Suffering and Service”
(Matthew 20:17-28)
Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]
Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD
First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida
April 26, 2020
The Passage
Matthew 20:17-28
17 While going up to Jerusalem, Jesus took the twelve disciples aside privately and said to them on the way, 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death. 19 They will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged, and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised.”
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons approached him with her sons. She knelt down to ask him for something. 21 “What do you want?” he asked her. “Promise,” she said to him, “that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left, in your kingdom.”
22 Jesus answered, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” “We are able,” they said to him.
23 He told them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right and left is not mine to give; instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
24 When the ten disciples heard this, they became indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. 26 It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you 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.”
Introductory Comments:
What a joy to sing to the Lord in worship. Now, let’s worship God by studying His Word together.
Join me now in prayer as we begin to open God’s Word.
(prayer)
Do you ever want to be the greatest?
My three-year-old son, Levi, likes to tell me that he is the fastest runner in the world, and he is the strongest person in the world. He says it with confidence. There’s something inherent to humans that sometimes we want to be the best or the greatest at something.
Jesus has already spoken to His disciples about how they can be great. In Matthew 18:4 He said, “Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” [on screen]
Yet, here in today’s passage, we find ourselves talking again about what it means for the disciples to be great. They wanted to be important; they wanted to be great! Jesus was about to tell them, again, how they could achieve that aspiration.
However, as we immerse ourselves in this discussion about achieving personal greatness, we see Jesus sandwich this discussion with two mentions of His own death. This is both convicting and challenging for us as followers of Jesus.
Let’s dive into this passage.
Remember that Jesus and His apostles are making their way to Jerusalem. Jesus will eventually be crucified. This is the beginning of the end of Jesus’ mission of coming to the earth.
That leads us to our first point:
I. The Great One came to suffer (vv. 17-19) [on screen]
Jesus has already predicted His death a few times, explicitly so two previous times. Now, Jesus directly predicts His death a third time.
Look at verses 17-19.
17 While going up to Jerusalem, Jesus took the twelve disciples aside privately and said to them on the way, 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death. 19 They will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged, and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised.”
Jesus gets very specific here. He says that the chief priests and the scribes, that is the religious leaders of the Jewish people, will condemn Him to death. Then, the Jewish leaders will h