Jesus’ disciples had left their homes and work to follow him. They believed he was the Messiah who would bring in the kingdom of God.
They had seen miracles, the dead being raised to life, 5,000 people being fed, and demons cast out. They had every expectation to believe that the Son of Man prophecy of Daniel would apply to the one they were walking with.
As I watched in the night visions,
I saw one like a Son of Man
coming with the clouds of heaven.
And he came to the Ancient One
and was presented before him.
To him was given dominion
and glory and kingship,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not pass away,
and his kingship is one
that shall never be destroyed. (Daniel 7.13-14)
Without a doubt, the disciples were certain to be concerned when Jesus predicted, now the third time, that horrible things would happen to him in Jerusalem.
While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves and said to them on the way,
“Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death;
“Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised” (Matthew 20.17-19).
How do we measure success in 2024? Words like power, glory, and kingship that describe the Son of Man in Daniel are not in use, but they capture the ancient and modern understanding of what success looks like.
On the other hand, rejection, mockery, and a cruel death seem the opposite of success, both then and now.
God turns the world’s values upside down. His reigning King was, and is, the Lamb of God who gave himself for the sins of the world (John 1.29).
In Revelation, God’s ruling King is described as the “Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7.17).
The disciples who were traveling with Jesus to Jerusalem had a difficult time equating self-giving and self-surrendering love with how God rules the world. God’s way of executing His rule in the world was difficult then, as it is now.
It is challenging to implement the way God rules his world in daily life. If we are unwilling to follow the attitudes and actions of Jesus, we run the risk of resembling the ancient Hebrews who failed to model the character traits of the God they claimed to serve.
Positions of Power and Authority
Buford Easley was one of the best preachers in New Orleans. I played basketball with Buford and heard him preach when I was in seminary. The text he used came from this passage and the title was “The Crucifixion of Jesus and Where are Today’s Preachers?”
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him.
And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.”
But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.”
He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father” (Matthew 20.20-23),
There are a couple of interesting thoughts that occur to me as I read this interchange between the mother of James and John, and Jesus. The first is that she was part of the crowd of people coming to Jerusalem and, like her sons, was a follower of Jesus.
The second is how tempting it is to think our service to Jesus has earned us positions of power and authority. Buford Easley was right when he criticized his fellow preachers who seek power and honor through the ministry.
To their credit, James and John were willing to die for Jesus. They were also willing to allow Jesus to determine what sort of reward, if any, they would receive for their amazing service to him.
I pray that I would have the same sort of courage to be willing to die for Jesus and I would rest any reward in his loving hands.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 