James and John had been running with Jesus for a while now and things were starting to get serious. If this guy really was who he said he was - and they were starting to think he was, then the future could be very bright for these former fishermen. If Jesus was the king that must mean He would be sitting on a throne ruling a kingdom, and there would be several high ranking positions that He would need to fill. So James and John did the manly thing when approaching Jesus about securing a job in His firm - they called their momma. In Matthew 20, Mrs. Of Zebedee shows up and asks Jesus for a favor. She wants her sons to sit at his right and his left in his kingdom. They were after all part of the inner circle of three that shared some special moments with Jesus. On paper, James and John were indeed two of the most qualified of the twelve.
When the other ten disciples heard about it, they were ticked. This may or may not have been the first time a "your momma" joke was used. Not only had James and John displayed arrogance in thinking that they deserved the top two spots, the disciples were probably angry because James and John were clever enough to ask Jesus before anyone else could. As they were arguing amongst themselves Jesus calls them together to teach them an important lesson. In verse 25 Jesus says: "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them." Then He drops a bomb on them. In four words Jesus completely ruins their career plans. "Not so with you." Apparently Jesus' plan for leadership was much different than the world's. He gave them an example of how everyone else was doing it and then said "That's not how it's going to work in my kingdom." Take everything you know about leadership, all the books you've read and seminars you've attended, and flush it down the toilet.
Jesus was working His way down. James and John were trying to work their way up. Jesus was on His way to the cross, they were trying to get to the throne. They wanted to be first, Jesus told them they should be last. They wanted to be served, Jesus told them to be servants and slaves.
It's easy to get hooked on the narcotic of success, rewards, compensation, and status in leadership. It's natural to want to move up the ladder the longer you have been on it. Jesus never called the disciples to be in a position, he called them to be a people. They would indeed hold important responsibilities after He was gone, but it wouldn't be glamourous. They were torn between their calling and their ache to be successful. We see one model displayed in the world and everyone follows that model. Work hard, move your way up, get money, get respect, arrive. Jesus flips this model on its head.
If you want to be great in the kingdom that will last, you have to be last. If you want to climb high, you have to get low. If you want to look different from the rest of the world you have to live different. You have to serve. You have to give. You can't ride your momma's coattails to success. The world has proven if you will do things a certain way, you will get certain results. No so with you.
No comments:
Post a Comment