Matthew 20:20-28
Jesus
Talks about Serving Others
20 Then the
mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her
sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
21 "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."
22 "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.
23 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."
24 When the ten heard
about this, they were indignant with the two
brothers. 25 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.
26 Not so with you.
Instead, whoever wants to become great among you
must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be
first 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."
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to change
the way that we think, and the way that we live.
Commentary
by Bob Pardue
Serving
Others
- Why do we
pray?
-
This message of a mother
asking a simple favor of Jesus reveals to us a
deeper intention. Yes, she did bow down before Him
and give praise but, it is obvious she wanted
something from Him ..
... The advancement of her
two sons, James and John.
Like any parent today, she
wanted to see her children placed in high positions
and she most likely believed, as many did, that
Jesus would be an earthly king instead of a
heavenly one.
Christ gave a hint at what
was to become of Him when He asked if John and
James could drink from His cup, the
crucifixion.
Jesus went on to say, as He
had preached many times, that those who want to be
first in heaven will be last on earth. The servants
here will sit in high places in God's
kingdom.
God gave us life and put us
on earth for one purpose, to serve Him. The way we
serve God is by loving and serving others. It's our
decision as to whether we will complete God's will
in our lives and we are constantly falling
short.
Christ went to the cross and
died in order to serve us by taking on our sin.
Can't we do a small thing and take care of someone
else's needs today?
Love in Christ
- Bob
If you have never made the
commitment to receive the love and life-changing
experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to
go
here and take the
first
steps to salvation.
Another
Helpful Bible Study Verse For Living
...
Matthew
20:17-19
- Easter
Story - Jesus Tells about His Death the Third
Time
- The Easter story takes many turns and events
happen on a timeline. In this portion Jesus
predicts His death for the third time. The
disciples do not fully understand this until the
resurrection.
Verses about what Jesus says about serving
others are from Life Application Study Bible:
New International Version
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