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.
Bob
Pardue
is a member of First
Baptist
Church
in Lancaster, SC. He is ordained
from Rich Hill Baptist in
Lancaster.
Want
to place this passage and
commentary on your website or
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content?
This
article about Jesus and serving
others may be freely reprinted or
distributed in its entirety in
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website. The author's name, bio,
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remain intact and be
included with every
reproduction.
Bob
Verses are from Life
Application Study Bible: New
International Version
Comments are welcome.
Please email
me with any questions
or comments you may have.
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