Welcome And Passage Setup

Mark 0:04

Hello everyone, this is Mark Davis, and I want to welcome you to the Gospel Explorations Podcast. Where we gather together each week to take time to explore God's word, to learn how we have to live in this present age. Hello friends, and welcome back to the Gospel Explorations Podcast, where we're taking time to slow down, open God's word, and explore not only what the scripture says, but how its truth should shape the way that we live. Now, in our last episode together, we looked at Matthew chapter 20, verses 17 through 23. Today we're going to be looking at the last part of the chapter, verses 24 through 34. In our last episode, James and John, through their mother, asked Jesus for places of highest honor in his kingdom. They wanted to sit at his right hand and his left hand. You see, they were busy thinking about position and prominence and greatness. And today the other ten disciples in this passage hear about that request. But their reaction doesn't exactly show that they understand kingdom greatness any better than James or John did. And Jesus is going to take the ambitions of all the disciples and completely turn them upside down. And on the heels of that, Matthew is going to give us a living illustration of what Jesus had just taught. Jesus is telling the disciples that greatness means serving. Then we find two blind men crying out for mercy, and Jesus stops to serve them. He puts those words into action.

Jealousy Exposes Hidden Ambition

Mark 1:41

Let's begin in Matthew 20, verse 24. And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. Now James and John wanted the best seats in the kingdom. And when the other ten find out, they were angry. But we probably shouldn't give them too much credit here, because their anger was not coming from humility. They aren't saying, James and John, how could you care about a position at a time like this? Instead, they were thinking, How dare you try to get to those places before we do? Their indignation reveals that the same desire for prominence existed in all of them. It was just that James and John asked first. And this is a reminder that jealousy often reveals our own ambition. You see, sometimes we become upset when someone else receives the recognition, not because recognition is wrong, but because we wanted it for ourselves. We can criticize another person's desire for prominence while secretly wishing we had their position. And Jesus sees this very reality in his disciples. So he calls them together. Look at verse 25. But Jesus called unto them to him and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. Jesus points to the normal structure of worldly power. People at the top exercise authority over those underneath. That is, position gives privilege, rank brings influence, and the powerful are served by the less powerful. And then Jesus says one of the most important things he could say to his followers, starting in verse number 26. But it shall not be so among you. Don't miss that. This shouldn't be the case among you, because the kingdom of God is supposed to look different. Jesus does not tell his disciples how to study the powerful people around them and then lead and imitate them. Jesus does not tell his disciples to study how the powerful people around them lead and then imitate them. He doesn't say find the most successful leadership model in the Roman world and bring that into the church. Instead, he says something entirely different. The world says greatness means having people beneath you. But Jesus says greatness means getting beneath others to serve them. You see, the world says leadership means being important, while Jesus says leadership means becoming useful. Jesus goes on to say, but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister. And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant. Now the word that's translated minister there carries the idea of a servant. And then Jesus goes even lower. And he says, Whosoever will be chief, let him be your servant. The idea is that of a slave. Now that's radical. In the culture surrounding the disciples, humble service was not considered the path of greatness. Servants were at the bottom. And Jesus says, In my kingdom, that's where greatness begins. Notice that Jesus doesn't condemn the desire to make your life count. Instead, he redirects it. Do you want to be great? Then serve. Hey, do you want to be first? Then you take the lowest place. Do you want your life to matter in the kingdom of God? Then you have to use it for the good of others. Because kingdom greatness is not measured by how many people know your name, it's measured by how faithfully you serve in Jesus' name. And this is especially important for anyone who leads. It could be a parent or a pastor, a teacher, a ministry leader, an employer, or anyone that's entrusted with the responsibility of others. The question isn't merely, do I have the authority? The question is how am I using the authority I've been given? And notice here, Jesus does not condemn authority itself. Rather, he completely transformed what godly authority looks like. You see, Christian leadership is not primarily about what others can do for me. It's about what God has entrusted me to do for them. The real ministry is for the benefit of the people being ministered to. And that's an important test of our motives. Am I serving because I want to help people, or because I want people to admire me? Do I want influence because I can use it for the glory of God? Or because I enjoy being influential? Would I still serve if nobody applauded? Would I still do the work if somebody else received all the credit? And these are uncomfortable questions. But Jesus is teaching his disciples that greatness in his kingdom cannot be separated from humility.

Jesus Serves And Pays Our Ransom

Mark 6:36

Look at verse 28. Even as a son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. Jesus doesn't merely tell them to serve, he says, Look at me. If anyone has the right to demand service, it was Jesus. I mean, after all, he's a son of God, he's the King, the Lord of lords. And yet he says the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. And think about how Jesus lived. He touched lepers and welcomed children. He ate with the people that society despised. He healed the sick. He taught the confused and showed compassion to the crowds. He dealt patiently even with his own disciples. And eventually he was going to kneel and wash their feet. You see, Jesus didn't use people to increase his status, he used his position to serve others, and that's kingdom leadership. And then Jesus goes one step further. And he says, And to give his life a ransom for many. You see, the greatest act of service that Jesus would ever perform was still ahead. The cross. And he describes his death with the word ransom. Now remember, a ransom is a price that's paid to secure someone's freedom. The pictures of someone trapped in a condition they can't escape by themselves, and the price has to be paid. And Jesus says, I came to pay it. Not with money, but with my life. And this takes us straight to the heart of the gospel. Humanity's greatest problem cannot be fixed merely by better habits. We don't need a better example or more education. We are sinners at the core of who we are. We are unable to free ourselves from the guilt and judgment of our sin. And Jesus says to us, the Son of Man came to give his life a ransom for many. He would take our place. And this wording even points us back to Isaiah 53, where God's servant bears the sins of others. Isaiah wrote these words, for he shall bear their iniquities. That is, he bare the sin of many. And Jesus is explaining his coming death. You see, the cross would not merely be an example of courageous suffering, it would be substitution. He would give his life for others and pay the price that we could never pay. And think about how perfectly this answers the disciples' argument. They're fighting over who should be greatest. And Jesus says, look at what greatness looks like in me. The greatest one in the room is the one preparing to die for everybody else. The king becomes the servant. The one who deserves to receive everything is giving everything. So if we want to understand Christian greatness, we don't begin by looking at thrones. We start by looking at the cross.

Mercy For The Blind By The Road

Mark 9:35

Now Matthew moves immediately to another scene in verse 29. And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him. So Jesus is moving toward Jerusalem, and the cross is getting closer. And there's a crowd that is gathered around him. There's momentum, there's urgency. And Matthew says, And behold, two blind men sitting by the wayside, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David. Now these men cannot see Jesus, but they've heard enough about him to know who is passing by. And listen to what they call him. O Lord, Son of David. Son of David is a messianic title. These blind men see something about Jesus that many people with perfectly good eyesight were missing. They recognized him as the promised king and they cried out for his mercy. But notice the crowd does not appreciate their interruption. In verse 31, we read, and the multitude rebuked them because they should hold their peace. In other words, the people said, Hey, be quiet. Don't bother Jesus. He's going somewhere important. Hey, don't you know there are important things that are happening? You two aren't important enough to stop everything. And isn't that ironic? Jesus had just taught his disciples that greatness means serving. And now the crowd is trying to silence two needy men who want Jesus' attention. But these men refused to stay quiet. Matthew says they cried all the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David. They just got louder. They knew this opportunity may never come again. Jesus was passing by, and they desperately needed what only he could give. And there is something admirable about that kind of persistence. They didn't allow the opinion of the crowd to keep them from calling on Christ. You know, sometimes people allow embarrassment to keep them from Jesus. Maybe they think, I wonder what people will think about this, or what will they say about me? Or what if I look desperate? These men flat out didn't care. They are desperate. And they knew that mercy mattered way more than appearances. And there are times when we need that same kind of spiritual urgency in our lives. If you need mercy, ask for it. If you need help, call on Christ. If you need salvation, don't let pride or the opinion of others keep you silent. And you know, when the crowd may tell you to quiet down, faith cries out all the more. Then comes one of my favorite statements from this entire passage in verse number 32. And Jesus stood still. Here, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. He's already told his disciples what was coming: the betrayal, the mocking, the scourging, the crucifixion. Yet the story of two blind men stop him, and he stood still. What the crowd saw as inconvenience, Jesus saw as people with a need. The crowd wanted Jesus to keep moving and he stops. And once again, Jesus is demonstrating the very lesson that he just taught. The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. Jesus calls to them and asks, What will ye that I shall do unto you? Now Jesus knows they're blind. The answer seems obvious, doesn't it? But he invites them to express their need. And there is something important about bringing our needs specifically to God. Prayer isn't informing God of something he doesn't already know, it's expressing dependence upon him. Jesus knows, but he still asks, What do you want me to do? And they answer very simply, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. There was no speech, there was no elaborate explanation or bargaining. They simply said, Lord, we want to see. And that was enough. Verse 34 says, So Jesus had compassion on them. And this is the very heart of Christ. He isn't annoyed that they stopped him. He's not filled with reluctance. He has compassion. And Matthew says that he touched their eyes, and immediately their eyes receive sight. The men who have been sitting by the roadside suddenly see. And what is the very first thing they do with their newly open eyes? Matthew tells us. And they followed him. Isn't that beautiful? They receive sight, and then they use that sight to follow the very one who gave it to him. And by the way, that's a fitting picture of discipleship. Jesus doesn't bless us merely so that we can take his gifts and continue on our own way. Mercy leads to following. Grace leads to discipleship. The proper response to what Jesus has done for us is follow him. These men asked Jesus for sight and he gave them sight. And then they followed Jesus on the road. And remember where that road is going to Jerusalem, the cross. They received mercy and they joined the journey. I don't think we should miss how beautifully these two sections fit together. Jesus says to us, Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister, and then he serves. He says, The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. And then he stops for two blind men whom everybody else wants to silence. And Jesus says that he would give his life a ransom for many. And then he gives a small preview of his saving compassion by doing for these men what they could not do for themselves. You see, Jesus doesn't merely teach servant leadership, he embodies it. So what is it then that you think greatness looks like in the kingdom of God? I'm gonna tell you, it looks like Jesus. Greatness in God's kingdom serves. It stops, it notices the people that others ignore, it uses authority for the good of others. Greatness in God's kingdom isn't obsessed with recognition, it gives. You see, the disciples wanted to know who would sit closest to the throne, and Jesus simply pointed them towards the cross. And maybe that's the very question we need to ask ourselves. When I think about serving Christ, am I looking for a seat or am I looking for someone to serve? Am I asking who notices me or who needs me? Am I concerned about my status? Or am I becoming more like the Savior who said the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many? And then, like those two blind men, may the mercy that we've received cause us to do the simplest and the most important thing of all, to follow him.

Questions To Apply This Week

Mark 16:57

Friend, thank you so much for joining me today on the Gospel Exploration Podcast. This has been an excellent reminder about greatness in God's kingdom. I want to encourage you to take some time this week to read the passage again, Matthew 20, verses 24 through 34. Think carefully about how Jesus defines greatness differently from the world around us. And as always, don't forget to check out the show notes for reflection and study questions to help you continue exploring this passage even more. Until next time, friends, grace and peace. Thanks for listening. I hope that you've been both encouraged and challenged today. If you want to connect with us further, please be sure to check us out on the web at gospelexploration.com. We look forward to having you join us again next time.