Matthew 20:20-28; Mark 10:35-45
The mother of James and John brings her sons before Jesus to ask a favor. (The Mark account doesn't mention their mother, just James and John). She asks if her sons can be granted the seats of honor-- one on the right, one on the left--when Jesus comes into His kingdom. Jesus says that they don't fully understand what they are asking, because to get to the seats of honor, they will have to go through the same trials Jesus will suffer. But James and John assure Him they are up for it. Jesus tells them that yes, they will also suffer, but only God can give out assigned seats in the Kingdom. The other ten are ticked that the brothers would be so bold to ask. Jesus reminds them that the very thing they hate about the Roman government--unfair authority and rulers--is what they are now proposing for the Kingdom of God. Jesus says that is not how it's going to be; it's going to be an upside-down kingdom, with the greatest as a minister and the first as a servant. And Jesus Himself will provide the template!!
James and John, along with their mother, are showing that they still don't really understand what Jesus is doing. We see this same mentality in Exodus, as God draws His people, Israel, out of Egypt. The Israelites left Egypt and spent 40 years in a wilderness, complaining that they missed Egypt and all it had to offer. What they had already forgotten was that they were slaves in Egypt. Jesus is creating a new covenant and a new people, His church, those who are redeemed by His sacrifice. Jesus sees that the disciples could easily head the same direction, trying to build a new kingdom with blueprints from the worldly one. The kingdoms of this world offer power structures that are sometimes unfair. Jesus is setting up a government not of this world and not of this world's mindset. We are called to serve and to minister, just like Jesus did.
These verses change me in light of our world's condition. I've never been more aware of government leadership in my life, good and bad. There are times it seems authority is looking out for our good, and times it seems authority is overreaching. Those who are redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ Jesus have been given a new pattern. I shouldn't be looking for ways to advance myself and my opinion, but the Gospel. As we make our way through this wilderness of pandemic and politics, I hope that we don't project worldly kingdom mindset onto the kingdom of God. I hope the world doesn't look at Christ's church and see similarities to any other hierarchy. We must be willing to lay aside anything we think we deserve (notice this word--the breakdown literally means causing us to cease to serve) amd just do what Jesus would do.
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