Whoever wishes to be first among you

While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised.’

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favour of him. And he said to her, ‘What do you want?’ She said to him, ‘Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.’ But Jesus answered, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?’ They said to him, ‘We are able.’ He said to them, ‘You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.’

When the ten heard it, they were angry with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’

- Matthew 20:17-28

In the previous two readings, we've had a discussion of the statement, "The last will be first and the first will be last." (See readings for Wednesday and Thursday.) Jesus has discussed the rewards of the kingdom for those who are its laborers, for those who leave all in order to serve in this kingdom and, as he told the wealthy young man in search of eternal life, "Follow me."

We begin with what is now the third formal warning to his disciples about what is going to happen to Jesus in Jerusalem. Finally, they are on their way to Jerusalem, and Jesus teaches them yet more clearly about what is ahead for Him. "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised."

In Wednesday's reading, we read of Jesus' teaching, "Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life." Now that Jesus has once again announced to the disciples that the end of this journey together with him is near, and that the day of his resurrection approaches, it seems that his apostles and close friends the Zebedee brothers, John and James, and their mother, Salome, come to make this request, given the teachings that have come in these passages just before. Jesus asks her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom."

Jesus replies, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They said to him, "We are able." He said to them, "You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." In the original Greek, Jesus speaks not only of the cup that he is about to drink, but also calls what is ahead of him a "baptism." My study bible notes that Jesus' crucifixion and death is called a "cup" because he drank it willingly. The note continues, "His death is baptism, for He was completely immersed in it, and by it He cleansed the world."

They said to him, "We are able." He said to them, "You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." Again, in the original text, Jesus tells John and James tell Jesus that they will indeed drink his cup, and also undergo his baptism. My study bible has a note saying that the preparation of the places by the Father does not diminish Jesus' equal authority, but rather Jesus means that this is not his alone to give.

The other disciples are upset that John, James and Salome, their mother, have made this request to Jesus. But Jesus tells them: "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many." Here we have yet another reading from Jesus on the concept of the first who is last and the last who is first, and it is perhaps the greatest teaching he gives on power and its nature in the kingdom. Not only should greatness be shown by service, but "whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave." The great example of this will be set by Jesus himself: "Just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many." Jesus' cup and his baptism is a rendering of himself, his very life as a human being, to the service of all. In Aramaic, notes my study bible, "for many" means "for all."

I don't think it's possible for me to grasp the tremendous significance of this voluntary act of Jesus, that he will go to the Cross "for all." We know his power, and that which he serves, we have seen his many miracles. This is a voluntary act, this cup that he is about to drink. In the baptism of death and crucifixion that he will endure, his life will be given for the sake of opening this kingdom to all. It is an act of giving, of service to all. Perhaps there are those who may be able to calculate the tremendous impact upon the world by this cup and this baptism, but I confess that it is simply too great for me to grasp. But by this act, the world has been changed. We have an image of what it is to serve, to give one's life as a ransom "for many." In the darkest times of struggle, we look to this act and this image for inspiration and understanding that there are meanings to life - to power and greatness and all that is a part of that in truth - that transcend our understanding and the appearance of our circumstances. I hope those meanings and values are present to you wherever you need to turn for guidance through difficulties. In this way, Jesus' cup and baptism continues to serve the world, to fill each of us with awe and inspiration, to find the things that are worthy to serve, and to transcend appearances of the world, and all our circumstances.