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Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again."
Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. And He said to her, "What do you wish?" She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom." But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" They said to Him, "We are able." So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father." And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
- Matthew 20:17-28
In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught a parable: "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' So they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?' They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.' So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.' And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.' But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?' So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen."
Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again." My study bible tells us: "Christ's repeated prediction of His Passion was meant to encourage and strengthen the disciples for the terrifying events they would face. It is as if Christ were saying, 'Think on all these [words and miracles], so that when you see me hanging the Cross, you will not imagine that I am suffering because I am powerless to do otherwise'" (quoting Theophylact of Bulgaria).
Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. And He said to her, "What do you wish?" She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom." But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" They said to Him, "We are able." So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father." My study bible says that this quest for "temporal power and glory" isn't fitting for a disciple, but rather shows an "earthly misunderstanding of the Kingdom of God." It notes that Matthew reports that the mother of Zebedee's sons requested this honor, but John's and James' own involvement is revealed by the plural you in verse 22 ("You do not know what you are asking"; see also Mark 10:35). My study bible also says, "Christ calls His Crucifixion a cup and His death a baptism. The Cross is a cup because He drank it willingly (Hebrews 12:2). His death is baptism, for He was completely immersed in it, yet it cleansed the world (Romans 6:3-6). Christ's prophecy of John and James participating in the same cup and baptism shows the life of persecution and martyrdom they would lead after Pentecost. Christ declaring that the places of honor in the Kingdom are not His to give does not mean that He lacks authority. Rather, it means that they are not His to give arbitrarily. Instead, He will give them to those for whom God has prepared them. Note also that with regard to sitting as equals on the right and left hand of Christ in His Kingdom, St. John Chrysostom teaches that no one could possibly occupy such a position." It also notes that, with regard to the highest places of honor that can be given to man, the icons in the Orthodox Church universally depict Christ's mother, the Virgin Mary (as most blessed among women - Luke 1:28) and John the Baptist (greatest born of women - Matthew 11:11) holding these places.
And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." My study bible calls this a "small-minded dispute" that is out of place in juxtaposition to the mysteries which Christ has just revealed. Jesus' correction is to first compare the disciples to the "power-hungry Gentiles whom they themselves considered an abomination, and contrasting them to Himself, who serves us even though He is Lord of all."
Jesus not only notes His own impulse of service, but it's a much more graphic depiction of just what He is willing to do for others. He "did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." A ransom suggests an exchange, a kind of a "bargain" in which hostages are freed through the sacrifice of someone essential and important. This is voluntary self-sacrifice. My study bible notes that "for many," here, is an Aramaic expression that means "for all." This exceptionally important person will give His life as a ransom -- so essential to the welfare of all, His life, in effect, is potent enough to be a ransom for all. In this vivid illustration, we come to understand through a kind of glaring light just how essential and how powerful Christ really is. Not only is He saving "all" in the context of whatever "all" we consider in the here and now, but this "all" really means "all" -- here and now, and also before and after. It isn't just those living and present, but includes those "in the tombs" and those in the ages to come. In this case, this incredible service does truly depict the first among all. This ransom is like a kind of prisoner-of-war swap: in a type of spiritual warfare, souls are held hostage to a particular way of thinking, of life. It is one that values material power above all, a competition that relies only on winning at any cost, a truly material-minded life. But the One who gives His life from the other side, from the Kingdom, is the One who teaches us what it is to be truly great, to be the greatest among all. Imagine the greatness of this particular ransom, and the evil in the act of murder involved here. Yet He goes voluntarily, as a sacrifice for all. And this is our image, given by Christ, of how we are to see what is to come: His condemnation, mocking, scourging, and crucifixion -- at the hands of both the Jewish and the Roman leadership. This is truly a "for all" circumstance, where no one in this world, and both before and after, is left out. This is His role as Son of Man. We await His victory (going forward in Matthew's gospel), at which even death has been defeated.
