Matthew 20:20–34
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.”
Two Blind Men Receive Sight
29 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”
34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
Jesus wants his disciples to serve other people. They must not give orders to people all the time.
‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ The disciples asked Jesus this question. (Read 18:1–5.) Jesus did not give a direct answer. Instead, Matthew recorded several incidents in Jesus’ life. He gave examples of Jesus’ teaching. These things showed what ‘citizens of the kingdom’ should be like. Then this passage gave a clear answer to the earlier question.
In the previous chapters, Jesus taught things about real disciples. They:
- welcome people who do not seem to have any worth (18:1–9).
- care about the least important disciple (18:10–14).
- try to help another disciple who sins (18:15–20).
- do not claim their rights; but
- show the mercy that God has shown to them. They do this by their behaviour (18:21–35).
- obey Jesus’ words (19:1–30).
- are glad when other people receive mercy.
- do not feel that they deserve more (20:1–16).
- follow Jesus’ example in all things (20:17–19).
Think about all these things. Then what Jesus said will not be a surprise. Nobody else has ever taught the things that Jesus taught. People use human methods and human standards to make themselves great. (Read 20:24–25.) But they cannot become great in God’s kingdom in that way. (Read verse 26a.) Those who follow Jesus must be different.
James, John and their mother did not understand this. (Read verses 20–22.) The mother’s request for her sons was natural. They were Jesus’ special friends (17:1).
But Jesus completely refused to agree with that idea. Instead, he referred to his own example. He served humbly. That is what it still means to be really great. (Read verses 27 and 28 especially.) For James, this would mean that he would die for Jesus. (Jesus suggested this in verse 23.) John would have to go far away from his friends and family. The authorities would send him to an island called Patmos. (Read Revelation 1:9.) All the disciples would suffer in some way. Their daily life would include hard discipline. There would be difficult circumstances. Their work with people would often make them sad too.
The humble Messiah who suffers
Up to this time, Jesus had not wanted people to know that he was the Messiah. (Read 16:20.) But now, he was going to Jerusalem city for the last time (20:18). So Jesus would not keep things secret any more. He had spoken about certain things. Now the time had come for them to happen.
The blind men called him ‘the son of David’. This was a Jewish title for the Messiah. Jesus accepted the title. Jews believed that the Messiah would do miracles. This belief came from the OT. Here, Jesus did a miracle. It confirmed the prophecies about him. (Read Isaiah 29:18 and 35:5, 6.)
So, Jesus accepted the title, Messiah. Then he did a miracle that proved it. He really was the Messiah. But he showed what sort of Messiah he had come to be. The title ‘son of David’ had a special meaning in Jesus’ time. The Romans ruled the Jews at that time. So the Jews thought that the Messiah would bring them national freedom. He would give the Jews freedom from the Romans.
But Jesus wanted them to think about another part of Messiah’s work. So he did a miracle. Isaiah (35:5) had promised it many years before. It was much greater than to give sight to blind men. But the Jews had neglected that other part. It was that the Messiah would suffer.
Matthew emphasized that Jesus felt pity and sympathy (20:34). This was like the ‘servant who suffers’ in Isaiah. (Read Isaiah 42:1–4 and 52:13–53:12.) Isaiah described someone who would die. He would cancel the effects of sin. Jesus was showing that Messiah would not save the Jews from the Romans. He would save men and women from the effects of their sin. (Read Matthew 20:28.)
In the Bible, ‘sight’ was often a sign. It described spiritual sight. Jesus gave the blind men physical sight. Then they followed Jesus. Matthew thought that this meant something. The word ‘follow’ sometimes had a religious meaning. It described what a disciple should do.
So, people received spiritual sight from the Messiah. Then they must follow Jesus. They must show the same love for people that Jesus showed for them. Their love must not be selfish. That love must show very much pity and sympathy too.
Questions
1. Read Matthew 20:20–28 again. Think about specific situations in your life. They could be at home, at school or at work. They could be at church too. How could the teaching in these verses help you?
2. How could the members of your church be ‘servants’ in society? Think about specific things that you could all do.
3. There are many social needs. They are national and international. How much should Christians do about these needs? First, answer this question about yourself. Then, think about the members of your church.