Matthew 20:20-28
Mothers are often blind to reality when it comes to their
children, and so was the case of the mother of the sons of Zebedee. Jesus has for the third time told His
disciples in Jerusalem that He will be delivered over to the chief priests and
scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the
Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and He will be raised on the
third day. It is important to remember,
Jesus and the twelve disciples are on their way to Jerusalem, and these two
sons of Zebedee, James and John, Jesus called the Sons of Thunder. The Scriptures are quiet on why Jesus
nicknamed them, but when we study the Scripture we become aware of their
temperament. Do you recall on Jesus’ journey
to Jerusalem, He sent messengers ahead to make preparations for Him, and on
entering a village of the Samaritans they were not welcome, because they were
going to Jerusalem? Picking up the
account in Luke 9:54-55, “When the disciples James and John saw this they said,
“Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them, and they went
to another village.”
When Jesus called each of His disciples, and you as well, He
was aware of their shortcomings and their temperament. I have a very special sign hanging over my
fireplace on the back porch, it states; “Smile you Rascal, God knows all about
you, and He loves you anyway.” But have
you given thought to the command, Follow Me, Jesus is not asking the twelve to
accompany Him on His travels, nor is He asking that of you and me? He was and is asking us to follow His
example, to emulate His character. It came
at a high cost to the twelve they left businesses, careers, fathers and
mothers, and even families, to place commitment to Jesus above all else. (Note: these thoughts were taken from the
HCSB on page 1617, and put into my words.)
So the mother of these two rascals must have heard what
Jesus had said about what was going to happen in Jerusalem, and all who
followed Jesus believed He had come to establish His kingdom over Israel,
though it was self serving, what mother would not want her boys to be sitting next
to the king? So lets continue with the
account in Matthew 20:21-23, “And he said to
her, “What do you want?”
She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right
hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus
answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup
that I am to drink?” They said to
him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “You
will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to
grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
It
is clear the two brothers were tagging along with Jesus but they were not at
this moment emulating Jesus’ character. As
a follower I often find myself emulating the two brothers more than the
character of our Lord, how are you doing?
From
the Back Porch,
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