July 2, 2025; Matthew 20:20-34

Daily Dose of Hope

July 2, 2029

Scripture – Matthew 20:20-34

Prayer:  Almighty God, We rejoice in your perfect name.  We praise you and give you all the glory. We are grateful that you are a God who sits high and looks low.  Thank you for loving and caring for us.  We know that we fall short.  We know that we are not the people you want us to be.  But we want to do better.  Lord, help us set aside our scattered thoughts and focus on you this morning.  In these next few moments of silence, Lord, hear our prayers, hear our deepest needs...  Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope daily Bible reading plan.  We are currently doing a Deep Dive into the Gospels and Acts.  Today, we are finishing up Matthew 20.

In today’s passage, we meet a mama who wants what’s best for her boys.  Don’t most of us parents really want our kids to do well in their jobs?  This woman was no exception.  She wanted her sons, James and John, to be ahead of the other disciples, seen as most worthy by Jesus.  She asked that when Jesus comes into his Kingdom, he would have one of her boys seated on his right and the other boy seated on his left. She wanted her sons to have the places of highest honor. This was not a small request, nor did she have any idea what she was asking.

Let’s get this straight.  There isn’t anything wrong with ambition.  There isn’t anything wrong with wanting to excel.  That’s actually pretty important if we want to get things done in our lives.  And this mother was just looking out for her sons.  But I want you to picture this.  Here comes this mother with her grown sons in tow.  These are adult men, not little kids.  If we read the parallel passage in Mark 10, it’s obvious these “boys” were in on the discussion.  They wanted to ask the same thing.  Maybe they felt like Jesus would be more empathetic toward their mama. 

One thing that is interesting here is that their mother clearly believes that Jesus will come into his Kingdom.  She had faith in Jesus, so we have to give her kudos for that.  There were a lot of people doubting Jesus at this point.  So that is good.

However, the competitiveness between the disciples was not good.  Even up through their time at the Last Supper, the disciples were always talking about who was the best and/or most important.  This mother and her boys coming to talk to Jesus about hierarchy in the Kingdom was one of several incidents in which the disciples just get things totally wrong.  God’s Kingdom was not like earthly kingdoms with people wielding power over other people.  It wasn’t about status or places of honor. 

What this woman doesn’t understand, nor do the disciples, is the servant nature of Jesus’ Kingdom.  To be great in God’s Kingdom, one must sacrifice much, more than they could ever anticipate.  They underestimated the level of sacrifice and humility required for Jesus’ Kingdom and overestimated their own importance.  Don’t we so often do the same? 

Jesus is kind.  He doesn’t put them down.  He just says, “You have no idea what it will cost you to sit next to me.”  It won’t be long before Jesus will head to Jerusalem, disciples in tow, knowing he will be killed.  When Jesus asks if they understand the cost, they don’t.  But he is asking them to suffer with him.  It will be Jesus who will die on the cross for the sins of the world, but all his disciples (including us) are also called to suffer by being faithful to him.

And the disciples do suffer.  After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the disciples are all in.  They are willing to suffer and die in Jesus’ name.  James became the first disciple to die.  He was executed under Herod Agrippa I in Acts 12.  John was the last disciple to die; he ended up exiled on the island of Patmos. 

At the end of this portion of Scripture, Jesus says something quite profound (he was known for doing that, you know.) He says the leaders of this world lord their power over the people.  But “not so with you.”   Four powerful and life-changing words.  The disciples are to behave differently.  We are to behave differently.  Jesus’ followers are not supposed to be seeking earthly power and fame.  We are to be seeking Jesus.  How we get this so messed up.

The chapter ends with another miracle.  This seems appropriate.  Jesus is showing his disciples, “This is who we are.”

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki