| A Boss After God’s Own Heart 2 / ABAGOH >>> |
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A Boss After
God’s Own Heart (ABAGOH)– Part 2 Competition among the disciples |
Matthew 20:20-24 –KJV– Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of 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 shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.
The
mother of James and John who were two of Jesus’ disciples came to ask
a special favor from the Master, which was to grant them the honor to
be seated at His right hand and at His left side in His kingdom. What
a privilege it would be for her sons to be seated next to the almighty
God, the creator of all things and King of kings! The other disciples
became upset about this request because they felt that John and James
were pretending to be something better and to deserve a special place
of honor next to Jesus. Each of them felt that they deserved the same
privilege. Their angry reaction showed that the disciples of Jesus were
in a competition about being the greatest, and this episode is very
similar to the conflict between Joseph and his brothers. Neither the
disciples of Jesus nor the brothers of Joseph could cope with the idea
of being inferior or dominated. As we can see in the Bible, the disciples
of Jesus often had a discussion about who among them was the greatest
(Matthew 18:1; Mark 9:34; Luke 9:46; Luke 22:24). Jesus had just told
His disciples that He was going to suffer and die, but instead of meditating
on these words, they once again raised the issue about who among them
was the greatest. That’s how much they were preoccupied by the issue
of greatness. Jesus’ disciples had the wrong understanding about being
the greatest, and the Master had to clarify the matter again in Matthew
20:25-28: “But Jesus called them unto Him, and said, Ye know that
the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that
are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among
you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even
as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and
to give his life a ransom for many”. Jesus told the mother of John
and James that there is a price to pay in order to achieve a position
of greatness in Him. There is a cup of suffering, humiliation and injustice
to drink, whereby your true character must be put to the test and revealed.
Joseph drank that cup to the fullest and was severely tried before he
could be entrusted with so much power and authority in Egypt. It is
a cup of false accusations, betrayal, loneliness and pain that will
reveal your true character and determine your level of integrity. Drinking
from that cup will form your Christian character and build you up in
your most holy faith (Jude 1:20), making you strong in the Lord and
shaping you to become more like Jesus. It is a cup whereby you don’t
seek for personal revenge, but you let God have His way. Being someone
great in the Lord implies sacrifice and responsibility. That’s why Jesus
told the mother of John and James that she does not really understand
the meaning and the implication of what she is asking because it is
not just about being elevated and honored. It is more about self-denial
and being ready to even lay down one’s life for the cause of the kingdom.
The Bible says in Philipians 2:3-11: “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Jesus is our best example of humility and service. He humbled Himself to the point of death and was highly exalted and given the name above every name. He drank the cup of humiliation and injustice because He had a mission to fulfill, which was to redeem us from the penalty of death. When He was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane, Simon Peter drew out his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant whose name was Malchus, in an attempt to protect His Master. But Jesus rebuked him and told Him that He was able to defend Himself but chose not to do so because He had to go to the cross. He could have asked His Father to send a legion of angels to fight for Him. A legion of angels could be approximately 72.000 to 80.000 angels. If a single angel was able to kill 185.000 enemies in 2 Kings 19:35, then we can understand that a legion of angels is an extraordinary mighty army that could have delivered the Lord Jesus easily. But He decided to be weak because of His love for us.
Let’s have a closer look on the real concern behind being the greatest. What is the reason why people want to feel important or more important than others? In every human being there is the desire to be appreciated for who we are or for what we have done. The little children appreciate it when Mum and Dad get excited about the doodles that they managed to draw. They feel encouraged and loved by their parents when they appreciate their little accomplishments that seem great and fantastic in their own eyes. So it is the natural longing of the human heart to feel important. It is part of the pride of life that naturally lies within every human being. It is normal to have a feeling of contentment or even pride about one’s own accomplishments. Everybody appreciates a good compliment and there is nothing wrong about encouraging one another with good compliments. But the danger about it is that we can become puffed up and start exalting ourselves. As children of God, we should give God the glory in all things because He is the One who gives us the ability to do whatever we can do. It is all about God’s grace, His mercy and His goodness, for without Him we can do nothing. So the more importance we acquire, the more consideration and honor we receive from the people around us. This is exactly what people seek after: consideration, honor and the praise of men. And when this longing becomes their main focus, it can change to an obsession that will cause them to seek for more influence, which in turn creates a desire for more power, even destructive power. We will talk more about it the next lessons.
The disciples of Jesus were competing about being the greatest because something inside of them was longing for honor, recognition and praise. If that was not their concern, then the request made by the mother of John and James would not have been an issue at all. But they felt pinched on the inside as if they were being deprived of their right for honor. This is the reason why the Lord Jesus took time to teach His disciples on this matter. They needed to have the right understanding about it because they were called to establish the Church of Jesus and continue the work that He had started. Jesus had a major problem with the Pharisees because their main concern was to be seen and admired by men. They were more concerned about getting the praise, the recognition and the acceptance of men rather than getting the recognition of God. Speaking to His disciples about the Pharisees, Jesus said in Matthew 23:5-7: “But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.” Jesus told His disciples to do what the Pharisees say, but they were not supposed to copy their actions. King Saul was rejected by God and replaced by David because he too was more concerned about the recognition of men than pleasing God (1 Samuel 13:1-14). Satan was cast down from heaven because he was obsessed about being the greatest and getting the praise and the worship that are due to God alone (Isaiah 14:12-15).
Self exaltation and pride are very dangerous seeds that we should not allow to take root in our hearts. King Nebuchadnezzar was abased to the level of an animal because he became puffed up about his “accomplishments”. God allowed him to be isolated and rejected from all men until he learned to give God alone the glory (Daniel chapter 4). God knows exactly what formula to apply to each one of us in order to bring us to a position of humbleness. He resists the proud but He gives grace to the humble (James 6:4). In everything we do, it is important that we check our motives. Anything we do to be seen by men is a sign that an unhealthy pride is still active in our hearts. All our actions must be clothed with decency, erasure, and shamefacedness. This is also the thought behind the concept of living a life of holiness and separation from the world, whereby our outward appearance reflects a heart where humility, meekness and modesty are the main pillars. So, every one of us can ask themselves these questions: “What am I enlarging in my life? What am I accentuating or making broad in my life so as to draw people’s attention? What is it that I want people to see in me at any cost? What am I secretly or even unconsciously boasting about? Do I want to appear more beautiful or smarter than my brothers and sisters? Am I in competition with anybody? Or am I pretending to be something that I am not?” And the sisters should ask themselves if the way they dress is to look sexy and appealing or to please and honor God. So if we call ourselves His followers, we must check our motives and correct whatever needs to be ajusted in our walk with God. Likewise, when we pray, fast or give alms or do anything else for God, we should do it in a spirit of humility and erasure, without blowing the trumpet about it (Matthew 6:1-8; 16-18).
Proverbs 15:33 states: “The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honor is humility.” The humility in question is the attitude of the heart that enables us to take offenses without fighting back. It is all about meekness and gentleness in the fear and wisdom of God. We must go to the cross before we receive the crown of glory and honor. Depending on the situation that we go through, the Holy Spirit will instruct us about the right attitude that we should have. There are some situations were God will allow us to defend ourselves and when we get to that point, He will give us the right words, the purpose being for His Gospel to be spread out (Matthew 10:19-20; Mark 13:11; Luke 12:11-12; see also the speech of Stephen the martyr in Acts chapter 7 and the defenses of Apostle Paul throughout his ministry, for instance during his trial before Festus in Acts chapter 25). Regardless on the situation that we are going through, we should always be a testimony to the glory of God. A mature Christian character is also formed when we allow ourselves to be depraved from our rights, just like Jesus did. Joseph became a boss after God’s own heart after going through a lot of pain, loss, rejection and injustice. He never thought that he would see his family again. But his character was formed through the things that he suffered. He might have wondered why he had to go through so much injustice and pain, and how in the world his dreams were going to become true. But God had a purpose through it all and Joseph finally became somebody great according to God’s plan. But even though he was given so much power and authority, Joseph never abused his authority and never sought for self revenge. He never had a puffed up attitude towards his brothers and treated them gently when he became Egypt’s first minister. After the death of their father Jacob, Joseph’s brothers pleaded with him not to do anything to punish them for selling him into Egypt. As long as their father was still alive, they felt that they had a covering and were protected from any attempt from Joseph to seek for revenge. But Joseph reassured them of his love for them with tears and they understood that he would never do them any harm. He promised to care for them and give them the best of what Egypt had to offer (Genesis 50:15-21). Joseph understood that he had been called to be the servant of his brothers; he was a servant clothed in royal garments who wonderfully fulfilled his mission. mt