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 On his last trip to Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples joined the vast crowds of pilgrims making their way to the holy city for Passover. Their route took them through Perea,* a largely Jewish territory east of the Jordan River. Here the ancient pilgrim route took them through several Jewish villages set down below the steep eastern slopes of the canyon of the Jordan.
* Also known as "Beyond the Jordan." This is the "East Bank" of the Jordan River, located in the modern-day nation of Jordan.
There was excitement in the air. The festival of Passover breathed the hope of freedom and deliverance from enemies. Many had already become convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, the ruler that would bring deliverance from Rome--and had tried to crown him king in Galilee (John 6:15). Now others joined them in that belief ("Many believed in him there", John 10:42; i.e. in Perea, see John 10:40). Every time Jesus stopped to speak, so many tens of thousands ("myriads" in Greek) crowded around to hear that Luke says they were trampling on one another (Luke 12:1). They hoped to see a mighty act of God that would restore their independence and set Messiah on a throne in Jerusalem ("They supposed the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately"; Luke 19:11).
It was in this atmosphere of heightened expectation that Jesus was approached by the mother of James and John with her sons (Matt. 20:20). The Greek says she prostrated herself on the ground before him, the traditional Middle Eastern gesture of submission, as if he were already on the throne. Her request was straightforward: that her sons would sit at his right and his left (Matt. 20:21). This was not just a request for good seating at state functions. Those sitting at the ruler's right and left had the highest positions of authority in the kingdom.
Jesus' reply exposed the vast gap between their hopes and his destiny. "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" (Matt. 20:22). They probably took this to refer to an impending battle against the Romans, replying with confidence, "We are able" (Matt. 20:22). But Jesus was thinking of the suffering he would experience on the cross.
When the other disciples heard about this request for favor, they were upset (20:24). They, too, were hoping for positions of honor. One of their favorite topics of conversation was debating which of them was the greatest, in other words, who would have the highest position in the kingdom, as they did in Galilee (Mark 9:34, Luke 9:46), on the road to Jerusalem (Mark 10:35-41), and even at the Last Supper (Luke 22:24).
This topic was common among the disciples of other rabbis, too. Jonathan ben Uzziel was identified as the greatest of the disciples of the famous Rabbi Hillel, while Johanan ben Zakkai was considered the least.* Years later, when Johanan ben Zakkai became a rabbi in his own right, his son was healed by Hanina, one of his own disciples. This led the Rabbi's wife to wonder out loud, "Is then Hanina greater than you?" With wounded pride Rabbi Johanan answered: "No, but in the presence of God he is like a servant before the king, while I am like a prince before the king."**
* Sukkah 28a; Judah Nadich, The Legends of the Rabbis, vol. 1, Jason Aronson, Northvale, NJ, 1994, p. 209. Rabbi Hillel was the most famous rabbi of the generation before Jesus.
** Genesis Rabbah 34; Nadich, p. 258.
The desire to attribute greatness to the disciples of Rabbi Hillel was taken to wild extremes: "Thirty were worthy enough that the Divine Presence should rest upon them as it did upon Moses; thirty were worthy enough that the sun should stand still for their sake as it did for Joshua ben Nun."* This is the same spirit Jesus criticized when he said of the Pharisees, "They do all their deeds to be noticed by men...and they love the place of honor at banquets, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places" (Matt. 23:5-7).
* Sukkah 28a; Nadich, p. 209.
With such dramatic expectations of glory, it's no wonder that Jesus' prophecies of his coming crucifixion fell on deaf ears: "They did not understand this saying...and they were afraid to ask him about this saying" (Luke 9:45). One of these prophecies had been given just before the mother of James and John made her request (Matt. 20:17-19). But they had missed the point. Their minds were set on glory and power.
The same is true today. Most want to make a name for themselves in the ministry. They want to be famous and rich. Pastors evaluate one another by the size of their congregations and their level of income. "Serious" ministries are those with big budgets and television exposure. Others argue about who is an evangelist and who is an apostle. We're expected to be impressed when we hear grandiose titles like "Apostle to Asia" or "Apostle to the nations." The traditional churches play the same game. The pope has long called himself "his apostolic holiness." Even the secular media debates whether the previous pope was the greatest pope of the century.
So Jesus took them aside to explain that God has a different plan for leadership in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 20:25-27). First, he identified the usual politics of power: that rulers "lord it" over their subjects, and great men "tyrannize" those around them (20:25). But in God's kingdom, he said, "whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you will be your slave" (20:26,27). The system of government in the Messianic kingdom is to be the reverse of the way of the world. Those who are great in the kingdom of God are not those who amass the most power or are the most puffed up with pride. True greatness is found in the most humble, who lay aside their own interests to actually serve those around them.
This is exactly the opposite of the world's way of doing things. Those who serve and care for others are looked at as fools by the world, to be taken advantage of and despised. Even in the Christian community, people are always running after ministries that are abusive and worldly, boasting of riches and power. But instead, Jesus says, we should look for leaders that have a servant's heart: humble ministers of the gospel that are looking for no earthly reward.
When Messiah returns, many of those who seem great now will be forgotten, and many who seem unimportant now will be shown to be truly great. As Jesus put it, "Many of the first will be last; and the last first" (Matt. 19:30). Jesus didn't just ask us to call ourselves servants, but to actually be servants, to put our lives on the line, as he did, for the sake of others (Matt. 20:28).
Earlier, in Galilee, Jesus had answered the disciples' question, "Who then is greater in the kingdom of the heavens?" (Matt. 18:1), by placing a child before them. "Unless you turn around [are changed] and become like children, you will certainly not enter into the kingdom of the heavens" (Matt. 18:3). What is it about children he wants us to emulate? "Whoever humbles himself like this child, this one is greater in the kingdom of the heavens" (18:4). True greatness in God's sight comes from humility. When we receive someone who walks in humility, we receive the presence of Jesus himself. "And whoever receives one such child in my name receives me" (Matt. 18:5).
This is the context of Jesus' commandment of love, which he addresses to his "little children" (John 13:33). We are to "love one another just as I have loved you," freely, the way children love (John 13:34). We are even to love our enemies (Matt. 5:44)! This is only possible if we humble ourselves. How can we dare this radical humility? Only if we are not relying on our own fleshly abilities to achieve greatness, but rather on the love of God to accomplish God's purpose through us in the world.
Jesus mentions the attitude the world often has to his humble servants when he warns: "See that you don't despise [disregard, or slight] one of these little ones..." (Matt. 18:10a). And why not? "For I say to you that their messengers [their angels] in the heavens always see the face of my Father in the heavens" (18:10b). The expression "see the face" of the Father means that they are received (with favor) into the presence of God, where they present our requests before him, as in Gen. 33:10: "I see your face as one sees the face of God, and you have received me favorably."* Would you like God to receive your prayers with favor? Then we must turn around and become like little children.
* By contrast, when God hides his face, he does not receive a request ("Do not hide your face from me...do not abandon me or forsake me"; Psa. 27:9).
Do you have this kind of child-like trust in your life? Or has it been tarnished over the years? Sometimes we're hurt by someone in the body of Messiah and it becomes harder to trust. Sometimes we become weary in serving God, or are disappointed by events in life. Perhaps God didn't answer a prayer we thought he should have. But Jesus said that child-like trust and openness is necessary for eternal life.
How do we get that child-like humility back again? First we need to know it's important. Then we can ask God to show us what we've allowed into our lives to steal it away. Then we must release those hurts and be healed, and ask Jesus to restore the child-like wonder to our relationship with him and with others. If we do, it's a request we can be sure he will receive with favor.
The hopes of glory of the disciples came crashing down at the cross, and were exposed as the vanities of earthly men. But in that moment of crushing humility, they found the true meaning and purpose of life, that led them down the road to true greatness.
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