Greatness Inverted: The Politics of the Cross Text: Matthew 20:20-28
Introduction: The Scramble for the Top
Every man wants to be great. This desire is not, in itself, a sin. God created us to exercise dominion, to build, to rule, to achieve. The desire for significance is woven into us by our Creator. The problem is not the desire, but its direction. Sin has twisted this God-given impulse into a selfish, grasping scramble for status. We see it everywhere. We see it in the halls of government, in the corporate boardroom, on the athletic field, and if we are honest, we see it in the mirror. The world’s definition of greatness is simple: get to the top, make others serve you, and secure the best seat for yourself.
And so we come to this scene, on the road to Jerusalem. Jesus has just, for the third time, laid out the grim reality of His coming passion. He is going to be betrayed, condemned, mocked, scourged, and crucified. He is speaking of the ultimate descent into suffering and shame. And in the middle of this sober discourse, the mother of James and John comes forward with a breathtakingly tone-deaf request. She is already planning the seating chart for the coronation. She wants to secure the chief cabinet posts for her boys.
We are tempted to look down on her, and on them, for this raw display of ambition. But we should be careful. Their request is simply the unvarnished expression of the same worldly logic that still infects the church today. They were thinking in political terms. They saw Jesus as a new David who would overthrow Rome and establish an earthly throne, and they wanted the seats of power next to him. They had not yet grasped that the Kingdom of God operates on a completely inverted set of principles. Jesus uses this awkward, embarrassing moment to teach one of the most revolutionary truths of His kingdom: the way up is down. He is about to establish an entirely new kind of politics, the politics of the cross.
The Text
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Him with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him. And He said to her, "What do you wish?" She said to Him, "Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left." But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They said to Him, "We are able." He said to them, "My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father." And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
(Matthew 20:20-28 LSB)
A Throne Room Request (vv. 20-21)
We begin with the request itself.
"Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Him with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him. And He said to her, 'What do you wish?' She said to Him, 'Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.'" (Matthew 20:20-21)
This is not a timid suggestion. This is a bold, political maneuver. The mother of James and John, likely Salome, comes with her sons. They are all in on it. She asks Jesus to "Command" it. Issue an executive order. Make it official. The seats on the right and left hand of a king were the positions of highest honor, authority, and power. They were asking to be the co-regents, the prime ministers of the Messianic kingdom. They believed the kingdom was imminent, and they were trying to get in on the ground floor and secure their promotions before anyone else.
Their timing could not have been worse. Jesus is speaking of His cross, and they are thinking of their crowns. They are operating entirely within a worldly framework. They see the kingdom in terms of earthly power, prestige, and position. They have failed to listen to what Jesus has been saying repeatedly. They want the glory of the kingdom, but they are seeking a shortcut that bypasses the suffering that must precede it. This is the constant temptation for the church: to seek worldly influence and power while avoiding the shame and sacrifice of the cross.
The Cup and the Father's Prerogative (vv. 22-23)
Jesus' response cuts through their ignorance and redirects their ambition.
"But Jesus answered and said, 'You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?' They said to Him, 'We are able.'" (Matthew 20:22)
"You do not know what you are asking." This is a merciful rebuke. They are blind to the spiritual reality of His kingdom. They think the path to the throne is through political maneuvering. Jesus tells them the path to the throne is through the grave. He reframes the issue from a question of status to a question of suffering. The "cup" in the Old Testament is a frequent symbol of God's wrath against sin (Ps. 75:8; Isa. 51:17). This is the cup of suffering that Jesus Himself will pray to have pass from Him in the garden of Gethsemane. He is asking them, "Are you prepared to suffer with me? Are you prepared for martyrdom?"
Their answer, "We are able," is a mixture of ignorant bravado and genuine, if misguided, loyalty. They don't understand the full cost, but they love Jesus and are willing to follow Him. And Jesus does not mock their answer. He accepts it and prophesies its fulfillment.
"He said to them, 'My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.'" (Matthew 20:23)
Jesus confirms that they will indeed share in His suffering. And they did. James was the first of the twelve to be martyred, beheaded by Herod (Acts 12:2). John endured a long life of persecution and was exiled to the island of Patmos. They did drink the cup. But Jesus then corrects their assumption about how positions are assigned in the kingdom. It is not His to give based on who asks first or who has the most ambition. The honors of the kingdom are distributed according to the sovereign plan of the Father. They have been "prepared" from eternity. This is a profound statement about divine sovereignty. God the Father is the one who assigns the rewards, and His decisions are not subject to our lobbying efforts.
The Indignation of Mirrors (v. 24)
The reaction of the other ten disciples is very revealing.
"And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers." (Matthew 20:24)
Why were they indignant? Was it out of a pure, spiritual concern that James and John were being worldly? Not a chance. They were indignant because James and John had tried to cut in line. Their anger was the mirror image of the Zebedees' ambition. They were angry because the two brothers had voiced the secret desire of all their hearts. They all wanted those seats. The indignation was born of jealousy and rivalry. This reveals that the entire group was infected with the same worldly mindset. They were all jockeying for position. And so, Jesus' following lesson is not just for James and John, but for all of them, and for us.
The Great Inversion (vv. 25-27)
Jesus now lays down the constitution of His kingdom, establishing the antithesis between the world's way and His way.
"But Jesus called them to Himself and said, 'You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you...'" (Matthew 20:25-26)
He starts with what they know. The Gentile, or pagan, model of leadership is domination. It is power from the top down. Rulers "lord it over" their subjects. Great men use their authority to make others serve their interests. Think of Caesar, of Pharaoh, of Herod. This is the politics of coercion, of self-interest, of pride. And Jesus says, in no uncertain terms, "It is not this way among you." The church is to be a colony of heaven with a completely different political structure.
So what is the kingdom model?
"...but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave;" (Matthew 20:26-27)
This is the great inversion. Jesus completely redefines greatness. He does not abolish authority or leadership. He redefines its purpose and exercise. If you want to be great, you must become a servant (diakonos). If you want to be first, you must go even lower and become a slave (doulos). The ambition is not condemned, but it is redirected. Be ambitious, yes, but be ambitious for the lowest place. Be ambitious to serve, to wash feet, to put the needs of others before your own. True authority in the kingdom of God is not used to elevate the self, but to build up others. A Christian husband, a pastor, a civil magistrate is given authority not for his own benefit, but to serve and protect those under his care. He is to be a servant-ruler.
The Ransom for Many (v. 28)
Lest they think this is just a nice, abstract ideal, Jesus anchors this entire principle in His own person and work. He is the ultimate reason and the perfect example.
"just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28)
This is the gospel in a nutshell. He, the Son of Man, the King of kings, who had every right to be served by legions of angels, came not to be served, but to serve. His entire incarnation was an act of service, of condescension. But His service reached its pinnacle in His ultimate act: to give His life a ransom for many. A ransom is a price paid to redeem a captive, to free a slave. We were slaves to sin and death, held captive by the just demands of God's law. We owed a debt we could not pay. Christ, in His service, paid that debt for us. He gave His life as a substitutionary payment to set us free.
The cross is the ultimate expression of servant leadership. The throne of His glory was the cross of our redemption. His crown of thorns precedes His crown of glory. This is why we must live this way. We serve because our King served us. We give our lives away because He gave His life as a ransom for us. The logic of the world is to save your life, to look out for number one. The logic of the cross is to lose your life for His sake and the gospel's, and in so doing, to truly find it. True greatness is not found in climbing a ladder, but in kneeling with a basin and a towel, and ultimately, in being willing to lay down your life for the brethren, just as He did for us.