Matthew 20:17-23 KJV -
17 And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, 18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again. 20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. 21 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. 22 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. 23 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.
Like any good leader, Jesus was preparing his disciples for what was ahead of him in the coming days. In the beginning of the scripture, Jesus described the details of his crucifixion to his disciples. In Matthew 20: 18-19, we find that Jesus said:
18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.
Jesus is not simply prophesying his crucifixion for the sake of just telling the future. He is not only prophesying in this moment, but he is describing the fulfillment of Messianic prophesy as told by Isaiah. In Matthew 27, Jesus’s prophecy of his crucifixion came to pass. If we were to examine the words of Christ in Matthew 20 with his crucifixion in Matthew 27 with the Isaiah’s prophecy of the Messiah in Isaiah 53, we will find undeniable evidence that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy. Take a moment to compare Jesus’s description of impending crucifixion with Isaiah’s description in Isaiah 53: 1-12 that says:
Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (KJV)
The similarities between what we see between Matthew 20:18-19, and Isaiah 53 are overwhelming. Isaiah 53 and Matthew 20:18-19 foretell the crucifixion of Christ with piercing accuracy. So far, we can summarize that Jesus prophesying the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. However, there is more to explore in Matthew 20:18-19, and that is that Jesus’s is determined to go to the cross.
Jesus’s heart was fixed, and his mind was made up that he must go to the cross and die for the sins of the world. There is evidence of this in the Messianic prophecy found in Matthew 20:18-19, but there is more evidence of his determination to go to the cross found in the following verses. In Matthew 20: 20-21, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, the ones Jesus named “the sons of thunder,” their minds were consumed with the future glory of the kingdom. They stood in agreement with their mother when she asked Jesus to allow them to sit on his right hand and his left hand in the kingdom to come. Then, Jesus turned to James and John and told them, “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?” So, the first thing Jesus says in his response is that they don’t know what they are asking for. The cup and the baptism that Jesus was talking about was the cup and the baptism of the cross.
While their eyes were fixed on the glory of the ministry, Jesus’s eyes were fixed on what he must suffer for the kingdom. This is not an anomaly in the ministry of Jesus, because there are several instances in the gospel where Jesus is displaying this type of outlook before his disciples. In just few chapters prior, Jesus said, “But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also, the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands” (Mat. 17:12). In Matthew 17:22-23, Jesus said, “…The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” In the entire chapter of Matthew 26, “Jesus was preparing himself and his disciples for his death, burial and resurrection.
The cross is the focal point of Jesus’s ministry, and the passage we are investigating in Matthew 20: 20-21 along with other verses like Matthew 18:1 let us know that there were times when the disciples were missing the point of why Jesus came into the world. Just like the disciples, sometimes we forget about what the ministry of the gospel is all about, because we become distracted by positions and titles. Sometimes our ambitions in ministry distract us from what is important, and that is the person and work of Jesus Christ. When Jesus saw this behavior in his disciples, he thought it necessary to remind them about the cup he must drink and the baptism he must be baptized with (see Mat. 20: 22). Not only did Jesus remind them of his cup and his baptism, but he asked them if they were able to drink his cup and be baptized in his baptism, even the cup and baptism of the cross. Therefore, ambition not only blocked the disciples from the person and work of Jesus Christ, but it also distracted them from an important aspect of their own ministry in Christ Jesus, even the ministry of suffering. Every Christian is obligated to undergo his or her own measure of suffering. Jesus was teaching his disciples that they were only able to reign with him if they were willing to suffer with him. Every person must carry their own cross of suffering. Jesus died for our sins and that is the only way we could be saved (Jn.3:16; Rom.10:9). He rose with all power in his hands, even the power to make us the children of God (Jn.1:12). However, as disciples of Christ, we all have to go through our own measure of suffering, because we love Jesus. Jesus suffered many things in this world, because the world hated him and could not receive him (Jn.1:10-11). If we are disciples of Jesus, many times we will also have crosses to bear in this world. We will share in the suffering of Christ.
In Matthew 16:21-26, we find another instance we Jesus was preparing his disciples for his crucifixion, and it reads:
21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. 22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. 24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Our text lets us know that the apostles’ focus was on the future glory of the kingdom. Many times they argued over who would be the greatest of the apostles (see Lk. 22:24-27. In Matthew 20, James and John wanted the greatest seats beside Jesus, but Jesus taught them that their focus was a little off. According to Jesus’s teachings in Matthew 16, their focus should have been on denying themselves, taking up their own cross, and following him in this present world. Today, many Christians desire and want glory and riches right now.
There is a glory for every Christian, and that is eternal life in Jesus Christ. In heaven, there will be glory. In earth, there will be glory, because we will grow and advance God’s kingdom by preaching and spreading the word of Jesus Christ. When we spread the word of Jesus Christ, souls will be saved. But let us remember that Jesus is our glory, not futile things, not high positions, not lots of money, not being the greatest, not being better than our brothers and sisters. Our glory is Jesus Christ. Because Jesus is our glory, we must deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus. Every man, woman, boy, and girl has a cross that was given to them by Jesus. You cannot carry my cross, and I cannot carry your cross. Everyone of us must carry our own cross by denying ourselves and following the paths that Jesus has ordained for our lives. This is why we should not hate one another. We should not be jealous of one another. We should not covet what others have, because we cannot live their lives. We all must live our own lives. We all must bear our own cross. Jesus has a path for each of us to take and jobs we must complete in his kingdom. None of us are the same. This is why we should always pray for each other. Pray for me that I will carry my cross faithfully in the name of Jesus Christ. I will pray for you that you carry your cross faithfully for the Lord Jesus. Pray for your brothers and sisters that they too will carry their cross in the name of Jesus. As I meditate on this truth, I cannot help but think about a song written by Rev. Thomas Shepherd. The song asks a question saying:
1 Must Jesus bear the cross alone
And all the world go free?
No, there's a cross for ev'ry one,
And there's a cross for me.
2 The consecrated cross I'll bear
Till death shall set me free,
then go home my crown to wear,
For there's a crown for me.
If we live our lives carrying the cross that Jesus has given to us, there is a crown of life for us. In the book of 2Timothy 4:8, the Apostle Paul said, “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. You see, James and John were not entirely wrong for desiring to sit on the right hand and the left hand of Jesus, but their idea of ministry was incomplete in this moment in time. Often, Jesus would describe the power and the authority that the apostles would walk in. There was a time, during the life of Jesus, when he promised his disciple that they would judge the twelve tribes of Israel (see Lk. 22: 28-30). In another verse, Jesus told his disciples, “These signs shall follow them who believe; in my name, they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover (Mk. 16:17-18).
In Acts 1:8, Jesus promised his disciples, saying,” But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.” Not only did Jesus tell his apostles tell his apostles about the power and authority they would experience in his kingdom, but he changed their names into names of power and authority. In Mark 3:16, Jesus changed Simon’s name from Simon to Peter. In Greek in Peter is pronounced Cephus, and the name Cephus means stone. Why did Jesus name Simon Peter? Because Jesus knew that God would give Peter power to tell the world that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. You see, Peter was the first one of the disciples one the disciples to declare that Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. When Peter made that declaration, Jesus called him Peter again saying, “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock (upon this declaration that I am the Christ), I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. We are talking about the power that Jesus promised to the disciples. After Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter, he turned toward James and John, and called them the Greek word Boanerges which means sons of thunder. Thunder represents power. In so many ways, Jesus promised the apostles that they would receive power. Jesus promised the apostles power, and they experienced power. They were filled with the Holy Ghost. They casted out devils. They spoke with new tongues. Thousands upon thousands of souls were saved. Now, millions of souls have been saved throughout the ages. It has been said that during the days of the apostles “they turned the world upside down” (see Acts 16:6-7). So, power and authority are what the apostles experienced during Jesus’s ministry on earth. Power and authority are also what the apostles experienced when Jesus baptized them in the Holy Ghost.
However, Jesus had to remind James, John, and all the other apostles that there is another side to the ministry. The other side of Jesus’s ministry is the ministry of suffering. He constantly had to remind them of the cross that he must bear. He had to constantly remind them of the cross they must bear. James, John and all the other apostles learned that they were not only sons of power, but they were also sons of the cross. History tells us so vividly how the apostles suffered in this world. Peter was crucified upside. Andrew was crucified on an “X” shaped cross. James, one of the sons of thunder, was beheaded by king Herod. John, the other son of thunder, was did not die from martyrdom. Nor was he cut down at a eyoung age. He lived to be an old man, but he was still exiled from his homeland. He was sent to the isle of Patmos. He was burned alive in a pot of oil. Phillip was hanged on a tree. Bartholomew was flayed to death with knives. Matthew was martyred. Thomas was martyred with a spear in India. James the son of Alphaeus was beaten to death with a club. Thaddeus was martyred with arrows. Tradition says that Simon the zealot was also crucified on a cross y. They all had to take up their own cross.
Just like the apostles, if we are going to be the disciples of Jesus, we must first deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. Because one day He died to save us from our sins. He paid the debt that you and I could not afford to pay. He paid the debt that I was not qualified to pay. My sins disqualified me from paying the sin debt that I accumulated, but Jesus was sinless. He was the perfect and innocent Lamb of God who was slain for the sins of the world. His crimson red blood washed my black soul and made me white as snow. He shed his blood, and for me, he died on that old rugged cross. Just like Jesus, we must carry our cross. We must be willing to suffer, and we must be willing to die to ourselves and our carnal nature. But that’s not how the story ends. Three days later Jesus rose from the dead with all power in his hands, even the power to make us the children of God. Just like Jesus was raised from the dead, we too will be raised from the dead. One day, I heard Jesus talking to Martha, at the tomb of her brother and his friend, Lazarus. The bible said that “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” (Jn. 11: 25). Then, I heard the apostle Paul when he as he encouraged young Timoth, sayingy, “It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself” (2Tim. 2:11-13). I cannot deny Jesus. I cannot deny Jesus. For, Jesus was determined to go to the cross to save my wretched soul from being lost; to drive away all sin and dross. Then, he baptized my soul in the Holy Ghost and fire. Oh, what a Pentecost?! Oh, what Pentecostal power to tell the world that Jesus saves. To the utmost, Jesus saves. Jesus saved my life. I am not ashamed to say that Jesus saved me. And if he can save me, he can save anybody.
Let us pray,
Heavenly Father, thank you for your word. For, your Word has taught us that the ministry of Jesus is a suffering way, because Jesus had to go the way of the cross. So, we must go the way of the cross. Help us to focus on you and what your Son, Jesus, did on the cross; not on ourselves in selfishness, and not on our brothers and sisters in comparison. Forgive us for our trespasses against you and your children. Save us, sanctify us, and bring us nearer to you. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
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