Unexpected twists
by Maria Rudolph
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Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave (Matthew 20:26,27).
Well, there is a surprise! Two grown men have followed Jesus as his disciples for three years. They have walked and talked with him, saw plenty of miracles and heard a lot of his teaching. We don’t know many of the 12 disciples’ lineage, but we do know that these two men, James and John, have a father called Zebedee, because they are occasionally called the Sons of Zebedee. Of course, it was not uncommon in Hebrew culture to be known by your father’s name. But in today’s story, we have a rather unexpected twist. It’s not their father but their unnamed mother who comes and kneels before Jesus with her two adult sons. Perplexingly, she asks for them to be seated at his right and his left in his kingdom, without fully understanding the gravity of that request.
Presuming you are an adult as you read this devotion, when was the last time you took your mother along when you really wanted something? When did you last think that it was a good idea to have your mother speak on your behalf? It’s a bit unusual, isn’t it? It raises more and more questions. Was the mother also one of Jesus’ disciples and had travelled with him so she was there at that moment to ask that question? They were on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, and, unbeknown to the disciples, to witness Jesus’ crucifixion. Did she happen to be in the travelling crowd of people?
Whatever the circumstances, James and John approved of her asking. That is the next unexpected twist in this story. These two disciples had heard Jesus teach about greatness in the kingdom of heaven by standing a child in their midst before (Matthew 18:1–4). They had heard Jesus teach them in various parables that the first shall be last and the last shall be first (eg the rich young man in Matthew 19:16–30; the parable of the workers in the vineyard in Matthew 20:1–16). Yet they didn’t seem to understand the essence of his teaching until it became personal to them in their request. Jesus makes it very clear, ‘Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave’ (Matthew 20:26,27).
Does it happen to you that you miss the point about what Jesus is on about until it concerns you personally? When did you last nod your head in agreement in church and then struggle to see how the words of Scripture come into effect for you?
The final unexpected twist in today’s reading is the nature of Jesus’ teaching. Jesus teaches an upside-down kingdom. Jesus teaches about a way where the teacher washes the feet of the student (John 13:4–14), where we willingly choose the lowliest seat at the table (Luke 14:10), where we have to give everything we have to follow Jesus (Luke 14:33). It made no sense to the people of his time, and still to this day, it challenges our modus operandi.
Dear God, I am on the right track when I get challenged by your teaching because it means that your Holy Spirit is stirring in me and challenging me to lay everything bare before you and examine myself in the light of your Son. Just like James and John long ago, I need your help with this every day. Help me to humble myself and count everything a loss but to dwell in your presence. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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