Matthew 20:17 - 34
Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time
17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and floggedand crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”A Mother’s Request
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
21 “What is it you want?” he asked.
She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.
23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers.25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Two Blind Men Receive Sight
29 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him.30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”
34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
Questions:
ReplyDelete1. Why did Jesus tell His disciples about His death?
2. Why at this time did James and John make such a ridiculous request?
http://www.grace4u.org/newtest/matthew/Matt20-17.htm says:
ReplyDeleteIn the larger context of Matthew 20:17-28, Jesus had just informed His Apostles concerning His death and resurrection, when they manifested their selfish preoccupation with self-exaltation.
This is the third time that Jesus directly informed the twelve, about His coming death and resurrection. Now, Jesus added three further details meant to fill out the Apostles understanding of what was soon to come.
A. The Jewish Sanhedrin, would Sentence Him.
B. The Jewish Sanhedrin would Deliver Him to the Gentiles.
C. The Form of Death would be Crucifixion.
We notice, that Jesus graciously broke the news to the ones He loved, concerning His coming sufferings and death. He didn't tell them all at once but piece by piece filling them in on details, until finally explaining to them fully what would happen. Jesus knew, that although they wouldn't understand at this moment, they would remember the moment, etched on their heart for all eternity; Jesus knew that the sober occasion would be reflected on by the twelve Apostles over and over again; and Jesus knew that they would fail to grasp the full literal meaning until finally He manifested Himself after His resurrection. What patience! That's just like the Lord, to gradually inform us about spiritual truth as we are able to absorb it. Some things He doesn't tell us until later, when we are ready.9 We are slow to understand and God graciously and patiently, gives us understanding piece by piece, until we understand it and then He adds a little more. Jesus has provided us with a much needed example of gracious patient instruction. cf. 1 Thess. 5:14. Main Idea: Jesus patiently prepared His disciples for the coming jolt of His death and resurrection, finally informing them about the horrible way in which He would die, by being crucified. Although Jesus claimed to rise from the dead this remained only a minor puzzle until the Apostle's witnessed valid proof and then it became central to their Gospel message.
My 2 cents:
ReplyDeleteWere the disciples really so stupid that after all Jesus' teachings, they desired to be the "greatest" and "rule" by His side?
Yes they were and we are too. Jesus is constantly trying to teach us that the great in His kingdom is the servant and least here on earth. Even with that knowledge, we keep getting it wrong. We do things and wonder where our appreciation is for it. We attempt to cozy up to those who are most noticeable in the church. We pick leaders for their charisma, and desire to be charismatic ourselves.
We need to keep hearing this message from Jesus over and over again - "The greatest in the kingdom of heaven will be the servant". Otherwise, we keep falling into the same trap of attention seeking.