Matthew 20: 20-33 (Wrong Priorities and Prayers)

v20-28

V20-21  – The mother of James and John comes to Jesus respectfully (she even knelt before Jesus) to ask for a favor. The favor is that she wants her sons to be seated beside Jesus in his kingdom.

This verse has a profound meaning for me. I think it is a reflection of our prayers before God. It shows how our prayers can sometimes be wrongly prioritized. It seems to me that the core of her request is to obtain an exalted position for her sons. She wants them to be higher than others. While her request is genuine, it shows how She and her sons lack the understanding of what is actually truly valuable.  Thankfully the Lord is full of Mercy and understanding and will therefore correct this in a short while in the next verses.

We often do this as Christians and disciples of Christ. We ask without understanding of what is actually more valuable. We ask out of our selfish desires. These desires are sometimes fueled by a love for this world and the things of this world. We want wealth, property, positions etc. The Lord has already promised that He will provide for our every need.

Hebrews 13:5 Living Bible: Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never, never fail you nor forsake you.”

And so, why should we be so bothered about the things of this world? Are our priorities right? Is our focus on the right place?

What is truly valuable is only one thing:

Matthew 6:33 ESV: But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

V22-23 – Jesus replies and tells them they don’t know what they were asking. It simply means that they were asking for something they did not even understand what cost it meant. When Jesus asks them the question, they replied (I would say carnally without even knowing what this bitter cup of suffering meant), saying “Oh Yes, we are able!”

This response they gave to the question was problematic. They did not understand the weight of the pain and suffering and did not understand that it is only through the Holy Spirit that one could humble themselves to that level of accepting this pain and suffering.

Nevertheless, Jesus, being God and already knowing the future, tells them that they will  indeed drink from the bitter cup of suffering. And of course, later, these disciples would come to understand what it really meant to drink from that cup.

We have to be careful not to trust in our own strength and sheer will to take us through times of pain and suffering. You do not go through moments of pain and suffering by your own strength. In fact, in your own strength, you will fail. We always have to understand that it is only the Lord who helps us. And that is why He promised:

John 16:33 NIV: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

V24 – After they hear about this thing that James and Joh have done, they become indignant with the 2 brothers. The Amplified version says “they were resentful and angry with the two brothers.”

Why are they angry? I think they are angry because the 2 brothers want to have more privilege than them. So why are they angry really? Because deep down they also want the same “power and privilege?”

I think this is something that was most probably in their hearts but they possibly never had gained the courage to ask Jesus. But you see, in the next verses, Jesus is quick to correct every one of them.

V25-28

Jesus carefully corrects the disciples. He explains that leaders are servants. Even the Son of man did not come to be served, He came to die for us and be a ransom for us all.

In the Kingdom of God, the call is to be servants. Do not wait to be served. Be the servant.

For all of us as believers and disciples of Christ, we are the people who serve others… EVERYWHERE!

• At our workplaces
• At our companies
• In our marriages
• In our families
• As siblings
• In our teams in Church
• …. EVERYWHERE.

1. The disciple of Christ is a servant. Always ready to serve others.
2. The Disciple sacrifices himself/herself for the good of others.
3. The Disciple gives themselves/their property/their time… etc., for the good of others.
4. The Disciple is Ready to be considered the Lowest for the good of others.
5. The Disciple does not argue so that they always have to be right.

John 13: 12-15 NIV: When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

(Lord, help me to seek your kingdom and your righteousness above all things. Help me to be a servant, everywhere. Help me to imitate you, the greatest servant of all, who laid his life for me that I may be saved from eternal separation from God. Thank you for the gift of salvation.)

V29-33

The story of the blind men teaches us so much about how we should cry out to God so that we see.

To paraphrase, these blind men were crying out loudly: “Lord Jesus, have mercy on us, we want to see.”

How many times do we cry out this way before the Lord? How many times do we cry out to God for his presence? How many times do we cry out to him concerning our blindness to his will and his word? How much do we seek him so that He may remove our ignorance?

May the Lord make us like this blind men who understand that its only Jesus who can make them see and therefore we cry out to Him, our Lord and High Priest. We cry out to Him so that we may know Him because that is eternal life.

This is the same prayer Jesus prayed for us in John 17:

John 17:1-3 NIV – After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

V34 – We see in this verse that the Lord is merciful and He will instantly answer us when we cry out to Him concerning our blindness. This is what the Lord says:

Matthew 5:6 AMP – “Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied.