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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Matthew 20:24 - 20:28
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A lesson in humility:
v. 24. And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.
v. 25. But Jesus called them unto Him and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
v. 26. But it shall not be so among you; but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
v. 27. and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
v. 28. even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.
The disciples were still very human. Since their hearts, therefore, were filled with the same ambitions, with the same jealousy, as those of the two sons of Zebedee, they became violently excited and agitated against James and John. These men had almost succeeded in getting what every one of them was secretly desiring. Jesus was obliged to calm the excited minds. The relation of governors and governed, of rulers and servants in the Church of Christ and among His disciples is entirely different from that of any secular government. The reigning heads of the people in general are accustomed to lord it over their subjects, and the great ones of the world play the tyrant over those in their power. The rule in the kingdom of Jesus is just the reverse, it is not so among the disciples of Jesus. He speaks of the condition of things as it should exist, as we should expect to find it among Christians. Greatness by service is the only measure of greatness that Christ recognizes. If one has the ambition to be great before Christ in the midst of his brethren, his life's aim shall be to be the servant of the others; if he would be reckoned as being first, let him become, literally, and in the best sense of the word, a slave to others. Unselfish ministry, ungrudging service is the mark of true greatness before Christ. Striving for honor and glory before men in no way agrees with the spirit which He displayed throughout His life. For He Himself, equipped with power over all creation, by virtue of His divinity, having the authority to demand service from all man, did not make use of this power, but spent His life in serving. His entire life was a ministry in the interest of all men, culminating in the great sacrifice which is at the same time most mysterious and most glorious: He gave His life as a ransom for many. The whole world was sold into the power of Satan, death, and hell, and there was no salvation on earth. All men were doomed to be chained with the fetters of this slavery to all eternity. But Christ came and gave His own life in their stead, thus ransoming and redeeming all men from the power of the enemies. In view of such a sacrifice, it surely must be out of the question for any follower of Christ to do anything but strive after that same humility, that same spirit of unselfish service. And the pastors, the ministers of Jesus and His Church in a special sense, will gladly follow the example of their great Head. "My office therefore and that of every preacher and pastor does not consist in lording it, but herein, that I serve you all, that ye learn to know God, that ye are baptized, that ye have the true Word of God, and that ye finally may be saved, and do not venture to assume the worldly government, which princes and lords, mayors and judges, shall appoint and take care of. My office is only a service which I should give to every one free and for nothing, seeking neither money nor goods, neither honor nor anything else. But, indeed, if I do that, then ye are afterwards obliged to do this, that ye support me. For since I should preach and serve you therewith, I cannot in the meantime provide my own food; therefore ye are under obligation to support me, and that entirely for nothing, for whosoever serves the altar, says St. Paul, shall live off the altar."