WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:01.439 In Christ's name. 00:00:01.760 --> 00:00:02.399 Amen. 00:00:03.359 --> 00:00:06.080 Take our Bibles and go to Matthew chapter 20. 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:08.400 Matthew chapter 20. 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:19.280 One of the things I used to love listening to on the radio was a program by them a man by the name of Paul Harvey called The Rest of the Story. 00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:24.719 And he would share a little kind of anecdote about a person or an event or something. 00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:31.760 And then would break it off right at a poignant part and pick it up later so you could hear what the rest of the story was. 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:36.880 And I'm going to do a little bit of that today by introducing you to a man by the name of Thomas Cromwell. 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:43.200 He was a key figure in the court of King Henry VIII during the 16th century. 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:49.759 He was a skilled statesman, he was a lawyer, and he played a pivotal role in the English Reformation. 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:58.000 He was instrumental in the king's divorce from Catherine of Aragon and the establishment of the Church of England. 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:04.400 He was known for being quite a clever fellow, very shrewd, full of political acumen. 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:14.079 He was quite effective in building Henry's rule and power and executing all of his policies on his behalf. 00:01:14.400 --> 00:01:18.560 He was instrumental in a lot of reforms that have shaped England to this day. 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:26.239 English legal system, a crucial rule in the dissolution of the monasteries, brought a lot of wealth and power under royal control. 00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:39.280 His rise to power, however, was somewhat pragmatic, even ruthless, as he went through all of his schemes to achieve the king's objectives. 00:01:39.519 --> 00:01:47.439 He maneuvered through political intrigues, he employed a lot of different tactics to secure King Henry VIII's favor. 00:01:48.159 --> 00:01:56.079 And he became, through all of that, one of the most influential men in English history, and certainly in his day. 00:01:56.879 --> 00:02:00.000 Thomas Cromwell's story is a common one. 00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:02.560 It's a common one in human history. 00:02:02.959 --> 00:02:15.680 Because the world has a view that giving ahead means being more aggressive, more intimidating, more cunning, more demanding than the next person. 00:02:16.879 --> 00:02:27.039 But Jesus' teaching and his life demonstrate that he and his kingdom operate from a completely different framework. 00:02:28.319 --> 00:02:35.680 And if that hasn't been clear in what we studied in Matthew's gospel, it becomes very clear in what we're about to look at today in chapter 20. 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:39.280 Let's read verse 20 of chapter 20. 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:44.639 The mother of Zebedee's sons approached him with her sons. 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:47.439 She knelt down to ask him for something. 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:48.800 What do you want? 00:02:49.039 --> 00:02:50.000 he asked her. 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:58.879 Promise, she said to him, that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left in your kingdom. 00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:05.360 Jesus answered, You do not know what you're saying or what you're asking. 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:22.159 The family of Zebedee was unaware of this, but the prospect of the coming passion that Jesus had just spoken about in the previous section is going to redefine for the disciples what true greatness and true power and influence means. 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:31.919 The Son of God was going to give them the pinnacle of greatness by the demonstration of his life given up as a ransom for many. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:35.120 That's a lesson that we need to hear today. 00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:55.199 In our country, particularly, there are a number of people of religious influence and political influence that are playing on the fears and concerns and emotions of people who are rightly concerned about where our culture is headed, the increasing rise of secularism in Western society and the breakdown of Christendom. 00:03:55.919 --> 00:04:05.919 And these players are propositioning that the country's cultural challenges are the most dramatic thing that human history has ever experienced. 00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:12.240 And they're trying to put us into a panic mode, causing us to be distressed. 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:23.839 And by so doing, they are positioning themselves as the answer to all of the issues as they cry out, the sky is falling, the sky is falling, follow me. 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:37.279 For all of their supposed concerns for the country and the culture and Christianity, at the bottom of it all, however, is nothing more than a desire to advance their own name and their own brand. 00:04:38.399 --> 00:04:57.839 And amid all of the emotion that they generate, good godly Christians are tempted to think that the battle for souls is one where the war is being waged against us, and that the weapons of that warfare are to be used in the same with the same weaponry that's being used against us. 00:04:59.519 --> 00:05:09.680 And by taking up those tactics and playing on that battlefield, we're losing an understanding of what the kingdom of Christ is really about. 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:31.279 With all that froth and with all that fervor, we need to realize once again that our Savior calls us to walk in a manner that's completely contrary to the weapons of war that our culture has and to fight on a different battlefield than they're fighting. 00:05:31.839 --> 00:06:00.959 He tells us here in this passage of scripture that he, the Lord of heaven and earth, came not to be ministered to, but to minister, not to enrich himself, but to enrich others, not even to protect himself, but to impoverish himself, so that those who are his enemies might be spiritually rich beyond anything they could deserve or anything they could even imagine. 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:15.920 And with Christ set in our hearts as Lord, we can follow him, and we can follow the way of the kingdom that he sets forth, and we can find ourselves centered on what is eternally important. 00:06:17.279 --> 00:06:41.360 We'll submit ourselves to him, we'll submit our concerns to him, we'll submit our prideful and power-hungry selves to him, we'll even submit our safety to him as we minister to others, as we focus on the ultimate good even of our enemies, and the honor of God and the glory of the gospel in their hearts. 00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:57.839 With their inquiry, Peter, in the previous section that we looked at, and Zebedee's wife and her two sons here are illustrating a desire for some sort of reward based upon their sacrifice. 00:06:58.160 --> 00:07:03.680 And that motivation is stock trade in our world today. 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:13.519 And it fosters an atmosphere of envy and competition, self-promotion, and comparison. 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:17.120 But Jesus is about to turn it upside down. 00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:25.600 He's going to supplant this worldly mindset with a kingdom-inspired motivation in the heart. 00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:36.959 And he shows, as we looked last week, that it moves from a heart of generosity, just as the landowner was moved with generosity toward those workers. 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:45.199 We find here that the motivation of a servant's heart is also, or of a believer's heart, is also one of servanthood. 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:46.399 Servanthood. 00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:48.399 We looked at generosity last week. 00:07:48.480 --> 00:07:50.639 Let's look at servanthood this week. 00:07:50.720 --> 00:08:04.319 And I want us to move through this passage and see, first of all, the discussion that Jesus has with his disciples, the directive he gives his disciples, and the demonstration of how to live out our lives. 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:12.399 Let's begin with the discussion that begins in verse 20 with the mother of Zebedee's sons approaching Jesus and asking for something from him. 00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:22.800 And she asked him to promise that her sons would sit at the right and left-hand side of him as he ascends to the throne in his kingdom. 00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:28.959 Obviously, she had been listening, and they had been listening to what Jesus said right at the end of chapter 19. 00:08:29.279 --> 00:08:32.559 When Jesus said to Peter, We've given it all up. 00:08:32.720 --> 00:08:33.840 What are we going to get? 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:43.440 And he says, When the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:45.519 And they're thinking, Uh-huh. 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:47.200 Okay, he's got a throne. 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:49.679 There's twelve thrones, there's twelve of us. 00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:52.080 Why not ask for the best seats? 00:08:53.039 --> 00:08:53.679 Right? 00:08:55.440 --> 00:09:10.799 So their mother anticipates Jesus' ascent to the throne to rule in Jerusalem in the very near future, and that her sons are going to play a key role, even perhaps the most vital role, in that coming kingdom. 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:16.399 And she asks for a placement on the right hand and the left hand side of Jesus. 00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:19.360 The right hand would be the place of honor. 00:09:19.519 --> 00:09:21.759 You go through scripture in the Old Testament. 00:09:21.919 --> 00:09:25.039 The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand. 00:09:25.440 --> 00:09:27.919 Psalm 16, I'm always at his right hand. 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:29.919 That is the place of honor. 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:32.879 The left hand was also a place of honor. 00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:40.000 Josephus talked about Saul giving a place for his son and his general on the right and the left hand side of him. 00:09:40.240 --> 00:09:42.399 So these were close places. 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:48.159 The context of this question makes this quite a condemnable statement. 00:09:48.559 --> 00:09:51.039 Take a look at what Jesus had just finished saying. 00:09:51.279 --> 00:09:53.039 Back up to verse 17. 00:09:54.080 --> 00:10:04.000 While going to Jerusalem, Jesus took the twelve disciples aside privately and said to them on the way, See, we are going to Jerusalem. 00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:08.159 The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes. 00:10:08.399 --> 00:10:11.440 They will condemn him to death. 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:17.840 They will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged, and crucified. 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:20.559 And on the third day he will be raised. 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:22.639 Then look at the next word. 00:10:23.039 --> 00:10:35.039 Then there's a connection between what Jesus has said and this request by these the mother of these two men. 00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:42.720 Right after Jesus finished speaking about his death, here comes the question. 00:10:47.279 --> 00:10:50.720 No wonder Jesus said, You don't know what you're asking. 00:10:52.559 --> 00:11:02.799 And Jesus begins to answer, not their mother, but them, John and James. 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:11.039 Because Jesus says, You, plural, don't know what you, plural, are asking. 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:17.279 He's not just answering the mother, he's answering the mother and the two sons. 00:11:19.679 --> 00:11:22.080 Jesus is going to correct their answer. 00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:28.639 Before we do, though, we we will want to acknowledge some sense of appreciation for this. 00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:30.559 It is not a very humble request. 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:32.799 It deserves to be condemned. 00:11:32.960 --> 00:11:39.120 But they at least believe that Jesus is the Christ, and they believe he's going to be successful in establishing a kingdom. 00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:44.080 They don't understand all of that yet, but there's something there that's commendable. 00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:46.720 But Jesus doesn't address that. 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:50.960 He addresses the problem and says, you don't know what you're asking for. 00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:55.440 And then he asks them a question. 00:11:56.080 --> 00:11:59.200 Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink? 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:05.440 Now, Jesus, of course, is talking about his common suffering, his passion. 00:12:05.759 --> 00:12:09.279 And we're going to be looking at that soon as we look at the passion week. 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:16.240 He's talking about that cup in the Garden of Gethsemane when he says, Let this cup pass from me. 00:12:16.399 --> 00:12:17.120 What is this? 00:12:17.600 --> 00:12:24.000 The cup of despair, the cup of suffering, the cup of wrath that's going to be coming upon him. 00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:27.679 And he says, Nevertheless, your will be done. 00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:28.879 He drinks it. 00:12:29.120 --> 00:12:32.080 And he says to them, Can you drink this cup? 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:37.600 And they say, Well, yeah, yeah, we can drink it. 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:48.559 These disciples have recognized something that there needs to be some sacrifice in order to seize the desired goal of the kingdom. 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:59.279 And they sort of probably think that Jesus is speaking, you know, very, very metaphorically about the hard work that comes before success. 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:02.559 You know, can you can you do that? 00:13:02.879 --> 00:13:05.279 Well, yeah, I can do that. 00:13:06.559 --> 00:13:09.039 And they misunderstand Jesus here. 00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:17.759 They think that he's simply challenging them about their willingness to struggle to gain victory. 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:20.080 Are you willing to go into the battle? 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:21.919 Might be the way we would put it. 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:22.960 Are you ready to fight? 00:13:23.039 --> 00:13:28.159 Are you really ready to trip get in, dig the ditch, and and get in this? 00:13:29.440 --> 00:13:33.279 And they're like, yeah, yeah, I I think we've counted that cost. 00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:35.200 I think I think we're ready. 00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:37.039 I think let's let's do this. 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:38.159 Let's fight for this. 00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:39.039 Let's go. 00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:40.639 Let's dig in. 00:13:42.399 --> 00:13:45.120 And he says, you don't even know what you're talking about. 00:13:47.200 --> 00:13:48.960 You don't understand it. 00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:56.240 And he says in verse 23, you'll indeed drink the cup. 00:13:57.840 --> 00:13:59.919 Now they still don't know what he means. 00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:04.320 He said, But to sit at my right hand and my left hand is not mine to give. 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:09.200 Instead, it's for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father. 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:12.320 What is Jesus telling them here? 00:14:12.879 --> 00:14:22.639 Well, Jesus is telling them that there's coming a day when he's going to drink a cup and they're going to drink a cup. 00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:26.799 And they're not ready for the cup that Jesus is going to drink yet. 00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:33.200 Because the day is going to come when the shepherd will be struck and the sheep are going to scatter. 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:34.879 And they're going to run. 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:39.440 They're going to see Jesus brought into seizure by the by the soldiers. 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:41.759 They're going to see Jesus brought into trial. 00:14:41.919 --> 00:14:44.480 They're going to see Jesus being mocked and condemned. 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:47.840 They're going to see Jesus put on a cross and they're going to run. 00:14:48.720 --> 00:14:50.480 They're not ready for that. 00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:58.000 But after the resurrection, they'll be ready. 00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:03.120 And when the implications of Jesus' death and the resurrection come to them, they're ready. 00:15:03.519 --> 00:15:08.320 James becomes one of the first martyrs of the church in Acts chapter 12. 00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:13.919 John, he's on the Isle of Patmos, exiled there under persecution. 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:19.360 They'll drink the cup, they'll share the cup of sufferings. 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:33.120 But first they need to learn to submit to the Father's will, just like Jesus is submitting to the Father's will, willing to submit to the suffering, not to set up the thrones. 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:37.200 He said, This isn't time for that to happen. 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:43.600 Now the other disciples step in. 00:15:55.200 --> 00:16:01.120 And so in verse 24, it says the ten disciples heard this, they became indignant with the two brothers. 00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:11.039 How dare you think that the kingdom is won by force and that rewards come from due recompense to all your sacrifices? 00:16:11.279 --> 00:16:13.279 No, that's not what they thought at all. 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:16.399 They're like, those guys got there first. 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:20.159 How dare they got there first? 00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:23.360 We I I should have been the one. 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:30.960 They're thinking James and John with their mother had schemed to get advantage, to take the best seats. 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:34.639 Why do I say that? 00:16:34.879 --> 00:16:40.159 Because Jesus is about to address all of them and teach them all a lesson. 00:16:40.559 --> 00:16:43.440 Because all of their hearts are in the wrong place. 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:50.960 Verse 25 to 28, he redirects their attention, all of their attention. 00:16:52.720 --> 00:17:04.240 He doesn't just tell the two brothers about what the kingdom is like, he tells them all about what the kingdom is like, and that moves us from the discussion to the direction that the Lord gives us. 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:06.640 Take a look at verse 25. 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:14.960 You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:19.519 It must not be like that among you. 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:30.079 On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:53.920 Jesus is gathering all together his disciples, who are filled with this sort of worldly ambition, and he gives them a stark contrast between the world's conception of greatness and the kingdom of heaven's conception of greatness. 00:17:54.559 --> 00:18:09.200 Greatness in the world is seen by having power and influence, being able to tell others what to do, to have control of the levers of life, whether it is through your connections or through your money. 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:16.559 And he's saying people love to have that ability to execute their will through other people. 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:20.160 That's what a ruler is. 00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:22.480 That's what life is about. 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:35.519 And these disciples must have thought about the Roman occupation that was over the country as they were subjected to heavy taxation and under the thumb of foreign military rule. 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:49.599 And these oppressed people who had to deal with the hardships of never being their own boss must have wanted and longed for those positions of power and authority and influence of self-rule. 00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:54.880 And they thought, that's the way we win. 00:18:55.920 --> 00:18:58.240 That's the way we gain significance. 00:18:58.480 --> 00:19:00.799 That's how we get back our respect. 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:06.400 And so they thought, let's go after those positions of power. 00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:09.119 Let's go after those positions of authority. 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:11.599 Let that be our aim. 00:19:13.519 --> 00:19:17.759 Jesus here says, No, no, no, no. 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:22.000 That's how the world rules. 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:30.720 They look at serving as something demeaning, something beneath them, but he exalts service. 00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:34.960 He exalts it as the best status for humanity. 00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:41.599 And he gives them this shocking realignment of their values. 00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:44.400 Would you be great? 00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:46.400 You need to be a servant. 00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:47.920 Would you be first? 00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:50.319 You need to be a slave. 00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:55.279 And Jesus makes what is a Hebrew parallelism here. 00:19:55.440 --> 00:19:57.920 We call it a synonymous parallelism. 00:19:58.160 --> 00:20:08.400 He's taking two similar words, slight difference, in order to accentuate and to focus in on just how strong a point he's making. 00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:24.240 He's taking greatness and firstness and servanthood and slaveness, and he's forcing them by the repetition, by the strengthening of the repeat, by the slight variation. 00:20:25.359 --> 00:20:28.559 You want to be great, then be a servant. 00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:32.000 You want to be first, then be a slave. 00:20:32.400 --> 00:20:35.920 You want to be great, be a diakonos. 00:20:36.079 --> 00:20:38.720 You want to be first, be a doulos. 00:20:39.759 --> 00:20:42.640 One's a servant, the other's a slave. 00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:48.799 One works for somebody else, the other is completely under the control of someone else. 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:50.720 Do you want to be first? 00:20:50.960 --> 00:20:52.079 You want to be great? 00:20:52.319 --> 00:20:53.839 You need to work for higher. 00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:55.759 You need to give your life over. 00:20:56.319 --> 00:20:58.079 That's what he's telling here. 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:13.839 If you got an ambition to be great, you got an ambition to be first, you got to be ambitioned to be in control, you got an ambition to make your will be done through others, you have an ambition to increase the kingdom that way, then give up your life. 00:21:14.880 --> 00:21:16.079 Give it up. 00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:18.319 Give it all up. 00:21:19.519 --> 00:21:27.359 Rearrange your life with the goal of giving yourself to the benefit of others and not for what you can get out of it. 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:39.599 And against that backdrop of human ambition, Jesus explains the proper goal in his kingdom is not authority, but service. 00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:45.359 Not power, but sacrifice. 00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:49.599 Not self, but others. 00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:58.559 Wonderfully, these men learned the lesson. 00:21:59.039 --> 00:21:59.759 Not yet. 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:02.160 But they will. 00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:13.759 John himself will call himself in Revelation chapter one and verse one, the doolos, the slave of Jesus. 00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:16.319 He will call himself that. 00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:24.160 Peter in 2 Peter 1 will call himself the doolos, the slave of Jesus. 00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:33.279 Jesus' own brothers in James chapter 1 and Jude verse 1 will call themselves the Dulos of Jesus. 00:22:35.359 --> 00:22:38.319 Paul will call himself both words. 00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:45.680 He calls himself a Diaconos, the servant in 2 Corinthians 3.6 and Ephesians 3 and Colossians 1. 00:22:45.920 --> 00:22:51.680 He calls himself the Dulos, the slave in Romans 1 and Galatians 1. 00:22:52.400 --> 00:23:06.319 And he calls as a badge of honor Phoebe the servant, Tychicus, the servant, Epaphrus the servant, and again Ephrus the slave in Colossians chapter 4. 00:23:09.359 --> 00:23:15.440 Plato, in his word Gorgias, has Calicles saying this. 00:23:16.079 --> 00:23:20.960 How can anyone be happy when he's the slave of anyone else at all? 00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:24.720 That's their assumption. 00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:29.759 Slavery and happiness can't go together. 00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:45.359 Jesus, if we could have him play with Plato's words, would say, How can anybody be happy unless they're a slave to other people? 00:23:48.079 --> 00:24:00.640 So he lays out the direction of our life, that our weapons of warfare are not carnal, but are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. 00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:07.200 But it's done through a methodology that doesn't look like the world's methodology. 00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:16.720 It's done through the character and heart of servanthood, of looking out for others. 00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:27.759 And Jesus tells him what that looks like in his demonstration, as he mentions in verse 28, and this is our last point. 00:24:28.640 --> 00:24:45.200 In verse 28, he says this just as, just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, to give his life as a ransom for many. 00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:58.000 Jesus has been setting up in these past few things that we've looked at over the past few weeks of this first last, first, last, first, last theology. 00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:07.519 And now he's saying, the first one, him, comes to be the last one for everybody. 00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:12.160 And he makes it striking here. 00:25:12.480 --> 00:25:22.079 Go back up just a little bit with me and take a look at verse 18 and look at the words that Jesus uses as his self-designation here. 00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:26.079 The son of man will be handed over to the chief priest, right? 00:25:26.160 --> 00:25:27.039 You see that? 00:25:27.359 --> 00:25:34.480 Then you drop down to verse 28, just as the son of man did not come to be served. 00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:37.039 Well, who is this son of man? 00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:57.759 The son of man is the figure in Daniel chapter 7 that Daniel sees in a vision, this apocalyptic, glorious, messianic figure who rules forever over everything and is seated amongst the Almighty. 00:25:58.640 --> 00:26:04.640 This is the Son of Man, the conqueror of the universe that he's speaking about here. 00:26:04.880 --> 00:26:07.920 This is the term that he picks up for himself. 00:26:09.039 --> 00:26:16.640 This revealed Messiah, this glorious one who's worthy of all honor and power and majesty and dominion. 00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:24.720 This is Jesus with a prerogative higher than anything can be imagined or seen. 00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:34.079 He says, You want to know about greatness, you want to know about firstness, you want to know about advancement of the kingdom? 00:26:34.720 --> 00:26:36.000 Watch him die. 00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:40.319 Watch him give himself up. 00:26:41.119 --> 00:26:43.680 Watch him suffer for his enemies. 00:26:45.759 --> 00:26:49.519 Watch him take sin upon himself. 00:26:52.640 --> 00:26:55.279 He says, Let me teach you about greatness. 00:26:55.680 --> 00:26:57.680 Let's go to Jerusalem. 00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:00.000 Let's go to the cross. 00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:03.920 Let's go to the agony in the Gethsemane. 00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:09.599 Let's go to the trial and the mockings and the false accusations. 00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:14.960 Let's go to the road where I stumble and fall. 00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:17.839 Let's go to the tree where I die. 00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:20.240 Let's go to the grave where I'm buried. 00:27:20.319 --> 00:27:21.920 You want to see greatness? 00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:25.359 Watch what happens there. 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:30.559 Watch what happens to humanity because of that. 00:27:32.160 --> 00:27:35.039 Because out of that we exist. 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:38.319 Out of that we live. 00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:42.079 Out of that, we have heaven as our home. 00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:46.160 Out of that we have the assurance of the forgiveness of our sins. 00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:56.400 Out of that we have an understanding that he who is the Son of Man will indeed return as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. 00:27:57.920 --> 00:28:07.039 But he tells you, first of all, he's going to be a servant and he's going to be a sacrifice. 00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:26.720 He's going to live not in exalted positions and not in a demonstration of his power, but in the example of his suffering and the endurance of his passion on behalf of others that would be a ransom for them. 00:28:48.960 --> 00:28:51.039 And to loose them from that. 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:55.680 This is why the Apostle Paul says later, you've been bought with a price. 00:28:55.839 --> 00:28:56.720 What is that price? 00:28:56.880 --> 00:28:59.119 It's the price of the blood of Christ. 00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:02.960 And so he corrects them. 00:29:03.279 --> 00:29:09.200 He gives them the direction to go, but he tells them what it looks like in himself. 00:29:09.920 --> 00:29:16.160 He said, Gentiles, pagan rulers, they rule this way because they think greatness is found this way. 00:29:16.319 --> 00:29:18.240 They think influence is made this way. 00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:23.920 They use their power and influence to work through others, to execute their will and desires. 00:29:24.079 --> 00:29:31.039 But you're going to find a way forward in this world that works in that way by doing something opposite. 00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:34.400 You're going to go a different way. 00:29:34.880 --> 00:29:37.440 You're going to go the way of the cross. 00:29:37.759 --> 00:29:41.680 And so Jesus is saying, take up your cross and follow me. 00:29:42.240 --> 00:29:44.880 Follow me down the same pathway. 00:29:46.880 --> 00:30:02.799 And he gives us that very thing that lies behind the direction of our lives, of being generous and being giving to others, because he was generous and giving of himself. 00:30:04.720 --> 00:30:09.119 It was not directed toward his own personal benefit, it was directed toward our need. 00:30:10.799 --> 00:30:24.480 And when we operate in society directed on our own benefit and not on the need of those that are in our society, we are running cross-grain to this sacrificial servant mindset of Jesus Christ. 00:30:25.519 --> 00:30:28.240 We don't need to protect ourselves. 00:30:28.720 --> 00:30:32.160 We don't need to force our way in. 00:30:33.359 --> 00:30:59.359 We need to stand unique in this world with a heart of love and a life of sacrifice and a willingness to surrender, even our very existence, so that the word of Christ might rule in our enemies' hearts, not so that we can gain a niche in society and feel comfortable enough with our days. 00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:14.880 And others are going to be able to live because of the death of you. 00:31:15.680 --> 00:31:26.079 And this is why the apostle Paul said, I'm wasting away, but you're living, he says to those in Corinth. 00:31:26.799 --> 00:31:28.559 I die daily. 00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:40.720 Yes, he goes to the places of influence. 00:31:40.880 --> 00:31:43.680 Yes, he's in Caesar's house. 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:47.680 He's in jail under the Roman governors. 00:31:48.319 --> 00:31:50.480 He is among them. 00:31:50.640 --> 00:31:52.319 And what is he doing? 00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:56.480 Lobbying for a Christian voice in society? 00:31:57.200 --> 00:31:57.519 No. 00:31:57.759 --> 00:32:01.519 He's saying, you know the gospel, Agrippa. 00:32:02.319 --> 00:32:04.559 Believe it just like I do. 00:32:04.960 --> 00:32:06.880 He's preaching the gospel. 00:32:07.920 --> 00:32:11.359 And saying, send me to prison then, if that's what happens. 00:32:13.599 --> 00:32:18.799 The motivation of our service, according to the world, is broken. 00:32:20.079 --> 00:32:22.079 It needs to be refocused. 00:32:22.960 --> 00:32:27.839 Focused in a wholly different way that we don't even naturally think like. 00:32:29.599 --> 00:32:34.559 That is counterintuitive to all of our muscle memory. 00:32:36.559 --> 00:32:38.480 The giving of ourselves. 00:32:39.440 --> 00:32:45.920 The giving of our careers, our relationships, our talents, our resources, our time, and perhaps even our lives. 00:32:46.319 --> 00:32:49.119 To see that the kingdom of heaven is done. 00:32:51.200 --> 00:32:53.440 And to do so with gratitude. 00:32:55.359 --> 00:33:00.559 Jesus is stripping away from us all that we think is important and all the ways that we think are workable. 00:33:02.160 --> 00:33:05.200 All the power of influence that we think we can muster. 00:33:05.440 --> 00:33:12.480 And he's giving us a radically counticultural paradigm of life as a believer. 00:33:13.920 --> 00:33:17.119 Our culture is trying to press us into a mold. 00:33:17.279 --> 00:33:19.119 It's trying to say the battle is here. 00:33:19.359 --> 00:33:21.359 Here's the weaponry we're using. 00:33:21.519 --> 00:33:22.400 Fight us here. 00:33:22.480 --> 00:33:24.160 And we're saying, no, wait a second. 00:33:24.319 --> 00:33:26.000 The battle actually is here. 00:33:26.319 --> 00:33:29.119 And this is the weaponry we're going to use. 00:33:34.319 --> 00:33:40.799 The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life. 00:33:45.200 --> 00:33:46.880 I'm at your service. 00:33:47.519 --> 00:33:49.680 Well, look at the passage next week. 00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:58.319 But some blind men approach Jesus and he says to them, What do you want me to do for you? 00:34:00.240 --> 00:34:00.880 Wow. 00:34:02.079 --> 00:34:03.599 We want to receive our sight. 00:34:03.759 --> 00:34:04.720 Here you go. 00:34:08.239 --> 00:34:10.960 Gentile greatness, no serving. 00:34:11.440 --> 00:34:14.400 Jesus greatness, just the opposite. 00:34:15.679 --> 00:34:18.000 So let me bring this all to a close. 00:34:18.960 --> 00:34:35.679 In our era where we are dazzled by celebrity Christianity, we're tripped up by ecclesiastical self-aggrandizement, where we're being pumped to wage the war through power plays. 00:34:37.679 --> 00:34:42.159 We're losing the power of the kingdom of heaven. 00:34:43.440 --> 00:34:55.280 We are stripping away servanthood and suffering in our attempt to make the gospel more attractive or to give it what we think is a stronger foothold. 00:34:56.480 --> 00:35:01.840 But actually, we're just giving up and surrendering territory. 00:35:01.920 --> 00:35:04.400 We don't need to give up or surrender. 00:35:05.920 --> 00:35:11.440 And we need to attach ourselves to the cross of Christ and to suffer just like he did. 00:35:12.559 --> 00:35:16.079 And to listen once again to the words that Jesus said to Peter. 00:35:23.519 --> 00:35:26.880 Because all those who pick up the sword are going to perish by it. 00:35:29.440 --> 00:35:38.960 Do you not think that I couldn't call to my father in heaven and have ten thousand legions of angels come? 00:35:41.599 --> 00:35:48.320 Peter, if it really was about winning it here, I've got all the resources to do it. 00:35:49.679 --> 00:35:51.519 I could make it happen. 00:36:01.840 --> 00:36:03.119 Of course he would. 00:36:04.400 --> 00:36:09.519 What he wants us to win are never dying souls. 00:36:10.400 --> 00:36:14.239 And they're won a wholly different way. 00:36:16.159 --> 00:36:20.800 Because there's a different path to victory, because there's a different victory in view. 00:36:24.239 --> 00:36:26.079 Not a comfortable one. 00:36:26.960 --> 00:36:34.159 He's here to build one that will stand through eternity, not just one who will last through Western civilization. 00:36:36.239 --> 00:36:42.079 He's here no matter how long the ages roll in human history. 00:36:42.320 --> 00:36:50.320 And whether we become like the Romans, simply a passing phase of civilization that this world has seen, come and go. 00:36:52.000 --> 00:36:57.760 No, the rule of Christ will stand forever and ever and ever. 00:36:58.480 --> 00:36:59.679 Hallelujah. 00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:00.639 Amen. 00:37:03.599 --> 00:37:06.079 Let's learn from our Lord Jesus. 00:37:06.800 --> 00:37:13.760 Let's learn from history for the rest of the story of Thomas Cranmer. 00:37:14.639 --> 00:37:17.840 Cranmer was an influential man in the English Reformation. 00:37:18.000 --> 00:37:22.480 He was influential in the transformation of English society in so many different ways. 00:37:22.639 --> 00:37:25.119 I don't have time to begin to even tell you. 00:37:32.000 --> 00:37:42.239 His policies were put in force, and he made enemies doing it, because he did so through intrigue and strength of force. 00:37:43.039 --> 00:37:48.960 And all those people that he angered were waiting and looking for a moment to get back at him. 00:37:49.199 --> 00:37:51.360 And eventually they found one. 00:37:52.480 --> 00:38:03.599 Cromwell was heavily involved in one of Henry's other marriages, this time to Anne of Cleves, which Henry wasn't too happy with after a little while. 00:38:03.840 --> 00:38:10.320 And because he was unhappy with Anne of Cleves, he was unhappy with Thomas Cranmer, who had set him up with Anne of Cleves. 00:38:10.800 --> 00:38:19.119 And therefore, Thomas Cranmer lost the significant place at the right hand of Henry VIII. 00:38:20.480 --> 00:38:24.639 And as his influence faded, his enemies seized the opportunity. 00:38:24.880 --> 00:38:29.599 And they had him arrested on charges of treason and heresy. 00:38:31.280 --> 00:38:45.440 And the king, who was once his staunchest supporter and whose wealth and influence as a king had been mightily increased, signed over the warrant for his execution. 00:38:46.320 --> 00:38:52.800 And on July 28th, 1540, Cromwell was beheaded in the Tower Hill of London. 00:38:55.679 --> 00:39:00.400 Everything that had brought him to power was the power that brought him down. 00:39:01.599 --> 00:39:03.599 He was brought to nothing. 00:39:04.480 --> 00:39:15.199 And he reminds us of the danger of trading our integrity for power, our influence of suffering and servanthood for strength. 00:39:15.840 --> 00:39:32.480 Because if we fight with the weapons warfare on the weapons or on the world's battlefield, we're giving up our weapons, which are mighty through God, and we're giving up the battlefield that Jesus said we're to wage on. 00:39:32.800 --> 00:39:34.159 Let's pray. 00:39:39.679 --> 00:39:46.639 We feel so much like the disciples at this moment, probably a bit bewildered by it all. 00:39:47.519 --> 00:39:56.480 Because, Father, what Jesus is teaching us here is so different than what we're used to doing and hearing and watching. 00:39:58.000 --> 00:40:09.840 And Lord, we need a supernatural understanding, a recognition of what it means to truly look at the kingdom of heaven from your point of view. 00:40:11.519 --> 00:40:16.559 Father, we're entrenched in the ways of this world. 00:40:16.880 --> 00:40:37.679 But you tell us not to be pressed into the mold of the world, not to be conformed to its dictates, but to be transformed by the renewing of the Word of God and the Spirit, so that we might be able to discern those things are excellent, that we might be able to give ourselves to what is your good and pleasing and perfect will. 00:40:39.840 --> 00:40:43.199 Lord, give us that spiritual insight. 00:40:43.760 --> 00:40:57.039 Give us those eyes and give us that heart of our Savior, a heart of generosity, a heart of servanthood. 00:40:57.679 --> 00:41:08.719 And may it first be seen in how we care for each other in our generous love toward one another and serving each other with the gifts and the resources that you've given us. 00:41:08.960 --> 00:41:25.760 And may we be able to move out as a body and as individuals from our body into this society and show them that you exist and that you live and that your life and love can transform their hard, dark, evil hearts. 00:41:26.079 --> 00:41:28.320 And we pray this in Christ's name. 00:41:28.639 --> 00:41:29.280 Amen.