Hey everybody, it's Matt. This is the 10-minute Bible Hour Podcast. And yesterday we were talking about John the evangelist's worst moment, his most embarrassing social missing the point. It's just, it's ugly. So we started the conversation about this yesterday. We're on a little side jaunt over into Matthew, where we get a more robust account of how John and his family missed the point in Matthew chapter 20. And today we're going to finish out that story. But if you're feeling bad for John, and my hope is that as we've looked at three pretty unfortunate stories about young John, that we're not mentally piling on him and patting ourselves on the back for how much better we are than him, I hope we're seeing ourselves in John. Like if I didn't make it clear enough yesterday, that is the point of the exercise. I would be honored and humbled to see myself in John. And for my worst days and my dumbest, cringiest things to get flipped around into things that are even one millionth as redemptive as what John got to be a part of. So the story's going somewhere. So we're going to pick up right where we left off yesterday after my close personal friend, Jeffrey Foote, plays some music. Here you go. So the last will be first, and the first will be last. So we're walking along. It says now, as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the 12 disciples aside and he asked them, So we just did that beautiful parable. They're thinking about the first last and the last first. How does that work? There's gonna be like these 12 thrones, and that's supposed to be humbling and orienting for us. And Jesus says to them, We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They'll condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day, he'll be raised to life. So there it is. So follow it. First, last, last, first, death to life. It's a it's a flippin'. See what's going on there. Maybe the most powerful thing relationally that Jesus has said to them, and he's like, see Jerusalem right there. Remember all that first, last kingdom stuff we've been talking about? This is coming, guys. This is about to happen. This is a very sober conversation, like a kind of read the room moment. Shut your mouth. If you're kind of kids and you're kind of immature and you're in the Jesus squad, like now's a grow up moment. Shut your mouth. Think about what he just said. He's going to die. He's not going to be with you anymore. Like now is the time to forget your pride and forget yourself and check all of your motives. But then one verse later, yikes. Then the mother of Zebedee's sons, that's James and John, came to Jesus with her sons and kneeling down asked a favor of him. What is it you want? He asked. Can you feel the cringe kicking in here? If it's just mom, you could be like, well, you know, now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the 12 disciples aside and said to them, Okay, well, maybe she doesn't know. Like she wasn't there. Jesus took the disciples aside, but oh no. She's literally like they, the two her sons literally went from that little private meeting straight to her, and she was like, What did he say? And they were like, This is what he said. And she's like, Oh man, we got these 12 thrones. Now Jesus is gonna die. We have to go jockey for position right now. And James and John go with, oh guys, oh no. Have you heard the phenomenon of like, you know, kids in a certain generation bringing their parents with them to job interviews, like grown-up job interviews? Oh no, we're doing that. And you think you can manipulate Jesus? Oh no. What is it you want? He asked. Believe me, Jesus already knew. 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. I kind of wonder if she was maybe quiet about it to make sure Peter wouldn't hear. Maybe Andrew wouldn't hear. I mean, there were other brothers here. They might have wanted that right and left, and she was trying to call dibsies on it. Oh, it's so tacky. I'm going to die, my friends and family who I love. Can I have your car? Okay. Could you not? For one second? I'm just gonna explain my impending death first. Okay. Who gets the house? Dang it! It has that level of comedic tackiness to it. And Jesus says, You don't know what you're asking. Can you drink the cup I'm going to drink? We can, they answered. Jesus said to them, You'll 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've been prepared by my father. And then when the ten heard about this, surprise, surprise, they were indignant with the two brothers. And Jesus called them together and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them, not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave, 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. These two brothers and their mom cause a gigantic crisis for Jesus at this crucial moment. We should be focused on what are the last things we need to cover? Because, guys, the next couple days are going to go a lot faster than you think. You have a lot less time left with me than you think. You're going to wish you had more time to ask me questions. You should be formulating those questions. That's where the conversation should be. Jesus is depending on these guys to take the baton by the power of the Holy Spirit and carry this thing forward. Like the entire redemptive project is hinging on the character and commitment and effectiveness of this inner circle of guys who Jesus has been investing in. And he's like, hey guys, this is actually happening. Goodbye is coming up real soon. Be ready. And they hit him with, When you are dead, can we have your watch? Wow. And then everybody else is like, wait, they asked for the watch first? Well, I want to ask for the watch first too. Like uh, that's not fair. There should be, oh my goodness, it's just a calamitous scene. Jesus keeps his composure and is like, hey, you know, people who are dumb, this is how they do things. Okay? Can you picture dumb people? Can you picture how they are? You're being like that. Paraphrases mine, but it's not that much of a paraphrase. You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. So, in a way, what happens right here is that James and John and their mom's unfortunate timing, unfortunate priorities, unfortunate not getting it-ness, actually kind of lob Jesus a softball. Nobody really dictates anything to him. So he takes this and uses it to drive home the point, not just to James, John, and their mom, but to all of the disciples. Again, this is the point. This is how pecking orders work in my kingdom. It's all different. And if you don't believe me, in a minute, I'm going to put my money where my mouth is and go and die so that I would be exalted by my father and death would be defeated, and the redemptive plan is going to be pulled off. So this is how you guys are going to do things. Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave. So you guys, those are the values. That's how it works in your life. And here's what I'm going to do. 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. If you don't have that one memorized, that is Matthew 20, 28. And it's a good one to tuck away forever in your heart and your brain. That I mean, that's just Jesus spelling out what he's doing in his own words right there. Now, this is where the John Newton thing that we were talking about yesterday comes back into play. This is embarrassing. This is the kind of stuff that when I've done it, I mean, the tacky things I've done are different than that tacky thing. I don't know. Maybe that I mean I've done tacky things just like that. But when I lay in bed at night and I have a long night of the soul and I do not sleep well, I play over and over again cringy, stupid, don't read the room, dumb things that I've done and said that betray my bad motives and my bad ideas and that make me look like an absolute joke and clown. It kills me that I have stories like this one. Not that involve my mom. I didn't need my mom to step in to look like an idiot. I could do it for myself. And I'm not joking. It kills me. I'm sweaty right now because I'm even admitting that I have all of these and that I feel this way, but it kills me that I have so many of these from my youth. It's humiliating. Also, I'm inspired by the story of John and the story of James and the story of John Newton. James and John, I can completely relate to this. I know what it's like to imagine that I'm socially sophisticated enough to disguise motives and do selfish entitled things. I also would like to think that I got a lot of stuff right as a young man. But the things that hurt the most to look back on, like I was mentioning a minute ago, are the things that kind of sound like the mistakes James and John are making. And they also got a lot of things right as young men. Surely. I mean, they followed Jesus. That was pretty good. But there were still elements of just missing the point here. I'm inspired by them because it didn't stay that way. They got it. The immaturity burned off over time. They changed, they grew, they became more than what they were. The values of the kingdom, the first shall be last thing, the example of Jesus. It got through the armor, it got into their heart, into their DNA, and it replaced the ick with something that was beautiful. James was the first to die. He's the first disciple to be martyred. John was the last to die. I wonder if those two brothers thought about that first and last thing in this little conversation in Matthew 20. And you know, can you drink from this cup? Oh, yeah, we can. I wonder if they thought about all that and how it applies to the first, last and the values of the kingdom and everything, as they both faced their respective ends in very different ways, separated by many, many years. But John turns a corner dramatically. And if anything, the character of John is more interesting and more compelling by a wide margin because we get these accounts of what he was like and what his flaws looked like. When you go and read now John, first, second, third, John, and Revelation, and you have this in the back of your mind, like this incident and others like it, it's startling. It frames the whole thing up. Like here's a guy who understands what it is to miss the point of something so beautiful. And here's somebody who's trying to take those hard-earned lessons and relay it to people who are outside of the faith and relay it to people who are struggling but inside of the faith. Yeah, I'm also inspired by a guy like John Newton that we started talking about yesterday. You know, Newton was a mess as a young man, but what do you know? By the grace of God, his eyes are opened, he was blind, but now he sees and he does lasting, meaningful, beautiful, redemptive things. He makes amazing contributions to the kingdom of God. So when you hear me take two days and kind of pile on John, my point is to say if you cringe over dumb stuff that you've done, but you've grown out of it and as a result of it, and it gives you a certain sensitivity and care in what you do now, and somehow God uses that in your life, well, then it's pretty easy to relate to James and John and understand the development arc of these characters. And I find them to be all the more powerful in their example and in their leadership, knowing that they weren't perfect. But let me tell you, John takes quite the turn after this incident. All of the good things we see about John in the early going, those things all grow up and mature into this gigantic thing, and all of the icky stuff pretty much gets purged right here because John is about to go through a massive growing up process over just the next few days, and it carries all the way through the rest of his life and all the way through the ensuing time between then and now as we read his gospel. What John goes through and how it shapes him is now shaping you and me. We'll talk about that process and what it looks like next time around. I'm Matt. This is the 10 Minute Bible Hour Podcast. Let's do this again soon.