Titles
With position comes responsibility.
While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised.’ Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him. And he said to her, ‘What do you want?’ She said to him, ‘Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.’ But Jesus answered, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?’ They said to him, ‘We are able.’ He said to them, ‘You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.’ When the ten heard it, they were angry with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’ - Matthew 20:17-28
Sometimes the reward is not what you think it is going to be.
We have heard it said, be careful what you wish for, and in this case, it is true. The sons don't know to what mom is committing them.
It isn't until after they commit to the same trials Jesus will go through that they realize the path to greatness is not what they were after. Jesus turns the world upside down, explaining that humility and servanthood are greater than position and power.
A mother wants what is best for her children, so it really isn't Mom's fault that she sought Jesus out to put in a plug for her boys, but they should have known better. They were still thinking in earthly terms of a kingdom, but Jesus had something else in mind.
Before we go and put in our claim to a job, position of title, we should seriously consider what goes with it. Are we going to be biting off more than we can chew? And if so, can we back away if we need to?
Titles are good. They boost our ego and make us feel important, but as we move up the ladder, we should consider the responsibility that comes with the job. We truly do become servants of all, if we do the job the right way.
More to come...