Greatness In Heaven

“The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Why should it be different for his followers?

Matthew 20:17-28

Jesus forewarns his disciples of His ordeal in Jerusalem (v. 17-19)

• betrayal
• chief priests and scribes
• death sentence from Sanhedrin
• handed over to the Romans
• mocking, scourging, crucifixion
• resurrection on the third day

A mother’s loving but misguided request for her sons (v. 20-24)

• the mother of James and John
• desiring positions of honor for them in the kingdom
• Are you able ?  We are able? (v. 22). Yes they will suffer persecution, too.
• Those positions are not political favors that can be bought or bartered. Instead, they are pre-assigned seats for those whom God the Father has chosen.

The paradox of greatness (v. 24-28)

• The other disciples were angry with James and John for the request.  After all, weren’t the twelve equals?
• Jesus condemns the jealousy, and likens it to the power struggles of the unsaved (v. 25).
• This must never be among his followers (v. 26).
• To achieve greatness, one must serve others (v. 27).
• The example of Jesus is paramount: he came to serve others by giving his life as a ransom for many.

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“The first shall be last…”

The parable of Matthew 20 should be connected with the end of Chapter19 for it illustrates the point that rewards in heaven are disbursed as God wills, and not based on any human perception of fairness.

Matthew 20:1-16

• The householder, the lord of the vineyard, contracts for day laborers, early in the morning (v. 1-2).
• Later in the day, he hired more laborers, but the salary was not confirmed. In good faith, he offered a fair wage; and in good faith the additional laborers agreed to his terms as set about working the rest of the day. Some of them worked 3 hours less than the original crew; some worked 6 hours less; some worked 9 hours less; and some worked only 1 hour that day (v. 3-7).
• According to law, day wages were paid at the end of the workday. But the law did not dictate any order in which to pay the laborers. The owner decided to pay the most recently hired first, paying those who worked the longest last. He decided to pay everyone the same amount, a penny for the day (v. 9).
• Those hired earliest in the day, those who worked the most hours, being paid last saw that all the partial day laborers received equal payment, and they felt cheated (v. 11-12).
• The owner argues that they received everything they agreed to, and that he had not cheated them. Moreover he contends that as the landowner, he has every right to do what he will with his money and his business (v.13-15).
• This illustrates the principle that the last shall be first, and the first shall be last. Many are called, but few are chosen.

Meditation Points:

Does God use some men for only a brief period of time on earth? Are some of God’s workers signally blessed for only a brief service? Is God unfair to anyone?

Long life? Less useful? Yet every one of the elect shall be saved. And none dishonored.

Many are the workers in God’s kingdom. But few are the choice servants who receive special recognition and reward.

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Riches and Eternal Life

Most people realize that you can’t buy God’s love. But all too many still believe that you can do something to appease him.

Matthew 19:16-30

The Rich Young Man (v. 16-22)

Good Master

• Jesus questions the title.
• He does not deny it to himself. Instead he wants the young man to realize that God alone is good.
• For the title to apply to Jesus, he must be God!

Good thing

• Like many before and after him, the young man believes that there must be something that he can do to inherit eternal life.
• Surely, he thinks, salvation comes, at least partly, to those who do good.
• The idea of salvation 100% by grace is a foreign concept for him, as it is for all who are unaware of God’s revealed plan of salvation.

Good life

• “Keep the commandments.”
• “Which ones?”
• #6, #7, #8, #9 and #5. And love your neighbor as yourself, don’t defraud your neighbor.
• “I’ve done that since my youth.”
• “Then the only thing left is for you to sell everything that you own and give your money to the poor and follow me.”
• That ended the discussion as the rich young man seemed unwilling to part with his wealth, even for heaven.

Riches And Salvation (v. 23-26)

• It’s hard for a person to give up his riches, which he can hold, to receive the intangible,although real, wealth of God’s kingdom.
• It would be easier for a large nautical rope to be threaded through the eye of a needle.
• Humanly speaking, therefore, it is impossible for a rich man to be saved.
• But salvation is not a human endeavor. With God even the rich can be saved.

Rewards For Discipleship (v. 27-30)

• Did Jesus advise the young man to give up everything?
• Well, the 12 apostles had done just that!
• Peter asks what benefit they shall receive.
• 100 times more of everything you gave up—AND eternal life.  What more could you ask?

Meditation Points:

1. He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.
2. Jesus mentions commandments from the second table of the law not because these are the most important, but because these are the most visible.
3. Can you say that you have kept God’s law since your youth?
4. Do you understand why salvation must be wholly of grace? Do you see the futility of trying to be good enough for God?
5. What value will a pile of money be in heaven?

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What does Jesus know?

Jesus volunteered to die that sinners might live.

Luke 18:26-43

• Nothing is impossible with God (v. 26-27) – not even the salvation of sinful men.
• No good deed shall go unrewarded (v. 28-30). The many benefits which accrue to the believer are for this life and for the life to come.
• Jesus knew what lay ahead of him in Jerusalem.  Specifically his arrest and crucifixion.
• Jesus told his disciples what lay ahead; but they did not comprehend. Were they in denial, or were they blind to reality?
• A blind man, following the example of the importunate widow at the beginning of the chapter, would not be silenced when he had such an urgent request of Jesus.

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