20 Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
21 “What is it you want?” he asked.
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.”
22 “You don't know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.
23 Jesus said to them, “You will 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 have been prepared by my Father.”
Ignorance fueled by presumptuous selfish ambition caused John and James to have their mother approach the Master with a request for their honor. Granted, these two were part of our Lord’s inner circle and - along with Peter - were His favorites yet they were continually missing the mark. In our verses for today, it was the mark of humility.
Jesus had recently spoken to them on this very subject when His guys were found arguing over whom would be the greatest in the coming kingdom. In Christ’s way of thinking, humility before God and man was and is a virtue every child of the King should seek to understand and embrace at their very core. It is, by the way, an essential attitude of our hearts. Humility is the correct estimation of self and puts it in its proper place. To be overly preoccupied with self will cause our downfall every time because pride is ever at the bottom of it.
“Humility is nothing else but a true knowledge and awareness of oneself as one really is.” The Cloud of Unknowing
Perhaps John and James assumed if they had their mother approach Christ He would acquiesce to their wanton wishes – she becoming the tool of their ambition. We find earlier in Matthew Jesus’ teaching on the subject of being humble:
1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matt 18:1-4 (NIV)
“For as long as a man is not emptied of himself and of his own righteousness and goodness, he will have a legal spirit. A spirit of pride in one’s own righteousness, morality, holiness, affection, experience, faith, humiliation or any other goodness, is a legal spirit...It is even possible to have a self-righteous spirit about one’s own humility and to be self-confident about one’s own abasement...But he whose heart is subject to Christian humility has a very different attitude...Christians who are real saints and the greatest in the Kingdom...humble themselves as a little child...They look upon themselves as children in grace..” Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections
Indeed, what do we have that we did not receive and if we received it why do we boast? Paul’s exhortation to us in Philippians comes to mind:
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Phil 2:3 (NIV)
Without question, selfish ambition is of the flesh and not of the Spirit. “Vain conceit” or empty glory is often its root cause. Paul gives us a list of some of the obvious acts of the sinful nature in Galatians of which selfish ambition is included:
19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Gal 5:19-21 (NIV)
John and James desired to be men of rank in Jesus’ coming kingdom – those possessing pomp and power. They weren’t seeking employment rather honor. They had no idea what they were asking. They spoke of the kingdom as blind men who speak of vibrant colors – ignorant to the reality. They had imagined their worldly warfare was ending rather than scarcely beginning. We do not know what we are asking for when we seek the glory of the crown yet not the grace of the certain cross. Jesus patiently reminds them of the cup of suffering He was to drink from and graciously asks them if they were willing to drink from this cup too. Jesus came as the Suffering Servant because of us – our need not His - and we think we are to bypass that? Our Lord’s followers are not carried to heaven on a bed of down rather like our Master the way of the crown is the way of the cross. Perhaps this is why in all four Gospels we are given the same message:
23 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” Luke 9:23-24 (NIV)
“The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time.” Tim Keller