eFollowingJesusMar10 - Mother's dream (read Matthew 20:17-28)

   Ask any parent:  "What is your dream for your child?"  "I want my child to be happy" or "to fit in" or "to be financially independent."  But these answers have nothing to do with Jesus, and may even be a thick shield fending off Jesus' advances.

   The mother of James and John, proudly watching her sons strutting next to Jesus, advocates that they should be perched in the most prominent positions in the kingdom.  How off the mark is her understanding of Jesus' mission!  His glory is suffering, assuming the most subservient position, not upward mobility but downward servanthood.  Does she really want them near Jesus? for it will cost them ridicule - and even their lives.  But if we love, we want those we love to love this Jesus, not some fantasy we attach to Jesus.

   What is your dream?  Perhaps not to be "happy" but to be "faithful," not to fit in but to be odd in a world that covets what is foolish, never independent but dependent upon God, never to be served but only to serve?

   Lord, chart Your course for my life (and for those I love), not to scale up the world's ladder, but to be like Jesus.  

James

james@mpumc.org

Here is the full text of Matthew 20:17-28 -  17: And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18: "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death, 19: and deliver him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day." 20: Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him, with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21: And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom." 22: But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?" They said to him, "We are able." 23: He said to them, "You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." 24: And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25: But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. 26: It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27: and whoever would be first among you must be your slave; 28: even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."  29: And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30: And behold, two blind men sitting by the roadside, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!" 31: The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent; but they cried out the more, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" 32: And Jesus stopped and called them, saying, "What do you want me to do for you?" 33: They said to him, "Lord, let our eyes be opened." 34: And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they received their sight and followed him.

The full eFollowingJesus series (thus far!) may be found on our web site.