Who is Worthy?

Matthew 20

While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves and said to them on the way, “Look, 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.”

Does anything about this incident seem odd to you? Does it? Think about it, because to me, it seemed not only odd, but just plain wrong! Yes, it’s easy to just take it all in and maybe shake your head a little at how this conversation came about. But take a step back and ask yourself if this is what you would have expected, had you actually been there.

You see, I was there. Yes, I was, and I witnessed how this unfolded. And I must tell you, that to me, it was shocking. Shocking for both what was said but perhaps even more, it was shocking for what was not said.

Who am I? A nobody, really, a person whose name you will never know. But still, I am a devoted follower of Jesus, one of the women who traveled with him and who supported him, despite the restrictive social norms of our day that seek to keep women in their place. I hope that you, looking back from your century, might be proud of how I followed Jesus.

So, back to this incident. Let me explain some things about it that you may not know. First, when Jesus told us about his fate in Jerusalem, it was the third time that he had tried. You may remember what happened the first time. Peter took him aside, and in the strongest words possible, called Jesus out: “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me, for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” (Matthew 16)

Later, just after Jesus had been transfigured on the mountain top, he tried again (Matthew 17). But again, the twelve could not comprehend how Jesus could possibly allow himself to be killed.

And now, for the third time, Jesus explained, this time in much more graphic detail. There was no way to misunderstand or ignore what Jesus was telling us.

Were his disciples shocked? Were they beginning to get it? Could they grasp the reason why the Messiah must die? Could they relate his prediction to any of the Biblical prophecies about the Messiah?

Well, actually, their reaction was complete silence. No one wanted to call Jesus out as Peter had done. And Peter certainly kept his mouth shut! You see, perhaps, in their shock, the rest decided that it was best to say nothing.

Nothing, that is, except for the mother of James and John. Her approach to Jesus was awkward to say the least. But in the vacuum of the stillness, she boldly stepped forward.

At first, I expected her to express empathy for Jesus and his fate. If she had, she’d be speaking for all of us, even though she was far from a leader in our group. In any case, some words of care and concern for the person of Jesus would have been the appropriate thing from her. In fact, I was just about to say something myself, to express my love for Jesus, and my willingness to walk with him on the road to his awful destiny.

But for whatever reason, she thought that this was her golden opportunity. And of course, it was obvious to all of us that her sons had put her up to it. In fact, as we all knew, they were too afraid to speak up on their own. And as you surely can see, the timing could not have been worse!

Mother of James and John Asking Jesus

St. John’s Cathedral, Portsmouth, England

I have to wonder why Jesus reacted with any shred of grace. I mean, why not call out not only her lack of empathy, but also the insensitivity of the rest of us in our silence? That’s what I would have done, and I must admit that, secretly, I hoped he would. I could almost hear him say, “Didn’t you hear what I just told you? Can’t you possibly understand? Are you deaf?”

But no, Jesus did not call her out. Nor did he criticize the rest of us for our lack of caring. Instead, He gave all of us a lesson on worthiness.

First, he asked the brothers if they could follow him to their own death, just as Jesus was about to do. It was not a road to glory, but instead, a path to suffering. And of course, it was easy for them to respond that they would drink from the same cup.

But, Jesus responded, only the father had the authority to grant the honor that they requested.

Then, he went on, teaching us about what you will call “servant leadership.” There are two kinds of leaders according to Jesus. In the secular world, we will find leaders who use power to suppress and control. My world is, unfortunately, filled with such leaders, and the people groan beneath their heavy-handed tyranny. Hopefully, by your time, that will no longer be true. Hopefully, by your time, leaders will have learned from Jesus, that they must serve and look to the needs of those whom they govern.

The example of Jesus as a servant leader was not lost on me, and I hoped it was not lost on my brothers and sisters among his followers.

As a servant leader, Jesus never sought honors or even asked for thanks. But surely, he would have appreciated some words of caring after what he had told us would happen in Jerusalem. But, unfortunately, he heard no such words.

Instead, Jesus patiently listened to the mother of James and John, as she boldly asked him what they were too embarrassed to ask. He could have agreed with the rest of the twelve and aimed his displeasure at James and John. And He could have angrily responded to their mother in her complicity with her ill-timed appeal.

So, what did Jesus do? Instead of refusing to answer their brazen request, he gave them the truest answer that he could. And then he went on to give us a lesson to us about who is worthy.

The worthy leaders, according to Jesus, are not the ones who suppress and control, not the ones who flaunt their power and position, but instead, the worthy ones are those who, in humility, serve. That’s what makes them worthy in God’s eyes.

Sitting on the right and left in the glory of the Risen Christ is not the result of worthiness, at least not in the way of the world. It’s not about the exercise of power. No, the glory of the Risen Christ will be shared with those who are worthy through their faithful service.

James and John thought that they had earned what they requested: the reward of glory in God’s Kingdom. They thought that they knew what it took, and that they were worthy of great honor.

But Jesus corrected them, and all of us, really. Only God gets to decide who is worthy of honor, and God prizes humility and service. Of course, Jesus himself is the best example of those qualities.

And what about what Jesus added: “…the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.”  What about giving his life as a ransom?

As I reflected on his words, it came to me that, in reality, none of us is truly worthy. I mean, who among us can say that Jesus died for us because we were worthy? I can almost hear Jesus, beseeching the father: “Why must I die for these unworthy people? Is not my life worth more than these?”

But, of course, that’s just the point, isn’t it? Jesus came to “give his life a ransom for many” who were not, and are not, in fact, worthy. No one can claim that a single one of us is worthy of the life of the Son of God.

For me, I am so comforted that, despite my unworthiness, Jesus was, amazingly, still willing to give his life as a ransom for me.

What do you think? Do you deserve to be honored in the Kingdom of God? And are you worthy of the life of Jesus?