The Challenge of Power, Position, Privilege, and Purpose
Matthew 20: 17-28
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.”
In Matthew 20:17–28, Jesus takes the disciples aside and tells them plainly what awaits him in Jerusalem. He speaks to the disciples about his betrayal, suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection. He is clear about his purpose. He has come not to seize power, but to give his life as a ransom for many.
Yet even in that sacred moment, the disciples focus is somewhere else. The mother of James and John asks that her sons sit at Jesus’ right and left in his kingdom. Hearing the question the other disciples grow indignant. While Jesus speaks of sacrifice, they argue about status. While he reveals a cross, they envision thrones. The tension is unmistakable. As difficult as it may be, we must acknowledge that revelation does not automatically produce transformation. They want proximity to power without understanding the price of purpose. They want the benefits of the kingdom without the burden of the cup.
Jesus responds by redefining greatness. “Whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant.” In a world where rulers “lord it over” others, Jesus establishes a different order. In his kingdom, authority is exercised through service. Position is validated by humility. Privilege is measured by responsibility. The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and if we will hear it today, this passage confronts us in our own time. We speak passionately about change, justice, and renewal. Yet we often want a different world without changing ourselves. We critique the systems around us but resist the transformation needed within us. We seek influence but avoid sacrifice.
Consider a simple image. Imagine an empty chair at the head of a table. Many desire to sit in it. Few are willing to stack the chairs, clean the room, and prepare the space. But the one who learns to serve the room is the one prepared to lead it.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote, “The Church is the Church only when it exists for others.” That is true not only for institutions, but for disciples. To follow Christ is to exist for others. The challenge of power, position, privilege, and purpose is ultimately a challenge of the heart. Are we willing to drink the cup? To exchange entitlement for empathy? To trade applause for obedience?
Jesus moves toward Jerusalem anchored in purpose. If we bear his name, we are called to bear his pattern. Not dominance, but discipleship. Not self-promotion, but self-giving love. In times like these, the world does not need more grasping for power. It needs servants grounded in purpose.
prayer
God, I call upon you early in the morning.
Help me to pray
And to concentrate my thoughts on you;
I cannot do this alone.
In me there is darkness,
But with you there is light;
I am lonely, but you do not leave me;
I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help;
I am restless, but with you there is peace;
In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience;
I do not understand your ways,
But you know the way for me.
Restore me to liberty,
And enable me so to live now
That I may answer before you and before men.
Lord, whatever this day may bring,
Your name be praised.
Morning Prayer – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison, edited by Eberhard Bethge. Written at Tegel Prison, 1944.
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