The Servant Life of a Christian

A sermon on Matthew 20:20-28 preached by Ps Simon Chilongoshi

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Matthew, chapter 20. I have entitled my discourse this evening “The Servant Life of a Christian.” Let me read from verse 20 up to verse 28.

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked him for something. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 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.” He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right and my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” And when the ten heard this, they were indignant at 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 exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

This evening I want us to look at the servant life of a Christian. It is found, essentially, in this statement of our Lord Jesus Christ: “Even so, the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Let us turn to the Lord in prayer.

Father in heaven, we pray that you would be with us. Help us, O God, as we look at your Word, that we may understand the truth and be ready to apply it in our lives. You have called us, O Lord, to servanthood in your kingdom, and this is our desire, that this evening you would be able to accomplish this in us as we go through the pages of Scripture. Grant us this, our prayer, for we ask it in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

By the time we come to chapter 20, the Lord Jesus Christ has already begun preparing his disciples concerning his suffering, his death, and also his resurrection. Not only that, but to some extent the disciples at this point already know something concerning the kingdom of God that is yet to come. And so they are curious, and they want to secure their place in heaven even while they are still here.

To prove this, chapter 18 also gives us the same picture, verses 1 through 4:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

This is essentially where the mother of the sons of Zebedee is coming from. She, too, realizes that very soon the time will come when the Lord Jesus Christ will establish his kingdom. And so, as a caring mother, she wants to secure the right place for her sons. She comes to the Lord Jesus Christ and asks him to say that one will sit at his right hand and the other at his left hand in heaven.

Friends, we need to learn something from this attitude of the disciples at this point, given the times in which they were living and what awaited them. You can see the shift in their attention: they were not only living with their eyes on earth, but they were also turning their attention toward heaven.

Now, the question I have for you this evening is: are you aware that the Lord is coming soon, and that we will not be here much longer? We are only sojourners. If you are aware of this fact, are you already preparing your mind toward heaven, as these people were doing in the passage we have read? Friends, this should be our motivation — not to live as though we have arrived, not to live as though this world is our final destination, because the Word of God tells us that we do not know the hour when he will come.

Secondly, take note of the question. The question in chapter 18 that I referred to, and also the request that the mother of the sons of Zebedee makes, are not about the present. She is asking about the future. She says, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit at your right hand and at your left in your kingdom” — not here, not now. That is their concern.

But now look at what Jesus does as he answers this question. Jesus does not take them up into the future. Even in chapter 18, Jesus presents to them a “now” scenario — what they are supposed to do now, what their attitude should be now.

It is very possible, as it was with the church at Thessalonica, that at some point they thought, “We don’t have to trouble ourselves — the kingdom of God is at hand, so let us stop everything we are doing.” The same thing can happen to us, where we pause and think only of heaven. But listen to what the Lord Jesus Christ gives them as an answer — he brings them back down.

First, before he answers, he points out their ignorance. He says, “You do not know what you are asking.” This is in verse 22: “Jesus answered, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?'”

To them, this sounded like a cup of water, something to drink when thirsty. Listen to their answer: “We are able.” They did not know the reality of the cup the Lord Jesus Christ was speaking of. I believe he had mercy on them. Then he says, “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.”

Friends, this cup that Jesus is referring to is not an ordinary cup. It is not like going to a dispenser for a drink of water when you are thirsty. He is referring to the full wrath of God that was being prepared for him, that was going to come upon him. He is looking ahead to the suffering he was about to undergo.

So when he asks them, “Are you able to drink of this cup?” he is really asking: if you are to sit with me in glory, one on the left and one on the right, are you also ready to be part of this suffering — to be part of being sacrificed for the sake of the people, for the sake of sinners?

Friends, this is what we are remembering. We are remembering the cup that the Lord Jesus Christ had to take. Our sins were poured out upon him — him who knew no sin. He became sin for us, and his Father forsook him. That is why we see him in the Garden of Gethsemane, chapter 26, verses 36 and 38 through 42:

Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here and watch with me.” And going a little farther, he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”

Friends, this is the cup he was referring to. He was speaking of the wrath of God, and he understood very well what he was about to go through. The Bible records that he began to sweat in pain and grief, and his sweat was like drops of blood because of the cup he was about to partake of. This is the reality we are celebrating today.

Now look at verse 24: “And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers.” At this point, Jesus realized what was happening among the other disciples, but he did not want them to be distracted. In verse 25, he quickly calls for their attention. What does he say to them? He calls them to himself and says: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you, but whoever would be great among you must be your servant.”

He turns their attention, calls them to focus on him, and then brings them back to what was familiar to them. As they were looking at the position of greatness — sitting on either side of the Lord Jesus Christ — what they likely had in mind was the same way the Gentiles lorded it over people. That was the kind of greatness they were seeking.

He says, “This is not so.” Verse 26: “But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave.” Friends, this is the reality to which Christ calls us. If we are to be great in his kingdom, we must be humble. This is exactly what he says in chapter 18, in answer to that same question: “Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Friends, the kingdom of God is calling us to humility.

He is calling us to servanthood. Christ himself has come, as he says, “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Friends, as a church, we come to serve one another. We come to wash the feet of one another — that is the very example Christ left his disciples, as he who was called Rabbi, Teacher, knelt down with a basin of water and a towel and washed the dirty feet of his disciples.

He said, in effect, “This is your life.” Friends, this is the life to which we have been called — to serve one another. Christ is not only calling us to it; he has set a good example for us throughout his life. Even in his death, he did not die for his own sin. He died for your sin and my sin. Our Christian life is a life of service.

Friends, I have something for you by way of application. As we gather this evening to partake of the bread and the cup, let us remember that Christ himself came and gave his life as a ransom for many. He came to provide redemption for those who were far from God. He came to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Today, as we come to celebrate the cup and the bread, remembering his death, and as he calls us to a life of servanthood, we, friends, need to be servants.

The best way to conclude is with Philippians chapter 2. Reading from verse 4:

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

That should be our attitude — not to look only to my own interest.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant.

That is what the Lord Jesus Christ is calling us to. You may say, “I can’t serve — I’m busy working,” or “I can’t be fellowshipping with lowly people who don’t deserve to be served.” But that is exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ is asking of us.

Let us look at the reward of this attitude, verse 9:

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Friends, this is the ultimate reward of a servant heart and a servant life. Christ himself, God himself, will exalt us. That is what will make us to be exalted, to sit with Christ on his throne. It does not come by asking, as the mother of the two sons tried to ask — “Say that these two should sit.” No. The only thing that will make us to be exalted above every name is if, in this life, we live as servants, being faithful to God who has called us.

This is our time. Let us live this way, that we may please our Master. And at the end of the day, he will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Sit.” It is only if we are going to be a servant. Amen.