Lessons In Leadership | Matthew 20:20-28

Scripture

• Matthew 20:20–28

About this sermon

Introduction: If I were to ask, “which of the disciples comes to your mind when we think about bold, brash, prideful statements?” If I asked, “who speaks out of turn, and sometimes says outrageous things” — who would you identify? Yes, you are correct, we are talking about James and John! You see, it’s not just Peter whose perspective sometimes needs correction. It’s not just Peter who can be guilty of selfish ambition. It’s the other disciples too. And it’s not just the disciples that we see on the pages of Scripture. IT’S THE DISCIPLES SITTING IN THIS ROOM. Pride is not something to be taken lightly. Pride does sometimes require loving confrontation. But EVERY BELIEVER MUST BATTLE WITH IT. ESV Proverbs 20:9 Who can say, "I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin"? What makes that battle especially difficult is when you are living in PERILOUS TIMES. All times are sinful times, but some seasons of sin in this world are more notorious than others. ESV 2 Timothy 3:1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. I want you to notice how many references to pride there in that section. LOVERS OF SELF PROUD ARROGANT ABUSIVE DISOBEDIENT TO PARENTS UNGRATEFUL UNAPPEASABLE SLANDEROUS ESV Psalm 12:3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, 4 those who say, "With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?" BRUTAL SWOLLEN WITH CONCEIT A difficult time is a time of great arrogance. Well, when you live in a time like that, even believers can become numb to the kind of pride that God hates. IN FACT, SOME ATTEMPT TO TAKE THE PROUD AND SELF-RELIANT WAYS OF THE WORLD AND MAKE THEM WORK IN THE NAME OF GOD. Worldly principles trying to accomplish spiritual ends. John MacArthur — “It is impossible for the principles of the world to be effective in or adaptable to God’s kingdom. By their very nature they are contrary to His way and destructive of His work. They not only never produce greatness but always produce disharmony, pettiness, and spiritual weakness in the Body.” WELL, WHAT WE HAVE IN OUR VERSES TONIGHT IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF THE FUTURE LEADERS OF THE CHURCH NOT UNDERSTANDING THE LEADERSHIP THEY HAVE WITNESSED AND EXPERIENCED FROM THEIR LORD. They are with Him. They watch Him. They listen to Him. BUT THEY STILL DON’T UNDERSTAND HIM. As we talked about this morning, they are learning His words, but they still have a long way to go to learn His ways. AS JESUS APPROACHES THE CROSS, HE MUST (ONCE AGAIN) CORRECT FALSE IDEAS (WORLDLY IDEAS) ABOUT GREATNESS IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. This is something He has had to do regularly and will do AT THE LAST SUPPER. We will consider these verses under four headings (1) A desire for kingdom prominence (2) A correction for ignorant confidence (3) Judgment from indignant competitors (4) The pathway for true greatness. • A DESIRE FOR KINGDOM PROMINENCE (vs.20-21) This is really an outrageous scene. Two grown men approach the Lord — with whom they spend every day — making use of their mother, to give voice to their desire. Both Matthew and Mark make clear that James and John were the driving force behind what happens here. Mark doesn’t even mention their mother. ESV Mark 10:35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." 36 And he said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?" 37 And they said to him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." In Matthew’s account, when the other disciples are upset, they aren’t upset with the mother, they are upset with the disciples. ESV Matthew 20:24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. WHY WOULD THEY MAKE USE OF THEIR MOTHER? I can think of two reasons. It could be that Salome insisted that her sons ask for this. Moms have a way of prevailing upon their sons. It could also be that James and John thought she might have some influence on Jesus. WHY? Because when you compare some information we get from the gospel accounts, it appears that the mother of the sons of Zebedee was the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus. ESV Matthew 27:55 There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, 56 among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Topics

• Leadership