Lent 4, 2011
Matthew 20:17-28
“Front Row Seats”
Grace mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
When you go to a sporting event what are the best seats you can get? If it’s football it’s front row seats on the 50 yard line, basketball…front row seats center court, hockey would be center ice, and if it’s a baseball game it would either be right behind the dugout or home plate. But these seats also cost the most money. The people you see in these seats are usually wealthy, important, or famous. Front row seats…I know I have never had front row tickets…but are they really the best?
“Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” (Matthew 20:17-19)
The disciples are again with Jesus…they had front row seats with their Lord…and Jesus is telling them something extremely important. Jesus is telling them that He was going to be betrayed, condemned, tortured, and then murdered. Jesus knew the disciples needed to hear this so that they would be comforted when it all would happen. This time the disciples don’t try to stop Jesus or discourage talk about the crucifixion…they must have had something far more important going on.
“Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. "What is it you want?" he asked. She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom." "You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?" "We can," they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.” (Matthew 20:20-23)
Salome, the mother of Zebedee’s sons, wanted earthly greatness for her sons. Salome wasn’t thinking of her sons seated next to Christ in heaven…but on earth. She wanted them to be great for all the world to see. She thought they may be powerful like Pontius Pilate or Herod if Jesus would grant her that one favor. Here Salome wants for her sons what Satan tempted Jesus with “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me.” (Matthew 4: 8-9)
Are we really any different in our own desires? If we could afford them or aquire them…wouldn’t we rather have the front row seats? Greatness in God’s eyes means service and sacrifice. Our sinful nature seeks to serve…serve itself, to “lord it over” others and to exercise “authority” over those below us.
This corrupt world is full of sin and sinners. Authority is abused each and every day. We read in the news of police officers being abusive, teachers having improper relations with students, law makers cutting corners or helping out their cronies. The abuse of authority also finds its ways into the life of the Church when Pastors abuse their authority and when the church itself abuses its authority by not sharing God’s Word of love and truth with others.
As Christians we shouldn’t be battling each other to get to the top but to get to the bottom. We need to seek out ways to serve others, to benefit them, to give them, so to speak, the nice car, the country house, the big chair…the benefits of Christ: Forgiveness and Salvation. The life of the Christian should be one of constant service to others.
“Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28)
We have been given the greatest example of a sacrificing servant in Christ our Lord. Jesus was constantly seeking people out to help them. Jesus healed all kinds of physical ailments as He reached out to heal their souls. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:10) Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for all people by taking up the sin of the world and dying for all of us.
If Jesus would have acted like the God we and the disciples wanted, things would be very different. Jesus would have punished us all and called us out for our sinfulness. He would expect perfect obedience and demand service. If God acted like the tyrants and governments of this world we would have all been punished with God’s wrath. Yet Jesus didn’t act like this. Jesus didn’t live like a King in this world; he was born in a stable, lived in poverty, homelessness, suffered, and died out of love and mercy for us.
After all this God our Father raised Christ from the dead. Jesus ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father; the seat of authority. Jesus now reigns over all creation as Lord. Yet Jesus still serves His people. Jesus offers to us forgiveness of sins and His very body and blood. All the while our Lord continues to intercede on our behalf to the Father. The Risen Christ continues to serve creation.
Praise be to God for not being a tyrant, “lording it” over us or seeking to control us. Let’s give thanks that God chose to humble himself, to suffer for us, and to give himself as a sacrifice for us. His love for us is that great. He continues to come and lead us ever downward to the bottom of the world’s pyramid, seeking more and more opportunities to serve others. One day, we will gather around his throne, to his left and to his right, and sing praises forever to our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of service to us is the greatest and most worthy of praise in all the universe.
Front row seats…they aren’t always the best. Sometimes the best seats are up in the nose bleeds with your child for their first game, sometimes their at home with all your family and friends, sometimes they’re with your aging parents listening on the radio. All the seats in heaven are the best seats for they are in the company of Christ our Lord. Amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.
Comments