Matthew 20:17-34

On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus taught again about His death and resurrection stating that He would be handed over to the Romans by the chief priests and scribes to be humiliated, beaten and ultimately crucified, and that He would be raised up on the third day. Jesus was trying to prepare them for what was going to happen. They may not have understood completely at the time, but when Jesus appeared to them that first Easter, all the things Jesus said must have come back to them and finally made sense.


James and John asked Jesus for places of honor in His kingdom - on His right and left sides. Jesus' answer shows that those who have high positions in His kingdom will have sufferings to go along with them. Also, these positions weren't just for the first to ask, but to those who God had chosen. When the other ten disciples heard what James and John were doing, they got angry with them, but Jesus made it clear to all of them that they shouldn't be jockeying for positions.

Jesus said the world is concerned with position and those who have high ranks use their positions to make themselves feel better at the expense of making others feel smaller. That's not a "love your neighbor" mentality! Jesus said that He came to serve and not to be served. The disciples needed to become servants to others in order to get ahead in the kingdom. When we get overly concerned with where we stand in relation to others - with God or in the church - we lose the very thing we are worrying so much about.


Two blind men were calling out to Jesus. They persevered despite others telling them to be quiet. Jesus heard them and asked what they wanted. They replied that they wanted their eyes to be opened. Jesus healed them of their blindness and they followed Him. The words to the song "Amazing Grace" come to mind: "I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see." We were all blind once and needed our eyes to be opened to the truth. Jesus is the one who opens our eyes. He is the way, the truth, and the life.