Matthew 20:24-28 24And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25But Jesus calling them to himself said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high position exercise authority over them. 26It will not be so among you, but whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant, 27and whoever wants be first among you will be your slave; 28even as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.”
The situation grew from a private family matter to the whole group of disciples looking on and participating in the discussion. The rest of the group was not happy with the Zebedee family’s request. Matthew does not record why exactly the other ten disciples were angry. They may have been jealous that these brothers would think they were special enough to have the two highest places of honor in Jesus’ kingdom. Or, they may have been upset at the audacity of this family even to think of asking Jesus such a question.
Jesus saw another teaching opportunity and called the group together for a huddle. He gives the perspective of the world (Gentiles, literally, “the nations” in verse 25. The disciples knew what the world was like. The evidence was everywhere. People jockeyed for positions of power, prestige, and influence by lording over others. Lording over someone means to act like a person’s master with control and some implied selfishness or unconcern for those under that person. The world is driven by survival of the fittest. To rise to power often requires trampling over others.
In the last half of this pericope, Jesus commands his disciples to live according to a different paradigm.The way of the kingdom and discipleship is different than the world’s ways. Jesus gives the paradox of the kingdom in verses 26-28. He uses two parallel statements with great and first lining up and servant and slave lining up. Being the greatest and being first are powerful motivations for many people. Competition is not bad because it can cause us to rise to our best, but winning will require others to lose. Servant (diakonos) and slave (doulos) are close in meaning of lowly service, but slave was considered at the lowest level of the society. Both terms in this context have the sense of humility, putting others first, and willingness to serve them.
Those who lead others should follow the example of Jesus given in verse 28. Jesus uses his messianic title of Son of Man possibly with the purpose of highlighting his identification with humanity in incarnation. The Son of God in his earthly experience took on the form of a servant and went to the cross in humble submission to God the Father (Philippians 2:5-8). Ransom (lytron) carries significant theological meaning in the Bible. The word was used in warfare as the price paid to free a prisoner. It was also used for the manumission of slaves who were freed to be servants of a god. Here and Mark 10:45 are the only two places this specific form of the word occurs although there are variations of it throughout the New Testament.
Humanity is bound as slaves to sin. Jesus makes us free by binding us in service to God. Jesus took our place in service to the Father to the point of death. Through this sacrificial offering of himself, he opened the way to eternal life (Isaiah 53; John 14:6). His example shows the extent our service to others must go. John 15:13 expresses the thought well: “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” By our service, we may be in the position of pointing someone to the Savior.
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