Good evening. Thank you for that. Dr. Johnson, it is a joy to serve with you as well and to be a part of GBTS. It's an honor for me to be able to share the word of God with you tonight. If you have a Bible with you, if you will open it to Matthew chapter 20. We're gonna look at Matthew 20 verses 26 through 28. Matthew 20, 26 through 28. And as you're turning there, it has been interesting to hear some of the older members of this church talk about the fact that one week they will meet someone who they think is the last newest member that they've met, only to the next week meet another new member. I've only been here about six months, not even six months, and so I might not know you. I would love to meet you though. I'd like to come up and introduce yourself. I'd love to have a conversation after our time together tonight. Matthew 20, verses 26 through 28, and I'll start with the second part of verse 26. This is Jesus speaking to his disciples. 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. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we pray that your word would go forth tonight and accomplish its purpose, I pray. that these dear people of God would have fertile hearts to receive it. We want you to be glorified during our time together. We pray all these things in Jesus' name, amen. Many, many years ago, I was in my last semester of college. This was the time just before I would graduate. It was the time of end-of-the-year speeches. Many of you have heard these end-of-the-year speeches, graduation speeches. If you've ever been to a high school graduation or a college graduation or some other graduation, you have heard these sorts of pep talks. This isn't the end. It's only the beginning. Believe in yourself, to the graduates. Fulfill your Biggest dreams in life. You probably heard something like, you can be anything that you want to be. Go out and make the world a better place. Or my favorite, this is going to be the class that changes the world. Little bombastic maybe. I was a member of a church in Dallas, Texas at that time, during my last semester of college, and a guest preacher came to our church. He came to do a three-day conference on missions. So a whole group of us from the college ministry that I was involved in, and a group from the church I was a member of, attended this missions conference. And the theme of this conference was that Jesus Christ came to call men and women not to a life of comfort, not to a life of gaining credentials, but to go into very hard places. Jesus Christ came to call certain men to take the gospel to the very ends of the earth, to forsake their own dreams, to forsake their earthly plans, to give up their earthly lives so that they might exalt the one who gives eternal life. And this message shook me to the core. because it made me ask many, many questions of my own life and my own heart. I was a believer at the time, but I asked the question, does following Jesus really mean throwing away all of my personal dreams, and my goals, and my aspirations, and all of my ambitions? I thought I was at a season in life when I was supposed to do whatever I wanted to with my life, but that's not what this missions preacher preached about. At the same time I was hearing his words, everyone else around me was telling me and other future graduates that we could have wealth, we could have influence, we could have maybe a fancy title, we could have even perhaps some of us fame. It was like we were standing on the edge of a sandy beach looking out into a huge beautiful blue ocean and we were told you can jump in and swim in whatever waters you want to. But this preacher who spoke to us about missions seemed to be saying just the opposite. That preacher did not preach from the text that we just read a few short moments ago, but he preached on a similar theme. Hear again this text from Matthew chapter 20. Three verses here, Matthew 20, 26. Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. And whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. Just as the Son of Man, Jesus, came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Brothers and sisters, this text is telling us that Jesus Christ calls those who really want to follow him not to wealth, not to influence, not to a big time title, not to fame. Jesus Christ calls his followers to be servants. Even further, he calls his followers to be slaves, willing even to give up their very lives for the sake of the gospel. And so this text leads us to ask a question, doesn't it? What does it really mean to follow Jesus Christ? And maybe even a harder question, a question I wanna pose to you tonight, are you willing to be a slave? To understand the verses that we read, I wanna back up a little bit in this passage and look at some of the previous verses. Look with me at verse 20. We hear about Zebedee's sons. guys by the name of James and John. These were two disciples of Jesus, and if you went all the way back to Matthew chapter four, you would hear that they were fishermen. Jesus came upon them, they were mending their nets, they were working with their father, but when Jesus called these men, they left everything they knew. They left their fishing careers, they left those nets, they left all of the livelihood that they had ever known, and they left all of those things to follow Jesus. Well, these brothers, James and John, were a little bit clever and crafty here in this episode we're looking at tonight. They wanna make a very bold request of Jesus. So they've been with him for some amount of time. They wanna ask him something, but they have the mentality, if we ask Jesus this, he's never going to give us what we ask. So these two brothers have an idea. They decide that they are gonna get someone who's a little sweeter, someone who's a little nicer, They're going to get someone to go make a request of Jesus whom Jesus could never turn down. And so these guys get their old mom to make a request of Jesus. Kids and youth, this is like when you want something from mom and dad, but you know if you go to mom and dad, they will never give you what you want, so you find your sweetest sister, or your kindest brother, to go make the ask for you. Of course, they're not going to ask for themselves, they're asking for you behind the scenes. That's what's going on here, it's just two brothers sending their mom. And so this woman, this mother, kneels down before Jesus and asks him for a favor for her boys. Look with me at verse 21. She said to Jesus, grant that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left in your kingdom. That's quite a request. Again, remember this is really the wish of the sons coming through their mother to Jesus. What I want to do is kind of break up this request. There are actually a few different things that these brothers are wanting from Jesus. We can sum them up with the letter P. So the first thing these brothers are asking for is prestige. These guys want privileged places. They want places of honor. They want to be right next to Jesus. And again, if we go back to Matthew chapter four, these were fishermen who left everything they knew to follow Jesus. These were fishers of fish that when Jesus called them became fishers of men. And so some people might read through this narrative and go, well, that's actually pretty remarkable. They actually gave up a lot. Maybe they should have privileged places. Well, the brothers, James and John, sure thought that about themselves. Secondly, another word that starts with P, what were these brothers asking for through their mother? Not only were they asking for prestige, they also were asking for power. They didn't just want to be one at the right hand and one at the left. You could have people doing that who are waving palm branches to fan the king. But notice a word that's used here. Notice what their mother says, grant them to sit. One on the right and one on the left. Instead of just standing next to Jesus, these guys think they deserve a seat, actually the best seats in the house of the kingdom that Jesus will bring in. And so there's more going on here than meets the eye, because if Jesus is a king, what is he going to be sitting on when his kingdom comes? A throne. Implied in this sitting language is the fact that James and John are really asking Jesus to give them also thrones to sit on. And so all of this tension is building in this passage. I want you to notice another important detail in the text here. In verse 21, we hear that she said, feminine singular there, talking about the mother, she said, grant that one of these two sons of mine, and goes on and makes her request. But notice how Jesus answers in verse 22. He doesn't answer with the singular. He answers with a plural you. You don't know what you are asking. Who is Jesus referring to there? He's referring to James and John. Jesus is the one who knows the heart of every man, and so although this request came in a disguised way, Jesus knew exactly who this request was coming from. Jesus knows who is really wanting the favor here. It's the two brothers, and the mother is just the mouthpiece. And so Jesus breaks the ice with a question aimed at the brothers. Verse 22, are you able to drink the cup that I am able to drink? And they said to him, we are able. Not only do these brothers want prestige, not only do these two brothers want power, these brothers also want a third word that starts with the letter P. They also want pleasure, prestige, power, pleasure. They want a cup in their hand as they celebrate. They will be with the king in his kingdom, and so they are probably thinking forward to a royal feast. They want to eat with the king. They want to drink with the king. They want to feast with him. This cup language, they're probably thinking of something like Psalm 23. You know this psalm very well. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Or in the King James, runneth over. But of course, a cup of celebration is not the cup that Jesus is talking about here in this passage, is it? There are two types of cups in the Old Testament. One is a cup of rejoicing and happiness, Psalm 23, but there is a very different type of cup in the Old Testament. It actually is a cup of suffering and sorrow. The two brothers, James and John, want to take the one cup and do not want to have anything to do. with the other. When Jesus in verse 22 asks the brothers about the cup that he is going to have to drink, of course, Jesus has in mind the cup of suffering, even the cup of judgment. Jesus knows that he is going to have to taste death. I want you to notice the response of the other disciples. This is quite a scene, isn't it? In verse 24 we get a response, there are 10 other disciples besides these two guys, and so 10 others besides James and John are absolutely indignant. They can't believe that these brothers would make such a request. But I want you to think about this, it is quite possible and very likely that these other disciples, these 10 guys are upset because they are of this mindset. They might be actually thinking, why didn't we think of asking him that first? Who are these guys to think that they can make that request of the king? We should have made that request and we deserve it. Why do I think that that's probably what was going on in their mind? Because verse 25 tells us Jesus didn't just rebuke the two, James and John, Jesus actually called them together, all of them, the 12. Jesus calls everybody to gather around him and says, y'all are acting like pagans, y'all are acting fleshly, y'all are acting like people who don't know me at all. Jesus tells us in verses 25 and 26, 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. People of God, we read through this episode. You might be hearing these very words, and you might be a little besides yourself. You might be indignant at James and John, but I want us to stop and think for a second if we're not a little more like James and John than maybe we think we are. Do we ever want prestige, even in the body of Christ? Do you ever think that little act of service that you do for the church that no one else knows you're doing, do you ever just stop and think sometimes maybe somebody does need to know that I'm doing that? Maybe sometimes in the deepest corner of your heart you start to think that maybe Jesus is a little impressed with some of the things that I do. When it comes to power, maybe you don't want to sit on a throne, maybe that has not been a request in your prayer life, but maybe sometimes you just think, you know what, in the church, I just don't really want other people telling me what to do. There's not really a submissive attitude. You think to yourself, you know what, be better off if I were calling the shots. When it comes to pleasure, Maybe your request to God is not asking for great wealth, maybe you don't ask him to live in the lap of luxury, you're not asking for an easy life, but maybe what you ask for once in a while is for a comfortable life. Christian, don't you fall into that sometimes? I do. Lord, could you just make things a little more comfortable? I just want a little cup of celebration now. Let me say this, the problem is not so much the idea of sitting and ruling with Jesus, because if you go back to the previous chapter, to Matthew 19, 28, Jesus actually says this in Matthew 19, 28. At the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you, disciples who have followed me, will also sit on 12 thrones. The problem is that James and John want that now. That's the problem. The problem with you and me is that we want the good stuff now. We want to reign now. Order is all important here though, because for followers of Jesus Christ, the cross must come before the crown. Hardship comes before heaven. Trials come before triumph. What is the problem with the James and John type of teaching and type of thinking here? Why is it not suitable for a follower of Jesus? Because that is not the thinking of Jesus Himself. the One who knew the glories of heaven above, the One who had angels bowing down before Him and singing His praises, that One came down to earth to take on flesh. With the mindset of Matthew 20, 28, the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. You stop and think. about what that statement really means. The sons of Zebedee, James and John, were right about something. They were right about the fact that this was the king. This was actually the king of all kings. He would have a visible kingdom. But James and John missed something that is all important. This king came not to bask in his glory, not to show off his riches, not to parade his power. He came to be a servant. and even a slave, which reminds us of that glorious passage in Philippians chapter 2, verses 6 through 8. You know this passage. Talking about Jesus being in very nature God, he did not consider equality with God something to be taken advantage of, but made himself of no reputation. Some translations say made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a slave, becoming in human likeness. Philippians 2.8 tells us, being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. And so the one who is fully God in every way in the fullness of time became fully He did not ever stop being God, but God became a servant. And as the scripture says here, God became a slave. The son of God became subject to death, even death on a cross, so that through his death and through his resurrection, he might bring lost sinners to glory. People of God, the fact that Jesus became a slave is the only reason why you are saved. the one who is most high and exalted, the beloved son of the Father, the one who was king over all, the perfect son, made himself low, made himself a slave, made himself nothing, so that lost sinners might be reconciled to God. Believer, if God did not have a heart to serve, If God did not have a heart, the father sending his son to be a slave, you would have no hope of salvation. I would have no hope of salvation. Praise be to God if you know the salvation that comes through Jesus stooping down to us. But also know this, the one who came to serve calls his followers to serve after his own example. What do most companies do when they're trying to recruit somebody? So think about some type of business fair. They're trying to get people to come on and work for them. Or what do clubs do when they're trying to recruit somebody? Lions Club or something like that. They tell the person about all the perks that they can gain in the organization. Isn't that right? They tell them about what they can achieve in the organization. They tell the person about how they can climb the ladder of success. Jesus tells you this, though, Christian, this is how you climb the ladder in the kingdom of God, by stooping down to the lowest point imaginable. The one who wants to become great must become a servant. The one who wants to be first must first become a slave. And so there are deep questions here. How do you know if you're really a Christian? How do you know if you're connected to Christ? Well, one way to know is this. Are you okay with being a slave? Years ago, in the Lord's kindness, he brought a man into my life who was a mentor to me. This man was a titan of a theologian. He's still alive to this very day and is an incredible preacher. This is a man who had fancy letters after his name. He's written multiple commentaries on the New Testament. In the Lord's sheer grace, he brought this man into my life to mentor me and to help disciple me. But the thing about this man is that he has a pastor's heart. He was pastoring in the congregation that he served, and I will never forget this story. One day, a mother, a young mother, brought her daughter to him. This little girl had something that was troubling her. She would not even share it with her mom. And so you can imagine, you mothers out there, how distressing this was. A lot of times, you know, kids will clam up and not tell you exactly what's going on. And that was the case here. And so this mother took her little girl to this pastor with the little girl all clammed up. She went to this intellectual giant of a man. And you know what he could have done? He could have said, I don't have time. He could have said, I have sermons to prepare. This man could have said, I have commentaries and books to write. Even more so, this pastor could have referred this woman and her daughter to the children's minister. He very easily could have done that. They have a staff at his church. But he didn't do that. Instead, he asked this young mother, what does your daughter really like to do? And the mother said, the thing that just makes her light up, the thing that gets her most excited is her plastic tea set. So what this man did, with the help of a lady in the congregation, he had her go out and buy a tea set. So that the next time this mother came in, the next week for another counseling appointment, as they were walking into this pastor's study, which is filled with shelf after shelf, towering to the ceiling of all of these books, most of which he's read, they came in and saw the pastor on the floor, sitting on the floor of his study with the most beautiful plastic tea party laid out you've ever seen. This man stooped down so that he could help the smallest member of his flock, so that God might possibly use him to find out what was troubling her so that he could help lift her little soul. Men who are students at GBTS, that's the kind of pastor we need. If you are training to be a pastor, Don't you want to follow the very mindset of Jesus Christ? That is the picture of what Jesus Christ came to do. The one who knew the riches of heaven above, in our time of greatest need, stooped down and became one of us. Becoming a man, he became a servant of men. And if we want to have the mindset of Christ, we will be willing to stoop down and help even the smallest sheep so that we can bind up the brokenhearted. We unfortunately live in a day where in Christian circles even the goal is often to make a name for oneself. The goal is to build a bigger platform. The goal is to grow an audience. The goal is to build a brand. My fear, though, people of God, is that we are living in a day when we as Christians look so much like the world. But thanks be to God. that Jesus Christ considered others better than Himself. So being a follower of Christ involves confessing that Jesus did something for me that I could never do for myself. He gave His very life to pay the price for a sinner such as me. Matthew 20, 28, the one who gave His life as a ransom for many. But being a follower of Christ also involves confessing That because of what Jesus did for me, my life is not my own. It is not for my prestige. It is not for me to achieve power. It is not for my own pleasure. It is not for me to somehow drink a celebratory cup. Not now, at least. Not yet. I am here to serve God and others. At the end of the day, I am only an unprofitable servant. And so let's get very practical for just a few moments here. Seminary students, some of you heard Dr. Johnson this past Sunday night, Pastor Jeff. And he talked about the fact that we don't want there to be a disconnect between what's going on over there in our classrooms and what's going on over here at our church. So our wonderful deacons here at GBTS, Mr. John Winnem and Mr. Jim Lawrence have started to put together a list of simple ways to serve. They're not going to be asking for you to put in an extraordinary amount of time. They're not going to be asking for you to do incredibly difficult tasks. What they are going to be doing is making opportunities available. Simple things like making sure there is water in the pitcher back there, watching kids as they're playing on the playground, making sure they're supervised, taking out the trash. Most of you are at the seminary training to be future pastors and future missionaries. We want you to lead the way in living a life not to be served, but to serve. We want you to lead the way. in embodying what it means to be a disciple and a student of Jesus Christ, your Lord. And when you are a disciple, and when you are a student of the Most High One, there is no task that's beneath you. For our whole church body, let me just give one example. What could we do to try to embody Matthew 20? There are simple ways that we could put this into practice. At our next fellowship meal on a Wednesday night, What if we let our senior citizens get in line first? The ones who have encouraged many of you for years and years, who have served this church for years and years. What if we gave them the place of honor that, guess what, they need? What if we assisted our church members who have special needs and made sure that they were helped in line before any of us got stuff for ourselves? What if we did that? We might just imitate the example of the one who stooped down to lost sinners, just like us. Make no mistake, the kingdom of God is coming. There is a glorious truth in scripture that those who suffer with Christ will one day reign with Him. There are promises all over the Bible that say that. But the suffering comes first. And the service comes first. Make no mistake, one day all the servants of the kingdom will become kings. We will. But we will only become that because the king first became a servant. You want to become great in the kingdom of heaven? Become a servant. You want to be first in the kingdom of heaven? Become last. This is the question that Jesus poses to all of us who profess his name. Are you willing to be a slave? Let's pray together. Our Father in heaven, what a hard word this is. This goes against everything that we know and everything that we are in our own nature. And so we plead with you and pray that you would give us the strength we need, that you would give us the mindset of your son, Christ Jesus. Would you help us to learn how to put ourselves second and others first? Would you help us to be like Christ? We're so thankful that you are the chief shepherd and overseer of our souls. We're so thankful for your perfect plan of salvation, that at just the right time, Jesus came down so that we might have life. We thank you, we pray all these things in Jesus' name, amen.