LENT
4
March
25-27, 2017
Pastor
Timothy J. Spaude
Text:
Matthew 20:20-28
“CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?”
1.
Not
when we focus on ourselves.
2.
Only
when we focus on Christ.
Matthew 20:20-28
(EHV) “Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to
him with her sons, kneeling and asking something of him. 21He said
to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Promise that in your kingdom
these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right hand and one on your left
hand.” 22But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking.
Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We
are.” 23He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit
on my right hand and on my left hand is not for me to give; rather these places
belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.” 24When
the ten heard this, they were angry with the two brothers. 25But
Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the nations lord it
over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26It
will not be that way among you. Instead whoever wants to become great among you
will be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be first among you will
be your slave— 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served,
but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
It seems to be building every
year, this polarizing of America. From presidents and politics to policing and
moral issues it seems more and more that it is impossible for people to have a
civil discussion, to be able to disagree without getting disagreeable. And so a
husband and wife divorce over the results of an election. And a fitness center
in Scranton, PA bans its members from watching national news programs while
working out.” Why?” you ask. Too many fights had to be broken up. You find
yourself asking, “Can’t we all just get along?” But this nastiness isn’t always
just out there on the news, is it? There can be angry yelling and nastiness in
the workplace, with our classmates and in our own homes. “Can’t we all just get
along?” Sad to say lack of civility and common kindness is nothing new. The
sinful nature of human beings is hardwired to inhuman behavior. We see it in
the word of God today with Jesus’ disciples. But we also see the solution.
If any group on earth was going to be
able to get along, you would think it would be a group of people led by Jesus.
Throw out all your books on leadership and management styles, you cannot
improve on Jesus. He is God. He is perfect. His example is flawless. But what
do see among His followers? They can’t get along. “Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to him with her sons, kneeling
and asking something of him. 21He said to her, “What do you want?”
She said to him, “Promise that in your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit,
one on your right hand and one on your left hand.” At first glance this
does not seem very egregious. A mother wants what’s best for her sons. Is there
any mother here today who does not look out for her children? Of course you do.
It’s your privilege and your job. But this goes beyond taking care of the needs
of children. What the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, wants
comes at the expense of others. Give them more honor than the rest of the
disciples.
The response of the other disciples is
sadly predictable. “When the ten heard
this, they were angry with the two brothers.” Angry. Indignant. Mad. Why?
You wanted better for yourselves than us? You think you are greater than we
are? Hey, wait a minute. Can’t we all just get along? No. Not when you focus on
yourself. Not when your view greatness as having more power, control and
prestige than others. Not when your guiding principle is “What’s in it for me?” Not when your measure of what
is good and right or should happen comes through the filter of only if it’s
good for me and mine. The sinful nature is hardwired to be selfish,
self-centered and focused on self.
God had a different James tell us
plainly (James 4:1-3) “What causes fights
and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within
you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but
you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because
you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because
you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”
This is why people can’t get along.
This why we can’t always get along. By nature we are focused on ourselves.
But we don’t have to be that way with
Christ in our lives. Look at how Jesus
answered the original request. “But Jesus
answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup
that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We are.” 23He said to
them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit on my right hand and on my left
hand is not for me to give; rather these places belong to those for whom they
have been prepared by my Father.” James and John wanted to be active in
Jesus’ kingdom. Jesus reminded them that following Him means drinking his cup.
Naturally, especially at this time of year, we think of Jesus’ prayer in the
Garden of Gethsemane for His Father to take the cup of suffering away from Him.
No one else can drink that cup but the God man Jesus Christ who suffered for
the sins of the world. There is another way we can think of this cup, a cup
that refreshes. While Jesus suffered greatly the Bible tells us in the book of
Hebrews that for the joy set before Him Jesus’ endured the cross, scorning its
shame. In other words, the cross was awful but it gave Jesus such joy to save
sinners that it was worth it to Him.
Perhaps that’s why Jesus said what He
did next. “You know that the rulers of
the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over
them. 26It will not be that way among you. Instead whoever wants to
become great among you will be your servant, 27and whoever wants to
be first among you will be your slave— 28just as the Son of Man did
not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for
many.” Here’s how we can all get along. Focus on Jesus. Jesus’ disciples
needed to learn that greatness in the kingdom of God does not come from
grabbing power, authority or prestige for yourself. It doesn’t come from
looking out for number one. It comes from serving the needs of others. Like
Jesus did. The number one need of all people is to be rescued, ransomed from
the eternity in Hell that everyone earns for themselves by sinning. Only Jesus
could fill that need. Only He is the perfect Son of God whose loving sacrifice
is enough to pay for the sins of the world. So he did it, even though it was
not easy, even though the thought of it caused Him to pray in agony in the
Garden of Gethsemane.
Can’t we all just get along? Yes, when
we focus on Jesus. When we see what He did for us, His love, His sacrifice our
selfish hearts get changed into selfless hearts. Me first is replaced with you
first. Please self is replaced with a eager desire to please Jesus and you find
you can get along. I see that here at St. Jacobi. Some of you know that
thousands and thousands of volunteer hours are put in. For a Bible Class last
fall I did a quick count and discovered that 343 different communicant members
were serving here in some way. Recently we got almost 9000 pieces of mail ready
for three different mailings. That’s a lot of serving. Sometimes when I see you
serving I actually remember to say Thank you. Do you know what the most common
response that I get when I thank members for serving? No, it’s not “You’re
welcome.” It’s “No. Thank you. It’s my privilege.” Now we are talking about
work here. You’re drinking the cup. You are keeping your eyes on Jesus. I think
that’s why for the most part, we all get along.
But this isn’t something for us to
limit to our church life. We can do it in our home lives and our work lives,
our school lives and our play lives. Think of the joy set before you that comes
when husband serve the needs of wives and vice versa, when parents serve
children and children serve parents. Imagine the difference in a workplace
where employers are sensitive to the needs of employees and employees to the
greater good of the company. And there was a president many years ago who said,
“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your
country.” Can’t we all just get along? Yes, when our eyes are on Jesus.
You know that tells us what our most
important task is. If we want our homes blessed, our workplace blessed, our
country blessed, then we need the people there able to keep their eyes on
Jesus. For your homes make sue Jesus is present daily in devotion and prayer.
For your workplace, let your light shine. Pray to be used as a witness. For our
country we need to fund and carry out as much Gospel ministry as we can. Only
believers can keep their eyes on Jesus. You are. You will. Let’s pray and work
for many more. Amen.
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