Daily Devotional For Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Good morning Southside! How about letting the Word of God warm your hearts during this brief cold spell. We are in the Gospel of Matthew going verse by verse. Today, we come to Matthew 20:20-28. We did not finish this yesterday, so let’s learn from the last half of this conversation Jesus is having with His disciples:
“Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him. (21) And He said to her, ‘What do you wish?’ She said to Him, ‘Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.’ (22) 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 able.’ (23) He said to them, ‘My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.’ (24) And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers. (25) But Jesus called them to Himself and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.(26) It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, (27) and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; (28) just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many’” (NASB).
In verse 25 Jesus reminded His disciples how in Gentile kingdoms the people are lorded over and even forced into submission. In Gentile’s kingdom a person’s standing was determined by their name or position of power or rank. Jesus made it clear none of this would be in His kingdom. In verses 26-28, Jesus said that greatness is determined by servanthood. A true leader puts his or needs last. A servant according to Jesus was not determined by position, but by one positioning themselves to meet the needs of others willingly and humbly. All of this without expecting anything in return. Seeking honor, recognition, positions of power and prestige are the polar opposites of what it means to be in His kingdom.
Genuine servants have a passionate desire to serve others and nothing, nothing is beneath them to do for others in the name of Christ because they appreciate the worth of all. Jesus used the household terms of “servant” and “slave” to demonstrate and explain this. Every Jew understood these terms. The Old Testament often speaks of submission, but to God. Jesus said that in His kingdom, servanthood is best seen in those who submit themselves to serve both God and others. This had to shock those listening to them because in the first century humility was considered the lowest and worst virtue.
Our American culture has TV shows such as the Grammy’s, the Emmy’s, the Oscars and even the sports world on ESPN has such recognition as the Heisman. We live in a culture where people want to be recognized and praised for their accomplishments. So much so, let’s air it all on television so others can covet and get jealous over it. This is why Jesus tells His disciples this in Matthew 20:2, “You do not know what you are asking.” They want to be the center of greatness. Jesus knows something His disciples do not know and what He has already experienced. Namely, greatness comes at a huge cost. New Testament scholar Daniel M. Doriani writes this:
- “To have great powers is to be responsible to use those powers.
- To ask for a high position is to ask for the weight of responsibility and hard decisions. It is to ask for great labor, perhaps even great suffering.
- To ask to be the center of attention is to ask to be … the center of attention. That may seem attractive, but it also means that every word and deed garners a kind of scrutiny they may not deserve and may not be able to bear.
- Above all, to share in Christ’s glory, one must share in his suffering. There is no glory, in the kingdom, without the cross.” (Source: Daniel M. Doriani, Reformed Expository Commentary, “Matthew 1 & 2, Vol. 2, p. 226).
His disciples are convinced they can drink from the same cup Jesus will drink from soon. Yet, Jesus will ask God the Father twice “If this cup of suffering can pass.” Jesus’ greatness came through His servanthood and suffering. Jesus had a slight moment of hesitation to drink this cup of suffering but He chose to obey God the Father’s will. There can be no salvation without a Savior. There can be no eternal life without the giving of life. There can be no defeat of the fear of death without the defeat of death. There can be no defeat of sin without sacrifice. This is why Jesus told them, “You do not even have a clue what this cup is I have to drink from. Let alone that you are able now to drink from it too.”
Notice Jesus’ point here – the higher the position of the leader the more humility of the servant is required. This is why Jesus took the lowest position by going to the cross. When Jesus talks about service and serving, He does not have in mind our American way of doing this. Jesus meant the service of a slave. The path to greatness for Jesus was giving His life as a ransom for many (vs. 28). Ransom [λύτρον; lutron] is a slave term that refers to the cost to buy slaves/captives or to free them.
The difference here is that a person might pay with their own money to free slaves or captives, but not with their own life. That is what Jesus offered – His life. Not money. Not wealth. Not power. Not position – but Himself. Matthew has already introduced the ransom question earlier in Matthew 16:26. The answer is, “Nothing!” Here and in other New Testament verses our ransom from sin is done through substitutionary atonement by Jesus. So, besides heaven, what does Jesus’ substitutionary atonement mean for us?
- We have been freed from an enslavement to sin that we on our own never could free ourselves from in this life. This means we need an outside intervention to be freed from the grip and the power of sin that leads to eternal death.
- The price for our lives is Jesus’ life. It is not money or wealth or paying a ransom in the traditional sense. The price was Jesus’ blood (see 1 Pet. 1:19). What flowed was not money, but blood. What was required was not loot, but His life.
- We now belong and have a new Master (see Acts 20:28, 1 Cor. 6:20, and 1 Cor. 7:23). Though we are free, we still have a new Master we serve – Jesus Christ. We previously were enslaved as sons and daughters to a devilish master and now to be redeemed sons and daughters to Jesus. This was prophesied over 700 years before Jesus came through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 53.
Yes, Jesus came to teach and heal but the main reason He came was to buy our freedom from sin. He was the only One who could drink the cup at our table because we could not. Many Christians hide behind their theology, especially what some theologians call “gift theology.” This means God has given people certain gifts and if they use them, they want to use them in service of God where they are noticed and it feeds their need for power and control. There is nothing glamorous in changing a dirty diaper in the nursery, is there?
For example, there may be a shortage in the nursery one Sunday and when asked, their response is something along this line: “That is not where I am gifted.” The truth may be they simply do not want to humble themselves and watch babies and toddlers or help clean up later. “Gift theology” – hum, what do you think? The Apostle Paul warns us about “gift theology” in Philippians 2:3-11. Because Jesus willingly took the lowest place, God gave Him the highest place of honor – at the right hand of the Father.
We see in this story the near-sightedness of Jesus’ disciples and the ignorance of disciples today. Ignorance in terms they know salvation is only through Jesus. They know sin is enslaving and deadly. But they are ignorant of serving. They want to be on the stage for others to see them in worship, not in the stage of the nursery or children’s area when their visibility diminishes.
Assignment: Reflect: Is there any position in the church to serve that is beneath you? If you say, “Well, PK, no.” Okay. Look at where you have served. Do any of them reveal you humbled yourself and took the lowest place in the church to serve? If the Lord told you to give up where you are currently serving and go to a “low” position in the church, would you do it?
Scripture To Meditate On: Philippians 2:3-4, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. (4) Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, I am willing to serve anywhere in the church for You, even the places where people think are the lowest or beneath them. I will do this. I want to follow Your example and crucify my desire for high lofty positions to the most lowest and humble if You ask me. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly