As Jesus and His disciples near Jerusalem where He will be crucified, Jesus makes some very bold statements. As his disciples argue about who is going to be the greatest, Jesus tells them that the one who exercises the greatest humble dependence upon God will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Then, just after He foretells His death for the third time, in such a sad contrast, James and John get their mom to ask Jesus to give her sons the seats of prominence at His left and right hands. In their quest for greatness, which Jesus never rebukes by the way, they haven’t really heard the words of their Master. They are going about it the wrong way, and the way that they are pursuing greatness leads only to death. And before we look at Jesus’ response, let’s remember the indignant response of the other ten disciples. This isn’t some righteous anger because they have grasped true greatness. This is the anger of m...
Reflections on a life lived for King Jesus.