Matthew 20:17-28 “Who Wants to be Great?”

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 07 Apr 2013

Translation

20:17 And as Jesus was going up into Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples alongside Him privately on the road and said to them,

20:18 “Look, We are going up into Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to the high priests and scribes, and they will sentence Him to death,

20:19 then they will deliver Him up to the Gentiles in order to be mocked and whipped and crucified, yet during the third day He will resurrect.”

 

20:20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Him with her sons, bowing and asking for something by Him.

20:21 So He said to her, “What do you want?”
She said to him, “Make a declaration to the effect that these two sons of mine may sit, one by your right hand and one by Your left in your kingdom!”

20:22 But in answer, Jesus said, “Y’all don’t know that you’re asking for yourselves. Do y’all have the ability to drink the cup which I myself am about to drink?”
They say to Him, “We are able!”

20:23 He says to them, “Y’all will drink my cup, but the seating by my right hand and left hand is not mine to grant, but rather, in these [matters], it has been prepared by my Father.”

 

20:24 Well, when the twelve heard [about this], they were indignant concerning the two brothers.

20:25 But Jesus summoned them and said, “Y’all know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them, and the great ones exercise authority down over them.

20:26 It will not be so among y’all, but rather,
     whoever among y’all wants to become great will be your servant,

20:27 and whoever among y’all wants to be first will be your slave.

20:28 In this way the Son of Man did not come in order to be served,

          but rather in order to serve and to give His soul to be a ransom in the place of many.

Introduction

·         In business we see it in the ambition of cutthroat employees stepping on other people to make their way up to leadership.

And that wasn’t just empty talk for Jesus, He modeled that with His life, as we see in our next passage:

Exegesis

20:17 And as Jesus was going up into Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples [apartKJV/aside] alongside Him privately on the road and said to them,

Και αναβαινων ‘ο Ιησους εις Ιεροσολυμα παρελαβεν τους δωδεκα μαθητας[3] κατ’ ιδιαν εν τῃ ‘οδῳ[4] και ειπεν αυτοις,

 

20:18 “Look, We are going up into Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered [betrayed] up to the high priests and scribes [teachers of the lawNIV] and they will sentence Him to death,

Ιδου αναβαινομεν εις Ιεροσολυμα και ‘ο Υιος του ανθρωπου παραδοθησεται τοις αρχιερευσιν και γραμματευσιν και κατακρινουσιν αυτον θανατῳ

 

20:19 then they will deliver Him up to the Gentiles in order to be mocked and whipped [scourged/flogged] and crucified, yet during the third day He will resurrect.”

και παραδωσουσιν αυτον τοις εθνεσιν εις το εμπαιξαι και μαστιγωσαι και σταυρωσαι και τῃ τριτῃ ημερᾳ αναστησεται[5].

 

20:20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Him with her sons, bowing and asking for something by Him.

Τοτε προσηλθεν αυτῳ ‘η μητηρ των ‘υιων Ζεβεδαιου μετα των ‘υιων αυτης προσκυνουσα και αιτουσα τι [8]παρ’ αυτου.

20:21 So He said to her, “What do you want [willKJV/wishNAS]?”
She said to him, “Make a declaration to the effect that these two sons of mine may sit, one by your right hand and one by Your left in your kingdom
[glory-Mark 10:37]!”

‘Ο δε ειπεν αυτῃ Τί θελεις; Λεγει αυτῳ Ειπε[11] ‘ινα καθισωσιν οὗτοι ‘οι δυο ‘υιοι μου εἷς εκ[12] δεξιων σου[13] και εἷς εξ ευωνυμων σου[14] εν τῃ βασιλειᾳ σου.

 

20:22 But in answer, Jesus said, “Y’all don’t know that you’re asking for yourselves. Do y’all have the ability to drink the cup which I myself am about to drink?”
They say to Him, “We are able!”

Αποκριθεις δε ‘ο Ιησους ειπεν Ουκ οιδατε τί αιτεισθε. Δυνασθε πιειν το ποτηριον ὃ εγω μελλω πινειν[15] Λεγουσιν αυτῳ Δυναμεθα.

 

20:23 He says to them, “Y’all will drink my cup, but the seating by my right hand and left hand is not mine to grant, but rather, in these [matters], it has been prepared by my Father.”

[18]Λεγει αυτοις [19] Το μεν ποτηριον μου πιεσθε [20], το δε καθισαι εκ δεξιων μου και[21] εξ ευωνυμων [22] ουκ εστιν εμον [23] δουναι αλλ’ οἷς ητοιμασται ‘υπο του πατρος μου.

 

20:24 Well, when the twelve heard [about this], they were indignant concerning the two brothers.

Και[28] ακουσαντες ‘οι δεκα ηγανακτησαν περι των δυο αδελφων.

 

20:25 But Jesus summoned them and said, “Y’all know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them, and the great ones exercise authority down over them.

‘Ο δε Ιησους προσκαλεσαμενος αυτους ειπεν Οιδατε ‘οτι ‘οι αρχοντες των εθνων κατακυριευουσιν αυτων και ‘οι μεγαλοι κατεξουσιαζουσιν αυτων,

 

20:26 It will not be so among y’all, but rather, whoever among y’all wants to become great will be your servant,

ουχουτως[29] εσται[30] εν ‘υμιν αλλ’ ‘ος εαν θελῃ εν ‘υμιν μεγας γενεσθαι[31] εσται[32] ‘υμων διακονος,

 

20:27 and whoever among y’all wants to be first will be your slave.

καιος εαν[33] θελη ενυμιν ειναι πρωτος εσται[34]υμων δουλος.

 

20:28 In this way the Son of Man did not come to be served but rather to serve and to give His soul to be a ransom in the place of many. [35]

‘Ωσπερ ‘ο Υιος του ανθρωπου ουκ ηλθεν διακονηθηναι αλλα διακονησαι και δουναι την ψυχην αυτου λυτρον αντι πολλων.

Conclusion

1. CONFESS pride and forsake self-promotion.

2. CONTENT yourself with Christ - ask Him to keep your eyes on His goal so that you don’t get distracted by honors.

3. COMPOSE yourself to suffer before you get glorified.

4. CONTINUE the race of trusting God and obeying His will and leave the prize ceremony to God.

5. CONSIDER others more important than yourself (Phil. 2:3) and serve them.



[1] http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/03/08/how-to-fast-track-your-way-up-the-corporate-ladder/2/

[2] http://ezinearticles.com/?All-the-Way-to-the-Top-of-the-Corporate-Ladder&id=2616976 (accessed 3 Apr 2013)

[3] This word is not in the earlier Critical editions because it is not in א, D, L, Θ, f1 or f13. It goes without saying that “the twelve” were “disciples.” Only the NASB omits it.

[4] It seems that the KJV, ESV, and NIV omit kat’ idian “by themselves,” and the NIV entirely skips the phrase en te hode “on the road/in the way.”

[5] A few early Greek manuscripts (א, C, L, N, Z) read εγερθησεται “was raised up,” (in the passive voice – viz. ESV, NAS, NIV), but the majority of Greek manuscripts, (including B, C2, D, W, Θ) read anastasetai “resurrected” (in the middle voice), which is not significantly different in meaning, although it may indicate that Jesus was not entirely passive in His resurrection (viz. the KJV “he shall rise again”). Αναστησεται is also the reading of the parallel passages in both Luke 18:33 and Mark 10:34.

[6] Luke 18:32 also mentions that Jesus would be spit upon and treated shamefully.

[7] Chrysostom: “And for what purpose, if the multitude understood not the force of His sayings, were they spoken at all? That they might learn after these things, that foreknowing it, He came to His passion, and willing it; not in ignorance...”

[8] Two of the oldest Greek manuscripts (B&D) read απ’ (from) instead of para (by), which is not a significant difference in meaning (both KJV and NAS and NIV read “of”). Para could be taken to indicate that she was asking as though she were a peer instead of a beneficiary, which would make the request all the more obnoxious.

[9] Viz. Matt. 27:56, Mark 15:40, and John 19:25 and A.T. Robertson, Wm. Hendriksen, and Matthew Henry.

[10] The participles for “bowing” and “asking” are feminine singular. Cf. the requests that Joab, and later Nathan, put to King David through the woman of Tekoa and through Bathsheba in 2 Sam. 14 and 1 Kings 1.

[11] The NAS “Command” and the KJV “Grant” use an English word that means more than this Greek word, which is the regular word for speak/say.

[12] KJV translates this “on thy… hand” and NIV (and ESV) “at...” The Greek preposition ek literally means “out of,” as in “just past your hand,” or “as an extension of your hand.”

[13] The two oldest Greek manuscripts of Matthew (Sinaiticus and Vaticanus) do not have the first “your,” but no one seems to think that this omission is the correct reading.

[14] The second “your” is missing in the Bezae and Koridethi manuscripts (also f1, Vulgate, and Textus Receptus), so it doesn’t occur in the KJV translation (“the left”). However, when Jesus replies with the same phrase in v.23, there is much textual support for the omission of the sou. Omitting this word, however, does not change the meaning, as the context makes clear whose left hand it is. (To our relief, we find no disputes over the third “your” which ends the verse!)

[15] The majority of Greek manuscripts (and Chrysostom) add η το βαπτισμα εγω βαπτιζομαι βαπτισθηναι “or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with” (Although the Textus Receptus starts this phrase with “kai” instead of “η,” thus the KJV starts the phrase with “and” instead of “or,” which does not force a change on the meaning of the text.) The significant number of Greek manuscripts which omit the phrase (א, B, D, L, Z, Θ, f1, f13), together with the Vulgate led me to go with the shorter reading. I think that “baptism” further explains what He meant by the “cup,” thus the omission of the cup does not remove anything propositionally from Jesus’ statement. See similar variant in v.23.

[16] It is interesting that these two symbols of union with Christ are carried on in our practice of baptism and communion, although neither had been commissioned yet as Christian ordinances.

[17] “[T]hey were dear believers and blessed men, in spite of this unworthy ambition, and their Lord knew it; and perhaps the foresight of what they would have to pass through, and the courageous testimony He would yet receive from them, was the cause of that gentleness which we cannot but wonder at in His reproof.” ~JFB

[18] The Majority of manuscripts, followed by the Patriarchal and Textus Receptus editions of the GNT, start this verse with kai/and. The significant number of Greek manuscripts which omit the kai (א, B, D, L, Z, Θ, f1, f13), together with the Vulgate led me to go with the shorter reading. It doesn’t make for any change in meaning, at any rate.

[19] A few Greek manuscripts (D, Δ, Θ, f13) state the subject explicitly here as “Jesus,” but no one except the translators of the NIV seem to consider this the original reading, and it does not change the subject already indicated by the context.

[20] The reading of the Majority, followed by the Patriarchal and Textus Receptus editions, includes και το βαπτισμα εγω βαπτιζομαι βαπτισθησεσθε, paralleling the similarly-debated phrase in the previous verse. The significant number of Greek manuscripts which omit it (א, B, D, L, Z, Θ, f1, f13), together with the Vulgate led me to go with the shorter reading.

[21] B, L, Θ, and f1 read “or” instead of “and,” but no one but the NIV translators seem to think this is the best reading. Once again, it does not affect the meaning.

[22] The Majority of Greek manuscripts have the word sou here, so the Patriarchal and T.R. editions of the GNT include it, and thus the KJV and ESV read “your” here, but it does not appear to exist in the earliest Greek manuscripts (only in W, Γ, and Δ among the uncials), so I went with the Critical editions here. As in v. 21, this word merely makes explicit what is already implied by the context.

[23] A few less-reliable Greek manuscripts (C, D, W, Δ) insert τουτο (“this”) here. The Critical edition’s choice to include it in their text mystifies me, but that is why the NAS adds “this,” and the NIV adds “these places.”

[24] Although there is some inaccuracy in that “these” is dative, not nominative, so it can’t be the subject of “prepared,” which doesn’t match “these places” in number either, being singular.

[25] “Our apprehensions of that glory which is yet to be revealed, are like the apprehensions which a child has of the preferments of grown men.” ~M. Henry

[26] Matt. 24:36; 25:34, Luke 12:32, Acts 1:7, Eph. 1:4&11

[27]Another explanation which seems less likely is the suggestion by Chrysostom that the reason why Jesus said He couldn’t assign such seats is that nobody can be put on a par with Jesus. Only Jesus can sit at the right hand of God (Heb. 1:13) – not even the angels can attain that height because the throne of Jesus is the same as the throne of God (Heb. 1:7-8).

[28] L, Z, Θ, and f13 read the practically-synonymous conjunction de instead of kai, which makes no difference in translation.

[29] The T.R. and the lectionaries add a δε (“but”) here, but it is not in the Patriarchal or Critical editions of the GNT. It would make for a smoother reading to contrast with the description of the world in the previous verse, but it’s not essential.

[30] This Future Indicative verb is found in the majority of Greek Manuscripts (including some of the most ancient), so it is spelled this way in the Byzantine, T.R., and the most recent Critical editions (thus the ESV “It shall not be so” and Vulgate “non ita erit”). However, it is spelled in the Present Indicative (estin) in three ancient Greek manuscripts (B, D, Z – thus the NASB “It is not this way” and NIV “Not so with you”).

[31] The Vaticanus and Ephraemi Rescriptus manuscripts omit this word, (and the L & Z manuscripts omit the “en” earlier in the phrase), but these omissions are considered aberrations from the original and do not affect the meaning anyway.

[32] Although the Future Indicative spelling is agreed upon in the vast majority of Greek manuscripts (and thus the Patriarchal and Critical editions of the GNT), the T.R. contains the Imperative spelling (estw: “let him be”), following manuscripts L and S. The NIV and ESV seem to side with this despite its slender support (“[he] must be”). Note similar variant in v.27 and in parallel passage in Mark 10:43.

[33] A few of the earliest-known Greek manuscripts (א, B, D, W) read ean, a longer – and slightly more emphatic – form of an, but not enough to change the meaning. Critical texts read ean, but I don’t think there is adequate manuscript support to forsake the majority reading here.

[34] Again, the T.R. changes the mood to imperative (εστω), this time following B and Γ, but the Future Indicative is the reading of the Patriarchal and Critical editions of the GNT. Nevertheless, the NAS and NIV again join the KJV with an Imperative translation.

[35] Although not in any reputable editions of the GNT, it is interesting to note that a couple of 6th Century Uncials (D, Φ, followed by pre-Vulgate Italian versions) add (and this is my rough translation): “But as for you, you are seeking to become great out of littleness, and out of greatness to be inferior. But also when you enter and when you are called to dine, don’t pull up a chair into the place of honor lest a more honorable man than you should happen to arrive and the host come and say to you, ‘Make room and go yet lower,’ and he be promoted. But if you sit down [to eat] in an inferior place, and your inferiors should happen to come, the host will say to you, go up a little higher, and it will be beneficial to you!” (cf. Lk 14:8-10 which is different wording but the same idea).

[36] Further references on limited atonement: Isa 53:8, Matt. 1:21, John 10:11&15, Eph. 5:25, Acts 20:28, Rom 8:32-35