Good Authority in the Kingdom

It's part of creation and salvation. Christians, we need robust theologies of greatness and theologies of suffering. And if you pursue both of those, you'll actually see an incredible overlap. And if you want to pursue that, I would tell you to look at 1 Peter over and over again. Suffering precedes glory.

We're created by God for greatness, to rule under God, to rule for God. Most importantly, greatness is being ruled by God. Most importantly, greatness is being ruled by God. Now, did you feel that little bit of prickliness in your heart? We're to be ruled by God. Designed to be ruled. I wrote this. I planned on saying it all week, and I still feel that little bit of prickliness. The Bible calls that sin. That resistance to say ruled by someone.

God can love me. God can give me grace. God can give me mercy. Can he rule me? He rules in goodness and grace. Do we trust him to save us and to rule over us? It's important for us as a church to recognize there must be good rule because we believe in a Savior who died for us with all authority and all power.

This morning, we're going to look at what Jesus teaches on greatness. We're going to see his own model of greatness, and then how he answers a mother's and some son's request. This morning, if you're taking notes, kingdom greatness serves and suffers for Christ and his people. Kingdom greatness serves and suffers for Christ and his people. Our first point is Jesus' great mission. This is verses 17 and 19.

Jesus' great mission

Over and over again, the gospels have Jesus predicting what he will do. And they keep adding more. So he's already predicted his death and his suffering, but he adds language as he gets nearer to Jerusalem. Let's hear this prediction again, because this is This prediction of what will happen is the historical basis for all we believe as Christians.

And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the 12 disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, see, we are going to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. to be mocked, flogged, and crucified. And he will be raised on the third day.

The different gospels emphasize this in different ways, but we've been headed to Jerusalem the entire time. This is the third time that we've seen him in his earthly ministry enter into Jerusalem.

It's the last time. We're going to see the triumphal entry next week. That location's important. He has come to die in the capital city as the king. He's foretelling this must happen. He's making sure that they're ready to somewhat understand, but they won't really understand what he's saying until he's risen. Verse 18.

See, behold, we're going to Jerusalem.

And he tells them, again, this is not the first time. Back in 16, when he told them he was going to suffer and be crucified, remember what happened. Peter protested. Peter said, this can't be. There's no clear protest, but Jesus is repeating the same basic instruction.

He is being a good teacher, and at some level, he's preparing them. He's making sure that when all these things have taken place, they're able to look back and say, this wasn't an accident. This wasn't weakness. This wasn't outside of God's authority. This wasn't done as a secondary plan. This is what Jesus came to do. This is him building up their faith for later. This is why he tells them.

He refers to himself as a son of man, and that can be somewhat confusing because he's fully God, fully man. The son of man is a title from Daniel that actually refers to his divine authority. The son of man, he who has all authority, will be delivered up or delivered over to the chief priest and the scribes, and they will condemn him.

Notice there's two different delivering over. This one's kind of generic. It just says he'll be delivered over. The chief priests will deliver them to the Gentiles, but who is delivering the son of man in verse 18? There's a couple options. It could be Judas, who betrays him for 30 pieces of silver.

It could be the men of Israel, That's who Peter says delivered Jesus over in Acts 3.13.

Could be here the father himself, who according to Acts 2.23, Jesus was delivered up according to the definite plan of God. All three of these are actually true.

We have to understand there's dual agency. I believe we wanna learn to think about those It's according to the definite plan of God that Jesus is delivered over. Again, not a secondary action, not an accident, not something that just happened that God then used. No, this was the definite plan of God. He who has all authority sent his son to be condemned for us. He's going to be delivered, and God's sovereign hand is guiding every step, even the betrayal of Judas. That was foretold. Now, the chief priests and scribes, they have been given authority by God.

They should be the ones who see the Son of Man and are leading God's people to worship Him when they see Him, but they see Him as a threat. What's wild is that this is happening during the Passover. That chief priest is the one who's supposed to put the sins of Israel on the Lamb of God as a substitute, as a sacrifice to forgive Israel for looking forward to the true Lamb of God who is to come. They accidentally do hand over the Lamb of God to be slain, unknowingly hand over the true Lamb of God to be slain for the people of Israel.

Now, the chief priests and the scribes, they're going to condemn him, but they're going to deliver him over to the Gentiles. This will be shocking because, as we're going to see in a little bit, the disciples still haven't figured out Jesus hasn't come to bring a sword to crush the Gentiles. He hasn't come to overthrow the Roman rule that's oppressing Israel. He's going to be delivered over to the Gentiles. over to that oppressive regime, over to the heathen, and they will mock him, flog him, and crucify him.

If you wanna see how this plays out later today, read chapter 26 and 27. He's shorthanding this. Before Caiaphas, the high priest, hands him over, he himself beats Jesus and mocks him and spits upon him. Chapter 27, the priest and council, they put him to death. They bound him and then they deliver him to Pilate. And Pilate actually tries to not condemn Jesus. He has some sense that there's something innocent about him and that this is all wrong. But he has him scorched. A beating with ropes and whips that would just rip the flesh out of your back. He's then mocked by the Gentile soldiers. and sent to be crucified. Crucified will be the one that stands out most significantly.

It was the death reserved for the worst criminals because it was the harshest punishment and the most shameful way to present someone publicly for their crimes. They would be stripped and nailed with their hands and their feet And that physical agony of being nailed is really what causes the true pain is you have to pull yourself up to breathe. The Gentiles, the Romans had come up with this incredible way to torture people publicly. That's why they would see if you were still alive to break your legs so you could stop pulling yourself up to catch your breath.

Jesus predicting this is what will happen. Christian, he went willingly to save us. He went purposely to fulfill the promise that he would save us. He went sacrificially, he knew the cost. Our great king came to suffer. He used all of his authority To save us. He could have used his authority to call down angels and just smited everyone. But instead he submitted to this plan of salvation because it was the only way for our sin to be truly forgiven as he died in our place.

He forgives us of our sin. He frees us from our sin. And notice the last part of verse 19,

and he'll be raised on the third day.

He's risen to give us new life, to restore us to that good order that God created us for in the very beginning. He's forgiven us, he restores us.

Very few people really deny or doubt Jesus's actual existence. That used to be something people would question just because they want to be clever in their atheism. Historically, it's one of the most clearly attested events that he died on a cross. It's actually amazing how the record of his resurrection is one of the most recorded historical events of history.

It is the foundation for all we believe, Christian. He's risen and ascended. We must be all the more confident in what Christ did. Died on the cross. Your sins fully paid for. No longer living in guilt. He rose again. Your eternity secured. You don't have to think through how to come up with different works in order to secure your own eternity. No, it's Christ and his absolute final perfect work.

If you're not a Christian, this is the only salvation God provides. There is no other way. Christ had to suffer Die, rise again for you. There is no other way. It is only by faith in Jesus Christ. There is no amount of works that can undo your sin. There is no amount of works that can secure your life. Christ can. You must believe in him. Christ has predicted what he will do. He accomplishes it. In Christianity, it's the pattern for who we are to become.

Our great suffering

Our second point, our great suffering. So that's Christ's great mission, which he's about to do in just eight weeks or eight days from saying this, most likely. But then verse 20, our great suffering. Notice a mother asked Jesus something from her sons. What's really starting is that word then. This seems to be her natural question based upon what Jesus just said, which is a little confusing and startling. After saying, I will be mocked, flogged, crucified, and rise again, the mother then asks, can my son sit on your right hand and your left hand? Again, our great suffering. Let's read verses 20 to 24.

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons. And kneeling before him, she asked him for something. And he said to her, what do you want? She said to him, say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom. Jesus answered, you do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink, they said to him, we are able. He said to them, you will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left hand is not mine to grant, but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my father. And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers.

OK, so the mother asks a question. Again, the then there, it is following Jesus making a prediction that the kingdom is coming. And she's not acting alone. The two boys are with her. The two boys and her have talked about this question that Jesus responds to them directly. He's just told them incredibly devastating news. And what she says is, can my two boys sit in the most important seats in the new kingdom. So let's be very clear.

There's 12 disciples. One's a traitor. His name's Judas. Among the other 11, there are three that have a unique privileged position. There are three, Peter, and then these two sons, James and John, they had more access to Jesus. They were taken up on the Mount of Transfiguration, for example. So there is this kind of inner circle, even among the 11 faithful. Jesus did just a few weeks ago. We saw this in chapter 19, 28. He promised the 12 they'll sit on thrones and judge the tribes. So maybe they've been working through, okay, there's thrones coming.

We want the best seats. We want the closest seats. A mother approaches Jesus. What do you want? He can see something coming a mile away. She asks for her two sons, say that my two sons, these good boys of mine, say they can sit on your right hand and your left hand. The nearness to the king, the closer you are to the king, the more authority and the more blessing and the more privilege you have. The closer you are, the more you enjoy the benefits of his authority and even get to exercise authority.

They're picturing a kingdom coming As he enters Jerusalem, ignoring all that he's taught about is suffering. They're expecting glory, not suffering. They want the promise of glory, absolute glory. Over and over again, if you're reading the Gospels, the confusion is there are two promises of two different comings, and they combine the two. They don't understand the first coming that Christ has done is suffer. The second coming is perfect in righteousness and glory. He's first come to suffer. Jesus answers her request, and this is where the English language just has some deficiencies that we in the South have tried to fix.

It should be y'all, youth guys, y'all, whatever your dialect is. It's a plural second person. So the mother's asking, one or two sons, and he knows it's really about them, They're asking as well, it's their request, and I don't know if the mother's just said, hey, let's go ask, or if they pushed, or whatever it is, he turns the direction to them. Y'all, y'all do not know what you're asking.

They're making a great request. They're asking for greatness. They're asking for that position of prestige. And he's very clear. You do not know what you're asking for. They don't understand what the kingdom is like yet. This is truly folly. So he first just instructs them. You don't know what you're asking for. Y'all do not ask. You don't know what you're asking for. Secondly, he asked them a question that should be a reflection question. Are y'all able to drink the cup that I am to drink? Are you able, do you have the ability to drink the cup? Because if you're going to be that near to the throne, you have to drink the cup.

Now to drink the cup or to have a cup poured in the old Testament is usually related to suffering or God's wrath. It could be a basic idiom of participating in somebody's life and work, but the Old Testament, it almost always refers to a wrath or a suffering. And so we ask them to contemplate, are you able to drink my cup?

They will understand what this means more As he will introduce at the Lord's table in the instruction, this is the cup of my new covenant made by my blood. He'll pray to the Father, take this cup from me if there's any other way to bring salvation. They will see what suffering means and what taking this cup means. Jesus will be condemned, flogged, mocked, and crucified just as he just said. So to take a step back, when your rabbi says you don't know what you're asking for and then follows it up with do you think you can drink of my cup, you should take a moment and reflect.

I need to really think about how I'm gonna answer this question. We have a studious bunch here. If you're good at taking tests, You know that sometimes just the way the question is asked means it's a true or false question. The answer is implied in the way it's asked. This is exactly what Jesus has done here. The answer is obviously like, you're not able.

But these two young men, look at the end of verse 22, we are able. That's some confidence. I love confident young men. They're my favorite. I don't know if you're supposed to have favorites in Christianity like that, but confident young men that when you see them come to Christ and all that confidence and then the weight of the gospel and ministry and glory start forming them and shaping them, they truly become something.

The confidence here is so wrong. We are competent. Oh, the self-reliance that's just gonna melt off of these guys in the coming years, the coming days is great. Now, if I were Jesus right here, I would do something to kind of mock that answer. Eh, you're wrong. He's a much better teacher. He turns to us 23.

You will drink that cup. I believe that's one of those places where it just feels like the blood just leaves your body. You will drink that cup. After Christ is crucified and they're terrified, they had to be thinking, he told us we're gonna drink the same cup. He isn't saying, you're right, you do have the ability, but he is saying you will drink the cup.

You will suffer with me. You will participate in the suffering. You will suffer in the kingdom for the kingdom's sake. And by God's grace, they'll endure. By the power from on high, the Holy Spirit, they will endure and persevere the persecution. with God's help, not their ability. Jesus says, you will drink the cup. They're hoping this means that they also get to sit at the kingdom.

But to sit at my right hand and my left hand is not mine to grant,

he says in verse 23. You will suffer, but it is not mine to grant who will sit at the right hand.

It is for those who It has been prepared by my father.

Now this just follows the Trinitarian logic. And if you want to talk about this later, we can. This doesn't mean there's different wills in God and that the father has a certain will as to who should sit where, and the son has a different will. No, there's one will in God, but the son has been sent by the father and the son will be raised by the father. The son will ascend back to the father at his right hand. And then the father is the one who appoints him and will appoint us where we will be.

Verse 24, it's one of those verses that gives us some confidence that this book is true, because the heroes don't look so good.

When the other 10 heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers.

The two brothers jockeying for position, the other 10 are indignant. In just a few weeks, These are the guys who are gonna turn the world upside down for the kingdom, and they're having a little bickering, confrontation, and division. It's pretty amazing what happens between the death, resurrection, and the ascension, and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit in these guys.

They're squabbling with each other in verse 24. Oh, we turn over to Acts and just see weeks later, claiming Christ under threat of death. What changed? Jesus died and rose. He sent his Holy Spirit to empower them. The mission of Jesus in what we call the upside-down kingdom ethic calls us out of the fear of man.

It calls us to recognize the goodness of God His blessings are always good and He's always generous. This kind of squabbling too often takes place in the church, even still today, verse 24. We must rejoice in what God gives according to the gifts, according to the offices, according to the placement. We must trust that God gives His church all that she needs for our good and His glory. Our last point, our great serving.

Our great serving

Jesus transitions from this call to suffer, you will drink my cup, to then teaching them more about what that might mean, verse 25.

But Jesus called them to him and said, you know that the rulers, the Gentiles lorded 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, and whoever will 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.

So Jesus calls them all to himself, and he broadens out the address. He's not just going to speak to the two sons now, the two brothers. He's going to speak to all of them. He's called them to count the cost over and over again. He's helping change their values and their expectations.

And verse 25 and 28 is a clear picture of what is oftentimes called the upside down kingdom. I think we should probably call this right side up living. Because this is how Christ restores us to be who we were supposed to be. It's upside down in that It's nothing like the way anything in this world works, the fallen world. It's upside down because it's counterintuitive against our sin nature in every way.

Those who would be great are your servant. Those who would be first would be your slave. That is counterintuitive to the way we think about ourselves and our selfishness or self-sufficiency and our independence. Our insistence that we rule ourselves, this text is just biting against our sinful instincts. We look at this text, we must remember this is the king who has come to give us life and he's telling us how to live in the greatness of that life. He describes how nations function in verse 25. Notice he starts with what is just kind of common knowledge.

You know the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.

All right, so we could look at Greece, Sparta, Rome, Persia, the Holy Roman Empire. Whoever has authority uses it to rule over the people. We call this rax lax. The king is the law. What he decides, what he desires, that's the law, rex lex. The great one, the ruler, he imposes his will, not the will of God. Now maybe he says here the Gentiles because the Jewish way of ruling is not supposed to be rex lex, it's supposed to be lex rex. Rex king, lex law. Either the king is law, or the law is king. Remember, the Jewish kings, they were supposed to take the law of God and write their own copy of it. To rule under God. To rule for God. To be ruled by God. The Jewish kings were supposed to be a lax-rax people.

All the other nations, all the other kingdoms, they're ruling according to the king. The king has absolute authority given to him by God, but what he says goes. You know this is how the rulers of the Gentiles lord over their people, how the great ones exercise over them. There's some distinctions that are supposed to be clear here as we think about the rule of the nations versus the rule in the kingdom of God.

Three things about the earthly rulers. One, earthly rulers believe they're greater in value and importance than their people. Kings oftentimes thought they were divine. The earthly rulers would have believed they were greater in value and importance, not in any way equals.

Second, earthly rulers use their authority according to their own will for their own good. Earthly rulers use their own authority according to their own will for their own good. And earthly rulers do not believe they will answer to God. They do not exercise with a fear of God.

Kingdom rule and authority is among equals. Kingdom rule and authority is among equals. Kingdom rule and authority is for the good of others. And kingdom rule and authority is done under the fear of God. In Christ's kingdom, everyone is made in the image of God.

And in Christ's kingdom, everyone is saved by the same grace and called to the same adoption and given the same new life, given the same commands to obey. We must see there's this wonderful way in which the church is meant to be presenting a new kind of humanity, a new way of living under the rule of God, all equal.

Not a king imposing his own declaration, not using an authority that's different. It's amazing if you look at the history of the church, how quickly this equality is forgotten. The Roman Catholic Church and many Anglican churches believe the priest has a whole new ontology, a different nature in order to function in their position. The Greek Orthodox Church or the Eastern Church, they actually set up a screen of icons to separate the laity from the priest. I intentionally sit there and come out from among you because I'm one of you.

Made in the image of God, saved by the same grace, called to the same transformation to the measure of Christ, godliness. In Christ's kingdom, we all have the same great authority. And whatever we have in authority, we're to use it for the good of others in the glory of Christ.

Every Christian has great authority

There is no Rex Lex in the church or Christian homes. He is speaking to disciples. They are apostles, but I believe we should first see this as something he's saying to the disciples. Every Christian, every Christian has great authority. Every Christian is to use their authority well, not like the rulers of the nations, but to serve others with that authority. Just like the son of man.

What authority do you have? Your words. James says, the power you have in your words is like the rudder on a ship. The power we all have in our words, we all have it. We all speak and say things that either build up or tear down. What we're regularly talking about has great authority. God, in his grace, gave us the words of the gospel that have authority to give life, that have authority to forgive sins, that have authority to help a brother be built up, to comfort, to care, the authority we have for the power of God's words that we can share. That's why James warns us we shouldn't curse man and bless God with the same mouth powerful words. As we mentioned a couple weeks ago, we cannot grumble and be grateful.

Yes, those who teach will have a higher severe judgment because we're setting the pattern for what words are supposed to be. But we all have this great authority to speak. Are we going to impose our will on others? Are we going to try to Press in on what God's will is. Let me be clear, those who teach will have a greater judgment, but we're all going to be held accountable for every word we say.

Verse 26, the great among you will serve. You're not to be like those other nations. The great among you will serve. With your words, with your body, with your actions, the great among you will serve. The first among you will be a slave. We are to be under God serving one another.

There's been a great emphasis, and I think there's a, you have to believe in Christianity that there's a servant leadership. Too often that servant aspect has erased any kind of leadership. Again, the whole idea is if you have authority, you're using it for somebody else's good. That's what servant leadership means. If you're, if you're a leader, you're not trying to impose your own will. You're, you're seeking to impose the will of God. Let's just try to be as precise and clear as possible.

One of the most important words we have as Christians to use with authority for other's wellbeing is the word repent. Man, does that word carry a lot of authority? It's the first words that Jesus is teaching in the ministry.

Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.

We use that word repent because he died on the cross to forgive us of sins, to free us of sins. He rose again so we can get out of those sins.

That word repent, it's a heavy word, but it's a necessary word. Because if a Christian has gotten themselves bogged down in the muck and mire of sin, if they've gotten themselves enslaved to sin, the only thing we can say is repent. And that feels like a hefty weighty authority because it is. But notice when you say the word repent, you're pulling somebody up. That authority isn't pushing them down. The whole idea of repentance is you're using that great word to serve someone, to be brought up out of sin, restored to walking in the joys and the blessings of Christ.

The authority we want to think about using as a church is how do we as disciples make disciples teaching everyone to obey what Christ said? We're supposed to be a new kind of people who are serving one another with all the authority God has given us. The world's authority structures do not function within the church. The Roman sense of absolute authority, the postmodern sense that all authority is bad and every claim to authority is meant for abuse. No, every authority is under God and all authority exercise in the church must be ruled by God and for the benefit of his people.

Again, we have to make sure we're clear that there is such thing as good authority. And we want to participate in that, which means we're going to practice it and we're going to submit to it. We're going to rejoice in it. If we don't believe in good authority, we don't believe in the gospel. He who said he was going to die and rise again had the authority to do so. And he did so for our benefit. We do this together. We do this with one another, for one another.

We should want to be like Christ

And just to make sure, as he has said, you're not to be like those kings. You're to be great by serving each other. You're to be first by being a slave to one another. So you're not to be like the rulers of the Gentiles, but just to make sure we understand there is a model, verse 28, You're to serve and to be a slave, verse 28,

even as the Son of Man came to, not to be served, but to serve and to give his life for many.

As much as we see Christ as our great Savior, we should want to be like Christ. As much as we see him pouring everything out for us, we give ourselves over to want to be poured out for others.

Christian, that's dangerous work. It makes you so vulnerable. To want to be like Christ in this sacrificial way puts you in a very vulnerable, dangerous position here on earth, which is why you must believe Christ died and rose again and he keeps you. He provides for you.

We give all that we have because Christ has given us all that He is. To assure us of this, I want us to, we're gonna have two songs of response. The first is Jesus is strong and kind to remind us He has good authority and always exercises that good authority. And the second is He leadeth me. I pray We long to be ruled by Christ so that we know how to also exercise a good authority that reflects him.

Will you pray with me? Almighty God, we thank you that you did not leave us alone in our sin, our destruction, our death. We thank you that Christ has come to free us, forgive us, Lord, we thank you. You have used your authority for our good. May we see the great authority we have in the way we even speak to one another and desire to speak to each other in a way that builds up the body. Speaking Christ's truth according to his love so that we all grow up to be more like him. Lord, may we trust you in the midst of pouring ourselves out serving others and sacrificing for others, knowing you are the great God who grants riches and reward forever in heaven. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.