Of the Lord’s ways of wisdom and compassion, and our way of ignorance, pride, and indignation.
“THEN came to Jesus the mother or Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping Him....And He said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto Him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on Thy right hand, and the other on the left, in Thy kingdom.....And when the ten heard it they were moved with indignation against the two brethren” (Matt. 20:20, 21, 2420Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. 21And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. (Matthew 20:20‑21)
24And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. (Matthew 20:24)).
Was not pride in the ten at the root—too deep, I suppose, for them to see it—of their indignation against the pride of the two. The two with their mother came worshipping—they were true worshippers—but how their worship was mingled with evil of which they were ignorant! The two desired the place of dominion and authority, at the right hand and left hand of Christ, in His kingdom. The Lord begins His instruction to them by showing them that they know not what they ask; and brings them to consider the future in regard to their measure of baptism of suffering, and cup of sorrow. James drank deeply and early. John, I suppose, more deeply and protractedly.
Do we not trace the indignation of the ten to the same evil root as the desire of the two? Mark! when we in a bad spirit rebuke others for faults, we shall be let fall into the pit in which they are, or in which we take them to be. The Lord says to the ten what would apparently have suited the two—doubtless it suited the twelve. “Princes exercise dominion”. . . . “great exercise authority.” Let the great be your servants: the chief (the princes among you) your slaves (original). The two would be great, let them serve. If the ten would be greater and rule over them, let them slave. CHRIST, THE GREAT RULER, IS THE PERFECT SERVANT. We know what is written about His work, and labor, and sorrow on the tree, the foretaste of which caused Him to “sweat as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
Brethren, what is the cure for the pride in the disciples, and in us all? The 28 verse, “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.” O, beloved, the Son of man is the Son of God. He came not to be ministered unto, (may we remember both it and Him,) but to minister; the crown of His service is His cross, and without that there is no other cure for all the disciples’ sins and infirmities— “to give His LIFE a ransom for many”!
Should indignation and pride gain ground, may we be speedily reminded of the Cross; may we indeed ever remember Jesus Christ, and Him crucified and glorified, and then pride and indignation will be underfoot, and compassion, springing out of love to Him and His members, will be the exercise of our souls.