St. James, Apostle (Mattew 20: 20-28)

St. James, Apostle (25 July 2010)

Text: Matthew 20: 20-28

 

Today is a day when we commemorate St. James the Apostle. All the disciples of Jesus, except Judas Iscariot, ended up being called Saints by the Church. There were other Christian leaders who were also called Saints. Who are the saints? And why are they called saints? Are they any different from you and I?

If you are to make a survey of Paul’s letter, you will be surprised to know that Paul never called believers in Jesus as Christians.  Instead he used the title “saints” about 60 times, and all of them refer to ordinary Christians. 

And yet “saint” is not a word we use much in the church today. I’ve never heard anyone calling another Christian a “saint”.  But saint was the term is used in the New Testament to refer to believers.  The Greek word translated “saint” is “hagios”, meaning “set apart one” or “holy one”. And according to Bible, every Christian is a saint – even the most obscure one.  So if you are a Christian, then you have been called to be a saint.

The Greek word for “saint” (hagios) is very closely connected with the Greek word for “holy”, and that is also not a word we like to use much either.  Possibly the reason that the word brings with it some negative images is because, when people claim to be holier than others, they tend to be quite proud.  Sometimes, the word seems to refer to someone who is different from others. So when we think about “holy people”, we imagine someone who is proud or someone who had opted to live differently from most people.

What does it really mean for us to be holy?  First, understand that the word "holy" means simply "to be set apart for a special purpose."  Many things are said in scripture to be holy.  There are holy mountains, like Sinai and Zion and the mount of Transfiguration.  The oil that was used in anointing was called "holy oil."  The city of Jerusalem was called a "holy city."  The temple was called "the holy temple".  Certain days, e.g. the Sabbath, were said to be "holy days."

But the Bible also speaks of people who are called "holy": the "holy prophets" and the "holy angels", "holy Levites", "holy men" and "holy women".  Elders and believers are called to be holy. It is also interesting to note that the Bible always has one or two stories that put these saints in a bad light. One Gospel reading for this morning is one of them.  We have heard of two brothers, James and John who asked their mother to approach Jesus and request that they be given the two top positions when Jesus became King.

James and John, in their early ministry, were interested in glory, position and rank. They wanted to be the closest to Jesus and they wanted to be higher than anyone else. And they believed that they could achieve greatness through influence.  So one day the two brothers brought their mother, Salome to Jesus so she could ask for favor on their behalf.   (Some commentators believe Salome must be Mary’s sister or cousin).  The two brothers must have believed that their mother could exercise her influence because she was Jesus’ aunty. 

The other ten disciples, when they heard of this, become very disturbed.  They realized that they had no blood relation with Jesus, and therefore, they have a lot more to lose in this power struggle, if Jesus indeed would become a King.  In some way the world has not changed much, especially on how we should achieve things.  Influence was one common method that people used to get something. It is still the same today.  Somehow, if you happen to know someone in the government who has the influence, it is easier to get things done and bypass all the red-tapes.  The person with the most money usually gets the most friends and because of his influence, he usually gets the job or the contract, and we think of him or her as the greater person.

But Jesus shatters this belief by confronting the two brothers (verse 22-23) and then by confronting the twelve (v. 25-26) with a new standard.  He also looks at us today and disagrees with us. From Jesus’ point of view, a person is great not because of his influence, but because of his service. Jesus says in verse 27, that whoever wants to be great should become a slave. You know that a slave has very little influence.  The lesson here is: if we want to be great in the eyes of God, we should not use influence to get to where we want: we must not try to wriggle our way into positions of power in the church. If you want to exercise godly influence, don’t play politics in church.  Godly influence can only be achieved through servanthood.

Second, greatness in the kingdom of God involves some difficulty. After Salome boldly makes her request, Jesus responds rather bluntly: “You don’t know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”  The word “cup” was a symbol of suffering or affliction. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed in Matthew 26:39: “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Interestingly, both brothers answer this pointed question with complete confidence by saying, “We can.”  Jesus says to them in verse 23: “You will indeed drink from my cup…”  He reminds them that if they want glory they must be prepared for some grief. While we don’t always know in advance how much we’re going to suffer, we do know that if we’re serious about following Christ and serving Him wholeheartedly, we will face difficulty.  Philippians 1:29: “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him.” James didn’t suffer long but he lost his life as the first of the twelve to be martyred (Acts 12:2). John, however, lived to be about 95 but his life was filled with difficulty, and in the end he was banished to the island of Patmos. In Revelation 1:9, this is what he wrote: “I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.”

If we are serious about serving, we must be prepared to experience some inconveniences, and be ready to suffer.  The two brothers had different experiences: the older brother was killed by the sword; the younger brother suffered as an exile.  We don’t know what can happen to us when we offer ourselves to serve.  To “drink of the cup” not only means that we are called to suffering: it also means that we are to remain faithful to the end. This phrase was understood to mean to drain the entire cup until it was emptied.

I believe in God’s blessing and I believe that God wants to prosper us, but if people are promoting it as a piece of cake, or if they tell you that you suffer because you have committed big sins; or if you are poor because you are under curse – I don’t accept such teaching.  This morning Jesus clearly reminds us about taking a cup of suffering, if we are to seek greatness in his kingdom. It means that we cannot escape suffering of some sort in this life, if we follow Christ.  It should cost us something when give ourselves to serve Christ!

Third, a holy and saintly life involves putting others first.   The disciples by implication think that greatness is a product of being the leader or being in the position close to the King.  They believe that the number one guy is the one who is greatest.  When the ten disciples saw that James and John were trying to grab the power positions, verse 24 says: …they were indignant with the two brothers.”  They were really mad that these two men were using a relative of Jesus to get special treatment. The spiritual attitude of the ten was not any better than that of the two.  I don’t think they were going to give up the top positions without a fight.  

So Jesus addressed this false belief by telling them that greatness is not a result of headship.  This is an important Christian principle: Christian greatness comes not because the person is in control; rather a great person submits to the one above him, and serves those under him.  

From a Christian perspective greatness is the product of your submission and service.  But when Christians seek to put themselves first or seek to control others, it will always result in dissension. When we think only of ourselves, community breaks down and unity is replaced with division and backbiting. That is why one of the best things we can do as a church is to serve together. A church that serves together stays together.

It is interesting to note how Jesus deals with the matter.  In the first part of verse 25 it says: “Jesus called them together…”  That is exactly what needs to happen when there is tension and strife. We need to come together.  

Jesus knew their main problem was their selfishness and so he called them together. He did not take the two brothers aside and scolded them, nor did he slam the ten for being indignant. He brought them back to community and then gave them a lesson in how differently things were to run in His kingdom. He said, “…You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.”

The disciples knew the Gentile model of authority very well. The kings, governors and the army generals were brutal, who showed little regard for the Jewish people.  In verse 26 told them: “Not so with you...” he was telling them that a Christ-follower must not operate this way.  The world’s way teaches that we should spend all our energy to get to the top and after we get there we can boss other people around.  But Jesus’ way is through serving and submission.  In the family of God there is only one category of people: servants.  Notice the rest of this verse and verse 27: “…Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.” This was a counter-cultural and radical teaching.

Here’s the principle: If we want to become truly great then we must give up our personal rights and serve others.  We need to be repeatedly reminded that our central ambition should be to minister to people, not to be respected and feared by them.

That leads us to a final point: we must follow the example of Jesus. In verse 28 he said: “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”   Jesus wasn’t focused on keeping His position and getting more.  He served the needs of others and then demonstrated the ultimate act of servanthood when He gave His life on the cross.  The true standard of greatness is the Savior’s pattern of self-sacrifice.  Honestly, I find it is a hard teaching. We, by nature, would prefer to put ourselves first rather than others. But if we are to be followers of Jesus we have to obey his words.  

And Saints are not born. They are developed over the years through trials and errors. The two brothers made a great mistake by asking for top positions. But they learned from their mistakes and humbly submit themselves to God. We too can be saints just like them, only if we are willing to learn to be humble, submissive and staying committed.  We shall make mistakes along the way, but these are our means of learning.