After the Lord spoke regarding the requirements of the kingdom and the kingdom reward, He was still concerned about the spiritual situation of His followers. Therefore, after giving His disciples a definition of the kingdom reward, He spoke to them again about His coming crucifixion and resurrection. The Lord also knows our real situation today. Although we may not think that we need a further word or a further revelation, the Lord knows our need.
In Matt. 20:17-19 the Lord unveiled for the third time His crucifixion and resurrection. The first was in Caesarea Philippi, before His transfiguration (Matt. 16:13, 21). The second was in Galilee, after His transfiguration (Matt. 17:22). This time was on the way to Jerusalem. This revelation was a prophecy, altogether strange to the natural concept of the disciples, yet fulfilled literally in every detail.
It seems to me rather unusual that after the definition of the kingdom reward the Lord would once again unveil His crucifixion and resurrection. Apparently this has no significance. However, if you get into the depth of this book, you will see that this is a very significant continuation. In order to receive the kingdom reward, we need to experience the cross and the resurrection. Although we may know everything regarding the kingdom, we must still have a proper grasp of the Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection. Apart from experiencing the Lord’s cross and resurrection, it is impossible to experience the Lord’s life for the reward of the kingdom. In Phil. 3 Paul said that for Christ’s sake he counted all things but dung. Then he said that he desired to know Christ and the power of His resurrection that he might be conformed to Christ’s death. Paul had an adequate understanding of the Lord’s death and resurrection. This understanding is for us to experience Christ as our life for the kingdom. For the kingdom reward, we need the experience of the Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection. Thus, 20:17-19 is a continuation of the foregoing section.
The third time the Lord revealed His crucifixion and resurrection He did so to His disciples again. As He was going to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside and told them about His coming crucifixion and resurrection. The Lord must have had a specific purpose in doing this. He specifically told the twelve that He needed to go to Jerusalem, to be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, to be condemned to death, to be delivered to the Gentiles, to be mocked, scourged, and crucified, and to be resurrected on the third day. He spoke to His disciples concerning His death and resurrection in a detailed way.
What was the disciples’ reaction to the Lord’s full unveiling of His crucifixion and resurrection? They did not say, “Amen, Lord. The first and second times we didn’t see this. Thank You, Lord, for taking us aside this time and purposely telling us about this. Now we realize that You must pass through death and resurrection. No doubt this includes all of us. Eventually, we also shall experience this wonderful death and resurrection.” The disciples definitely did not react like this. Rather, verses 20 and 21 say, “Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Him with her sons, worshipping and asking something of Him. And He said to her, What do you desire? She said to Him, Say that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and one on Your left, in Your kingdom.” The mother of the sons of Zebedee was the Lord’s aunt, His mother’s sister, and Zebedee’s sons, James and John, were His cousins. Thus, there was a natural relationship between them and the Lord. Immediately after the Lord had unveiled His death and resurrection for the third time, the mother of James and John came to Him asking that her two sons might sit on His right hand and left hand in the kingdom. Although the Lord had spoken of the crucifixion and the resurrection, their mind was set on the throne. Often we are exactly like James and John. Again and again they heard about the crucifixion and the resurrection. But in them and in their mother there was the desire for the throne. This is the ambition for position. The mother of James and John might have said to herself, “One day, when the Lord is enthroned, maybe my two sons will be sitting one on His right hand and the other on His left hand. How glorious this would be!” This was their reaction to the Lord’s word about His death and resurrection.
In verses 22 and 23 the Lord replied, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup which I am about to drink? They said to Him, We are able. He said to them, My cup you shall indeed drink, but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.” If we want to sit on the throne in the kingdom, we must be prepared to drink the cup of suffering. To suffer the cross is the way to enter into the kingdom (Acts 14:22). The selfish entreaty of the mother of John and James afforded an opportunity for the Lord to reveal the way to enter into the kingdom.
In answering the mother of James and John the Lord said, “To sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father” (v. 23). These words indicate that the Lord had a submissive spirit. He did not assume anything, but gave place to the Father. Standing in the position of man, the Lord was fully subject to the Father, not assuming the right to do anything outside the Father. We all need to learn to give everything to the Lord. We have no place to say anything regarding position.
In verse 24 we see the fleshly rivalry of the disciples: “And when the ten heard it, they were indignant concerning the two brothers.” The disciples were more than angry; they were indignant, apparently fearing that nothing would remain for them. The twelve were filled to the brim with ambition for position, and nothing regarding the Lord’s death and resurrection penetrated them. What a pitiful situation! If this had taken place in chapter four, we might sympathize with them. But this was their reaction after the decree of the constitution of the kingdom, after so many revelations concerning Christ, after the unveiling of the mystery of the kingdom, and after experiencing the many negative factors on the pathway to glory. After all this, the twelve were still fully occupied with the matter of position. Luke 22:24 says that the disciples were striving among themselves concerning who would be the greatest. Peter, Andrew, James, John, and all the others were fighting for greatness.
Matthew mentions the rivalry among the disciples in order to expose the same ambition for position that is still hidden within us today, even though we are in the church. Some are ambitious to be elders or deacons. If they cannot be an elder or a deacon, they at least aspire to be a group leader.
There are times when the Bible apparently contradicts itself. For example, in Matthew 23 the Lord says that we should not be called a teacher. But in Ephesians 4 Paul says that Christ gave some teachers. Furthermore, Matthew 23 says that we should not have any leaders. But in the Epistles we are told that there are leaders in the church (Heb. 13:17, 24). The Bible, however, is not contradictory. We need to see that what is in the mind of the Lord is utterly different from what is in our natural mentality. In the mind of the Lord the elders or the leaders should not control others. In the church life there should not be any control. But this does not mean that there is no governing, no ruling. To rule is one thing and to control is another. All the leaders in the churches must be clear about this. In the Lord’s churches we need ruling, but not controlling.
At this point we need to read 1 Corinthians 12:28. “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.” The “helps” mentioned in this verse refer to the service of the deacons. These “helps” are mentioned before governings, which refer to the function of the elders. Hence, in the New Testament there is a verse telling us that the governing of the elders is lower than the help of the deacons. You may find this fact very surprising. According to our natural concept, the elders are much higher than the deacons. But the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of God, lists the function of the elders after the function of the deacons. In this verse, Paul deliberately reverses the order of the elders and deacons, listing the office of the elders next to the last item, which is speaking in tongues. When Paul wrote this book from Ephesus, Corinth was a hotbed of Pentecostalism. In writing this book, he purposely diminished the significance of speaking in tongues, making it the last item, and listed the function of the elders after the function of the deacons.
Everyone who is put into eldership becomes a slave. The elders are not kings; they are slaves. As one in the Lord’s ministry, I also am a slave. Others may enjoy their freedom, but I have no freedom because I have been purchased to be a slave. Likewise, every elder is a slave. In the world, to have a position means to have glory. But in the church, to have a position means to be in slavery. In Catholicism there is a hierarchy of priests, bishops, archbishops, cardinals, and the pope, all of whom are above the laity. This is vainglory. In the church there is no such vainglory; instead, there is slavery.
It is a shame that some are ambitious for position in order to have honor and glory. This is a “scorpion” creeping into the church life. If it were not a matter of function, I would not sit in the front row. Do not think that it is glorious to sit in the front. I much prefer to sit in the back. However, if the elders began to sit in the back, then in your eyes the rear seats would become the most honorable. This indicates that it is not a matter of where the elders sit, whether in the front or in the back, because the honor of their seats exists only in our mentality. Oh, how our mind needs to be renewed! For the new man, we need to be renewed in the spirit of the mind and drop the hellish concept of position.
During the years I was with Brother Nee, I observed that no one who desired to be an elder was appointed to be one. For the kingdom life we must kill the ambition for position. It is a shame to talk about position, about who is higher than others. To seek a position in the church life is not a glory, but a shame.
Regarding the matter of ambition for position, two things are clear: first, in 1 Corinthians 12:28 Paul lists the function of the elders after the function of the deacons; second, to be an elder is to be a slave. The matter of the leading ones being slaves corresponds to the Lord’s word in 20:25 through 27: “Jesus called them to Him and said, You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them, and the great exercise authority over them. It is not so among you; but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you shall be your slave.” How contrary this is to the natural, self-seeking mind! The eldership is a form of slavery. Every leader must be a slave. Therefore, there should be no hierarchy among us. Rather, we all are brothers on the same level. The indignation of the ten disciples afforded the Lord an opportunity to reveal the way to be in the kingdom, that is, to be willing to serve others as a servant, even as a slave, rather than to rule over others.
Verse 28 says, “Even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.” In this book, the book of the kingdom, the Lord always stands in the position of a man. Although the kingdom of the heavens is constituted with the divine life, it is carried out in humanity.
It is helpful to see the difference between rule and control. To control others means to make decisions for them and to tell them what to do or not to do. It is to put people under your direction. In the Lord’s recovery, we must hate this kind of control. No one should exercise control, because we all are under the one Lord and have the one Spirit living in us and leading us. However, there is a need for ruling. If in a meeting the saints are told what to do, that is control. But there must be some ruling in the meeting. Suppose, for example, someone worships an idol and claims the freedom to do so. This must be ruled out. We even need some ruling in deciding the times of the meetings. If we are democratic and there is no rule, some may insist on meeting at 4:30 a.m., while others may want to meet at an equally inconvenient time in the afternoon. Thus, the elders need to go to the Lord in prayer, fellowship with the saints, and use their spiritual nose to discern the feeling of the saints so that they can determine what time is best for the meetings. Then the elders should make a decision. This is not control; it is ruling.
It is not easy to be an elder. In order to be an elder, you need to have a good spiritual nose to sense the situation of the saints. You also need to have a living, keen spirit with a sharp intuition to know God’s will. Then you will be able to make the right decisions. Sometimes the elders make decisions concerning the time of the meetings according to their convenience. This is a mistake. The time of the meetings should not be decided according to the elders’ convenience, but according to the situation of the saints. For this, you must exercise your intuition toward God to know what He wants.
Decisions such as these are made by the elders because the government is in their hands. But do not think that governing is higher than helps. Our concept regarding this needs to be revolutionized. We need to have a spiritual understanding and a heavenly concept concerning the things of the church. What is revealed in the Bible is absolutely different from our natural understanding. Do not think that to be an elder is to occupy a high position. I repeat, to be an elder is to be a slave. When a brother is made an elder, he should say, “I have been drafted into the eldership, and I have no choice. I don’t want to be an elder, but there is nothing I can do about it. The Lord has drafted me and has made me an elder.” The sisters whose husbands are elders should say, “When my husband became an elder, he became a slave. But I am happy that the Lord has drafted him in such a heavenly way.” When our concept has been thoroughly revolutionized, the shame of ambition for position will be slain.
In Matthew 23 the Lord Jesus said that among us there should be no teachers or leaders, but that we should all be brothers. But when the Apostle Paul refers to teachers and leaders, he does not mean kings or a hierarchy. Thus, both the Lord Jesus and the Apostle Paul spoke the same thing, and the Bible is not contradictory. I am thankful for Paul’s word in 1 Corinthians 12:28 and for the Lord’s word that those who take the lead should become slaves. Because ambition for position kills the kingdom life, we need to slay the concept of position and hierarchy.
In 20:29-34 we have a record of the healing of the two blind men. The fact that this incident immediately follows the record of the mother of James and John indicates that James and John were blind. They might have thought that they were following Christ, but actually they were on the wayside, for they had not yet seen the way. Instead of having a proper understanding of the Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection, they were still seeking a position. Because they were blind, they needed to be healed.
According to the Old Testament, the healing of blindness is related to the millennium. The principle is the same in the New Testament. Acts 26:18 says, “To open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God.” This indicates that the healing of blindness is for the kingdom. No one who is blind is on the way to the kingdom. Apparently James and John were on the way; actually, they were blind and on the wayside. Their eyes had not yet been opened to see the way of the cross.
In 20:17-34 we see three things: the unveiling of the cross and the resurrection, the disciples’ poor response because of their ambition for position, and the healing of the two blind men. Anyone who is ambitious is blind. As long as we are ambitious, we are on the wayside and need healing. As soon as the two blind men received their sight, they followed the Lord on the way. This indicates that when we see the cross and the resurrection, we are on the way following the Lord. When the two blind men who had been healed began to follow the Lord Jesus, they were on the way, no longer on the wayside. It was from the time these two men were healed that James and John began to follow the Lord.
The Lord had asked them if they were able to drink of the cup which He was about to drink, and they said that they were able (20:22). The Lord’s word here may be considered prophecy. To drink the cup of the cross means to become a martyr. James was the first of the twelve disciples to be martyred, and John was the last.
The cross and the resurrection mean a great deal to us, but the ambition for position must be crossed out. If we are ambitious, we are still blind and on the wayside; we are not on the way following Christ. Because we are blind, we need to be healed. We are not in the Lord’s recovery to gain a position; we are here to follow Him to the cross. Instead of talking about the throne, we prefer to drink the cup of the cross, and we are ready to be martyred.
