MOTHER'S DAY: A Day to Honor

grandmother and mother. Surely a mother helps form our spirit, and if she is a Godly mother, she will be the first introduction we have to our Lord. 

Mothers are also protectors of their children, no matter how old her children may get. Mrs. Zebedee was the mother of James and John, and like any mother, she wanted only the very best for her sons.

Jesus gave us an illustration in MATTHEW about a landowner, who hired some helpers, and no matter how long they worked for him, they all got paid the same wages. This may have caused Mrs. Zebedee to worry about what kind of reward her sons were going to get in Heaven, so she found a time to ask Jesus about it.


In MATTHEW 20:20-23 we read,

‘Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of Him. “What is it you want?” He asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at Your right and the other at Your left in Your kingdom.”

“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from My cup, but to sit at My right or left is not for Me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by My Father.”

Mrs. Zebedee was certain that when the Lord formed His kingdom, her boys would have positions of responsibility and authority. After all, the human way is to reward the best worker with the highest reward.

Jesus did not grant her request, but He did not deny it either. He simply reminded her of the cost of being seated on the right or left, and then told her that only the Father knows such things.

This morning, let’s look at what Mrs. Zebedee did for her sons, and compare that with what you, as a mother, might be doing (or have done) for your children.

The first thing we will see is she prayed for her sons to be …


1. PART OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

I think she was a very good mother. I can think of no more important task of motherhood than to want your children to be a part of God’s Kingdom.

I know that many mothers pray. Sometimes they pray out of necessity and sometimes they pray because motherhood is sometimes very difficult. I have heard it said that the reason women are mothers is because men couldn’t take the pressure. I fully agree with that statement.

I am reminded of the story where a man came home after work and his wife started telling him just how hard a day it had been. She said that both of their small children had taken turns throwing tantrums and that both had even taken turns getting sick during the day. She said she had not had one moment of peace all day, and as she was saying this, both babies got sick at the same time. She looked at her husband and in deep frustration said, “Is this in my contract?”

Certainly, mothers do get frustrated, don’t they? Perhaps one of the most frustrating times is when we are trying to communicate with the smaller ones.
A friend of mind had two kids; a three year old boy and a 5 month old daughter. He was watching them so his wife could get out of the house and relax for the day and he said the infant was lying on the couch and the son was sitting next to her.

My friend said he wanted to go into the kitchen for a second and told his little boy to watch his