Sermon Notes
Sermon Title: What I Can Learn From A Mom
Scripture: Matthew 20:20-23
Throughout history, mothers have had the great responsibility of T___________.
The mother of James and John…
Knew Who Is in C________________.
‘came’—‘approaching someone who has greater authority or power than yourself, and either making a request of that person, or S_____________________ yourself to that person.’
Heb 11:6
2. How to be H_______________.
kneeling down—usually translated as “w______________.”
This act gives us a picture of submitting to, or worshipping a M_____________—like kneeling and kissing the hand of someone.
Do we truly feel the need to kneel before Jesus? Do we present an attitude of humility and respect?
3. How To Ask what was on her H_______________
The Son of God, ...is concerned about what we W________. She asks what’s on her heart. She’s honest and O___________.
When we come clean with God, then we are honest with ourselves, and it’s at that point that God can S__________ to us and work in our life in a very real way.
4. To Accept what Jesus said.
We don’t have all the I_________________________.
Jesus knows their F_______________.
It was not for Him to grant this request...He submitted Himself to the will of the F____________. And He had already told them who His Father was.
Bible scholars believe that their mother’s name was S___________, and that this ... was one of the women who came to the tomb to put spices on Jesus’ body.
This is God’s desire—not just for mothers, but for all of us.
________________________________________________________
Series Title: Mother’s Day
Sermon Title: What I Can Learn From A Mom
Scripture: Matthew 20:20-20:23
20 Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
21 "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."
22 "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.
23 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."
Introduction
Throughout history, mothers have had the great responsibility of teaching. When we are young, mothers have the greatest influence over us. When the football player scores and the camera is on him, he waves and says, “Hi Mom,” even though Dad may have taught him everything he knows about football.
When we read the story, we seem to see a picture of a mom trying to get the best positions in Jesus' Kingdom for her adult children.
But I think there are several lessons we can learn from this mother. The first thing she shows us is that she knows...
I. Who Is in Charge.
20 Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus
The word, ‘came,’ here is a common word that carries the idea of coming or going, but in Scripture it most often seems to refer to ‘approaching someone who has greater authority or power than yourself, and either making a request of that person, or submitting yourself to that person.
Joseph of Arimathea approached Pilate to request the body of Jesus.
When Stephen is preaching his message before he is stoned to death, he mentioned that Moses saw the bush that was burning, and he approached it, and met with God.
Heb 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God [approaches God] must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
James’ and John’s mother knew who was in charge. If she’s thinking like the disciples often thought, that the Messiah would be a military leader, then she may believe that Jesus is going to lead a revolt against the Romans, and establish his kingdom right there in Israel. So, He would definitely be in charge. So, she approached Jesus with her request.
(ILL: Customer Service)
Have you ever had to call a company about a product, and had to deal with customer service? It can be a nightmare, can’t it?
I have had to call the IRS a few times in the past. You see, ministers are given some benefits in regard to their taxes, but you have to record the income information correctly. I was taught that you, also, need to make certain handwritten notes to clarify certain things. Well, a few years ago, when the electronic filing had just started, there was no way to record those hand-written notes. Because they didn’t have my notes, they made some changes to my tax return, and it made it look like I made more money than I actually did. Because of the changes, they said I owed some taxes instead of getting a refund.
So, I called the IRS, and I talked to one person, who couldn’t help. They transfered me to another, to another, to another. And I was ready to pull out my hair, and I just wished I could speak to somebody who was in charge and who knew what was going on.
Customer service is horrible in a lot of companies today. Often, it's because you can't ever talk to someone who is in charge.
This mother knew who was in charge, and that’s who she went to.
The second thing we notice about her is that she knew...
II. How to be humble.
20 Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down,
The word for "kneeling down" in the NIV is usually translated as “worshipped.” The wise men told Herod that they had come “to worship” the one who was born King of the Jews. All throughout the New Testament, that’s what it means. But what’s interesting is that the main part of the word seems to be related to the word for ‘dog.’ Bible language scholars believe it’s related to a dog licking its master’s hand.
Now, it’s no secret how I feel about the dogs at my house. I don’t want them licking on me. But the dog we had before, Charkey, we had for about 14 years. And he would sit beside me when I was watching TV or just sitting, and he’d lick my leg or my hand, and I didn’t mind.
This act gives us a picture of submitting to, or worshipping a master—like kneeling and kissing the hand of someone.
So, here we have a mom who is humbling herself before Jesus, being an example to her adult children, who are there with her.
For many years in this country mothers stayed at home and raised the children. Very rarely did mothers work outside the home. So these mothers were the number one influence on their children. Because it’s during these early years, from birth until 5 or 6, when they start school, that they learn how to relate to people, how to accept authority, how to talk and express themselves, and so many other things.
A mother who humbles herself before God and accepts this important task of teaching, guiding, influencing her children, will pass that on to them. And that can affect how they relate to Jesus for the rest of their lives.
Do we truly feel the need to kneel before Jesus? Do we present an attitude of humility and respect?
The third thing we notice about her is that she knew she could...
III. Ask what was on her heart
20 Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
21 "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."
Notice, that when she comes to Jesus, the One in charge, in a humble attitude, He asks her, “What do you want?”
Remember that this is the Son of God, and He is concerned about what “we want.” He wants us to tell Him our heart, EVEN IF IT'S NOT AN APPROPRIATE REQUEST.
I think this is a mom who is concerned for her sons, even though they are adults. You see, they left the family business. This fishing business they had grown up in was meant for them to have a livelihood on into their older years. And they left it to follow Jesus. And if she believes that Jesus will lead a revolt against the Romans and establish an earthly kingdom in Israel, maybe she just wants to know that her sons will be OK in the future.
Maybe she’s just concerned about their future.
I know that’s the way it is with my mom. At different times in the ministry, when my wife and I knew it was time to leave one church, I’d talk to my mom on the phone and tell her, and she would always ask something like, “Well,, do you know where you’re going to go?” She just wanted to know about our future.
This mother asks Jesus what is on her heart. “Jesus, these boys have left the family business. Can you give me some kind of assurance that they will be right there beside you in your kingdom?”
She asks what’s on her heart. She’s honest and open.
How often do we go to the Lord in prayer and pretend. Say what we think God wants to hear. Try to fool God. When we try to fool God, we’re really just fooling ourselves.
God desires for us to be honest with Him. When we are, then we are honest with ourselves, and it’s at that point that God can speak to us and work in our lives in a very real way.
It’s at this point in the story that Jesus directs His attention to James and John. We don’t hear any other responses or questions from the mother. I think we can learn from that that she knew she had to…
4. Accept what Jesus said.
22 "You don't know what you are asking,"
We don’t have all the information. We don’t know what our request might mean for our future or someone else’s future.
A loved one gets a serious illness or is involved in a car accident, and we pray that God will spare their lives, because that’s what we want. And it’s OK to ask what’s on our hearts, because we just talked about that, but we need to be willing to accept however God responds, because we don’t know what it may lead to.
King Hezekiah was informed by God’s prophet that he would be dying soon. And he prayed that God would spare his life. God did. And during the 15 years added to his life, his only son was born—Manasseh, who became one the most wicked kings Judah ever had.
We don’t have all the information.
Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?" "We can," they answered.
He’s talking about the suffering that He’s going to face, and they don’t really know what all that’s going to mean, but maybe there’s some pride in their response as they say, “We can.”
23 Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup,…
Jesus knows their future. He knows they will be persecuted. James will die for his faith in Jesus. John will be exiled on an island for his faith.
Their mom may not understand that that’s what Jesus means. But if mom believes that Jesus is going to lead a revolt against the Romans, maybe she realizes for the first time that people die when they revolt against the authorities, and her sons could be casualties in that revolt. Accepting this possibility may be keeping her silent.
Finally Jesus says, “...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."
Even though Jesus is God who came in human flesh, He took on some human limitations. It was not for Him to grant this. And really when He said this, it should have told their mother that His kingdom was not the kind she may have been thinking of. I mean, if He led a revolt against the Romans, and ran them out, and became king over Israel, He could select whoever He wanted to sit on His right and left. But His kingdom was not what they thought. And even though He is God in the flesh, in His humanness He submitted Himself to the will of the Father.
And He had already told them who His Father was. And maybe their mother finally put some of it together. Bible scholars believe that their mother’s name was Salome, and that this is the Salome that was one of the women who came to the tomb to put spices on Jesus’ body. If that’s the case, then we see that she truly had loved and cared for Jesus, and she would have been one of the first to have been told that Jesus was alive.
So we see a mother who knew:
Who was in charge,
How to be humble,
How to ask what was on her heart,
To accept what Jesus said..
Mothers, to be described this way is truly a blessing. This is God’s desire—not just for mothers, but for all of us.
