Vice-Presidential ambitions

As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.” Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” He said to them, “In one sense you will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20: 17-28

The Jesus of Matthew’s biography is very different, isn’t he? He’s not like other human beings. He knew that terrible things were in store for him. “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.” He continued on to Jerusalem. Did you watch the Trump v. Clinton face-to-face on TV? What did you think of it? Would either candidate have your support for U S President? But have you thought about their Running Mates. One could call them close followers of either Donald Trump or Hilary Clinton. The first possible US Vice President, under Trump, could be Indiana Governor Mike Pence. The other possible for second-in-command is U S Senator Tim Kaine – nominated by Mrs Clinton.
.	‘Jesus walking on earth is far more important than man walking on the moon.’ (James Irwin, US astronaut and eighth moon walker, 1930-1991)
Either of these two men may well sit at the right hand of the US President for the next four years. Is being at the right-hand of Mr Trump or Mrs Clinton more desirable or less desirable than being at the right hand of Jesus Christ? The mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” The immediate reaction of Jesus is very clear. He addresses James and John. “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” If they wish to have one of the highest of places in Jesus’ kingdom they must be able to drink his cup. His has already told them what is in his cup awaiting him in Jerusalem. Neither the US Presidential candidates nor their running mates are heading for death by crucifixion. James and John said to Jesus, “We are able.” James was martyred a few years later. But John died in old age in exile on the Greek island of Patmos. He said to them, “In one sense you will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” In one sense (Greek “μέν”)? Jesus drank that cup for – on behalf of – others. In that sense, the cup which both James and John should have suffered was drunk by them through Jesus. Incredible as it may seem, Richard Syvret also drank that awful cup – through Jesus drinking it for him.
.	‘No man ever errs on the side of giving too much honour to God the Son. No man ever thought too much of Christ.’ (J C Ryle, writer and pastor, 1816-1900)
James and John had another lesson to learn. It’s in the prayer Jesus tried to teach them. “Our Father .... your will be done on earth and in heaven” “But to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” Jesus then explained that, whilst the system applicable for of the US Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates was (and would remain) hierarchical, that system would not apply in his kingdom. The Son of Man who gave his all for others - will have service-orientated followers. “Whoever would be first among you must be your slave.”

Richard Syvret

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