There are different depths to knowing. I learned about the aeronautical principals of airplane flight from a book. Those principals took on another level of meaning when I made my first solo flight. In our passage today Jesus, for the third time since chapter 16, tells his disciples how his story will end. But, they still don’t get it, and they will not grasp the truth until they behold the Resurrected Lord.
In like manner Jesus has been teaching his disciples about the principals of leadership from a Kingdom of God Servant Leader perspective. They still don’t get it, as evidenced by James and John jockeying for position. Just in case we are tempted to shake our heads at James and John and chastise them for being so crass, Matthew includes the story of Jesus healing the two blind men.
The blind men called out, “Lord, Son of David” a reverent Messianic title for Jesus. How did the crowd respond? The crowd told them to, ‘Shut Up!’
But, Jesus responded, “What do you want me to do for you?” (Remember the landowner from yesterday? (His focus was always on the workers and their needs.) Matthew is asking us to choose which camp we will join: Jesus’ camp of servants (The sign over the camp says, “Lord, Son of David”; or will we camp-out with the crowd? The sign over this camp says, ‘Shut Up!’
Whenever I am prone to put my needs, convenience, or desires ahead of others I am shouting out to the world that I am camping out with the Shut Ups. Every Sunday you hear grumbling from the Shut Up camp, don’t you? (I can hear my own voice from a while back when upon arriving at the church everything was not just as I wanted it to be.)
(If I am not cringing with embarrassment today, I certainly will be in about two weeks when we get to the part of the Gospel where Jesus says, ‘What you have done, or not done, to the least of these, you have done to me.” (Matthew 25:31))
What does today’s reading reveal to you
about God?
What does it reveal to you about yourself?
Think about what God wants you to do
or remember about this passage.
Does God want you to change anything in your life?
6-Sep-11 Matthew 21:1-22
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