Inductive Bible Study March 2

IBS Wednesday March 2

Matthew 20:26-28

Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.

This is a verse that I have come to many times before, but I never really got the full context. Becoming great is the complete opposite from Jesus’ perspective than from the world’s understanding. To be considered great in many people’s opinions means being an authority. As an authority in the world, you lord over others, making yourself more important because of your position. In verse 25 Jesus tells his audience, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them,” and then He says, “Yet it shall not be so among you.” Jesus tells us that we do not exercise this authority to rule over others in His kingdom. The story leading up to this answer from Jesus begins when a mother asks that her two sons would sit at the right and left hand of Jesus in His kingdom. All Jesus can answer to her is that it is not His authority to give, but God the Father prepares it for those He chooses. What Jesus says is that if anyone desires to be great in His kingdom, he must become a servant. To wrap it up Jesus explains, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

I want to be first. I want to be great. In scripture, I have found the answer. Being great means being last and being a servant. Romans 12:1 says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” Presenting myself as a living sacrifice to God to be His slave is what is accepted by God. Later on in Romans 12, it says, “That you may prove what is that good acceptable and perfect will of God is. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Being a servant that is acceptable to God means living out His perfect will. As I present myself as a bondservant of God, I will begin living out His perfect will in my life. I need to keep a sober mind, not being prideful, but faithfully doing my duty to my Master. Luke 17:10 says, “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.”

Application: Lord, I want to present myself a living sacrifice to You that I may prove Your perfect will in my life. I ask that you would give me the mind of a servant. I want to serve You. Today, this is my prayer, that you would accept my body as a living sacrifice, a sacrifice that is holy and acceptable to You. Amen.