Today’s devotion is Matthew 20:20-28 which contains the account of the mother of two disciples requesting Jesus to “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.” The key verses upon which I want to comment are Matthew 20:25-28.
“25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.
26 “It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,
27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave;
28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:25-28.
First, it should be noted that this “first shall be last” statement does not stand alone in the context of Scripture. This is the third time it appears. Here are the prior two times. “So the last shall be first, and the first last.” Matthew 20:16. “But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.” Matthew 19:30. Thus, the repetition of it deserves this special recognition and emphasis. It may be that Jesus was preparing us for this “hard” truth by surrounding the two prior statements with the encouragement of rewards.
Jesus also personally led His disciples by His personal example in the prior section. “As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.” Matthew 20:17-19. Jesus showed His disciples and us today that He (Jesus) “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many”. Matthew 20:28.
In summary and conclusion, we have two prior Scriptures in which Jesus taught the “first shall be last” in the context of the encouragement of rewards. The last two devotions focus on these rewards. We also have Jesus’ personal example of service educating us that He (Jesus) “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many”. We then may be more inclined to accept the “hard” truth that even contains the third encouragement within itself that although the path to greatness is service to others, we can be encouraged that there is that reward of greatness and being first.
Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions 