Matthew 20:17-28

17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 “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 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 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.” 22 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.” 23 He said to them, “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.” 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 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. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The disciples still refuse to understand the Way of the Cross—they seek worldly status and hierarchy.

“Jesus insists that in the kingdom the issue of position and status is turned on its head. In contrast to the thinking of the Gentiles, who will finally kill him...it is those who most abjectly reject positions of honor and status in favor of humble submission to the needs of others who will have the greatest status in the kingdom, for this is the essential model of Jesus’ whole life, culminating in his death; he came ‘not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many’ (Mt 20:28).”

—David Bauer, The Gospel of the Son of God

Is there a small act of quiet service you can perform for someone else today?